WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.720 --> 00:00:02.839 Hudson River Radio dot Com. 2 00:00:03.160 --> 00:00:04.400 It beats listening to nothing. 3 00:00:04.519 --> 00:00:05.000 It's Frank. 4 00:00:05.559 --> 00:00:09.000 My goodness, it's Franks being Frank. 5 00:00:09.199 --> 00:00:12.000 Fright where the only way to be is Frank. 6 00:00:14.279 --> 00:00:17.559 Hello everyone, and welcome to being Frank. We're the only 7 00:00:17.600 --> 00:00:19.519 way to be is Frank. 8 00:00:19.879 --> 00:00:21.000 I'm your host, Frank. 9 00:00:20.839 --> 00:00:23.280 Lebono, and I'd like to thank you for joining us 10 00:00:23.519 --> 00:00:27.519 on what we like to call the Intelligent Conversation Podcast, 11 00:00:27.920 --> 00:00:31.440 where no conversations out of bounds and all points of 12 00:00:31.519 --> 00:00:35.439 view are welcome. Listeners should know that we record live 13 00:00:35.479 --> 00:00:39.560 to tape. I give you the date for context and relevance. 14 00:00:39.679 --> 00:00:44.000 It is the twenty eighth of October, just before election day. 15 00:00:44.119 --> 00:00:48.200 We will be talking about that on this program. Piermont, 16 00:00:48.240 --> 00:00:51.280 New York, is both unique and typical of many small 17 00:00:51.359 --> 00:00:55.560 towns throughout the United States. Its location and history make 18 00:00:55.640 --> 00:00:59.159 it unique. Located at the base of the Mighty Palisades 19 00:00:59.200 --> 00:01:01.799 on the banks of the historic Hudson River, in just 20 00:01:01.799 --> 00:01:05.439 a mere twenty miles or so north of midtown Manhattan, 21 00:01:05.799 --> 00:01:07.959 it has been a prime spot as a rail and 22 00:01:08.040 --> 00:01:11.920 shipping depot for goods flowing from the fertile Hudson Valley 23 00:01:12.159 --> 00:01:15.840 to New York City. The long pier extending from its shores, 24 00:01:15.920 --> 00:01:19.640 provided the point of embarkation for the gis from nearby 25 00:01:19.719 --> 00:01:24.560 Camp Shanks to join the D Day Normandy invasion. In fact, 26 00:01:24.760 --> 00:01:28.719 over seventy percent of the invasion force shipped out from 27 00:01:28.760 --> 00:01:32.359 that pier. In recent years, it's quaint downtown, with its 28 00:01:32.400 --> 00:01:35.560 tony restaurants and shops, have made it a tourist mecha 29 00:01:36.040 --> 00:01:39.519 for day trips from the city. The downtown is also 30 00:01:39.599 --> 00:01:44.760 home to the legendary Turning Point music venue. However, Pierremont 31 00:01:44.840 --> 00:01:48.680 face is a common question typical of most ust villages 32 00:01:48.959 --> 00:01:52.200 in the twenty first century, and that is how can 33 00:01:52.239 --> 00:01:57.519 it maintain the character associated with small village life, incorporating 34 00:01:57.560 --> 00:02:00.760 its history and charm with the need to contintinue with 35 00:02:00.879 --> 00:02:04.879 the growth necessary to keep a village alive and vital. This, 36 00:02:05.000 --> 00:02:09.719 of course means responsible development. However, there is a wide 37 00:02:09.800 --> 00:02:15.639 range of opinions on exactly what responsible development means. This 38 00:02:15.719 --> 00:02:19.960 debate can get quite visceral and emotional, with passionate arguments 39 00:02:20.000 --> 00:02:23.479 often reaching a fever pitch. The good part of this 40 00:02:23.560 --> 00:02:26.719 debate has been the activism of residents to be heard 41 00:02:26.800 --> 00:02:29.680 on the subject and to provide a united front to 42 00:02:29.680 --> 00:02:33.840 present their needs and desires. This has recently been the 43 00:02:33.879 --> 00:02:37.159 case in the village of Piermont, when a developer proposed 44 00:02:37.159 --> 00:02:41.479 a fourteen unit apartment complex on a vacant lot virtually 45 00:02:41.520 --> 00:02:45.240 in the center of town. When discovered, opposition was swift 46 00:02:45.599 --> 00:02:50.680 and vocal, with many residents expressing their displeasure with village officials. 