Free country. Free to read or not read. But if you still don't get it, the "owner" is not a private person or corporation but the Town of Greenburgh. The "noise" that bothers you exists only because the Town of Greenburgh in the person of its 22 year incompetent, Paul Feiner, has a problem when it comes to law, fairness and truth. The story keeps appearing with new chapters because of its twists and turns and these due entirely to Feiner. Another story you're probably sick of is the disposition of the former WestHELP 108 units which until October 2011 brought the Town $12,000,000 of revenue over 10 years. By not renewing their lease, Feiner has kept the property vacant and subject to unchecked deterioration while he has twisted and turned to maintain this state of vacancy and bring $0 revenue to the Town ever since. If you recall the stories about the lame duck proposed tenant with an empty wallet, Ferncliff Manor, you may recall that they could not find anyplace else in Westchester. I refer you to today's (Sunday) Journal News to learn what's been available to Ferncliff all along. Still another ongoing story you're not so aware of is the Fortress Bible lawsuit which the Church won against the Town. The reason you don't have to suffer through the strung-out details in print is that despite the Town losing the lawsuit and losing on appeal, the award for damages is been quietly negotiated by the Town at a snail's pace due to Feiner facing an opponent, Bob Bernstein, in Feiner's bid to continue his mayhem for years 23 and 24. There is little doubt that the cost of Fortress Bible to Greenburgh taxpayers will be upwards of $5,000,000 plus legal costs and all of this uninsured because the Town's insurance does not cover violating the U.S. Constitution (religion) while common sense, or law, does not reconcile itself easily to Feiner's willful destruction of evidence and obfuscation of testimony. Spoonfuls of sugar, like Certificates of Appreciation to Girl Scouts does not make the medicine go down. But one day you will be bothered by reading the end of story finally breaking and your wallet starts paying out the awarded dollars. Yes, complaining about never-ending stories can be your sense of purpose. If this really bothers you, let me propose one sure-fire way to end this annoyance: Fire Feiner as Town Supervisor. You can do this by voting for Bob Bermstein in the September Democratic Primary and again in the November Election. Even the Daily Voice will have to acknowledge this event. Hal Samis View Comment

Enough already. One has to wonder why the Daily Voice Reporter is so insistent on providing false information to readers. Since I know for a fact that he has read comments which point out his errors; indeed information that is contrary to what he himself has written when the first GameOn offer to purchase was announced makes his continued effort to alter the truth even more suspect. Not even Feiner would deny that Mr. LoPriore is wrong. The first GameOn 365 offer to purchase (December/January) was for $1,650,000 which was new information to residents that the Town had dropped the idea of leasing. Shiortly thereafter, House of Sports, realizing that the property was now for sale submitted its own offer of $3,500,000. Why does Mr. LoPriore still write that House of Sports responded to GameOn's offer of $3,000,000 which for months before was still at the original $1,650,000. One could excuse getting it wrong once; but when it appears again as it does today one might assume that to supplement his low wages from the Daily Voice, perhaps he is accepting a paycheck from GameOn 365 as well. One also has to question whether he ever troubled to read the Contract of Sale offered to Game On. If GameOn had closed on the sale they would have paid the Town $1,700,000 not $3,000,000. If wishes were horses, if I were a rich man, if Pinocchio had wished upon a star, if Dewey had won, if the "North" had won the Civil War...perhaps Game On would have eventually paid the Town another $1,300,000 but it is absolute black ink contract fact that if Game On paid the Town $1,700,000, closed title and had never done another thing but sit there, the only money the Town would receive is $1,700,000 plus any annual INCREASE ONLY, not the full amount but ONLY THE INCREASE in property taxes. A sale is a sale and the recorded price would be but $1,700,000 -- this helping to keep the increase down. What is so hard to understand about this. And GameOn is under no obligation to do anything if they choose to let the land lie fallow in the manner of a passive investment. Is this not the road once travelled by the Town of Greenburgh which purchased 200 acres of land at the behest of the East Irvington School District and then called it Taxter Ridge Park where no taxpayers are welcome. Why does Mr. LoPriore strive so hard to portray Game On in a favorable light? Why does Mr. LoPriore write compliments about his articles and use a screen name to do hide that he is the author of these compliments? It appears that Mr. LoPriore owes readers and his employer an apology because if this is tolerable behavior at the Daily Voice, readers would do well to maintain their distance. By no measure can this be called "a failure to communicate". This is deliberate fabrication and the Daily Voice should no longer tolerate this. Hal Samis View Comment

