Unpersuaded by Untruths and Bad Counsel

OP ED

There comes to hand Georgianna Grant’s vituperative letter in the November 29 issue of The Gazette. In this defamatory missive, she refers to “a small fearful group of Harmon naysayers and prophets of doom” and characterizes their Article 78 action as an “expensive trumped-up lawsuit against legitimate rezoning” and as an “arrogant and presumptive insult to the rest of us.” Any so-called “insult” to Croton’s citizens was committed by the Planning and Village Boards.

Mrs. Grant goes on to counsel the Village Board to “countersue the plaintiffs both collectively and individually and hold them responsible for obstruction of the duly authorized zoning change.”

Mrs. Grant was a longtime trustee and voted for passage of the ridiculous Gateway Law, which contains the patently impractical FAR (Floor Area Ratio) chosen by Mrs. Gallelli and blessed by the Planning Board. It literally brought new development in Croton to a standstill in the eight years since its passage.

One reason Mrs. Grant and others are anxious to silence opponents is that a principal provision of the Harmon mixed-use proposal is a face-saving correction of the embarrassingly gross FAR error.

The numbers of the group are not small but legion. Mrs. Grant is proof incarnate that no one succeeds in making fools of themselves quite like public officials who prodigiously alter the facts and then go on to dishonor themselves by dispensing bad counsel.

It so happens that an Article 78 action is the only remedy prescribed by New York State law for citizens aware that proper procedures have not been followed in the passage of legislation. It also so happens that the group Mrs. Grant so maliciously defames has thus far prevailed in their prosecution of the Article 78 action.

What appalls in such stuff is not only that her facts are wrong but that her advice is stupid. Mrs. Grant foolishly counsels the Village to violate the civil rights of members of the opposition group by means of punitive countersuits. The Constitution’s protections of freedom of expression are beyond dispute so universal as to shield members of the opposition group from special scrutiny and sanction.

In today’s highly litigious atmosphere, one hesitates to imagine the result if lawmakers were allowed to countersue with impunity those citizens who bring charges of misfeasance to the attention of the courts.

If Mrs. Grant is serious in her concern over the undisclosed cost of defending improperly drawn legislation, her advice should be for the Village to ensure that what passes for planning in Croton is properly drawn up as prescribed by law. The Village should also eliminate the wasteful spending on consultants hired so frequently at the drop of the proverbial hat. The $100,000 paid for the totally useless joke of a station garage feasibility study is a glaring case in point.

Empty Promises: The Bike Lane to Nowhere

OP ED

In what passes for planning in this benighted village, Croton is once again backing into a deal in which it lacks control of the ultimate cost or consequences.

I refer to the proposed drastic overhaul of Croton Point Avenue to solve a traffic problem that arises briefly five mornings a week and recurs on five evenings—the latter without the pressure of having to catch a train.

The plan sacrifices on-street parking for businesses on the north side of the avenue and designates a short bike lane of doubtful utility along the south side. Typically, no study or survey was made to determine (1) the effect of this arbitrary design on businesses or (2) the potential number of users of such a bike lane.

It is imprudent to spend huge sums and deny everyone the right to park on certain village roadways at any time to create a fragmentary bike lane for a tiny number of seasonally commuting bike riders.

The village board should consider several other suggestions made at the recent public information session about this project, many of which could alleviate the current situation without expending millions of residents’ tax dollars.

A dozen years ago, recuperating from replacement of both hips, I decided to return to biking to build up my thigh muscles. An experienced cross-country bicyclist in my younger years, I felt competent to resume the sport. I bought a sleek new bike and helmet and set off on a daily ride through Croton’s streets. My skills quickly returned, but I soon discovered hidden dangers.

Automobiles and bicycles are not a good mix on Croton’s narrow streets. Parked cars make it impossible for bicyclists to keep close to the right-hand curb. And Croton’s curbside drains can be lethal for narrow-tired bicycles. Even more threatening were boorish drivers who came up close behind me and sounded an impatient peremptory blast of their horns for me to get out of their way.

The greatest threat came from drivers who lacked the ability to pass a moving bicycle without endangering the rider. After a couple of scary close calls with side mirrors, I decided to resume stationary biking at the Premier Athletic Club.

Many states and communities have passed bike laws that define bicycles as vehicles with rights to the roads and set reasonable rules for bicyclists and motorists. Colorado’s bike law, for example, requires drivers to pass bicycles no closer than three feet. The League of American Bicyclists recommends four feet.

Before it attempts to encourage biking by scattering unconnected stubs of bike lanes around willy-nilly, Croton should give some thought to protecting bikers from motorists or from themselves. New York’s rudimentary helmet law, for example, only requires that a helmet be worn by cyclists under thirteen years of age.

It should also make provision for theft-proof storage of bicycles. Readers of the Croton police blotter in The Gazette well know how risky can be daily parking of a bicycle at the station.

                                                                                                                       

                                                                            

Conscience vs. Cowardice in Croton

OP ED

The explosion of outrageous blog comments by pseudonymous individuals is changing the public face of America and rapidly becoming a public scandal.

Initially, the Internet and the World Wide Web were welcomed as tools for instantaneous communication. In addition to speed and ease of messaging, they offered one other giant advantage.

From behind the shield of an anonymous communication, employees in government or business could report abuses or criminal activity and become whistle-blowers without fear of retaliation.  

Unfortunately, that bright hope largely failed to materialize. Instead, blogs, particularly those in smaller communities, have become cluttered with anonymous outpourings of denunciatory or abusive language. Almost laughably, insensitivity reaches an all-time apogee when bloggers extend condolences to bereaved family members and sign them anonymously with their pseudonyms.

Anonymity has played a distinguished role in our history. In 1787, as the new nation was writing its constitution, anti-Federalists using the pen names “Cato” and “Brutus” opposed it in letters to newspapers.

A flood of rebutting letters appeared in support of the proposed constitution, all signed “Publius.” Their authors are now known to have been Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay. Eventually, a total of 85 letters were written under the Publius pseudonym. Unlike today’s unsigned blog comments, these were each carefully reasoned missives.

Today’s anonymous comments resemble a different breed of cat: namely, the old-fashioned poison-pen letter. The bane of small-town living, the classic poison-pen letter usually contained abusive, malicious or libelous statements and accusations about the recipient or about third parties.

Sad to say, judging by the comments on some blogs, America has become a nation of anonymous cowards hiding behind pseudonyms and assailing the character of their neighbors in electronic equivalents of the poison-pen letter.

The presumed shield of anonymity in such comments, however, is illusory. Three points should be remembered: (1) Electronic communications are forever and contain identifying marks that can be traced back to the originating computer. (2) Victims of electronic libel can easily sue for sizable damages and uncover the identity of the perpetrator by court order. (3) Anonymous bloggers who make libelous defamatory statements are foolishly putting their homes, bank accounts, automobiles and other valuable assets at risk.

The Scoop on “Scoop”

Using the Croton forum originated by the former North County News, someone in Croton hiding his identity behind the pseudonym “Scoop” has busied himself for the past year making scurrilous attacks on certain persons who are unhappy with the current village administration.

“Scoop’s” pseudonym is aptly chosen and fits the content of his comments. In our household, a scoop is used to pick up dog droppings. His male gender is confirmed by his harsh attacks on the opposite sex and his reference to them as “Ladies.” We can add “thief” to “Scoop’s” coward label. His newly adopted self-laudatory slogan, brazenly pilfered from the Fox News Network, is “Scoop reports. You decide.”

Two women, Pat Moran and Roseann Schuyler, have become repeated victims of “Scoop’s” vociferous defamatory attacks because of their campaign for greater openness in local government. Croton’s current administration is notorious for delaying responses to lawful requests for information and for exhibiting an extremely patronizing attitude toward residents.

The vehemence of “Scoop’s” contemptuous attacks on the Mses. Moran and Schuyler suggests malice, an important element in libel. His dogged persistence suggests that he is also guilty of cyberstalking and cyberbullying.

 His choice of victims reveals the abysmally low level of his self-protective instincts. “Scoop,” who probably couldn’t find his way to the nearest courthouse, has imprudently libeled two persons who are not only well-versed in the law but who have the added advantage of possessing the lawyer’s shingle.