47 00:02:51.360 --> 00:02:55.479 They felt the project was completely inappropriate for its location 48 00:02:55.960 --> 00:03:01.680 and incompatible with the villages downtown. Some local officials disagreed 49 00:03:01.919 --> 00:03:07.159 setting up a showdown with residents, so they organized Preserve Piermont, 50 00:03:07.479 --> 00:03:12.560 a grassroots organization dedicated to their vision of responsible development 51 00:03:12.960 --> 00:03:18.159 and open government, to discuss this issue and others. We 52 00:03:18.199 --> 00:03:22.199 are pleased to have some intelligent conversation with four members 53 00:03:22.360 --> 00:03:27.159 from that organization. First, Dennis Hardy. Dennis is a former 54 00:03:27.199 --> 00:03:30.960 mayor of Piermont and village trustee, as well as the 55 00:03:30.960 --> 00:03:35.719 former chair of the Piermont Democratic Party and a lifelong 56 00:03:35.800 --> 00:03:39.599 resident of the village. Professionally, he works in customer solutions 57 00:03:39.919 --> 00:03:44.039 for the Watts Corporation. Welcome Dennis, thank you good to 58 00:03:44.080 --> 00:03:47.520 be here. Next up, Robert Zi. Robert is a local 59 00:03:47.599 --> 00:03:51.360 attorney and small business owner. He lives in Piermont with 60 00:03:51.400 --> 00:03:54.840 his wife, who is also an attorney, and their two 61 00:03:54.879 --> 00:03:58.400 small children. Robert is also a member of the Piermont 62 00:03:58.840 --> 00:04:01.960 Fire Department. Robert, thank you for joining us here on being. 63 00:04:01.759 --> 00:04:04.599 Frank so much. Frank, I appreciate it. 64 00:04:05.560 --> 00:04:08.680 Jeff Gordon Jeff has been a practicing lawyer in the 65 00:04:08.680 --> 00:04:11.719 state of New York for over forty years. He is 66 00:04:11.759 --> 00:04:16.720 also a real estate developer and court appointed mediator. Jeff 67 00:04:16.839 --> 00:04:20.439 moved into Piermont in twenty twenty three, so he'll give 68 00:04:20.519 --> 00:04:24.240 us kind of a newcomers point of view hopefully. Jeff, welcome. 69 00:04:25.199 --> 00:04:26.560 Thanks for having me, Frank. 70 00:04:27.240 --> 00:04:31.000 Okay, Next up, Kate McCabe. Kate is the current candidate 71 00:04:31.079 --> 00:04:35.560 for Piermont Village Trustee. She moved to Piermont in nineteen 72 00:04:35.639 --> 00:04:40.480 ninety seven. She works as SVP of Talent Solutions and 73 00:04:40.600 --> 00:04:46.920 Strategy for Human Capital Solutions firm. Kate welcome, Thank you, Frank. 74 00:04:46.959 --> 00:04:49.079 It's a pleasure, guys. 75 00:04:49.160 --> 00:04:51.759 Let's get into our conversation, but let's again, you know, 76 00:04:51.879 --> 00:04:55.079 context is important, so let's set things up a little 77 00:04:55.079 --> 00:04:57.000 bit first. I think we have to talk a little 78 00:04:57.000 --> 00:05:00.439 bit about about Piermont itself, it's history and it's people. 79 00:05:00.720 --> 00:05:02.680 What are some of the important things we need to 80 00:05:02.680 --> 00:05:05.839 know about Piermont. Dennis, you've kind of been the longest 81 00:05:05.879 --> 00:05:08.199 time resident. Why don't we start with you there? 82 00:05:10.120 --> 00:05:15.560 Okay, I mean a little bit of the history of development. 83 00:05:16.959 --> 00:05:21.879 You know, Piarmont was a paper mill village for many years, 84 00:05:21.879 --> 00:05:25.920 and then in the nineteen eighties the paper mills shut 85 00:05:25.959 --> 00:05:30.759 down and we started with the first phase of the 86 00:05:30.800 --> 00:05:35.839 Pearmont Landing development project. And then what happened in nineteen 87 00:05:35.879 --> 00:05:40.959 eighty nine the real estate market tanked and the project 88 00:05:41.079 --> 00:05:45.759 went bankrupt. Then it restarted again in nineteen ninety three, 89 00:05:46.480 --> 00:05:52.399 and then they started proposing building phase two, three and four. 90 00:05:53.839 --> 00:05:57.279 I was fortunate, or maybe not fortunate, to be mayor 91 00:05:57.319 --> 00:06:00.439 when we built phase three and four of the Hearmont 92 00:06:00.519 --> 00:06:05.480 Landing development, and all that was done with full engagement 93 00:06:05.639 --> 00:06:10.560 of the community, notice to all the residents, to you know, 94 00:06:10.639 --> 00:06:15.279 all the stakeholders, to be really fully engaged as opposed 95 00:06:15.319 --> 00:06:19.279 to the current development that