Greenburgh Seeks CDBG Funds for Secor Road Sidewalk
As Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding has opened up in Westchester County once again, The Greenburgh Town Board voted last Wednesday to apply to New York State for a grant to build a sidewalk along Secor Road in the vicinity of the Greenburgh housing authority low-income town houses.
The sidewalk would be comprised of 1,000 linear feet of concrete construction and provide pedestrians with a safe way to walk from their homes to the local Bee-Line bus stops on Saw Mill River Road (Route 9A). Crosswalks at the bus stops are part of the plan.
According to Greenburgh Planning Commissioner Garret Duquesne, who outlined the elements of the grant application for the board, the town is seeking $240,000 in funds.
Duquesne further said the NYS DOT was supportive of the application and that the plan would benefit 51 percent of residents of low- to mid-income, the threshold necessary to become eligible for CDBG funding.
The current path is less than five feet wide and because of its soft composition, does not provide adequate safety especially during extreme weather conditions.
Members of the public speaking at the hearing on the grant application said they were supportive and that the sidewalk would be better for both drivers and pedestrians along Secor Road.
Because of the slope of the road, complete ADA compliance is not guaranteed although Duquesne said he would try to get a two-foot buffer added between the sidewalk and the road.
Because the sidewalk encroaches on parkland, the Greenburgh Department of Parks and Recreation would be responsible for clean up and maintenance.
Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner complimented Duquesne for his initiatives to improve pedestrian accessibility in the town since he took over the job as Planning Commissioner.
“This initiative is the latest in a series of initiatives the town has taken in recent months to increase the number of sidewalks being built around town – 1.6 miles of new sidewalks has been built or will be built soon,” Feiner said.
According to a memo prepared by Commissioner Duquesne new sidewalks, which have been built, or that are in the planning process have been paid for by developers.
These include: Rte. 119/Benedict Avenue, 850 feet in front of Brightview Senior Living, 95 percent complete; Dobbs Ferry Road, 170 feet in front of approved subdivision at Westchester View Lane, under construction; Dobbs Ferry Road, 220 feet in front of approved subdivision at Westchester View Lane, completed; Benedict Avenue, 1,600 feet in connection with Stop & Shop, projected completion October 2015; Taxter Road, 700 feet in connection with Avalon III, construction start fall 2015; Knollwood Road, 550 feet in connection with Preserve at Greenburgh, construction start 2015; Underhill Road/Sprain Road, 680 feet in connection with Toll Brothers subdivision, construction start late 2015 or spring 2016; Knollwood Road, 570 feet in front of Solomon Schechter School, construction start late 2015 or spring 2016; Central Park Avenue South/Ardsley Road, 150 feet in connection with 880 Central LLC office building, construction October 2015; Central Park Avenue South, 550 feet in front of the Esplanade, construction start late 2015 or spring 2016; Central Park Avenue South, 125 feet in front of Fountain Diner, construction start late 2015 or spring 2016; Hampton Terrace/Downing Drive West, 800 feet in connection with Rabin-Alexander Subdivision; Henry Street, 200 feet in connection with Ostashkin Dance Studio on Central Park Avenue South, construction start spring 2016; Knollwood Road, 550 feet in connection with Prospero Nursery, construction start spring 2016; Saw Mill River Road, 500 feet in connection with Pepe Auto, construction start: spring 2016; Old Saw Mill River Road, 240 feet along Regeneron Pharmaceuticals frontage.
Other CDBG project applications include $80,000 (each) for two playgrounds located at 15-unit low-income housing complexes and $15,00 for a stove and fryer for the Theodore Young Community Center for a youth cooking program.
Feiner also noted that the Union Baptist Church which had applied for and had approved CDBG funds for landscape improvements, had lost that funding during the political back and forth between HUD and Westchester County over affordable housing compliance. That application would go forth again next year.