“Scoop’s” Imaginary Silent Majority

More recently, “Scoop” launched an almost daily series of whining complaints about two local blogs that decline to publish his deprecatory comments. His claim is that unless these blogs accept his anonymous comments, they are only publishing “propaganda.”

In “Scoop’s” tiresome bleats he claims to speak for, or at the request of, Croton’s “silent majority,” a term widely used during the latter part of the 19th century as a euphemism for the honored dead of the Civil War. It was appropriated by Pres. Richard Nixon in a speech on Nov. 3, 1969, in which he said, "And so tonight to you, the great silent majority of my fellow Americans, I ask for your support."

Nixon's use of the phrase was an attempt to apply a label to those who shared his insecure fears and anxieties. His “silent majority” was largely made up of the dwindling number of Americans that supported the Vietnam War and did not participate in public discourse. Arrayed against such types was the other group, which included highly vocal students on college campuses, intellectuals, professionals and liberals.

“Scoop's” reference to Croton's silent majority is amusing. Apparently, he is unaware that both the concept and phrase are long since passé. Nixon’s silent majority of the 1960s was supplanted in the 1970s by "the forgotten middle class," by "angry white males" in the 1980s, by "soccer moms" in the 1990s, and by “NASCAR dads" in the 2000s.

Given the ubiquity of computer usage, it is hard to conceive of anyone in Croton so unable to communicate as to require the intercession of “Scoop.” Since the only genuinely silent majority in Croton lies in Bethel Cemetery, this benighted individual must be communicating with them by using a spirit medium.

Garrulous and Contentious

Croton is not only electronically the most voluble community in upper Westchester and southern Putnam counties; it is also the most conflict-ridden. Consider the following statistic. In October of 2007 the now-defunct North County News opened a series of local forums to replace its existing blog, then called the Blog Cabin. In the four and a half years since their inception, the forums of the municipalities of Cortlandt, Katonah, Ossining, Peekskill, Pleasantville, Putnam Valley and Yorktown have each racked up less than a hundred comments. Chappaqua and Mount Kisco originated no comments at all.

Contrast these low numbers with the Croton forum's astronomical output. In the same period, its contributors have posted close to 28,000 individual comments--a staggering statistic. Although many of these comments were public service messages, a major portion of the anonymous remarks are disparaging and intimidating personal attacks. Could there be something in Croton’s famous water that causes such venomous prolixity?

The sheer volume and intensity of deleterious comments must surely have an economic impact. Imagine the reaction of someone contemplating the purchase of a home in Croton or starting a retail business here and who stumbles on this outpouring of anonymous hate mail. The most likely outcome would be an instant decision not to move into such a squabbling community.

“Scoop” recently added a postscript to his repetitious demands for access to space on which to comment. It reads, “In addition, the Silent Majority has asked me to add Robert Scott's Croton Local to the list of blogs that need to open up commenting.”

“Scoop’s” complaint is that unless these blogs accept his corrosive anonymous comments, they are only publishing “propaganda.” I would remind readers in general, and “Scoop” in particular, that no responsible newspaper will publish unsigned and anonymous letters to the editor for a very sound reason. Any newspaper or other medium that publishes defamatory statements can be found as guilty of libel as the author of those statements.

Mutual respect and civility are the cement that binds the disparate parts of our society together. If “Scoop” and other cowardly types who cloak themselves in the thin garment of anonymity would append their names to their bitter opinions and stop sailing under false colors, Croton could return to being a community in which adults do what we teach our children to do: take responsibility for their actions.

The Last Word

Croton Local is a journal of fact and opinion, my journal and my opinion, tinctured with a natural skepticism that has never descended to cynicism. I have no intention of opening its pages to every anonymous windbag and electronic bully that wants in.

I say to “Scoop” anent his demand for space to attack me in my own blog: You’ll get no free ride here. This is one party you are not going to crash. If dialogue is what you seek, I suggest that you head for a local pub.

And please stop your anonymous whining and your cowardly skulking around in the shadows. You give Croton a bad name. If certain Croton blogs make you squirm, there’s an easy solution: Go elsewhere for your reading matter. Alternatively, start your own blog.

Croton’s Mayor Sells America Short

OP ED 

Lately, Leo Wiegman, Mayor of Croton-on-Hudson, seems to suffer from a chronic case of foot-in-mouth disease whenever he speaks in connection with the celebration of a national holiday.

The most recent example of this egregious tendency occurs in his posting on a new addition to the already rather long list of existing Croton blogs. In this, Croton’s mayor celebrated the 235th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence by awkwardly extolling the virtues of interdependence.

Mayor Wiegman’s example of this nation’s global interdependence is his purchase of a pair of wooden Adirondack chairs made in China. Based on the photo of two  chairs that accompanies his message,  his interdependence is a one-way street.

As a sometime woodworker and to judge by the number of knots visible in the photo, it seems that the mayor got a pair of chairs made of low-grade lumber. In return, China got still-solid American dollars that it continues to regard as highly desirable.

To avoid any charge of misinterpretation of his twisted logic, the quote below is taken directly from Mayor Wiegman's Independence Day message:

“Why not celebrate the freedom we have to be interdependent? Interdependence has never been easier. Interdependence has never been more important. Interdependence is also pervasive.

“So let's embrace interdependence. So why the chairs in the photo?

“Someone in China cut the wood pieces for the nice Adirondack chairs that we just bought and assembled in our backyard just so we enjoy this weekend’s barbecue. I might add, someone in China also packed up the kit beautifully! The chairs were affordable and easy to assemble using the enclosed the pictogram instructions and just one screwdriver.

“Long live interdependence! Long live our liberty to be as interdependent on each other as our hearts may desire!”

I would remind Mayor Wiegman that at the same time some low-wage worker in China was cutting the wood for his chairs, someone in the United States was applying for unemployment benefits because the factory in which they worked making chair parts had been shuttered.

I would also remind Mayor Wiegman that at the same time some low wage worker in China was so carefully packing the component pieces of his chairs, someone in the United States was standing on a bread line or a soup kitchen line because the factory in which they had worked packing chair kits had been closed.

Adding insult to injury,  the materials in which Mayor Wiegman’s chairs were so beautifully packed were undoubtedly made from recycled American cardboard waste shipped to China in the empty ships that had brought the chairs as cargo from China to the U.S.

To anyone who would base a national value system on the interdependence of China and Walmart, I would remind them of the quotation frequently attributed to John Ruskin: “There is hardly anything in the world that someone cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this person's lawful prey.”

So how about a few tears of commiseration, Mr. Mayor, for the innocent American victims of your vaunted system of interdependence?

It's about Time

OP ED

My recent screed about the reasons why the “Ins” deserve to be the “Outs” was posted before the replay of the Village Board meeting of March 7 was available.

At that meeting, after invoking “market forces” as important in attracting desirable new businesses, Trustee Ian Murtaugh dropped “market forces” like a hot potato and revealed some surprising information--namely that in the administration’s eyes there are “good” businesses and “bad” businesses.

He proceeded to condemn nail salons, pizza parlors, gasoline stations and auto repair shops--honorable businesses all--as undesirable additions in Croton. One is forced to ask Trustee Murtaugh whether “market forces” was merely a catchphrase that momentarily caught his fancy and prompted his gratuitous but self-indicting comments.

Croton’s Village Code does not give the Village Board the power to arrogate unto itself the right to pass judgment on the desirability or undesirability of a business, save for those already judged and convicted without trial in the Gateway Law, such as fast-food establishments (i.e., McDonald’s, the No. 1 employer of local youth), automobile dealerships (magnet businesses that attract customers from a wide area) and parking lots (i.e., potential competitors of the Village).

If memory serves, the last nation to decide what shops will open where was the Soviet Union, and we all know the outcome of that mistaken policy. I know of no one who bemoans the departure of that benighted country and its despicable system from the company of nations.

Isn’t it time for those who live in Harmon and who are members of boards and committees (and thus could theoretically profit from the unsubstantiated benefits they are so shamelessly touting at every opportunity) to stop endorsing Harmon rezoning and recuse themselves?

It's time for proponents of Harmon rezoning to stop playing prosecutor, judge and jury.