you spoke about earlier. So 96 00:06:19.439 --> 00:06:24.000 and now we're here today with the proposed fourteen unit 97 00:06:25.160 --> 00:06:30.360 apartment complex. And that's how I sort of came out 98 00:06:30.399 --> 00:06:34.680 of retirement and got involved with Preserved Pearmont, and I'm 99 00:06:34.800 --> 00:06:37.920 very glad I did and so that's where we are. 100 00:06:38.680 --> 00:06:41.240 No, Deennison, you mentioned a few things within that we 101 00:06:41.319 --> 00:06:43.319 want to talk about a little bit more detail. The 102 00:06:43.360 --> 00:06:47.839 backstory obviously of how we got here in the first place, 103 00:06:47.839 --> 00:06:51.279 but you also mentioned being a former mayor, and eventually 104 00:06:51.360 --> 00:06:54.079 want to get to the point of, you know, taking 105 00:06:54.120 --> 00:06:58.040 on that kind of responsibility and special especially in small towns. 106 00:06:58.560 --> 00:07:00.879 Some people might call it a thank job, because no 107 00:07:00.920 --> 00:07:03.399 matter what you do, there always seems to be some 108 00:07:03.480 --> 00:07:05.920 kind of opposition. But we'll get to that. I want 109 00:07:05.920 --> 00:07:10.360 to talk about some of that more detail, but we 110 00:07:10.399 --> 00:07:12.120 need to know, I think a little bit more about 111 00:07:12.279 --> 00:07:16.120 the beginnings of Preserve of Piermont, and guys in the 112 00:07:16.160 --> 00:07:19.439 conversation is open for all all of you. Please feel 113 00:07:19.439 --> 00:07:22.199 free to jump in at any time. You know, we 114 00:07:22.279 --> 00:07:25.800 have maybe a lead person on any individual topic, but 115 00:07:25.879 --> 00:07:29.879 certainly it's open for open conversation, as we like to 116 00:07:29.920 --> 00:07:33.319 call it, intelligent conversation. I'll let you, guys handle that part. 117 00:07:33.360 --> 00:07:36.480 I'll just set you up, okay, But so let's go 118 00:07:36.480 --> 00:07:38.079 to Robert rob We'll give us a little bit of 119 00:07:38.079 --> 00:07:41.199 a backstory and the beginnings of Preserve Peremont. 120 00:07:42.759 --> 00:07:48.360 Sure, so I think late late twenty twenty three or 121 00:07:48.399 --> 00:07:51.720 maybe early twenty twenty four, I happen to be sitting 122 00:07:51.759 --> 00:07:55.399 on my couch and my wife sort of mentioned that 123 00:07:55.480 --> 00:07:57.759 she had seen something on Facebook, and I guess another 124 00:07:57.800 --> 00:07:59.839 resident in the village had sort of brought to life 125 00:08:00.040 --> 00:08:01.959 fact that there were a number of projects that. 126 00:08:01.920 --> 00:08:03.360 Were being proposed in the area. 127 00:08:04.720 --> 00:08:09.360 One of these projects was pretty close to our house. 128 00:08:09.480 --> 00:08:11.360 We live in the past, which is sort of a 129 00:08:11.360 --> 00:08:14.279 low lying area in the village. 130 00:08:15.240 --> 00:08:15.439 You know. 131 00:08:15.560 --> 00:08:18.879 So once once you brought that to my attention, you 132 00:08:18.959 --> 00:08:21.800 do the you do the next thing that you typically do. Right, 133 00:08:21.839 --> 00:08:24.040 You go to the You go the village's website. You 134 00:08:24.079 --> 00:08:27.959 see what they have there. I couldn't find anything. Uh 135 00:08:28.199 --> 00:08:31.000 So I started submitting foil requests to the village sort 136 00:08:31.040 --> 00:08:36.000 of got stone walls on a number of occasions, and 137 00:08:36.039 --> 00:08:40.480 I started foiling different you know, agencies, I guess with 138 00:08:41.159 --> 00:08:46.200 sort of advisory or or responsibilities related to the project. 139 00:08:49.279 --> 00:08:52.720 The one project in particular is on this little triangular 140 00:08:52.840 --> 00:08:55.600 lot sort of as you're making your way into uh 141 00:08:55.679 --> 00:08:59.879 into the into the downtown, rob. 142 00:08:59.759 --> 00:09:01.919 If I if I might jump in here, because again 143 00:09:01.960 --> 00:09:05.799 I think it's context is important. Again, we're we're thinking 144 00:09:05.840 --> 00:09:07.960 off the top of our heads. I'm from Nayak, I 145 00:09:08.000 --> 00:09:10.519 spent a lot of time in Piermont, so we kind 146 00:09:10.519 --> 00:09:13.600 of know the place. Again, assuming that not all of 147 00:09:13.639 --> 00:09:17.440 our listeners are from here, and again we stream internationally. 