Now let's just go out on a limb and assume that "bornagain" is none other than Mr. LoPriore who has chosen to support his own work but withhold his identity. One might even go so far as to click on born-again's links to previous comments on this website. Naughty, naughty: use a screen name when liking your own work and just like ordinary readers, Mr. LoPriore too can get emails when comments are made; more so if they happen to be about on his stories. Yes, don't count me as a fan of Feiner. Absolutely, positively I am not. But as far as you see, is there anything that I have written that is untrue or false? So if you want to question my objectivity is there some basis for you to write that? One can be opposed yet still objective which is why when I write against Feiner that I use a words to make my case, hopefully airtight. Sorry that you missed the more complete story in The Journal News because that is such an obscure, unknown publication locally. And thanks for the comment referring to the article here as though you were viewing it from afar and divining its purpose. Naughty, naughty again. Yes the article is the lead in to comments but then an accurate and unbiased article would also be an opportunity to comment. But perhaps the three emails from Feiner was the inspiration which threw you off the track and why you missed the big story. Of course, you have an explanation that perhaps the threat of another lawsuit was what moved Feiner. That would be good news since Feiner's track record in Court at taxpayer expense has not been "awesome". But somehow I kind of like the explanation that he found himself high and dry when his friends abandoned him for a parallel march down the aisle. As for House of Sports, they're kind of in the position of being second choice (not for want of funds) and left jilted at the altar when Feiner's heart was pledged to another. Now we have perhaps a new wedding, the jilted Mr. Feiner pledging his troth to the jilted House of Sports. But don't despair there's plenty of opportunity for an energized Jimmy Olsen to file an original story. Let's get out that pad and pencil and find out what the deal is between GameOn 365 and the driving range. Is it a sale with money changing hands and deeds being recorded? How much money and when is it to close? What's the enviro status under those range markers? Contamination has been know to travel. Or, has a new joint venture been formed in lieu of an outright sale? There are plenty of questions in need of answers. One could even go directly to the sources and bypass Mr. Feiner entirely. You could even begin the back story by watching the end of 5 minute public comment from the last Town Board meeting. One of the last comments is made by a man dressed up for the occasion like a businessman. Oddly enough he is supportive of the GameOn 365 proposal and its eight story structure. Isn't that fortunate since he is the owner of the driving range. Or you wait for the good news from Feiner. View Comment

The second paragraph does NOT say it all. It reads as though first came an offer from GameOn 365 which was then topped by House of Sports with $500,000 more. Like there was an auction underway. What would be accurate is that first there was $3,500,000 from House of Sports which was then UNDERBID by GameOn 365 (call their offer either $1,700,000 or $3,000,000) and it was the lower offer that Feiner accepted.. And that House of Sports, out of petulance, threatened a lawsuit because it didn't get its way. Were taxpayers pocketbooks being considered? Both uses were for sports facilities so that was not an issue despite Feiner only talking about GameOn 365 as though it were the only piece missing from his sports corridor and that the House of Sports piece wouldn't fit. House of Sports had good reason to threaten a lawsuit; in the Fall they did similarly and on solid grounds (why there is now a sale and not a lease) both then and now. However, the impression most readers would get is that those filing a lawsuit do so because they are contentious and obstructionist. As for the notion of forum, not every reader gets as far as the forum portion and the hosting organ still has the edge since readers presume that the "reporter" has done his homework which is often not the case. Even though I sympathize and acknowledge that reporters here are not given much real estate (word count) to present the story, there is no justification in this instance to omit that Feiner is now accepting the offer only because he has no choice -- there is no other buyer. The subject property is "damaged goods" under its current residential zoning: who would build homes on contaminated land, under EMT power lines AND with an eight story team sports bubble going up next door. As a commercial use, House of Sports + GameOn 365 + Fortress Bible (1/8th a mile distant) = Dobbs Ferry Road, the parking lot. In any case, it is not the forum I am criticizing but the gateway. Right DL? View Comment