Why the “Ins” Should Be “Outs”

OP ED

There are many nagging issues in the upcoming local election largely revolving around the quality of leadership this village has been getting from an overbearing, inconsiderate administration. For years, arrogant local politicians and planners have closed their eyes to the fact that Croton is unlike other Hudson River villages.

In 1924, Westchester County purchased Croton Point. In 1970, a federal court ordered the tottering Penn-Central Railroad into bankruptcy. Both events were severe blows to tax revenues, removing large chunks of property from the tax rolls.

Ever since 1967, when the limited-access Croton Expressway opened, Croton has been a virtual backwater. Not unexpectedly, most Croton residents are happy without thousands of automobiles funneling through its narrow main north-south thoroughfare, Riverside Avenue. Village planners still refuse to acknowledge these realities.

Conjectural “gateways’ will not bring customers to Croton so long as it lacks so-called magnet businesses to attract them. Croton also still does not have a detailed inventory of its commercial properties, unoccupied or occupied. Nor has it formed a committee to encourage new businesses to come to Croton or to assist existing businesses in trouble. It did create a mysterious substance called “Green Tape” to expedite applications—yet the Zoning Board still meets only once a month.

Croton has five commercial areas, thanks in part to the 1933 marriage of Croton and Harmon. Instead of integrated planning for all commercial areas, Croton’s politicians recently violated basic planning theory and attempted to Balkanize the Village by concentrating on one commercial area, Harmon--until stopped in their tracks by legal action. The high-handed self-confidence of Croton’s amateur planners makes it the laughing stock of knowledgeable planning professionals.

The current administration also has had a penchant for hiring consultants to tell the Village what it already knows. Recently, it allotted a cool $97,000 for a compilation of information, much of which the village had at its fingertips. Moreover, such reports are rendered moot by the turmoil in the Middle East and the soaring cost of oil and gasoline, making it impossible to predict parking usage patterns. And it turns out that the projected huge multistory parking garage is far beyond the financial reach of the Village. Embarrassingly, someone neglected to tell the contractor about Croton’s most sacred cow, “the view.”

But the most recent overbearing and ill-considered action has been the administration’s tactless and clumsy attempt to fob off on its citizens a foolishly cruel local solution to a countywide problem--overpopulation by white-tailed deer--and to do it by allowing bowhunting in Croton’s nature preserves. Deer are hardly Croton’s most pressing problem.

Deer have become a nuisance--but a nuisance and a hazard of our own creation. In 1930, the white-tailed deer population of the U.S. was about 300,000. Today, it is estimated at 300 million. Such explosive growth is the result of the disappearance of predators, conservation efforts, demands by hunters, and the growth of suburbia.

Not until an uproar erupted, largely fueled by members of their own party, did the bloodthirsty members of this administration grudgingly (and unconvincingly) backpedal on bowhunting. These are people who will rush their pets to a vet at the first cough or sneeze, but who think nothing of consigning sentient wild animals to cruel, inhumane slow deaths while risking life and limb of users of these same nature preserves..

Having been a registered FDR Democrat for 72 years, I say to the bumbling local management: It’s my party and my Village, too. Heavy-handed treatment of party members and the Village itself represent unforgivable failures of leadership. The time has come for an overbearing and inconsiderate administration to seek other employment. And please take your annoying electronic timer with you when you leave.

Animal Cruelty as Public Policy, 6: A Naked Attempt to Politicize the Bow-Hunting Controversy

OP ED

On Friday, October 1, the local Democratic committee issued a peculiar press release on its website. In common practice, the Mayor and elected trustees submerge their political allegiances and affiliations upon election and are supposed to serve the best interests of all citizens without regard for race, creed, color or political affiliation.

This strange 159-word “release” consists of five sentences so pointedly serving political aims as to be risible. The sentence-by-sentence text of this “release” follows with matching comment about its purpose and underlying attempt to influence community behavior.

RELEASE: On Monday, September 27, 2010, the Mayor proposed and the Village Board agreed unanimously, that further action on bow hunting be postponed until the Conservation Advisory Council (CAC) has completed its report and conducted public information sessions.
COMMENT: Any statement about the Village Board’s intentions should properly emanate from that body on the Village website. Why has the local Democratic committee taken upon itself to make an announcement of a decision by the Village Board under the guise of a public service announcement? The answer to this question is clear: The Democratic committee is anxious to keep attendance at the October 4 meeting low, thus giving the lie to their proclaimed interest in hearing citizens concerns.

RELEASE: The Board discussed the proposal and informally agreed to announce the decision at the regularly scheduled board meeting of October 4. This statement (the release) is being made in advance of that meeting to assure the public that the board would NOT be coming to a final decision on bow hunting on the 4th.
COMMENT: Note the use of the weasel word “informally” to characterize the decision. The sole purpose of this “release” is to discourage participation in the October 4 Village Board meeting by the broad spectrum of angry anti-bow hunting Croton citizens that characterized earlier meetings. The Democratic committee is running scared and anxious to tamp down the broad-spectrum surge of anti-bow hunting sentiment expressed at earlier meetings and in the letters pages of The Gazette. It wants the current bow-hunting fiasco to be forgotten well before the next election.

RELEASE: The purpose of these sessions will be both to allow community discussion as well as to listen to and address any concerns.
COMMENT: If the Village Board is truly interested in citizens’ concerns, the upcoming meeting on October 4 would be an excellent place for them to continue to sample the broad scope of residents’ attitudes and statements.

RELEASE: The Village Board concluded that the CAC has not succeeded in educating the public as they thought they had.
COMMENT: This is a revealing and damning choice of words. The citizens of Croton do not need “educating,” if that is the purpose of any public sessions to be held by the CAC. As used here, ‘educating” sounds suspiciously like brainwashing. What Croton needs is a CAC made up of open-minded citizens with some expertise in conservation—not a group of zealots with their minds already made up and bent on “educating” the rest of us. The fundamental truism is that bow hunting of any kind is inappropriate for a community as small as Croton. That position should be a given in finding a solution.

RELEASE: Through these public education sessions al parties will be able to learn more about the environment impacts from Croton’s deer population and all the options to fix those impacts.
COMMENT: The impact of a migrating deer population in numbers larger than the land can carry stems from various causes and has been felt all over Westchester for many years. A valid solution does not lie within the grasp of individual communities but must be a coordinated countywide effort with a maximum chance of success without animal cruelty. Damage to the environment can easily be repaired once a practicable solution is found. Croton’s presently proposed puny effort would have no genuine effect of the deer population of northwestern Westchester other than to give politicians an opportunity to claim falsely that positive action had been taken.

For Croton Democrats, it’s just one gaffe after another. The latest imbroglio makes me embarrassed to be a Democrat.

Animal Cruelty as Public Policy, 5: Conflicting Interests, Bullying and Official Cowardice

OP ED

No one disagrees that overpopulation of deer is a problem everywhere in Westchester or that something should be done about it. The central issue is whether medieval inhumane hunting methods in which animals are cruelly injured and bleed to death is the way to attack the problem in Anno Domini 2010.

The Village Board’s Sept. 20 postponement of consideration of a local deer bow hunting law for a mere two weeks would be laughable if it were not a clear indication that the administration is suddenly aware that they are moving too fast. The public sees no reason for the unseemly haste with which this unpopular legislation is being railroaded through. What has been glaringly lacking is thoroughgoing public discussion of such pressing issues as alternatives, public safety, privacy and risk management, to name but a few.

In Croton, the process of approving new laws is a surreal extravaganza of Marxian proportions—not Karl Marx but the Marx Brothers. Burlesque would be a better word to describe the rampant conflict of interest in the process. Although Fran Allen had pointed out the lack of supporting evidence to the Waterfront Advisory Committee (WAC), three Committee members, including Trustees Olver and Murtaugh, found no inconsistency in the proposed change to Croton’s hunting ban.

After their positive vote and undeterred by the clearly evident conflict of interest, two of the WAC members (Messrs. Olver and Murtaugh) will take off their WAC hats and don new hats as Village Board members. “Imagine that,” they will exclaim. “The WAC sees no conflict between deer hunting and waterfront revitalization. Now let’s pass this law quickly!”

