Final Statement of Rob Greenstein, “Transparency in Government” candidate for town board

Monday, November 7, 2011
by Rob Greenstein

Last week, I was honored to receive an endorsement from The Examiner.  They wrote “Greenstein, who decided to run after being one of the more outspoken Chappaqua Crossings critics, is a proponent of full transparency……..He’s smart and sharp and won’t be afraid to say what’s on his mind, providing an independent voice that needs to be heard on the current all-Democratic board.”

The part I appreciated the most (besides being smart and sharp) was that I won’t be afraid to say what’s on my mind.  I believe I have proven that with Chappaqua Crossing, and throughout my campaign.

Although I am a registered Democrat, I started this process supporting the Republicans. I truly believed we needed change.  I figured two Democrats and two Republicans on the Town Board would be a good mix.  But instead of running on a positive platform, the Republicans have resorted to a negative campaign that distorted the facts about sewers, Chappaqua Crossing and the ward system. They resorted to language such “second class citizens”, ‘taxation without representation’—a little revolution now and again is maybe not a bad thing” and then denied saying it.  I don’t like it when politicians play fast and loose with the facts during a campaign. GOP tactics throughout this process have really turned me off.

Although almost everyone who understands the ward system is against it, the Republicans waffled to win over the West End.  Republicans also spun the issue of sewers to win over the Millwood vote.  They criticized the town board for not including other areas in Millwood on the sewer petition for hot-spots Random Farms, Yeshiva and Riverwoods.  They ignore the fact that it would 1. delay the long-overdue action by the county and 2.  be prohibitively expensive for Millwood, Stanwood and Kisco Park, since they will not get the benefit of the $10M watershed funding which Barbara Gerrard has worked hard and long to procure.

Although we are being sued by Summit Greenfield, the Republicans repeatedly called the handling of the process a mess and/or a fiasco, accusing the Town Board of treating Summit Greenfield in a business-unfriendly way.  But make no mistake about it: Summit Greenfield’s proposal was never a commercial project.  Summit Greenfield was asking the town to approve a massive residential project on the site – first 348, then 278, then 199 (the town board ended by allowing 111).  If the town board had been as business-friendly as the Republicans want, the commercial potential of Chappaqua Crossing would have been squeezed out by a massive residential development. 

And if the Republicans were as committed to expanding our commercial tax base as their platform indicates, where were they when our last piece of commercial property was being threatened?  Nowhere to be found.  There were many residents who spoke out against this project.  How would we ever make significant progress expanding our commercial tax base if not for the hard work of our Town Board and Planning Board?  The town board along with Susan Carpenter, chair of the planning board, protected the town’s commercial interests at Chappaqua Crossing.  They deserve credit for that.  They deserve our thanks for that.  They do not deserve having their effort characterized as a mess and/or fiasco. 

I started this process highly critical of Elise Mottel.  I criticized her for not making the Downtown Steering Committee meetings open.  I believe that was a mistake, and I will work to change that.  But, during this campaign, I have come to respect Elise’s dedication and integrity.  She works hard for our Town Board.  And while I absolutely believe more needs to be done, Elise deserves credit for the high-occupancy rate in Chappaqua’s business hamlet and for conscientiously serving our community for the past eight years. 

After five years of fighting to preserve the commercial use at Chappaqua Crossing, we can now all turn our undivided attention to increasing our commercial tax revenues at Chappaqua Crossing and revitalizing our downtown business districts.  That’s why I got involved in Chappaqua Crossing, and that’s why I am running for the Town Board.  Whoever I work with, I am 100% committed to doing just.

I did my best to bring vision and fresh ideas to the campaign.  I did my best to generate good discussions, and I think we are all more informed because of that. 

I am a lawyer and small business owner.  I started my law firm 16 years ago, just two years out of law school.  I now have 15 people who work for me.  I wrote nine (9) letters during my campaign.  I was a one-man show (although my wife claims to be my campaign manager).  Please visit my web site www.TransparencyInGovt.com. I worked very hard on it, and am very proud of it.  It contains all 23 of my letters.  I believe I have proven my work ethic.

When I decided to run for the Town Board some people told me that my work on Chappaqua Crossing should be enough to get me elected.  They told me to “make every sentence a noun, a verb, and ‘Chappaqua Crossing’—and keep quiet on everything else.”  Maybe I should have done that.  But keeping quiet is usually an exercise in futility for me.  So, I wrote, and I wrote and I wrote – to shed light on what the issues were.  It seems like every time I wrote a letter or comment in NewCastleNOW someone would respond you just lost my vote.  I think I lost a vote a day.  Luckily, for me, the election is tomorrow.  But, that’s the price of transparency.  The Examiner was spot on, going forward, I won’t be afraid to say what’s on my mind. 

As I said when I announced my candidacy, I want to be elected for one reason, and one reason only: I am someone willing to listen to residents, tell them openly what the issues look like to me as a board member and fight for what’s best for our community.  I would be honored and would welcome the opportunity to continue to work on behalf of the residents of New Castle as an independent member, and independent voice, of the Town Board.

At this point, I only have one request: get out and vote for “Transparency in Government.”  OK, that was two requests.