Who Really Spoke and Who Just Mumbled?

Well, the election is over and Alfreda Williams won. Congratulations to her. They had everything on their side, including money (Lois Bronz's campaign war chest), Lois Bronz's mailing and support lists, but mostly pure democratic volume over other parties. Once she began to play the race card, she was able to capture the majority of the vote of color. She agreed with the democratic incumbents decision to do-nothing and simply let the numbers roll her into office. The incumbent legislature which voted to settle on the Housing Desegregation Lawsuit, was a torch she carried throughout the campaign as though she had voted for it herself.

The democrats who came out to vote certainly helped her win. I accepted that outcome when I began the campaign and even now that it's over. I'm disappointed to lose but not bitter or upset. I ran a great campaign on the issues, something she still has little, if any, knowledge of. In fact, her victory will allow her to go back to the laissez-faire mentality practiced by her predecessor and ignore not only the issues of the district and county, but sadly and more importantly, the people that have been continually ignored for years.

If you look at the numbers, it was democratic voters who simply, simplistically, and as uninformed and uneducated voters, voted across the party line. Shame on them. Not because I didn't win, but because they blindly follow their leaders without thinking, questioning or trying. I'm not saying we are there, but this is how most dictatorships begin. Just look at Italy, Germany and the others in the 30's and 40's, and now in the middle east. Blindly following is costing us in more ways than financial but that is the most significant problem with following and not thinking. I'm reminded of my parents old adage, "If so-and-so walked off a cliff, would you follow them?"

So how did, or will District 8 win from this election? It remains to be seen. To paraphrase Lois Bronz, she said she was happy Alfreda was able to get up to speed on the issues so quickly. This highlights just how out of touch she is. She didn't win because she was involved or knowledgeable. She was the heir apparent from a legislator who ignored her constituency throughout the district. The only people she did anything for was the Fairview section of Greenburgh. How sad a commentary that we go from one poor representative to another.

In spite of all of this, I wish Alfreda and the constituents of District 8 well. But with Alfreda and her ilk in power, it should prove to be a nightmare. Perhaps Rob Astorino, and the other Republican legislators can make a dent and begin turning around our county. The people began to speak in this election and I believe they will be even louder in the next one. I know I will be.

We Must Stop Overdevelopment

In many of our local neighborhoods, and in a broad sense throughout Westchester, we have seen the darkest side of development, human behavior, greed and social engineering run amuck. For example, in the Town of Greenburgh, we've witnessed uncontrolled development with the "sanction" by all the subordinate departments following Paul Feiner's misguided statist lead toward subsidized housing.

In fact, the Greenburgh Planning Board prejudiciously closed the public hearing as a proliferation of questions of the project site plan at 22 Tarrytown Road abound. Several people in the audience objected vehemently when Planning chairwoman Mclaughlin ignored their and several board members' pleas to hold the hearing open, insisting and receiving a motion to close the hearing at breakneck speed. Mclaughlin, whose strings are ostensibly dragged by Supervisor Feiner, could not seem to move fast enough to ignore the objections of so many and hand the silver platter to the developer! I don't know why she continues so anxiously to please the King and his “court” as he and his jesters have already disregarded the Planning Board's recommendation to not change the zoning for this property and then changed it right after reading the recommendation letter openly at a Board meeting. This charade must stop!

In Tarrytown we're witnessing the over-saturation of one of the most beautiful and significant waterfront areas in Westchester with immensely scaled condominiums. To the best of my knowledge, they are expensive; and many units remain vacant. Sleepy Hollow is wrestling with it's own demons as their waterfront property has had a bulls-eye placed on it by developers and their superstructure schemes slowly evolve into more than the area can handle. Why are we allowing developers such a free rein? Many suggest if we don't, then they will leave and build elsewhere. Okay, does that mean there is only one developer in Westchester and we should feel honored that they are here? I don't think so.

Another question is why were none of the housing units there designated as affordable or low income housing A.K.A. subsidized housing? Perhaps because the Village a) didn't think of it; b) thought of it and knew it would devalue the rest of the area they are trying to improve; c) realized that the housing that doesn't get sold might be rented and become Section 8 voucher housing or d) did not want the crime that follows so many of these lower socio-economic renters. Maybe there is an “e, f, g” and more.