148 00:09:17.519 --> 00:09:20.919 Even I think it's important we described Piermont's really kind 149 00:09:20.960 --> 00:09:24.440 of a tiny place. There's really only so much room. 150 00:09:24.519 --> 00:09:27.240 Can you can you can you describe that also in 151 00:09:27.279 --> 00:09:30.600 a little bit more detail, so people kind of understand 152 00:09:30.639 --> 00:09:34.039 the scale of this project, kind of being shoehorned into 153 00:09:34.080 --> 00:09:37.559 a relatively small area at least the way I see things. 154 00:09:37.879 --> 00:09:41.320 Knowing the town, so as you go along with your conversation, 155 00:09:41.440 --> 00:09:44.240 if you could, you know, bring that into the conversation 156 00:09:44.360 --> 00:09:45.919 as well, I think that's important. 157 00:09:46.759 --> 00:09:47.000 Sure. 158 00:09:47.120 --> 00:09:52.000 Sure, So the downtown is severely compact, right you have 159 00:09:52.639 --> 00:09:56.559 you have restaurants next to coffee shops, you have uh, 160 00:09:56.879 --> 00:10:00.600 you know, other small businesses next to restaurants, et cetera. 161 00:10:00.720 --> 00:10:03.480 And it's you know, it's it's it's the bustling it's 162 00:10:03.519 --> 00:10:06.200 the bustling area of the village. It's where everyone goes. 163 00:10:06.440 --> 00:10:10.480 People people out of the village come in primarily to 164 00:10:10.720 --> 00:10:13.720 you know, to walk the village's main street. So when 165 00:10:13.759 --> 00:10:16.279 we found out that they were planning on putting this 166 00:10:16.279 --> 00:10:20.799 this large project on such a small piece of property. 167 00:10:21.759 --> 00:10:24.600 You know, a number of us tried to try to investigate, 168 00:10:24.639 --> 00:10:28.679 and eventually, eventually we were able to see rendering of 169 00:10:28.840 --> 00:10:31.919 what this project would be. At board meetings. You know, 170 00:10:32.799 --> 00:10:39.000 there were audible gas and I think for the organization, 171 00:10:39.799 --> 00:10:44.480 the backbone of it was talking to neighbors, talking to 172 00:10:45.440 --> 00:10:49.240 other residents, talking to law enforcement in the area, talking 173 00:10:49.240 --> 00:10:53.000 to other agencies, and you know, it became somethany where 174 00:10:53.000 --> 00:10:56.960 we would walk door to door, we would hand out pamphlets. 175 00:10:57.000 --> 00:10:58.960 We would tell people, Hey, this is what's going on. 176 00:10:59.200 --> 00:11:03.240 And at the beginning of it, it seemed like nobody 177 00:11:03.440 --> 00:11:05.159 was really aware. 178 00:11:04.840 --> 00:11:05.919 Of what was happening. 179 00:11:07.159 --> 00:11:09.679 So you know a number of us kind of put 180 00:11:09.720 --> 00:11:13.360 in that put in that effort to notify neighbors, say, hey, 181 00:11:13.399 --> 00:11:16.120 come to these come to these meetings. They are important 182 00:11:16.120 --> 00:11:19.360 things that are being discussed, things that you should know 183 00:11:19.480 --> 00:11:24.960 about because it's going to change the villages downtown. And 184 00:11:25.120 --> 00:11:27.799 that was sort of the you know, the the impetus 185 00:11:27.840 --> 00:11:30.720 for for I think Preserved Hermont. And you know, one 186 00:11:30.720 --> 00:11:34.600 of the first people I reached out to was Dennis Hardy, Uh, 187 00:11:34.960 --> 00:11:38.559 you know, Dennis on on Facebook. He you know, he 188 00:11:39.000 --> 00:11:41.080 lets people know that he was he was an elected 189 00:11:41.120 --> 00:11:43.559 official in the village and he and he's fist something 190 00:11:43.559 --> 00:11:47.159 he's proud of. So, you know, some things that a 191 00:11:47.240 --> 00:11:50.279 number of us did were reach out to elected officials, 192 00:11:50.320 --> 00:11:52.000 and Dennis was one of the first people that I 193 00:11:52.080 --> 00:11:55.720 reached out to, and he was certainly helpful, uh in 194 00:11:56.080 --> 00:11:58.639 getting momentum behind the movement. 