Chappaqua Man Arrested After Vulgar Remark at Planning Board Meeting

A critic of New Castle’s handling of the Sunshine Children’s Home expansion review was arrested at Town Hall Tuesday night after he used profanity during the Planning Board meeting and refused to leave the room when ordered.

Chappaqua resident Will Wedge was charged with two counts of second-degree harassment, a misdemeanor, and one count of obstructing governmental administration, a Class A misdemeanor, following the rhubarb, town police said.

Wedge had spoken for several minutes during the meeting contending that the Planning Board was abrogating its responsibility as members signaled that they would refer a slightly revised plan that causes less impact on neighbors back to the Zoning Board of Appeals, the lead agency for the project. The ZBA will decide whether to issue amended permits.

But Wedge contended that the town had failed to complete a satisfactory review surrounding Sunshine Children’s Home’s unauthorized work on its Spring Valley Road property shortly after Thanksgiving without having permits in place.

During the last week in November, Sunshine demolished a shed housing one of three wells on its land as it sought to make improvements to Well No. 1. The applicant had also taken down a tree.

Since the site work, Sunshine has obtained the three permits it needed in connection to the activity.

Angry neighbors, some of whom have initiated litigation against the town because the ZBA refused to call for a positive declaration that would have triggered a more robust environmental review, demanded an investigation.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Wedge said that town staff’s work investigating the site work was “a hack job, it’s a put-together of the applicant’s materials regurgitated under town letterhead.”

“These people have repeatedly violated, done work without permits, violated town code and they get the pat on the back, attaboy, go for it,” he said.

Jennifer Gray, the counsel for the Planning Board, responded that town staff had undertaken an exhaustive review of the matter and concluded that no action was needed by the board, in part because the unauthorized work did not affect the board’s four previously approved permits, including for wetlands, steep slopes and tree removal.

“With all due respect, the town staff has spent, I can attest, countless, countless hours, days reviewing the information,” Gray said.

From his seat, Wedge then yelled out “bull—-.”

“You’re out of order,” board Chairman Robert Kirkwood told Wedge. “You must leave. I’ll call the police if I have to, but you must leave.”

When Wedge, who apologized twice, refused to leave the meeting room, the board asked Town Engineer Robert Cioli to summon the police from their downstairs headquarters.

A few minutes later two officers arrived, ushering Wedge from the meeting room to talk to him not far from Town Hall’s upstairs lobby exit. One of the officers then told Wedge that he wanted to talk to him outside and began walking him toward the staircase that leads to the downstairs lobby.

Wedge could be heard yelling as he reached downstairs, in one instance calling one of the cops a “liar.”

“You bust my shoulder, buddy, I own your a–,” he said.

By then, the officers had Wedge on the ground just outside the downstairs lobby doors attempting to handcuff him.

Police Chief Charles Ferry said Wednesday that an ambulance, which could be seen arriving at Town Hall several minutes later, was called to take Wedge to Northern Westchester Hospital to be treated for a dislocated thumb. Two community members told The Examiner that Wedge actually suffered a broken thumb.

After receiving medical treatment, Wedge was transported back to police headquarters where he was arraigned by Town Justice Noah Sorkin, Ferry said. He was released without bail.

This is not the first time that Wedge has caused a stir forcing police to be involved. During a highly contentious period following the arrest of former Horace Greeley High School drama teacher Christopher Schraufnagel, town police visited Wedge’s home in early October 2016 for alleged threatening comments he was accused of making at a Chappaqua School District forum.

Ferry said any past incidents played no role in how police handled Tuesday’s situation.

“If anyone had acted the same way it would have ended up the same,” the chief said.

The matter was still being investigated by police on Wednesday afternoon, Ferry said.

Wedge declined to comment pending his appearance in Town Court Thursday evening.