There was a study that was conducted recently in Memphis, Tennessee that tracks Section 8 housing, it's voucher participants and the crime that travels with them. In what the study calls the “rabbit ears” affect, when you overlay the high crime areas on top of the Section 8 housing, now located in the suburbs from the inner city, it's the “rabbit ear” exact match! Crime is proven to go up commensurate with Section 8 housing. But that doesn’t mean let’s simple do away with Section 8 housing. Of course there are valid reasons to support some of it.

Just because there is a parcel of land without a building on it, doesn't mean we must build something on it and maximize its use with an out-of-character, over-sized building placed on it. This is why most neighborhoods and thinking people object to many developer plans. It's what has been the over-riding issue at 22 Tarrytown Road. After being punished with Westhab's hapless homeless facility for over 25 years, the neighborhood started to see some relief once the County closed the facility. But giving back to the neighborhood isn't in the cards for this workforce group of people. As they say, no good deed goes unpunished. So, the county purchased the property and gave it to Westhab to develop.

Supervisor Feiner endorses subsidized housing, and came to the neighborhood and said this was workforce housing for Greenburgh's municipal employees and teachers. Then it wasn't. Oops. He lied. Then Westhab’s Robert Sanborn perpetuated the same lie, obviously believing if they say it enough, “everyone” will believe it. But the neighborhood and the surrounding area organizations didn't drink their Kool Aid (not to give Kool Aid a bad name), and knew they had been politically, blatantly, and openly lied to. To spread his standing with the lame-stream media, the supervisor wrote several op-ed pieces pining how the Fulton Park neighborhood were NIMBY's. And yet, all they ever said was build something to scale in the area at 22 Tarrytown Road.

The often pushed-aside-by-Supervisor Feiner, Greenburgh Comprehensive Plan would be a step in the right direction in the Town of Greenburgh as well as one for the County. The Town Board seems to have no issue urinating away $405k on it and then doing what they can to circumvent it before it's adoption for one law firm and it's developer client. People at the Comprehensive planning meetings continue to say the same thing: give us less impervious space, smaller buildings or same-sized buildings to replace what's torn down, more sidewalks, bike paths, parks and green space and less congestion. But alas, the Greenburgh Town Board won't listen. And, they'll continue to travel to the Villages, where they are greeted with open arms as Supervisor Feiner, who continues to praise the Villages he cannot destroy, mock the unincorporated areas he can destroy, and paint the people and findings who participate in the Comprehensive Planning meetings openly as kooks. There's only one real kook here and it’s not the residents.

It's time we change the way government operates. It's time to take out the career politicians and the wannabes who have worked with them for years. We need fresh ideas and people who know how to make tough decisions and take government back and hand it over to the people, where it rightly belongs.

Is Westchester Guilty?

Sure, it's a pretty tough question to answer, and for most thinking people his HUD settlement plea certainly is an admission of guilt, regardless of the terms of the settlement. Whatever Andy Spano or the other legislators claim, when you settle any suit, even with the inclusion of a "no admission of guilt" clause, you've admitted guilt! He's just trying to "hedge his (compensatory) bet."

I don't believe Westchester is racist, and yes, there is certainly an economic divide. Even if Andy Spano admits he and his failed incumbent board of legislators are racists through this settlement, will a complacent electorate return them the to business as usual on November 3? As they scamper away with their political tail between their legs toward the darkness of say, New Jersey, where shenanigans like this may be acceptable, will Westchester ever get past this uncaring and apathetic routine? I hope so. It's why I'm running for office.

Westchester County is comprised of a very diverse group of peoples. My neighborhood exemplifies this as do so many others. But there is a commonality as well. The people owning homes here, work for everything they get. Many of us struggle, living paycheck to paycheck and fear what may happen if their health and/or employment fails. Yet, they persevere and they really ARE the community they live in. They are not subsidized by government and yet government insists they subsidize others. Why? Because it's the incumbents way of buying more votes through dependency. We know it works - just look at how long so many have stayed in office.

There is an incumbency, no pun intended, to help others in need, whenever possible. But our system for helping others has evolved from a temporary helping hand, to one of dependency, and a multi-million dollar cradle-to-the-grave industry. On top of that, when you saddle private industry with an inordinate amount of regulations, the small companies, or "the little guys" get wiped into oblivion. These are the businesses that need the assistance of government, not to be strangled by it. They are the ones that can help these same people in need the most, through employment, to improve their lives. I'm pretty sure the system as it is now is not what our founding leaders envisioned America would become.