195 00:12:00.039 --> 00:12:02.679 This is an open ended question and for all of 196 00:12:02.720 --> 00:12:07.240 you also, and something that Robert said about the difficulty 197 00:12:07.240 --> 00:12:11.360 in finding information, is there a suggestion that this was 198 00:12:11.360 --> 00:12:16.840 done surreptitiously because there would be opposition? Can can anybody 199 00:12:16.960 --> 00:12:20.320 comment on that? What are your feelings towards that? Why 200 00:12:20.320 --> 00:12:25.399 do you think it wasn't so transparent? Anybody's opinion? Anybody 201 00:12:25.440 --> 00:12:29.799 can jump in, frank if all right, I'll Jeff please, 202 00:12:30.200 --> 00:12:33.679 Jeff Gordon please, And. 203 00:12:33.039 --> 00:12:35.480 For the sake of clarity, and in my own defense, 204 00:12:35.519 --> 00:12:40.039 you would describe me as a real estate developer. I'm 205 00:12:40.080 --> 00:12:44.720 actually a real estate investor in my own defense, very 206 00:12:44.720 --> 00:12:46.399 good developer. 207 00:12:47.120 --> 00:12:51.240 For this discussion, that's an important that's an important distinction. 208 00:12:51.480 --> 00:12:52.960 Particularly in this discussion. 209 00:12:53.080 --> 00:12:57.159 There you go, so one of the problems, one of 210 00:12:57.159 --> 00:13:00.759 the problems I had Frank is I or my career 211 00:13:00.799 --> 00:13:05.720 forty three years ago as a municipal lawyer for Briarcliffe, Manor, 212 00:13:05.840 --> 00:13:11.720 Tarrytown and Irvington. Forty three years later up until now, 213 00:13:11.840 --> 00:13:16.759 I mediate for the courts, and I thought I was 214 00:13:16.799 --> 00:13:25.200 going to come to Piermont and you know, retire. But 215 00:13:25.440 --> 00:13:28.000 I noticed it was a problem to address your question. 216 00:13:28.879 --> 00:13:30.799 The first thing that hit me was I went to 217 00:13:31.639 --> 00:13:35.080 I started going to board meetings and at the board meetings, 218 00:13:35.360 --> 00:13:38.440 I noticed that public comment was really a one way street. 219 00:13:39.000 --> 00:13:43.960 There was no dialogue, there was no response any questions. 220 00:13:44.080 --> 00:13:46.440 Now a lot of people would come to vent some 221 00:13:46.480 --> 00:13:48.799 people would come to ask questions. They were asking questions 222 00:13:48.840 --> 00:13:51.360 about any number of things or issues that they had 223 00:13:52.200 --> 00:13:55.279 with their own particular property or with the village in general. 224 00:13:55.600 --> 00:13:58.240 Parking was an issue at that point, the CBM was 225 00:13:58.279 --> 00:14:03.279 an issue. There was no response from anybody on the board. 226 00:14:03.360 --> 00:14:06.440 They just sat there. You spoke for you three minutes. 227 00:14:06.480 --> 00:14:08.799 Or you were cut short if you wanted to go longer, 228 00:14:09.080 --> 00:14:12.120 and that was the end of it. And that troubled 229 00:14:12.159 --> 00:14:15.320 me as a formerly mumissial lawyer. You know, I know 230 00:14:15.399 --> 00:14:17.480 how a village should run, and I know how it 231 00:14:17.519 --> 00:14:21.600 shouldn't run and something was a miss here. And to 232 00:14:21.639 --> 00:14:23.720 further answer your question, so I went to the village 233 00:14:23.720 --> 00:14:28.039 website and I started looking for documents that should have 234 00:14:28.159 --> 00:14:33.200 been uploaded and were not. We've got something called open 235 00:14:33.320 --> 00:14:37.840 government laws in New York, and municipalities are supposed to 236 00:14:37.840 --> 00:14:40.440 abide by it. Most even put it in their own 237 00:14:40.480 --> 00:14:45.360 village charter or a village code. In this particular case, 238 00:14:45.480 --> 00:14:49.759 I noticed that during the seminal period of time that 239 00:14:49.840 --> 00:14:56.159 this CBM zone was being proposed, and this development was 240 00:14:56.320 --> 00:15:01.120 also being proposed on the triangular A lot, there were 241 00:15:01.240 --> 00:15:07.919 missing minutes of important meetings. There were documents that should 242 00:15:07.960 --> 00:15:11.039 have been uploaded that had not been uploaded, not only 243 00:15:11.080 --> 00:15:15.720 for this