In another classic display of a conflict of interest, at least two members of the Conservation Advisory Committee, which proposed this inhumane and dubious solution to the deer problem, were allowed to speak interminably at Village Board meetings, to spread inconsistencies about deer counts, and lie that neighboring communities embrace a similar law. The Village Board has yet to explain why proponents receive unlimited time at meetings to “educate” the public about the glories of bow hunting deer, while opponents are strictly limited to five minutes.

Fran Allen, who is both a national and a local treasure and who has spent her working life in the service of logic and the scientific method, carefully explained her vote as based on a total lack of scientific evidence to support a decision either way. Not content with having easily won a 3 to 1 vote in the WAC, Trustee Olver, in a Stalinesque ultimatum, then abandoned all decorum and publicly demanded that Fran Allen be removed from the chair she has held these many years. Later he demanded that she resign.

Ignoring an opportunity to apologize to Ms. Allen, Trustee Olver resumed his unrelenting attack on her. Trustee Olver has frequently exhibited an annoying penchant for patronizingly lecturing Crotonites and tediously belaboring the obvious. Apparently, a lifetime spent on the global public purse explaining to villagers in the hinterlands of the Third World how a flush toilet works has distorted his perception of Croton voters’ level of intelligence, making his frequent absences from meetings more welcome than his presences.

Ernest Hemingway once defined courage as “grace under pressure.” During this embarrassing performance by Trustee Olver, the Mayor and other Village Board members, three able-bodied men and a woman, sat stiffly, staring straight ahead, each with the same grim expression on their Great Stone Faces. No one said, “Just a damn minute, Mr. Olver, a public meeting is neither the time nor the place to be attacking Fran Allen for her vote.” In the face of a cowardly, bullying assault on the character and integrity of an unpaid longtime volunteer, it is obvious that courage is a commodity in extremely short supply with Croton’s paid governing body.

It so happens that voters denied Mr. Olver reelection in March of this year, and he was appointed by Mayor Leo Wiegman to finish what's left of Ms. Restuccia’s term. Presumably, he serves at the pleasure of the Mayor. Mr. Olver has given every indication that he wishes to commit political suicide. It’s your move, Mr. Mayor.

Animal Cruelty as Public Policy, 4: ‘There Is a Stench of Death About This Village Board’

OP ED

Anyone unable to reach a decision about the Village Board’s planned program to allow indiscriminate bow hunting of deer on public and private lands should consider this one salient fact: If deer were domesticated and slaughtered in licensed slaughterhouses under government supervision, killing them as bow hunters do would be prohibited as cruel and inhumane.

Add that the hunting will be done from tree stands fundamentally dangerous to the hunters. Also add that the public will be using these properties for recreation at the same time, and you have a situation fraught with danger. Literally, this is an accident about to happen.

The only word to describe this policy is madness, sheer madness. My family and I moved to Croton 47 years ago, attracted by its rich history of toleration and compassion. These qualities all seem to be on the brink of being eradicated by fiat.

We are frankly puzzled by this Village Board’s fixation on killing innocent animals by the most cruel and inhumane methods to satisfy the misguided appetites of a small clique of bloodthirsty hunters. The Board’s purpose is to avoid having blood on their hands—but history will prove them wrong.

There is a stench of death about this Village Board when the most important piece of Village business is to rush into killing animals cruelly and painfully as a futile solution to a long-standing, almost universal problem.

Wanton, inhumane killing is not the answer. When will the Village Board learn this simple truth? They have yet to understand that the only important lesson in this life is to learn to live like human beings.

Animal Cruelty as Public Policy, 3: The Truth About Bow Hunting

OP ED

Let’s face facts: Overpopulation of deer is not a local problem but rather a countywide problem that calls for a countywide solution. And bow hunting, which solves nothing, is not an effective tool to control deer population density.

On the contrary, it is a recreational pursuit to satisfy a small clique of bloodthirsty hunters callous to their cruel and inhumane treatment of animals. At least one half the deer wounded by bow hunters are never recovered and die slow, painful, agonizing deaths. Besides, it is a pastime dangerous to both the public as well as the insensitive bow hunters who ply this primitive trade.

The Village of Croton-on-Hudson will hold a public hearing next Tuesday, Sept. 7, on its proposal to allow bow hunting on public lands and private properties in Croton But what is bow hunting really like?

The writer of the following graphic description of bow hunting is no animal bleeding-heart. He is the late Clare Conley, respected editor of Outdoor Life and Field & Stream magazines.

“I was afield with three hunters when we jumped a doe that ran in front of us. One of the men drew his bow and shot. The arrow went through the doe’s neck. We all saw the arrow sticking out of both sides of the doe’s neck as she bounded away.

"The blood trail was easy to find, but we waited the usual hour for her to lie down, stiffen up and eventually die. We followed the scarlet trail for more than an hour expecting to find her dead. We came to several pools of blood with prints of her knees beside them, where she had gone down to hang her head, and bleed in the bright sun. We saw spots where she had stumbled, but still her life blood ran, and still she went on.

“At last we found her. She was dying. She was on her knees and hocks. Her ears, no longer the wonderful, alert warning system to detect any danger, were sagging. Her head was down. Her nose was in her blood. We could hear her breath bubbling in the warm blood.

“Somehow the doe lurched up. Stumbling, bounding, blindly into the brush, she managed to reach the rim of a plateau and disappear. She was nowhere in sight. We fanned out and combed the hillside where we lost her tracks among a maze of other deer tracks. We failed to retrieve her.

“We lost four wounded deer on that one hunting trip, but the doe I saw dying stayed with me. Her heartbroken, dulling eyes haunted me. At odd moments I’d see her, wild and free, then dying in the sun, her breath choking in a pool of blood.

“I resolved never again to shoot any living creature with a bow.”

Residents of Croton and of neighboring communities: Imagine your children playing in your backyard or standing at a bus stop and witnessing such a heartbreaking spectacle as the slow death of a sentient animal. All people of good will are urged to turn out at the public hearing on Sept. 7 to protest this futile and cruel exercise being advocated under the pretext of animal population control.

Animal Cruelty as Public Policy, 2: Butchers with Bows and Arrows

OP ED

Is Croton now engaged in a bloody war against its animals? It has long been at war with its dogs.

The Village Code prohibits residents from walking a leashed dog in a Croton park. The sole exception to this prohibition is Croton Landing, but only because the Village accepted Federal funds for its development.

Now the Village suddenly wants to unleash a bloody, two-and-a-half-month, all-out campaign against a beautiful and graceful species, the White-Tailed Deer, using extremely cruel and inhumane methods.

Adequate fencing is one solution. We have no problem with deer. Our property is completely protected by fencing.

We understand that the arboretum was incorporated in 1994 as the “Croton Arboretum and Sanctuary, Inc.” In every dictionary, “sanctuary” means “a reserved area in which animals, especially wild animals, are protected from hunting.” Why have Village officials ignored this?

This summer the Village has been overrun by hordes of brown rats. In many ways, these disgusting, disease-carrying animals pose a greater threat to public health than any other animal. Yet the Village has done absolutely nothing about the massive rat infestation, except to hush it up.

Village officials seem anxious to have on their hands the blood of innocent deer killed barbarously and indiscriminately. Our family wants no part of their animal cruelty. We ask them not to do this in our name.

Croton's Dubious and Costly Strategy of Delay

OP ED

In a time of intractable recession, it is not unreasonable for citizens of a small village to expect that its Village Board will wisely spend the monies it extracts so effortlessly from them as taxes. Not so in Croton, where board members attempted to peddle the fiction that they have been following the wisest course in handling a lawsuit challenging the 2009 modifications to the Zoning Law.

Instead of responding to the lawsuit ably researched and drawn up with surgical precision by attorney Pat Moran, Croton attempted an end run around it by asking the Court to declare the lawsuit’s 13 claims to have been mooted by the Village’s intention to eventually pass a replacement law. To drum up support for this dubious strategy, board members loudly proclaimed their course of action as “a cheaper way to save taxpayers’ money.”

At the Village Board meeting on August 9th, Ms. Roseann Schuyler offered a comment and a simple solution of King Solomonic proportions. If the board indeed had wanted to save taxpayers’ money, all it had to do was merely to admit to even one of the mistakes alleged by the lawsuit, and repeal the law. Following the course suggested by Ms. Schuyler would have been the forthright and businesslike solution, but even displaying that scrap of integrity now may be expecting too much of the present board.