So, is Andy Spano admitting he is a racist? I think he is. To say lets settle this lawsuit is disingenuous to the majority of good people in Westchester. We sit at the crest of the tide of political correctness because of a racist decision, made by a liberal judge with an agenda. This is an issue purely of economics and whether or not you can afford to own property in the southern part of New York State. If you cannot, you can rent an apartment and still live here. There is no "right" to own property as some would suggest. But if you want to own property, go to school, get a good viable education, get a job, work hard and save. And when the right time comes, you can purchase what you can afford, be it a co-op, condominium or a house, anywhere you want. Until then, people in power should rethink, retool and reduce some of the programs that encourage recipients to do nothing and be rewarded for it.

As we retool, rethink and reduce, we should take these same people and insist they go back to school and/or learn a trade so that eventually, they will not be a burden on society, but a contributor to it. Westchester is not racist - it is rich. Rich with ideas, rich with entrepreneurs and self-starters who buckled down and achieved a lot and rich with charity. Our burden of entitlements, created and bastardized by our politicians, needs to change if we are to turn the tide that the elitists have shoved down our throats. And for those that truly need help, we will always be there to offer assistance.

Failing Spano Administration Does It Again!

Last week, the failing Spano administration paid $750,000 to do a fly-over of Westchester to photograph all the homes and buildings in it. Why? There is a proposal in the County Legislature to enact a bill into law allowing the County to do a county-wide revaluation of all real estate properties in Westchester. This aerial photography will be used to compare homes and buildings once they enact their legislation. They'll do another fly-over and compare the images to see who has built onto their property or not, and then they'll raise your taxes. This bill enables them to do this every two years! Wow! What about home rule?

If you are still having difficulty swallowing this, keep in mind that there is a New York State law mandating revaluation every two years. But, amazingly, not many towns and villages will do it for the obvious reasons: the politicians will lose votes if taxes increase. How does it work? Well, if we had kept up with revaluations regularly, the changes in taxes would be minimal. But, using myself as an example, my home is valued at $10,000. A "reval" might see that go up substantially. Because I work, I may (or may not) be able to afford it. My parents home, which they've been in for about 50 years, may have been valued at $5,000. Like most seniors on a fixed income, any increase could be devastating for them. Seniors will be impacted the most severely. Most politicians know that more seniors vote than kids. Most kids don't own a home or property. So, as you do the math, you can see how this is a nightmare for politicians.

In the end, the Spano administration is spending our tax dollars to spy on us from the air. They found a way to raise our taxes that they didn't have before. They've got some nerve.

Westchester is the highest taxed county in the nation! This has to stop! We need to vote out all of the incumbents and give our county back to the people who support it. It's time for us to be heard!

Oversaturation of the Rt.119 Corridor

As I travel throughout District #8, and speak with many residents, I'm surprised and frankly, dismayed at how many people are not aware of the County's and the local Towns and Villages Board's eagerness to build on any open space, creating huge, apartment style buildings.

There is a County initiative to build affordable housing apartments along Rt. 119 from the Marriot Hotel, westbound to Rt 9, in Tarrytown. From there their plan is to head north along Rt. 9 on the Hudson River to Peekskill. Can the two-lane Rt.9 handle much more traffic? Can Rt.119 handle any more? I don't think so. When Police Officer Christopher Ridley was tragically shot and killed in White Plains, and White Plains PD basically shut down traffic, the repercussions were felt across the Hudson River as far as the Airmont Road exit on the Thruway. I know because I was stuck in it.

Many are aware of what's been referred to as the Stop and Shop project, roughly where the old Premier Theater used to be. But Stop and Shop is a convenient smokescreen I believe is being perpetrated by DelBello Donnellan Weingarten Wise and Wiederkehr, LLP. They want a zoning change and are not concerned about what the neighborhoods and their people want or say.

There are several factors here in play. To the best of my knowledge and it's my opinion, here's what I have found out while attending over a years worth of Greenburgh, Elmsford, Irvington Town Board meetings:

1) White Hickory's (herein WH) attorneys, DelBello Donnellan Weingarten Wise and Wiederkehr, LLP (herein DelBello), requested this project stop being referred to as The Stop and Shop project. My understanding for this is because they are not obligated to, or want to, commit to building a (Stop and Shop) supermarket at this location. They could build a supermarket there. They have requested a zoning change and are pushing the Greenburgh Town Board (herein GTB) to act on it asap. The reason is they would like to have this done quickly is they need it done before the Greenburgh Comprehensive Plan is adopted.