You wouldn't know from how the article is written (some would say on purpose) that House of Sports had offered $3,500,000, all cash, months ago -- countering GameOn 365's offer of $1,650,000. And you wouldn't know from how the article is written that GameOn 365's offer was not $3,000,000 but $1,700,000. Nor would you know that the missing $1,300,000 was only conditional and in the form of an unsecured promissory note paid over 12 years and, that the way the deal was structured was so that the Town of Greenburgh would receive less in property taxes as would the taxing districts (School, Fire, Sewer) and the County because a factor in assessment is the recorded sales price. Lower assessment = less taxes paid by GameOn 365 = more money that individual taxpayers have to pay to compensate for the gift to GameOn 365. Even the promissory note vs. a mortgage was done to avoid paying mortgage tax (which would be revenue to the town and this way the land itself becomes the security backing the mortgage). Instead if you read the article you will get the impression (intended) that House of Sports topped the GameOn 365 offer and that Feiner did the right thing by taking the highest offer. Nothing could be further from the truth. Crooked is as crooked does. IN FACT WHAT YOU HAVEN'T READ AT ALL IS THAT GAMEON 365 HAS STRUCK A DEAL WITH THE ADJACENT PROPERTY, THE DRIVING RANGE, AND AS A RESULT FEINER IS NOW PREPARED TO TAKE THE HIGHEST OFFER WHICH HAS BEEN BEFORE HIM BUT IGNORED SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR!!! Readers should be concerned not only with why Feiner was so determined to get in bed with GameOn 365 but also why this online newspaper slants their "news" stories to portray Feiner in a favorable light? Is it because Feiner sends out press releases almost twice a day and thus saves their "reporters" the trouble of actually looking for news? Yes, these Daily Voices have filed for bankruptcy and operating on a shoestring. Perhaps were they more balanced and thus more relevant they would have more appeal to advertisers. However, given how they have chosen to do the things they do, readers are advised to take what appears with a grain of salt. There are other places to look if you're interested in getting the truth. Pizzaman said quite a mouthful. Had he given us the whole pie instead of tempting readers with only a slice he might have mentioned that Feiner is facing real competition this fall; that voters finally have a choice and that if voters can just manage to read between the lines in these "articles" they only need insert Bob Bernstein for Town Supervisor to understand what is really going on. What appears on these pages is not the true story but a fairy tale intended to portray a frog as a handsome prince. Hal Samis View Comment

Congrats to Feiner for doing twice as good at the caucus. If 2 is now his luckiest number then I hope he will be as happy coming in second in the Primary and the November election. And for Edgemont residents, there are two ways to get rid of Feiner. Incorporation or electing Bernstein. The second is the kindlier method in that it will benefit all of Greenburgh. Too little, too late and too-da-loo, to two-faced Paul Feiner. Hal Samis View Comment

Daily Voice: Rest in Peace May 2013 View Comment

The very first person that should be sending questions to the Town Board is the one who is trying to pass himself as even a reporter, certainly not as a journalist. Imagine describing one plan as $350,000 (annual rent in each of 18 years) and another as $2,000,000 which is the entire rent for 18 years. Clearly there are answers that this staffer was too busy to ask about or even to go to the website and read the proposals himself OR even to read the detailed emails explaining the differences -- sent to him by yours truly. I give up. Mr. Feiner has won; he has the Daily Voice all to himself and readers can continue to suffer from its lack of interest. When an online publication starts putting obits on the front page, it is a sure sign that its own will follow. I shall not return. Hal Samis View Comment

white man burden View Comment

So here we have a settlement that shouldn't be a settlement and, to make sure that everyone concerned is aware that Westchester doesn't mean what it agrees to, the County is going sue the Federal Government? Let's get beyond the fairness or non-fairness, applicability, practicality, etc. of the terms and envision what traveling this new toll road entails. First of all, there is no EZ Pass and this route is not a 8 lane super highway. This is going to tie the County Executive and County staff up for years. Secondly, this is going to be costly. Probably far more than the cost of acquiring a few parcels of land in the "forbidden zones". Third, this is going to end up in the Supreme Court as a test of whether or not local governments have the right to exclude affordable housing within their borders. Lastly (in terms of gut reaction), this is going to focus national media attention on Westchester County as the new "South" populated by nouveau riche suburban style plantation owners fighting to keep the "lower" classes from using sacred schools to gain a foothold out of the educational ghettos that contain the less well-off in the poorer parts of the County. What's next? Gates at County borders to ward off immigrants? View Comment

