Greenburgh Moving Ahead on Finneran Law
By Sam Barron
The Greenburgh Town Board unanimously approved state legislation on Friday that will pave the way for a tennis bubble to be built at Veterans Park.
Assemblyman Thomas Abinanti (D-Greenburgh) has been working on state legislation to exempt Greenburgh from the Finneran Law. The Finneran Law bars residents from outside the unincorporated part of the town from using its tennis courts.
The repeal of the Finneran Law would allow for Sportime USA, located in Elmsford, to come in and build a tennis bubble on top of the courts at Veterans Park, which would produce additional revenue to the town.
With the town accepting the legislation and passing a home rule message to the state, this forges the way for the state to approve the exemption before the state legislature recesses in June for the summer.
“I am very grateful to Assemblyman Abinanti for working so hard,” said Greenburgh Supervisor Paul Feiner. “I reviewed the proposed law. If his proposed legislation is approved it would be a big help to the town—revenue wise and recreation wise.”
Feiner said he expects the town to receive $3 million in revenue, and the facility would remain open for residents of the unincorporated section of Greenburgh during the summer.
Sportime had previously proposed an agreement in 2005, but backed out after learning that residents would be excluded.
Sportime would pay the town at least $125,000 in rent during the first year and it is estimated that the town could reap $270,000 a year in rent after ten years.
Abinanti said that he has made 10 different drafts hoping to appease and oblige everyone who has had various concerns about the deal.
“We’ve tried to accommodate as many valid concerns as possible,” Abinanti said. “I will argue that this is a good piece of legislation that will provide money to enhance the town’s facilities and enhance a town facility.”
Abinanti said that officials want to help bring extra money to the Town of Greenburgh and help keep property taxes down. He said that while many issues have been raised, none of them have anything to do with the bill itself.
“We’re down to the wire and we need to get this done quickly,” Abinanti said. “We have to find a common ground. All we are doing is authorizing the town. We are not negotiating any deals with companies. We’re just doing an authorization. That’s all we’re doing.”
Sportime has also offered to resurface five tennis courts, a basketball court, and construct two new tennis courts as well as other improvements, according to published reports.
Feiner has said that this law would not impact any of the villages in the Town of Greenburgh and that nobody should object to the repeal of the Finneran Law.
“We’re not forcing anybody to go to the tennis courts and use the tennis bubble,” Feiner said. “Our tennis courts are in need of infrastructure improvements and we don’t have the money. If we contract them with another company, we can get them to do it.”
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.
