New Castle Board Candidates Lay Out Plans for the Future

Typically, there is no shortage of candidates for a New Castle Town Board election. This year is no exception, with a full slate for both major parties.

There are four candidates vying for two council seats: incumbent Democratic Councilman Jeremy Saland and running mate Jason Lichtenthal opposed by first-time candidates Lauren Levin and Sean Maraynes for the Republicans.

Lauren Levin

Helping downtown Chappaqua was a major impetus for Levin to run for Town Board. She had served as vice president of the Millwood-Chappaqua Chamber of Commerce and has been a member of the Downtown Streetscape Committee.

A former buyer for Lord & Taylor before staying home to raise her two children, Levin, 37, said the town needs to have a thriving hamlet.

“I just saw that there was a need for more marketing for our merchants because they offer such great services and products and they don’t get enough support,” she said.

Levin said she would like to form a committee that has regular and formal communication with Town Hall on merchants’ issues. There also needs to be pursuit of the types of businesses the town would like to see in its hamlets and to entice owners on the advantages of Chappaqua.

“People have seen that the town has the need for these services, especially restaurants and a family diner, and it’s important to reach out to these business owners because there are plenty of them in our neighborhood,” she said.

Differentiation of services between Chappaqua Crossing and the downtown is needed, Levin said. Kiosks at both locations would be helpful to cross-promote.  She would support a parking structure downtown if it was needed.

As Millwood has evolved into the recreational center of the town, Levin said more community events should be hosted at its venues to attract more people for its merchants.

Levin said working with the county and the FAA is needed to get relief from the airplane noise from landings at Westchester County Airport. She said concentrating on addressing changes in flight patterns would go a long way to alleviating some of the problems.

While Levin understands the clamor for leaf blower regulations, she would be in favor of sensible restrictions. She opposes any exemptions, as all entities should abide by the same rules. Town officials also failed to get the stakeholders to reach consensus but if there is to be legislation, it has to have buy-in from residents and landscapers, Levin said.

If elected, Levin is confident she would work well with others regardless of the board’s composition.

“It’s not about me, either,” Levin said. “It about making our town a better place for our community and our kids. If that’s our common goal, then we’ll be fine.”

Jason Lichtenthal

Since 2016, Lichtenthal has served on the Millwood Board of Fire Commissioners, originally appointed to succeed Hala Makowska when she made the jump to the Town Board.

It was a comment from his wife about four years ago that sparked his interest in public service. You can sit on the sidelines and complain or you can do something about it and help your community, he reasoned.

“I’m really intelligent, I know my stuff, I’m a quick study,” said Lichtenthal, 47, a vice president at an insurance company. “I also go in as best I can with an open mind.”

Lichtenthal is bullish on his slate’s proposed Chappaqua Hamlet Investment Act, a four-part program that would launch a façade grant program to help merchants and landlords pay for exterior improvements; maintain a vacant storefront registry; approve a local preference law; and update the Discover Chappaqua guide and website.

The money for the grant program would come from the $1.5 million Summit/Greenfield paid the town as a condition of its approval.

A Millwood resident for the past 15 years, Lichtenthal is keenly aware of the deficiencies in that hamlet. A lack of access to sewers not only clamps development but makes hookups to the communities of Random Farms, Riverwoods and Yeshiva, identified as needing sewers, exceedingly difficult and expensive.

Lichtenthal said impressing county, New York City and state officials to find the funding and political will for the sewer hookup is most prudent for the health and environment.

“Hooking up to the county trunk line is the way to go,” he said. “I think our county Board of Legislators and our county executive can be amenable to help us figure out how to make that happen.”

Lichtenthal supports strong environmental laws including a solution to the stalemate over the proposed electric leaf blower ban. The climate crisis calls for bold action everywhere and New Castle should not be left behind.

He agreed with the recent Town Board decision to engage an expert that will help the town wade through the complex issue of airplane noise from landings at the airport.

Lichtenthal said he would make sure residents’ issues, large and small, are heard without minimizing their problems.

“I think I will bring that mentality to Town Hall, to make sure people have an ear, that Town Hall has an ear to what their concerns might be without having a concern about getting yelled at,” he said.

Sean Maraynes

Maraynes said he is running to be a voice for residents. As a former Democrat, current Republican and soon-to-be independent, he hasn’t felt like he belongs in either major party.

“I look at it not as a political role for me, I’m looking at it as strictly, number one, being a steward for the town and a voice for all 18,000 people,” Maraynes said.

The 36-year-old attorney, whose family has Chappaqua roots dating to his grandparents, said he wants to help the town locate merchants and activities that would enliven the downtown hamlet, such as restaurants, niche stores or a community center along with hosting events.

Any plans for the train station lot should also be put on the back burner so the hamlet can recover from two-plus years of construction.

“I’ve very skeptical about additional apartments,” Maraynes said. “Everybody wants to have this mixed use, we do at (the old) Whispering Pines. Let’s see how the units do at Chappaqua Crossing.”

If something were to eventually be done at the train station, Maraynes said he would lean toward some retail with a parking structure.

Maraynes supports the Chap Line as a way to help bring foot traffic downtown if it can be done affordably.

For Millwood, Maraynes said he would be best suited to be a “squeaky wheel” in dealing with county and state representatives to get sewers. Without sewers, there won’t be significant development, but Maraynes said holding events, such as food truck and beer festivals in the space by the old train station depot will bring people to the area. Sidewalks, once installed, should also assist the hamlet.

Maraynes has also been skeptical about the leaf blower legislation, saying that the benefits would be negligible other than reducing noise for those impacted.

“I’m kind of against anything that has to do with any sort of public policy that people do just to make themselves feel better,” he said.

Jeremy Saland

The only incumbent in the four-candidate council race, Saland has touted his ability to work with all his colleagues, particularly after a rocky 2015 campaign with outgoing Supervisor Robert Greenstein.

This year, there are myriad projects to be addressed – the hamlets, the airport issue, Millwood sewers and smaller issues – that he wants to contribute to.

“There’s so much going on and I think we’ve done a good job over the past four years,” Salans said. “It doesn’t mean we can’t do better, but I’d like to continue and I think we can continue to be successful.”

In Chappaqua, Saland said he is awaiting the results of the form-based code for its downtown district which will help the town position itself to pursue the best uses for properties. Future decisions will have to conform to the Comprehensive Plan, he said, and engaging the landlords and Planning Board to come up with compatible uses, including how to make best use of town-owned property, is essential.

“If you want it to stay the way it is, empty stores is not the answer,” Saland said “With the form-based code we can provide some degreed of consistency.”

He is open to the Chap Line provided the project’s cost is reasonable and the town can navigate the issues with neighboring residents.

In Millwood, Saland said the town has to play to the strengths of what’s there – its recreation opportunities. The extended sidewalks next year and Millwood Park renovations will help.

The future of Millwood is partially determined by potential sewer hookups. Keeping after the county and the state for more money is needed. Continuing to exist with failing septics is untenable.

Saland drafted a recent letter to send to the county executive that laid out its expectations that Westchester play a more active role in addressing the airport noise levels and related issues.

“People in this town have higher expectations and the high the expectations you have the more motivation you have to do better,” he said.