project, but in general, when you have something 244 00:15:15.759 --> 00:15:18.200 an application come before the planning board, of the zoning 245 00:15:18.240 --> 00:15:20.000 board or the bot. 246 00:15:20.159 --> 00:15:23.559 More for the previous two boards, the. 247 00:15:23.519 --> 00:15:27.559 Applicant is supposed to provide the village with documents so 248 00:15:27.600 --> 00:15:30.279 they know what they're looking at, site plans, things of 249 00:15:30.320 --> 00:15:36.559 that nature, inspections, reports, surveys, and it was silent, not 250 00:15:36.600 --> 00:15:40.519 only for the CBM and the proposed development, but generally 251 00:15:40.600 --> 00:15:46.240 there was a big hole in the village records and 252 00:15:46.799 --> 00:15:49.679 that created a problem and a suspicion in my mind 253 00:15:49.799 --> 00:15:53.720 that you know, during this crucial period of time when 254 00:15:53.759 --> 00:15:56.480 CBM was being developed, and when I say CBM, I'm 255 00:15:56.480 --> 00:15:58.919 talking about the zoning amendment that would have allowed this 256 00:15:59.000 --> 00:16:01.840 development to have been done, they were missing. 257 00:16:02.639 --> 00:16:06.480 Now, that could have been an accident. I didn't suspect 258 00:16:06.519 --> 00:16:11.279 it was. The presumption is that government is open and. 259 00:16:11.159 --> 00:16:14.639 Compliant and transparent in this particular case. 260 00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:19.080 In my opinion and from what I found, and I know. 261 00:16:19.039 --> 00:16:22.120 That Kate did a lot of research on this and 262 00:16:22.159 --> 00:16:26.080 what was sorely lacking as far as being published and 263 00:16:26.480 --> 00:16:30.879 available to the public to comment on, which is a requirement. 264 00:16:31.720 --> 00:16:33.679 They were empty. Nothing was there. 265 00:16:34.399 --> 00:16:37.840 So to answer your question, in my opinion, yeah, this 266 00:16:38.039 --> 00:16:40.919 was intentionally done. There was too many there were too 267 00:16:40.919 --> 00:16:44.639 many holes in the record and what wasn't published on 268 00:16:44.720 --> 00:16:47.000 the village website for this to be an accident. 269 00:16:48.399 --> 00:16:50.960 Perfect And I want to bring both Kate and Dennison 270 00:16:51.000 --> 00:16:53.240 at this point to talk a little bit about the 271 00:16:53.320 --> 00:16:57.240 history of development in Piermont. Is this something that's kind 272 00:16:57.279 --> 00:17:01.639 of typical for administrations the history of Piermont or is 273 00:17:01.679 --> 00:17:04.799 this an aberration? Okay, why don't you take it first 274 00:17:04.839 --> 00:17:06.640 and Dennis you contribute as well. 275 00:17:07.079 --> 00:17:13.519 Okay, so yeah, I've lived through many administrations in Piermont, 276 00:17:13.599 --> 00:17:16.680 including Dennis's and or the end I guess the end 277 00:17:16.680 --> 00:17:21.440 of Dennis's. But no, this was not the norm. Also 278 00:17:21.559 --> 00:17:25.160 with public comment at public hearings in prior administrations, it 279 00:17:25.319 --> 00:17:28.400 was a back and forth. There was a dialogue. But 280 00:17:28.559 --> 00:17:31.640 like Jeff said, you know from the time that this 281 00:17:31.920 --> 00:17:35.079 particular project related to that triangular lot is how we 282 00:17:35.160 --> 00:17:39.480 refer to it in town hit the planning board. They 283 00:17:39.559 --> 00:17:43.720 stopped uploading documents on the village website until after the 284 00:17:43.839 --> 00:17:49.079 zoning amendment was passed and adopted. They were also not 285 00:17:49.160 --> 00:17:51.640 publishing public notices. They were kind of doing the bare 286 00:17:51.680 --> 00:17:55.319 minimum of putting a notice in the newspaper, a notice 287 00:17:55.359 --> 00:17:58.200 tacked outside the village hall. You know, they weren't using 288 00:17:58.240 --> 00:18:01.400 all the village communication assets we've invested in to communicate 289 00:18:01.440 --> 00:18:03.759 with the public. And that was definitely a new thing. 