One would think that on such a controversial issue, an issue dating back two years (19 months without revenue to the Town) that the Town Supervisor would go beyond his cover story that he is merely conducting "due diligence". The current round featured "questions" asked of applicants; the answers tendered last Friday. The Public knows neither the "questions" nor the questions NOT ASKED. The answers? Again, only the Town Board knows. From Feiner's comment here, it appears that a new round is in store. A new round which will again feature "questions" unknown to the public and again "answers" unknown to the public. And, more predictably, the public won't know what is often the more telling: the questions not asked. All of this secrecy in an atmosphere already polluted by the knowledge that all Feiner really wants to do is that which Mayfair-Knollwood wants -- and he, Feiner, is willing to subordinate the use and diminish revenue to the Town in allegiance to this pursuit. It doesn't help the situation knowing that Town Clerk Judith Beville, former member of the Valhalla School Board, is likely adding her "opinions" under the covers of Executive Session. Furthermore, with the root doubt that none of this is REQUIRED as privileged Executive Session discussion (there are no trade secrets herein, especially when the applicants have already submitted detailed proposals by a deadline, one can only imagine the worst as the likely result. But there's more and that has to do with the typical Feiner person and his predeliction to avoiding the truth at all cost: never tell the truth when a lie will suffice. Read his comment again: he "anticipates no vote (today)"; why can't he just say "there will be no vote today"? Then, "there are some additional questions we will be asking applicants". How so, Mr. Feiner, you neither released information to the public beforehand and thus ruled out any help from the public (inviting the inevitable "gotcha") and you also failed to anticipate the need for the Town to do its portion of the homework obtaining information that was not available in any definitive form by a mere phone call. Questions and answers that should have been available before the RFP went out but you were so cocksure that Ferncliff would be the one that you never even started the Town's exploration of how to market the property. And despite your earlier assurance to departing Feiner followers that you were now on track to bring home the bacon to needy Greenburgh breakfasters, you first threw up a roadblock with an "on call" bidder and thereafter, after his hasty departure on the early stage outta Greenburgh, you made the first of thereafter postponed "pledges" to get a tenant signed up. March 30 was your first pledge date and now we witness, as of this comment" that "we HOPE to be able to make a decision next week" which residents have already heard weekly since. Were this merely your commitment to undertake due diligence, I would be sympathetic as the idea of doing such (in other hands) is admirable. However in your presence, due diligence only masks your incompetence in not even knowing the right questions to ask and not having answers to the applicants' questions already available in-house. This is why the Work Session discussions are now held in Executive Session: so as not to expose your ignorance and obfuscation to the viewing public. Two weeks ago, the Work Session revealed that you had no idea of how to go about the process; that the Town had not done its share of the prep work and now this impression is even more fixed. Whatever happened to your protestations that yours was an "open" government? On the other hand, given your earliest resolve to see no affordable housing return to this site, it is not out of the questions to see this matter drag on until the November balloting result and reduce further the Lease remainder. Not so? Residents need only compare the WESTHelp situation to the lack of progress and the attending news blackout regarding the former Frank's Nursery parcel. Or, for that matter, the three years+ oft delayed closing of the former Water Wheel property in Ardsley. How say you, Mr. Town Supervisor? Hal Samis View Comment

And not one word from this reporter that the Town Board has refused to share with the public the reasons they have selected one company over another. There was no basis to hold this discussion in Executive Session: the answers, indeed even the questions, are not shielded information. A closed government can operate when the media fail in their responsibilities to provide readers with any background beyond that which come to them via a press release from Feiner. All sunshine, lollipops and rainbows on this website. Hal Samis View Comment

another weekly story just about the week's stories and setting the stage for the month's top stories, the year's top stories and the story about the top weekly stories. all the result of a predisposition to avoid serious topics Hal Samis View Comment

Still waiting for an explanation in public of why the Library was closed Sundays for four years when now it is open at a cost of only $15,000. The Library should not get a free ride for this and not have to account for their negligence. Unfortunately, this is not what the Daily Voice is about. Fans of the Library should be aware that at one point the Library had over $450,000 of excess funds; claimed poverty and remained closed on Sunday. Isn't anyone just the slightest bit curious? Hal Samis View Comment