2) A Comprehensive Plan severely limits what can be built as the governing body must maintain the zoning in place when the plan was adopted - forcing the current zoning to stay as is and not easily able to be changed. Greenburgh Supervisor Paul Feiner is racing through the Town of Greenburgh's unincorporated areas doing what I believe are illegal spot zoning for developers under the guise of developing homeless-affordable-workforce-Section8 housing and "taxables" for the zoning is locked in by the Comprehensive Plan. The plan should be ready shortly.

Why would any politician do this? I cannot say for sure, but possible Greenburgh Supervisor candidate Patricia Weems always says its about money or power. She's probably right.

3) The County has executed a study to see how viable it would be to utilize unused parking spaces in office parks to build apartment buildings. Their misguided thought was that residents of the apartments will park in the fewer available parking spaces at night. When they go to work in the morning, a worker from the office park will slip into that now unoccupied space. They claim this would be young urban people, not families with kids who will live here. Is it any wonder the County is the highest taxed county in the USA?

4) Everyone that I've discussed this with doesn't mind development. It's OVERdevelopment they are against. This is what the failing Spano administration is doing to our neighborhoods, our lifestyles and the quality of life in Westchester. We have traffic congestion that at times makes traffic in NYC seem like the Indianapolis 500. It's time for a change. We need to throw the incumbents out. It's time for US to be heard!

County Government Raises

Our current county government legislators clearly do not get it. If they did, they would not be raising taxes, increasing spending, raising their salaries and increasing their expenses! They would, in today's economy, vociferously, vigorously and without question announce that they are refusing a raise and looking to make cuts everywhere! But their egos and their lack of understanding of what the “right thing” is, and their lack of understanding of what the average person is going through, won't allow it. It's simply (monkey) business as usual. I'm an average guy who is constantly doing without one more thing just to get by and pay my bills. If you ran any kind of business the way these people run county government, it would be out of business quickly.

Part of the issue is the lack of checks and balances that have been removed from all of our systems of government. When we were in school, we all learned about balance, a two (or multiple) party system and the benefits thereof. We are experiencing the socialist, one-party rule at the local, county, state and federal levels by only having democrats in power. This must change. It's time to be heard!

Ghandi said, "Be the change you want to see in your world." I believe in this and want to see my family's and my son's future world, be a good, affordable one that treats people with courtesy and respect. We haven't had this for some time now. Vote for me for 8th District County Legislator and help me bring government back to 'We the People'.

"Fed Up and Unwilling to be Ignored. It's Time to be Heard!"

We Must Reduce the Size of County Government

I believe we can. The biggest and most challenging aspect of this goal is that it must be a bi-partisan effort. I agree with Rob Astorino, our candidate for County Legislator, that we must stop the tax madness in Westchester and New York state. But, the initial stage will require the voice of the people (read Vox Populi @ Westchester Herald (www.WHYTMedia.typepad.com) to push all the legislators to start by cutting the pork we have in government. Do we really need someone being paid to deal with movie companies making movies in Westchester? Maybe we do, but why pick on one position. We need to reevaluate all positions.

After we start trimming do-nothing, patronage and unnecessary positions, we can go after the programs that are redundant, not successful or producing a cost-effective return, outdated, and most importantly, duplicated. As we begin this trimming, we should be able to at least hold our taxes where they are. As we continue to trim, we should slowly begin to see our taxes go down. It took years for the democratically controlled legislature to get us here and it will be difficult, but not impossible to to reverse this trend.

A large portion of my district, District 8, is a low income area and the recipient of many dollars for many people. It will be difficult, but not impossible for us to address this without displacing or hurting our recipients. But government cannot continue a cradle-to-the-grave environment forever. We are now paying the price for that. Plus, there are many options from the private sector that may accomplish the same things that don't cost as much or anything.

Help me by joining my campaign. If you agree with me, great! If you don't agree, feel free to disagree, but offer me a real solution, not talking points, and I'll listen with an open mind. You can also email me at ElectTomBock@gmail.com.