290 00:18:04.240 --> 00:18:07.079 And like Dennis said, when the four phases of Piermont Landing, 291 00:18:07.720 --> 00:18:12.839 which is where Jeff, Dennis and myself live, were developed, 292 00:18:12.839 --> 00:18:15.240 there was a lot of public engagement and a lot 293 00:18:15.279 --> 00:18:18.759 of public meetings and a lot of extra effort given 294 00:18:18.839 --> 00:18:21.440 to make sure that you know, there were site renderings, 295 00:18:21.559 --> 00:18:25.039 you know, in our public spaces in town for people 296 00:18:25.079 --> 00:18:27.759 to see them. There were flyers and things that went out. 297 00:18:28.000 --> 00:18:31.839 Our community news letter was highlighting these projects and various 298 00:18:31.839 --> 00:18:35.079 different things. So yes, this appeared to me to be 299 00:18:35.240 --> 00:18:39.000 a very big change, and like Robert and Dennis said, 300 00:18:39.039 --> 00:18:41.319 you know, this really became a neighbor to neighbor effort. 301 00:18:41.880 --> 00:18:45.359 Got I heard about this in I think April of 302 00:18:45.400 --> 00:18:48.599 twenty twenty four through a text chain with my neighbors 303 00:18:48.920 --> 00:18:51.640 who said, there's this really important village board meeting on 304 00:18:52.359 --> 00:18:55.559 Tuesday night. We've all got to go, And I went, 305 00:18:55.720 --> 00:18:57.759 and I met Robert on the street outside of Village 306 00:18:57.759 --> 00:19:02.319 Hall after that meeting, and so yeah, this was definitely 307 00:19:02.319 --> 00:19:05.720 a grassroots effort of people realizing, like Jeff said, that 308 00:19:05.799 --> 00:19:08.319 things didn't look right, that things weren't being handled the 309 00:19:08.319 --> 00:19:12.039 way they had previously been handled. It definitely seemed like 310 00:19:12.079 --> 00:19:16.759 this zoning change, in my perspective, was adopted to accommodate 311 00:19:16.799 --> 00:19:20.400 this particular project and perhaps another project you know that 312 00:19:20.519 --> 00:19:24.119 might be coming up in the downtown as well. So 313 00:19:24.519 --> 00:19:28.400 it seemed like it seemed like there was a desire 314 00:19:28.519 --> 00:19:32.279 to build this project and that the most expedient way 315 00:19:32.319 --> 00:19:34.599 to get it done was without a lot of public engagement. 316 00:19:35.440 --> 00:19:41.759 Yeah, I think Kate correct, and if I certainly want 317 00:19:41.759 --> 00:19:46.160 to point out that all four of us have been 318 00:19:46.400 --> 00:19:49.799 to the village board meetings and planning board meetings and 319 00:19:49.880 --> 00:19:54.799 we've all expressed our concern. But I want to contrast, 320 00:19:54.920 --> 00:20:00.200 the original Paramount Landing development was a heavily noticed to 321 00:20:00.240 --> 00:20:05.640 the community. However, this recent development, it was the bare 322 00:20:05.839 --> 00:20:10.200 minimum required by law that was noticed. So I guess 323 00:20:10.240 --> 00:20:13.039 if you want to slide something under the radar, that's 324 00:20:13.079 --> 00:20:16.480 what you do. You just provide the bare minimum required 325 00:20:16.519 --> 00:20:19.960 by law. And it was noted at one of the 326 00:20:21.599 --> 00:20:26.559 meetings that there were notices sent to Paarmont Landing. I've 327 00:20:26.599 --> 00:20:30.119 lived in Pearmont Landing for almost thirty years. I never 328 00:20:30.200 --> 00:20:33.519 received the notice. So that was a concern, and that 329 00:20:33.680 --> 00:20:40.079 lack of transparency because this development project was going to 330 00:20:40.200 --> 00:20:44.799 impact our one block square of the village of Piermont. 331 00:20:45.039 --> 00:20:48.839 We only really have one block, and as Richard Esnard, 332 00:20:49.000 --> 00:20:52.279 or member of our Pairmunt Historical Society said, you know, 333 00:20:52.400 --> 00:20:54.920 we only have one block. We need to get it right. 334 00:20:55.160 --> 00:20:59.599 And so that's what energized all of us and I 335 00:20:59.680 --> 00:21:05.200 was really grateful for that initial call when Rob called me. Uh, 336 00:21:05.279 --> 00:21:08.960 and I'm happy to be fully engaged now and here 337 00:21:08.960 --> 00:21:09.640 I am tonight. 