On August 10, 2010, Judge Albert Lorenzo of the State Supreme Court issued an interim decision that was absolute carnage for Croton’s strategy. It denied the Village’s attempt to have all 13 claims dismissed, and ordered Croton to respond to the Article 78 action within 30 days. Moreover, the Court issued an injunction barring implementation of any new Harmon replacement law. Croton’s vaunted legal maneuver and the case itself were left in shambles. The inevitable question becomes, “Are we paying too much for what we get?”

As Judge Lorenzo’s decision revealed, the Village’s delaying tactics were too clever by half, and availed it nothing. Originally directed to respond by May 26, the Village still must respond to the Article 78 action—only now it has a rapidly dwindling 20 days to scramble and do it. One earnestly hopes that none of this accelerated effort will be billed as overtime.

It is patently obvious that Croton has been litigiously engaged in “a waste of judicial and municipal resources”--to use a term of art mentioned by Judge Lorenzo--all because someone is unwilling to own up to the fact that errors were made. The future of Croton is being deliberated and decided by cowardly types of the least excusable sort--persons who have nothing to fear and no reason for dissembling.

Those of every political stripe who oppose the misguided Harmon zoning changes have done nothing to disgrace Croton by pointing out the many errors that were committed. Yet, by its disastrous legal maneuvering and by opposing its own citizens so patronizingly, the Village Board has managed to do everything possible to disgrace themselves.

One Weekend’s Excellent Adventure: A Cautionary Tale

CURRENT AFFAIRS

Fashions and technology change with time, but swindles, it seems, go on forever. In the late 19th century, a favorite con game was the Spanish Prisoner swindle. In this scam, a victim would be singled out and fed a story about a wealthy nobleman languishing in a Spanish prison. If the prisoner could be sprung from durance vile, the person paying his modest ransom would be made rich beyond the dreams of avarice. Occasionally, it was hinted that the prisoner had a beautiful and marriageable daughter. Film buffs may recall that in 1997 David Mamet wrote and directed an intricate confidence-game movie titled, The Spanish Prisoner.

In today’s electronic world, the hoary Spanish Prisoner scam has given way to a new breed of confidence games on the Internet. One of these involves a hidden bequest totaling millions of dollars lying unclaimed in a faraway country, often somewhere in Africa. Another new swindle can best be described as the Stranded Traveler scam in which a friend or acquaintance claims to be traveling abroad and to have left a case containing money, credit cards and valuable documents in a taxi and asks for the loan of a large sum.

The Scam Begins
Few of us have not been exposed in one way or another to this new electronic crime wave of messages that depend on identity theft and the gullibility of its victims. My own brush with identity theft began one recent Friday afternoon when I discovered the following message in my incoming e-mail mailbox with the subject title “Very Urgent”: (NOTE: Original punctuation and spacing errors in messages have been preserved.)

I am writing you in a tensed mood, I had traveled to Spain to visit a new researchers complex (Imperial College, Gallery Section, Barcelona) and unfortunately for me the hotel i lodged got razed by fire. I am so confused right now, I don't know what to do or where to go. I didn't bring my phones here and the hotel telephone lines were disconnected during the incident. So I have access to only emails.

Please can you lend me 960.00 GBP = (1,402.15 USD)for me to relocate to another hotel and also get another flight ticket. As soon as I get home I would refund it immediately.Please I need you to get back to me as soon as possible.

I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Thanks and Regards,
John Curran

At first glance, this might seem to be a reasonable request. I recognized the name and originating address (brainman2u@yahoo.com) as that of John Curran, the Peekskill City Historian. I have never met Mr. Curran. Although I once sent him an e-mail about historical errors I had found in the Peekskill Museum’s website, I cannot say that I knew him. In fact, our casual relationship would make me a rather unlikely candidate to be hit on for such a large emergency loan.

Moreover, there were several aspects of the message that did not ring true: For one, the initial amount was requested in British pounds and then converted to a dollar amount. But my research showed that the exchange rate between British pounds and US dollars of the message was not the current rate. The message’s pounds to dollars conversion rate of 1.4605729 was wrong. Someone had obviously taken the figure of 960 pounds and converted it to dollars using a rate no longer current. On June 25, the British pound had “soared,” and 960 British pounds would have been the equivalent of $1,446.29. The exchange rate quoted in the e-mail was several weeks out of date—a careless error on the part of the sender.

Research by me on the Internet revealed that the only area of scientific interest the Imperial College of London had in Barcelona was in symposia on blood chemistry. A local historian from Peekskill would hardly be attending such meetings. Also troubling to me was the unusual use of English words and phrases: “I am writing you in a tensed mood”; “the hotel I lodged got razed by fire”; and “flight ticket” for the more common “plane ticket.” Quite obviously, someone for whom English was not the first language had gotten hold of Mr. Curran’s e-mail address and, in effect, his identity.

Computer security experts advise ignoring and destroying all messages that ask for money, or that notify the recipient of a multimillion-dollar bequest or a huge lottery prize for which a nominal fee must be paid in order to collect the money. My own advice goes even further: It is to erase without reading all messages from senders whose names you do not recognize. Above all, recipients should never open any attachment or link to a strange message.

Because I could find no telephone number for Mr. Curran in Peekskill to alert him to the message, I decided to go along with what obviously was a scam. Responding to the message by sending a warning to Mr. Curran at the return e-mail address would have been futile. It was obvious that someone had obtained Mr. Curran’s password and mailing list, and had changed his password. In effect, Mr. Curran was now locked out of his own e-mail messages.

Accordingly, I decided to turn the tables on the identity thief and sent a return message telling “Mr. Curran” that I sympathized with him in his predicament, but added that few people had that much cash available, and the banks were now closed. I pointed out that if he had lost his passport, airline ticket and credit cards, my wife—who had worked for the State Department abroad--suggested that he go to the American consulate in Barcelona, and they would arrange to issue a new passport and help him in other ways. In the meantime, I would work on the problem of getting the money together for him.

In response, I received the following message under the subject heading of “My Hopes on you”:

Thanks, I would appreciate whatever you send to me. I am really elated. This is one experience I would not forget in a hurry, my bills are still piling up. Here are my details for western union transfer:

John Curran
Carrer Ribes, 71, Barcelona 08013

Please send me the full transfer details or attach the receipt when done. Thanks

I now had a street address in Barcelona--something to work on. Research on the Internet revealed that 71 Carrer de Ribes in Barcelona is the address of the Best Western Hotel del Teatro Auditori, near a well-known Barcelona concert hall. It is one of four Best Western hotels in that city, all popular with Americans.

In my response to this message on Sunday, I told “Mr. Curran” that he had many more friends than perhaps he realized. His “rescue fund” had been oversubscribed, and I would have $2,500 available to send to him the following day (Monday) after the banks opened, but he’d have to give me more specific delivery instructions.

I added that No. 71 Carrer de Ribes seemed to be the address of the Best Western Hotel del Teatro Auditori, so I guessed that meant he must have found lodging. I specifically asked him for the address of the nearest Western Union office to which to send the funds. I added, “We are anxious to get you home safely.”

I received the following response:

It is the Hotel and there is a western union outlet close by. If you send it I would be able to get the money from the western union outlet. Please send me a scanned copy of the receipt when done, it would facilitate an easy access to the funds. Please keep me in your prayers.

It was obvious that “Mr. Curran” was not about to designate a specific Western Union address to which the money should be sent. Although I doubt that Barcelona police would even bother, it was obvious that our “Mr. Curran” was not anxious to be confronted by a police detective when he called to pick up his remittance. In my response to this message, I again asked him to specify delivery details and to specify the amount needed. The following was his response late Sunday evening:

Thanks for your efforts. Please send the amount as it would cover all costs over here. Please send me the scanned receipt after sending it this morning as it would go a long way in ensuring I get the money without any problem. Thanks again.

The Trap Is Sprung
By Monday morning I knew the time was drawing near to bring this little charade to a close. Still unable to reach the real John Curran, I did a bit of Internet sleuthing and obtained detailed personal information about him that only an experienced Internet genealogical researcher could ferret out. I sent the phony “Mr. Curran” the following e-mail:

John: It took a little longer than I expected to get the money together. I have decided that $1,750.00 should be enough to cover all your expenses. This is $350.00 more than the amount you originally wrote that you needed. As you agreed, this money is to be repaid upon your return to the United States.