The Town Announcement (below sent April 12 and "reported" (above) by Danny LoPriore. The Greenburgh Water Department announces the annual maintenance program to operate and flush fire hydrants for the week beginning Tuesday, April 23, 2013 thru Friday, May 10, 2013. This action is necessary to make sure the fire hydrants are in good working order in case of emergencies and to help flush sediment out of the distribution system. The hydrant flushing and operating action will take place during the day from 9:30 A.M. to 2:30 P.M. Greenburgh Water District Customers in the neighborhoods listed and the immediate vicinity should expect temporary periods of discolored water and lowered pressure resulting from this maintenance operation. This discoloration consists primarily of harmless silt and air and does not affect the safety of the water. For further information, customers may contact the Greenburgh Water Department at 914-993-1592 or visit the Town website www.greenburghny.com. KNOLLWOOD AREA MAYFAIR ACRES, including roads near Knollwood Road, Manor Drive, Buena Vista Drive and Chelsea Road. PARKWAY HOME S, including roads near Hillside Avenue, Old Tarrytown Road, North Road, South Road, Maryton Road, Lawrence Drive, Virginia Road. VALIMAR WYNDOVER PARK, including roads near Old Kensico Road, County Center Road, Winnetou Road, and The Woodlands. View Comment

sunshine possible later this week snow possible later this week hurricane possible later this week sandstorm possible later this week real news possible later this week View Comment

"It's a start'? "Startling" would be the correct term to describe a negotiation that commenced in 2010 and yields this result. How many decades does the Town Supervisor anticipate at this rate to get to what he implies would be the "finish". And for starters (taxpayer's view), please tell us who on the Town Board is participating in the insurance buyout and who on the Town Board is enrolled in the Town Plan while their it is their spouses (out of the limelight) who have accepted buyouts from their employment. Who on the Town Board is already getting a free ride: buyout AND free health insurance? I know you'll be back to see any replies. Be sure to return with the answers on your next visit. Hal Samis View Comment

How interesting. Every past budget season Town Supervisor Feiner was quick to point out that there was a wage freeze in effect. This said knowing that promotions to a higher pay grade and step increases were still inviolate. But what readers see here is the obligation of town employees to pay toward the cost of their health care (family plans included) at the rate of 1% of their salary. So for argument sake if a family plan were to cost the Town say $15,000 or perhaps more, then an employee earning $50,000 would contribute 1% of his salary or $500. Not a bad deal. And the good news is that absent a salary increase in 2010, employees will not be asked to contribute to their health insurance (1%) until 2011 when a 1.5% pay increase kicks in. A net gain of at least $250 in 2011. A net gain of $825 in 2012 etc. This is admittedly inaccurate in favor of the CSEA in that I have held the salary at $50,000 which if the salary plus current year increase taking place as of January 1 is matched against the health care 1% computed on the prior year's salary the situation is even better for employees. In other words while starting January 1 they are entitled to their higher salary of the new year while their health insurance premium is calculated on the lower earnings of the previous year. Tough bargainer that Feiner. And slipped in quietly and available to all employees because of matching requirements is the insurance buyout increasing from 40% to 50% which means that for a family plan costing the Town, say, $15,000, the buyout went from $6000 to $7500 a 25% increase. Does this matter, why would anyone choose the buyout? Anyone, say certain members of the Town Board, who have spouses eligible for the same plan (perhaps one offered by NYS) and thus anyone not needing redundant coverage or anyone already eligible for free lifetime coverage would benefit by taking the buyout. Or anyone on the Town Board who was already receiving free lifetime health insurance from prior employment with the Town. Now I'm not going to reveal names but readers are free to ask them directly or even FOIL for the information if they doubt the answer they are given. Say wasn't it an earlier Town Council which voted to make themselves eligible for these goodies even though their part-time positions average but 10 yours a week. Less when the Town Board meeting only lasts 7 minutes for the three members present from the start. Yeah, the remuneration for the Town Council is already munificent so why am I even taking notice of the CSEA contract. Given the meager salaries of most civil service positions I have no problem with their getting raises but perhaps these raises should be conditioned on a known index like the CPI or the same measure that Social Security uses. Why would I suggest this? Because that would take all the fun away from Town Supervisor who gets to preach the austerity of a salary freeze and then restores it retroactively. And for all the oomph and ahs of working without a contract and the emotional hardships it invokes, in the end it all comes out just the same and everyone goes home to their little boxes. Meanwhile, here we have a new contract (applause) one which expires in less than two years and in less time than it took to negotiate. How so, Mr. Feiner. And can we expect a similar showtime for 2015 and beyond? Meanwhile less obvious is that Department Heads, not themselves CSEA members, also get to the same raises, fair is fare when their ride is picked up by taxpayers. Here a 1.5% increase on say $130,000 yields real money $1950 which won't change anyone's life already earning $130,000, now just under $132,000 but a heck of a lot better than $50,000 increasing to $50,500. Oh yes, elected officials are not participating in these raises but they have their own roads to enrichment absent an Ethics Board with a pulse and b---s. Of course with a 7 minute Town Board meeting, none of this was revealed. And I'm not about to spoil the party with a discussion of pension benefits or how many work days in a work year or even how much wood can a woodchuck chuck. Hal Samis View Comment

