Democrats 4 New Castle Provide Chance for Positive Change in Chappaqua
Here we are in October, cooler temperatures, changing leaves and campaign signs sprouting like flowers in yards and at intersections. There is little disagreement that the downtown Chappaqua hamlet is not doing well. Since I arrived in Chappaqua, I have seen a diner, a bank, a sporting goods store, a drug store, two restaurants and two ice cream shops all fail or leave.
There are two groups running for Town Board, one supports moving forward with a limited version of the initial proposed Form Based Code. The other has pledged to stop it at all costs.
For me, this choice is personal. I feel lucky and blessed to be a resident of Chappaqua. Growing up, never in my dreams did I think I would have the means to afford to live in a community like this. I was a kid on the free lunch program at school. In the late 1970s and ‘80s, my parents did not make enough money to be able to pay the 75 cents to $1.25 that school lunch cost when I was in middle school and high school. We had cars that barely ran, that we fixed in our driveway. We received the free cheese and peanut butter that was handed out then as well.
So, when a group running for office has vowed to stop a plan that supports affordable housing, they are running a campaign to prevent a family like mine from trying to come here. Running against opportunity for poor kids to do better in a town with great schools.
It is in the message, and the campaign calls, camouflaged in the words like “bucolic.” There are no fields of crops, no animal husbandry in Chappaqua. Their message is one of fear. The code is a zoning change not a development plan or specific project and would still require a rigorous review process and town approval of any proposed construction.
Please join with me and vote for Democrats 4 New Castle – McCall, Morton, Weinberg and Bounds. Embrace the opportunity and renewal that change can bring.
Ashley C. Rose
Chappaqua
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