Before transmitting the money to you, however, I want to be sure that I am dealing with the real John Curran. Accordingly, I shall send you the sum of $1,750.00 via Western Union immediately in Barcelona if you will answer the following questions:

1. What is the name of the cross street nearest to the Museum?
2. What is your age?
3. What was your mother's maiden name?
4. What is the date of your father's death?
5. Where is your father buried?

These five simple questions involve information only you can know and should be easy for you to answer. They do not involve remembering credit card numbers or passport numbers or similar information you may have forgotten.

As they say in Chinese laundries, "No tickee, no shirtee."

Needless to say, all correspondence ceased with “John Curran,” supposedly a traveler from Peekskill stranded in Spain.

The real John Curran called me later that morning from the Peekskill Museum. “I understand you have been trying to reach me,” he said. He was already well aware of the commotion that had been stirred up in this part of Westchester by a flood of bogus e-mail messages from Spain.

It turned out that he had been moving to a new address that weekend, and could not be reached. Sheepishly, he admitted that he had caused the entire brouhaha by foolishly responding to a message purporting to be from his Internet service provider warning him that his service would be discontinued if he did not “re-register” his e-mail address and password immediately.

Of course, the moment he furnished his password, the scammer was able to change his password and thus deny him access to his own e-mail address. From that point on, all correspondence directed to Mr. Curran went right into the scammer’s hands.

I related the story of my “excellent adventure” to Mr. Curran. He was both pleased that the swindler had gotten his comeuppance and surprised that I had been able to uncover so much personal information about him and his family to trip up the scammer. I had to explain to him that there is more information on the Internet available to skilled researchers than most people realize.

He was also interested in what could be done about tracking down the culprit. I explained to him that trying to uncover the identity of the scammer would be difficult. The Spanish police would not expend much effort, especially since Mr. Curran had himself supplied his password to the scammer.

With unemployment in Spain hovering at 20%, I told Mr. Curran that the person he was seeking was probably an unemployed youth with a knowledge of English and familiarity with computers and the Internet. and a script and address list—one of thousands no out of a job.. At that very moment, he was probably pensively sitting at a café table somewhere in Barcelona, a cigarette dangling from his lips. From time to time, he would look up from the screen of his laptop and gaze toward the west, where lay a faraway country with streets paved with gold and where, for one brief moment, some easy money was almost in his grasp--or so he thought..

It turns out that Shakespeare was right. Even though the Internet and identity theft were five centuries in the future, in Othello, he has Iago say, “Who steals my purse steals trash,” and follows this with, “But he who filches from me my good name robs me of that which not enriches him, and makes me poor indeed.”

The Valor of Ignorance: Green Cheese, Gateways and Mixed Use

OP ED

“This past year I formed an Economic Development Committee to investigate the possibility that Mount Airy is made of green cheese. We have looked into this and are now at a stage of being able to go forward with the sale of this cheese. What we want now is for the village to take the lead in marketing our plans and to get the public to buy into it. We want to encourage the public to take a big part in this process so as to avoid opposition down the road.”

The above satirical parody closely parallels a widely circulated sentiment expressed by a Croton trustee. It exemplifies the habit of Croton officials and planners to accept and vote on proposed legislation despite the lack of supporting data. Mount Airy may or may not be composed of green cheese, or cream cheese--but we would never know for sure unless we investigated what lies beneath the surface.

The lifeblood of sound and sensible scientific planning lies in the collection of observable and measurable evidence and the formulation and testing of hypotheses. Instead, Croton has the annoying habit of denying reality and making decisions unsupported by data. These decisions are then represented as the product of serious scientific investigation to be “sold” to the public. An added paradox is that Croton planners insist on hiring consultants who, like them, fail to recognize the unusual nature of Croton’s commercial economy.

First, let’s explore the repeated denial of reality. Croton’s officials and planners have consistently closed their eyes to its unusual history and peculiar marketing geography, make it anything but typical of a lower Hudson Valley community. Consider the following facts of Croton's history and geography that make it unique from a planning point of view:

Croton’s Unusual Marketing Geography 
First and foremost, unlike other typical Hudson River communities along the old Albany Post Road, Croton lacks a central shopping area or street. For example, a strolling shopper in Tarrytown can start at the Warner Library and walk south on Broadway lined with restaurants, shops and boutiques on both sides of the street. On reaching Main Street, a right turn leads to another street lined with shops almost all the way to the station.

Croton, on the other hand, is cursed with five shopping “nodes” reflecting separate periods of historic growth. Dating from the 17th century is the Lower Village node, established on the waterfront to serve sloop and market boat traffic. Much of the Lower Village was destroyed by the construction of the Expressway. A vestigial remnant exists in the form of shops along one side of Riverside Avenue

The Upper Village node was established in the 18th century to serve stagecoach traffic on the Albany Post Road. In the early 20th century, the Harmon node was created to serve Clifford Harmon’s development that opened in 1907 and offered low-cost country lots to city dwellers.

Two other nodes were added in the 1950s and early 1960s. The Van Wyck shopping center, anchored by a Grand Union supermarket, was quickly followed by what is now Croton Commons, anchored by an A & P as part of the fourth node. Reflecting suburbia’s dependence on the automobile, these were fronted by large, unsightly parking areas and associated strip malls to compete with the shops in the older three nodes.

A fifth node was established in 1966, this time a shopping center and strip mall anchored by a ShopRite supermarket with an adjoining equally unsightly parking area. In the ensuing competition for customers, ShopRite prevailed and drove the A & P and Grand Union away. The two closed supermarkets were simply too small by latter day standards, and had no room in which to expand.

The remarkable quality of Croton’s five nodes is that they are noncontiguous and have little foot traffic between them. For example, although such complexes as Harmon and the ShopRite complex and the Van Wyck and Croton Commons shopping centers are proximal, no one walks from one to the other. In addition, three nodes--the Upper and Lower Village and Harmon all have limited parking facilities, mostly of the on-street variety.

As a result of the insularity induced by these five separate nodes, there is considerable duplication of retail establishments in them, such as delicatessens, pizzerias and nail salons. A marketing geographer would say that Croton’s fractionated retail pattern is more appropriate to a city’s neighborhoods than to a small 3suburban village. Nevertheless, in all planning efforts, planners must treat these scattered neighborhood-serving nodes as part of a cohesive commercial marketing whole--something they have neglected to do.

Other Obstacles to Commercial Development 
In 1923, the Westchester Park Commission bought Croton Point and created the 508-acre Croton Point Park. In one stroke the Village was stripped of its tax revenue forever. In 1970, Croton’s oldest and largest taxpayer was removed from the tax rolls with the bankruptcy of the ailing Penn-Central Railroad. This effectively shifted an additional large portion of Croton’s tax burden onto the backs of other businesses and residents.

To add to Croton’s commercial woes, the Croton Expressway was opened in 1967, intended to be part of a superhighway linking New York City with Beacon, N.Y. Not only did it destroy much of the Lower Village, this 9.2-mile stub of limited-access highway between Ossining and Peekskill changed the face of Croton’s economy and made it a backwater village. Traffic counts show that the Expressway now carries 40,000 vehicles a day past Croton’s five shopping nodes, depriving them of potential customers. No wonder that for the past 43 years, with the exception of ShopRite, the customer base of most Croton shops and businesses has been largely limited to local residents.

In addition to ignoring the reality of Croton’s marketing geography, Croton’s planners have supported, and officials have passed, two Soviet-style pieces of legislation inimical to free enterprise and based on no empirical and measurable evidence. These were a so-called Gateway Law in 2004 and a 2009 amendment to the Gateway Law enlarging its scope.

The Gateway Law 
Despite the lack of observed data to show that Croton’s customer base had a large component of other than residents, Croton passed a Gateway Law creating arbitrarily chosen hypothetical “gateways.” At least one "gateway" was omitted. The main thrust of the law was that if certain commercial areas of Croton were made more attractive, businesses would prosper because potential customers would be encouraged to exit the Expressway. Although this was stated as a fact, no supporting evidence was offered.