Since the Voice is cooking with leftovers, my original comment from the first story applies here as well: There's never a time when commissioned sales agents discourage transactions. Their logic born of need is: the seller should never wait for a higher price while the buyer should buy now before prices go higher. Yes sales do occur and for every buyer there is a seller and for every seller there is a buyer: otherwise there would not be a sale, or a purchase. Thus all these false scientific portrayals of activity serve one purpose only: to generate commissions. Seldom is one transaction a direct comparison with another. Likewise, it would seem that if interest rates are low, as they are, that prices are what they are because of low rates; hence if rates move higher (little room to go down), prices will come down and if prices come down, then higher interest rates on the need for fewer borrowed dollars should complete the picture. Forget the so-called "market" as told to you by commission hungry sales agents. Instead make your decision as a buyer on what you can afford and how it solves your needs or as a seller what your needs are and whether offers received will solve them. The "market" at any point in time is only the meeting of the minds -- the minds that are meeting (in agreement) over one specific property. This scenario never changes; wishes don't become horses and no one can put humpty dumpty back together again. Your only concern as buyer and seller is what someone is willing to pay -- that's the only market that counts. In a more liquid market, the price is what someone will wlling to pay; if no buyers at that price, maybe the price will come down or not. But for certain, last year's price, last month's price, an hour ago price has absolutely no relevance. In illiquid markets like residential real estate which generally are not income producing purchases but rather shelter, sales agents lack a plausible explanation for events so they resort to meaningless conversational but useless chatter to hide that their industry is based upon perceived rather than objective values. Everything else (woulda.shoulda) is noise. Don't pay the pipers for playing their song. View Comment

There's never a time when commissioned sales agents discourage transactions. Their logic born of need is: the seller should never wait for a higher price while the buyer should buy now before prices go higher. Yes sales do occur and for every buyer there is a seller and for every seller there is a buyer: otherwise there would not be a sale, or a purchase. Thus all these false scientific portrayals of activity serve one purpose only: to generate commissions. Seldom is one transaction a direct comparison with another. Likewise, it would seem that if interest rates are low, as they are, that prices are what they are because of low rates; hence if rates move higher (little room to go down), prices will come down and if prices come down, then higher interest rates on the need for fewer borrowed dollars should complete the picture. Forget the so-called "market" as told to you by commission hungry sales agents. Instead make your decision as a buyer on what you can afford and how it solves your needs or as a seller what your needs are and whether offers received will solve them. The "market" at any point in time is only the meeting of the minds -- the minds that are meeting (in agreement) over one specific property. This scenario never changes; wishes don't become horses and no one can put humpty dumpty back together again. Your only concern as buyer and seller is what someone is willing to pay -- that's the only market that counts. In a more liquid market, the price is what someone will wlling to pay; if no buyers at that price, maybe the price will come down or not. But for certain, last year's price, last month's price, an hour ago price has absolutely no relevance. In illiquid markets like residential real estate which generally are not income producing purchases but rather shelter, sales agents lack a plausible explanation for events so they resort to meaningless conversational but useless chatter to hide that their industry is based upon perceived rather than objective values. Everything else (woulda.shoulda) is noise. Don't pay the pipers for playing their song. View Comment