Greenburgh Ethics Board Clears $1M Donation
By Jon Craig
The Greenburgh Town Board is expected to consider a developer’s $1 million donation to buy nearly 29 acres of open space along a park in Tarrytown during its Sept. 30 meeting. The vote follows Thursday’s decision by the Greenburgh Ethics Board that no town codes were violated in connection with the parkland offer.
Residents can comment on the proposed land deal during the meeting, which begins at 8 p.m.
Earlier this summer, members of the Town Board learned of an agreement that had been made in October 2009 between a developer and the East Irvington Civic Association to donate $1 million to Greenburgh to purchase of 28.7 acres of land for parkland located in the Village of Tarrytown, near its border with Irvington and Taxter Ridge. The donation is being made by AvalonBay Communities and the Robert Martin Corp., which built 544 apartments off of Taxter Road in East Irvington and has received approvals to build another 68 units at the site.
Councilman Francis Sheehan and Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner wrote to the Greenburgh Ethics Board asking for an opinion on whether accepting the $1 million dollar donation would violate the Greenburgh Town Code of Ethics.
Town officials said they were not aware of an agreement between the civic association and developer until recently. The agreement stipulates that the town must vote to accept the donation by Oct. 1, 2014.
If the Town Board accepts the donation at its Sept. 30 meeting, it plans to transfer ownership and management of the park property to the Village of Tarrytown.
The village understands that the property will be part of Taxter Ridge Park and will be available to the general public and the maintenance responsibility will rest solely with the village, according to Feiner. The Tarrytown Village Board is supportive of the concept and has agreed to accept assignment should the Town Board officially assign the property to the Village of Tarrytown.
“I support using the funds for parkland acquisition,” Feiner said. “I believe that it’s important to balance new development with open space preservation. That’s why Greenburgh has the ‘green’ before the burgh in its name. We need to maintain the quality of life for our residents,” Feiner continued.
Avalon Green developers signed a contract with an East Irvington homeowner association on Oct. 31, 2009, to donate $1 million to buy open space. The Robert Martin Corp. and AvalonBay Communities Inc. agreed to donate $1 million to Greenburgh to purchase open space and help mitigate the impact of 544 condominium apartments they built in two phases off of Taxter Road. Another 68 apartment units are proposed under phase III of Avalon Green, within unincorporated Greenburgh as well as the Elmsford School District. The Town Board is considering a site change to phase III which includes moving a building to reduce excavation and truck traffic.
The East Irvington Civic Association, which negotiated the agreement, wants the money used to buy 28.7 acres in Tarrytown. The land abuts the roughly 200-acre Taxter Ridge Park in East Irvington, which the town, county and state bought 10 years ago to prevent overdevelopment.
Feiner said he wants to transfer the land in unincorporated Greenburgh to Tarrytown to maintain and has a letter from the village administrator saying it would accept the property.
There’s no financial impact to unincorporated Greenburgh, said Danny Gold, president of the East Irvington Civic Association.
Feiner said that while the Town Board approved the AvalonBay housing application, “no member of the Town Board, including myself, was aware of the agreement between the East Irvington Civic Association and Avalon Bay communities for a $1 million donation to be made to mitigate the impacts of the multifamily project known as Avalon Green II.”
The town will never get title to the property, Feiner said.
Gold said the five-year contract expires Dec. 1, and the agreement had a confidentiality clause. His group represents about 325 homes near Taxter Road.
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