The text of the law plainly shows that it was directed at nonresidents: “Croton-on-Hudson’s commercial gateways are the major entry points from surrounding municipalities and roads. The physical gateway areas are comprised of the roads and surrounding properties a motorist or pedestrian encounters when first entering the Village. These areas create a sense of arrival and connection to the Village, and establish an image and initial impression of the community.”

As part of the Gateway Law and at the insistence of some local residents with no qualifications as planners, certain businesses and features of business operation were specifically banned in the gateway areas of Croton. These included automobile dealerships and fast-food restaurants (a designation that was undefined, although national chain restaurants like McDonald’s and Burger King were the obvious targets). Also banned for no discernible reason were drive-in windows, a fixture of many businesses such as banks, even though studies show that these reduce the need for space-wasting passive parking.

Underscoring the dictatorial style of its edicts, the Gateway Law imposed an unusual and intrusive requirement on developers: “to reinforce the area’s role as a major gateway, the Planning Board shall encourage the design and placement of a distinctive gateway feature such as a clock or sculpture near the corner of Croton Point Avenue and South Riverside Avenue.”

Marketing geographers recognize the importance of certain types of stores in attracting customers. Called “magnet stores,” as the name implies these draw customers from a wider geographic area than the immediate community in which they are located. Briarcliff manor has a Radio Shack; Ossining has a pet shop. Until recently, Croton had one magnet store, Blockbuster. It closed not so much because of lack of local support but as a result of major changes in delivery methods of DVDs. It is worth noting that the very businesses that Croton so specifically bans--automobile dealerships and chain fast-food restaurants--are magnet businesses.

No data were collected or offered to support the assertive conclusions upon which the Gateway Law was based. Yet a few high school students with clipboards stationed at Expressway exit ramps to question motorists would have shown that most of the drivers exiting the expressway were either Croton residents or were headed directly to neighboring communities like Yorktown Heights. Only a few drivers would have been shown to be prospective customers of Croton’s shops and businesses, aside from those heading only to ShopRite.

It is also significant to note for the record that in the six years the Gateway Law has been on the books it has not encouraged a single new business to come to Croton. The absence of new investment may be the result of an awareness of Croton’s unfriendliness to business, reinforced by its overt xenophobia exemplified by a policy of limiting use of all parks to residents. Nonresidents can purchase the makings for a sumptuous picnic at one of Croton’s many delicatessens—but they better not expect to unfold a blanket on the grass of any Croton park.

This elitism and fear of strangers may have deeper roots. Today’s Harmon residents may be chagrined to learn that starting in April of 1907 advertisements for the new Harmon community bore the words, “Improved and restricted.” The word “improved” referred to the presence of sidewalks and water pipes already installed under the streets. The word “restricted,” however, was a code word meaning that Jews or African-Americans were excluded. Overt anti-Semitism and racism were common at the time in real estate transactions, hotel accommodations and colleges and universities.

Mixed-Use Zoning Changes
Similarly, despite the absence of studies showing the need for additional retail space or for apartments in commercially zoned areas, Croton enacted a law making changes that would extend the limits of the so-called Harmon gateway area and increase the number of apartments and apartment dwellers permitted in it and other gateway areas. Its stated purpose is to encourage wholesale changes in the commercial complexion of Harmon to increase tax revenue for the Village.

The driving force behind this legislation was a committee of volunteers largely composed of residents of the Harmon area. Two consultants hired to offer support for the proposed change rendered totally useless reports that have been swept under the rug by the law's sponsors. The Village’s monumental error in this affair was to allow a small pressure group to force it into incremental planning for one neighborhood instead of making plans for the Village’s entire commercial economy. Another error was to base changes on a desire to “sock it to” commercial property owners—a stance highly unlikely to attract risk capital to Croton.

In the lead-up to passage of the 2009 Zoning Code’s changes that effectively double the number of apartments permitted in commercial areas, no studies were made of the need for additional apartments, the number of existing apartments in Croton or the levels of current rents, although proponents of the legislation frequently bandied about terms like “market rents”.

To complicate the apartment picture, the former chairperson of the Harmon Economic Development Committee is on record as having told Village officials on March 8, 2008, that there were some 400 illegal accessory apartments in Croton, yet this verbal bombshell has gone unnoticed and uninvestigated. The Village continues to exhibit abysmal ignorance about the true apartment situation in Croton.

Croton is fortunate that a community-minded attorney, Patricia Moran, undertook to research the error-ridden 2009 law and to petition the N.Y. Supreme Court for redress under Article 78 on behalf of two concerned residents. The impressive body of research and its inescapable conclusions can be seen elsewhere on this site at

http://crotonlocal.blogspot.com/2010/04/in-their-own-words-complete-article-78.html

Everyone responsible for the shoddy piece of careless legislation should be ashamed of it. Instead of attempting to defend the Village’s actions, Croton should open negotiations leading to Ms. Moran’s employment as the Village Attorney to protect the Village’s interests.

Summing Up 
Before any other changes are made under the guise of “planning,” Croton would be well advised to undertake the following projects:

1. With a view to determining the proper mix of commercial and residential properties, Croton should make an inventory of all commercial properties. Such a survey should record property location, size, amenities, assessment, occupancy or rental history, and availability of apartments in each commercial node. One objective would be to discover the proper mix of retail establishments for the respective nodes. Such a census is vital, especially since the possibility exists that Croton may actually have too many properties zoned for commercial/retail use.

2. The 2009 Zoning Code change increasing the number of apartments available in commercially zoned areas was justified on absurd claims, including the howler that the market for them included “city people desiring to dip a toe in country living.” Croton should also make an apartment inventory to determine the true size of Croton’s stock of apartments. Illegal apartments should be closed forthwith and fines assessed for violations.

Based on the results of the above-described market research projects, changes in the Zoning Code should be considered, including outright repeal of those sections and conclusions not supported by the evidence. In support of commercial enterprises, Croton should especially consider repealing those exclusionary provisions that show the community to be virulently unfriendly to business.

The lifeblood of sound and sensible scientific planning lies in the collection of data and the formulation and testing of hypotheses. Until planners and officials in Croton pull up their socks and apply the principles of logic and the scientific method to decision making, they can expect to suffer the harsh light of fact-based criticism again and again.

Frankly, I’m Puzzled . . .

OP ED

If the above phrase sounds familiar to you, it’s because you’ve seen it a thousand times in direct mail offers in your mailbox. It’s the opening of what copywriters call “the lift letter.” According to my friend, direct-mail guru Denny Hatch, the lift letter device was dreamed up by copywriter Paul Michael, who worked for Greystone Press, publishers of books on home maintenance, gardening, car repair, and the like. Their direct mail offers always included a free book with no obligation on the part of the recipient.

Along with a letter from the publisher, full-color descriptive brochures and a response card, Michael included a lift letter--a small piece of notepaper folded once. On the outside was the tantalizing message, “Read this only if you have decided NOT to respond to this offer.” Inside--in gracefully flowing script--the headline of the note led off with Frankly, I'm Puzzled . . . It went on to say that the publisher couldn’t understand why the recipient wasn’t going to send for the free book when, it was really, really free.

So-called because it was intended to “lift” (increase) response to a direct-mail offer, the lift letter succeeded beyond everyone’s wildest dreams and has become a fixture of direct mail. So, here’s a tip of the hat to Mr. Michael for providing me with an addition to my Library of Useful Words and Phrases.

Frankly, I’m puzzled why Croton is sponsoring a “workshop” on Wednesday, January 27, 2010, the purpose of which, according to a news release issued by the Village, is “to gather public input regarding the future development potential of the Village-owned parking lot at the Croton-Harmon Station, including development of a parking structure for transit patrons.” The report has not yet been delivered. Cynics may see the workshop’s purpose as a delaying tactic to keep the parking garage from being a factor in the upcoming election.

According to the same news release, the study includes “a look at (1) market demand for commuter parking, (2) geotechnical conditions under the existing surface lot, (3) financial feasibility analysis for funding and operating a structure, and (4) design concepts for a potential parking structure at the Croton-Harmon Train Station. This study will also review the overall site to produce a master parking plan addressing how future work can improve traffic flow, enhance safety, and maximize commuter services.” Laudable objectives all—but lacking in many important areas of investigation.

Frankly, I’m puzzled by the timing of the elaborate session the Village of Croton is sponsoring next Wednesday, January 27. Several immediate and inevitable questions spring to mind: Why wasn’t a workshop held before the contract was signed? The Village in the person of a present board member made a big stink about a mere gasoline-station canopy blocking “the view” and even went to the extreme of bringing suit to stop it. Why would the Village now want to consider erecting a multistory parking garage? The view is still there. Why is it no longer a consideration? If aesthetics and appearances are no longer a consideration, Croton can more easily erect and lease profitable giant billboards on public land along its highways.

Could the reason a preliminary workshop was not held before a contract was signed be that it might have revealed residents’ opposition to a multistory garage that would bring additional traffic to clog our streets and exhaust fumes to befoul our air? Interestingly, the initial guidelines for this study were issued on February 2, 2009, when the Schmidt administration held a 3-2 majority. One of the areas of investigation specified in the guidelines was “commercial mixed-use possibilities.” In Croton “mixed use” are fighting words in some quarters.

Frankly, I’m puzzled by a concept that envisions commercial opportunities in a multitiered parking garage with associated shops. Who is responsible for the unproven assumption that commercial enterprises would thrive in close association with a commuter railroad station that has two comparatively short periods of peak use, one in the morning and the other in the evening?

Passengers at major railroad terminal like Grand Central and Pennsylvania Station often have waiting time to kill between trains and are potential customers at shops that offer time-killing opportunities to buy last-minute forgotten items, to have a meal, to browse in a bookshop for a book or a magazine. But commuters at peak morning and evening periods at Croton’s station are usually in a hurry to catch a train or to beat the rush to reach a parked car.

Frankly, I’m puzzled by Croton’s concentration on increasing parking facilities as a source of revenue in the face of many contraindications. What about cutting expenses of the bureaucratic behemoth we have created to govern a tiny village of less than eight thousand souls? The nation is in a recession growing so deep it is being called “The Great Recession”—but only to avoid calling it “Another Great Depression.”

Moreover, the Town of Cortlandt is expanding its parking facilities at the Cortlandt Station—and parking is cheaper there. Metro North is cooperating by having more trains stop at the Cortlandt station. Plus, Croton’s two-level discriminatory pricing (residents vs. nonresidents) makes Cortlandt’s parking even more attractive and a veritable bargain.

Frankly, I’m puzzled by the lack of inclusion in the report’s specification of any study of the broader implications of enlarging our carbon footprint by encouraging automobile usage in what now may be a dying suburbia. Will the report acknowledge the planet’s peaking oil reserves, unstable fuel prices, the growing demand for oil by developing nations like China and India, steadily growing domestic and world populations that are making ever-larger demands for oil and for oil-based products, especially for oil- and gas-based fertilizers to increase crop yields to feed growing populations? How many of us will be driving if oil reaches $147 a barrel again?

The United States proportionally consumes more oil in relation to population size than any other country in the world. And 90% of transportation in the U.S. relies on oil as a primary or secondary source. Suburbia’s exclusive reliance on the automobile is both unsustainable and dangerous. Concerns about our fragile oil dependence have already caused a reverse migration from suburbs back to cities. Increased public transportation, bicycling and walking may yet become part of suburban living.

Frankly, I’m puzzled by Croton’s desire to hold a workshop before the contractor renders a report. The implications are that the contractor will listen to residents’ views and then tailor their report to suit residents’ input. This smacks too much of the slogan of Chicago department store magnate Marshall Field, who built a merchandising empire by instructing employees to “give the lady what she wants.” If the experience that resulted from the infamous questionnaire of bitter memory about residents’ desires for a community center is any yardstick, a workshop held before the report is presented can only result in another wish-list disaster.

We were led to believe that Tim Haahs Associates was preeminent in their field. It is not unreasonable, therefore, for them to give us their professional opinion about feasible courses of action for Croton, and let residents decide which, if any, are advantageous and doable. Thus, it would make more sense for Croton to first make the report available to residents and then hold a workshop at which the document can be critiqued to see whether we received our money’s worth. One might put this in terms of stud poker players: “Show us your hole card (the report) before your start raking in the pot.”

One final question: If the workshop now reveals that residents have no desire for a parking garage in any way, shape or form, will we be able to get our $97,000 back? Or will a giant parking structure of one kind or another be forced upon us in the same manner as the mega-disaster known as Metro-Enviro? There has to be a limit on what this village will do for money.

Nothing Gained: A Critique of the Harmon Zoning Changes

OP ED

The camel is sometimes jocularly described as a horse designed by a committee. Upon close examination, the zoning changes hastened into effect by the village board on December 7 as Local Law No. 4 turn out to be a veritable camel. Compared to the committee’s original recommendations, this addendum to the discredited Gateway Law is a miserable, mangy beast, a mere shadow of its former self. By no stretch of the imagination does this miscarriage of planning deserve the accolades heaped on it in recent congratulatory comments by supporters who obviously have not read it closely.

The third-floor of each new or remodeled building is reserved specifically for residential use, presumably to preclude any opportunistic retail discounter from renting there and advertising, “Walk up two flights and save.” Third-floor units could actually be more desirable, being farther from the odors wafting up from an exotic ethnic restaurant on the ground floor and its incessant music of cymbals, chimes and gongs. Similarly, the area behind ground-floor retail units is limited to residential use. But if living over a store is déclassé, what is living behind a store? One advantage: If you run out of sugar, you can always knock on the back door and borrow a cupful from your neighbor, the ever-smiling and obliging chef with the flashing cleaver. Can’t you see the hordes of young couples that will desert the Upper West Side and move to Croton to live in such desirable quarters? Fat chance.

The second floor may house any combination of retail and residential uses. Professional occupancy was originally an important part of the rental income formula of retail stores sharing space with professional offices and apartments. A felicitous amalgam intended to milk increased tax revenue from “revitalization,” it also conjured up images of lawyers’ clients stumbling over prams and strollers parked in the hallways. But not to worry. Such frictions will never come to pass. Professional offices are nowhere mentioned in the new law, which defines mixed use as “a combination of residential dwelling units and other permitted and/or special permit users.” I kid you not. It will be apartments and retailers plus whatever undefined “others” are able to pass muster with the Planning Board and receive special permits required from the Village Board of Trustees.

As if to emphasize Croton’s aggressive unfriendliness to commerce, the new law repeats the Gateway Law’s categories of banned legitimate businesses that are beyond the pale. In today’s hard times when we should be welcoming business of every stripe, Croton is like a panhandler insisting he will only accept a quarter if it’s a scarce collector’s commemorative coin. The recently enacted zoning changes do not represent intelligent planning; they are planning run amuck.

The earlier laughable Rube Goldberg concept of parking spaces shared between the various categories of tenants and customers has been quietly swept under the rug. In its place is a simple formula based on bedroom counts. Retailers will have to fall back on existing commercial district parking regulations—formulas that are notoriously inadequate, particularly for restaurant parking.

Advocates of the zoning change were loud in their criticism of the “dowdy” look of Harmon’s commercial area. A look I happen to like because of its quaintness and lack of pretension. In Harmon, what you see is what you get. Proponents promised that the zoning changes would alter that look, but don’t hold your breath. The committee’s original recommendations at least gave a nod to appearance in the following virtually unintelligible statement that “the third story must be designed to within the roofline and dormers, gables or other aesthetically pleasing design possibilities.”

The zoning changes say absolutely nothing about aesthetics. What they do say is, “buildings in the area shall be subject to such additional design guidelines as may be adopted by resolution of the Board of Trustees from time to time.” So, after all the fuss and bother, the vaunted zoning changes are revealed to be nothing more than a work in progress! Still to come are the inevitable onerous nit-picking regulations that are the bane of venture capital investment.

I can comfortably make a prediction: Local Law No. 4 of 2009 will bring as much new development capital to Harmon as the 2004 Gateway Law brought to Croton in almost six years—which is to say, zero, zip, zilch, nada, nothing. One year, five years, ten years from now, Harmon will look pretty much the way it does today. And we can all thank our lucky stars for that.

Readers interested in reading the text of the zoning changes adopted on December 7, 2009, as Local Law No. 4 will find it at the following link: http://www.crotononhudson-ny.gov/publicdocuments/crotonhudsonnywebdocs/2009-11-locallaw.pdf