338 00:21:10.480 --> 00:21:12.920 I love when things segue like this. You guys make 339 00:21:12.960 --> 00:21:15.880 me look smart because this is perfect lead into my 340 00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:21.319 next question for Robert. It's obvious, but let's let's talk 341 00:21:21.319 --> 00:21:25.960 about it. Why participation in government is important. It's it's 342 00:21:26.000 --> 00:21:29.240 an active duty. To talk to that a little bit. 343 00:21:29.279 --> 00:21:31.799 You just can't sit and take things. You've got to 344 00:21:31.839 --> 00:21:35.440 be involved, Robert, you takes the lead, and everybody contribute, please. 345 00:21:36.279 --> 00:21:36.799 Oh yeah. 346 00:21:36.920 --> 00:21:42.119 You know, everything that everyone has described is sort of 347 00:21:42.640 --> 00:21:48.359 culminated in this organization and we've used it primarily to 348 00:21:48.720 --> 00:21:53.319 get information out there to residents that's work or that 349 00:21:53.680 --> 00:21:59.119 was otherwise unavailable. You know, you compare you compare a village, 350 00:21:59.519 --> 00:22:03.759 the village of Piermont, to to other surrounding municipalities, right 351 00:22:04.200 --> 00:22:08.400 the town of Orangetown, for example. They they notice every 352 00:22:08.440 --> 00:22:12.920 single meeting, every document is made available on the website, 353 00:22:13.799 --> 00:22:16.759 you know, compared to to to Piermont. At the time 354 00:22:16.799 --> 00:22:19.880 this came out, Uh, it was like night and day 355 00:22:20.160 --> 00:22:22.319 and and to the to the village's benefit, you know, 356 00:22:22.359 --> 00:22:25.759 they've been they've been doing a lot more lately to 357 00:22:25.880 --> 00:22:30.359 sort of make the public aware of of what's going on. 358 00:22:30.640 --> 00:22:34.240 But you know, the the intent behind the organization was 359 00:22:34.279 --> 00:22:38.640 primarily to let residents know what's happening, how it could 360 00:22:38.640 --> 00:22:43.359 impact them, and how how they could participate. So, you know, 361 00:22:43.599 --> 00:22:46.920 prior prior to to this, Frankly, I would attend village 362 00:22:46.920 --> 00:22:50.000 board meetings and there would be maybe three, three to 363 00:22:50.079 --> 00:22:55.559 five regulars. Right at the first at the first meeting, 364 00:22:55.599 --> 00:22:58.279 I think that this project was being heard before the 365 00:22:58.319 --> 00:23:02.240 village's planning board. It was it was standing room only. 366 00:23:02.680 --> 00:23:05.799 I had I had never seen anything like that in 367 00:23:06.200 --> 00:23:10.440 my career, in my life as an individual, and it 368 00:23:10.519 --> 00:23:13.960 was it was. It was gratifying because you know, a 369 00:23:14.000 --> 00:23:15.680 lot of the efforts that we had put in in 370 00:23:15.759 --> 00:23:19.079 terms of notifying people and walking and saying, hey, do 371 00:23:19.079 --> 00:23:22.240 you hear about this? When you see that sort of 372 00:23:23.559 --> 00:23:29.279 result in a standing room only village board meeting, it's 373 00:23:29.319 --> 00:23:29.839 it's great. 374 00:23:31.680 --> 00:23:36.240 And if I just may add, you know, we preserve Pearamont. 375 00:23:36.319 --> 00:23:38.759 You know, we have our Facebook page which is almost 376 00:23:39.000 --> 00:23:43.799 eight hundred members strong, but we we advocate to residents 377 00:23:44.519 --> 00:23:48.359 please attend village board meetings if you can attend the 378 00:23:48.400 --> 00:23:51.480 board meeting, put your thoughts and your concerns in writing 379 00:23:51.839 --> 00:23:55.160 to the village board. Uh, that's the way to get 380 00:23:55.200 --> 00:23:59.720 something done and to get attention. Maybe in this case 381 00:23:59.759 --> 00:24:05.720 we accomplish exactly what we wanted to because you know, 382 00:24:05.759 --> 00:24:09.920 the project was moving ahead, but we had four courageous 383 00:24:09.960 --> 00:24:14.920 residents who you know, initiated the lawsuit and it was 384 00:24:15.920 --> 00:24:19.960 you know, blocked in Supreme Court. And so that's that's 385 00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:22.799 what community advocacy is all about. 386 00:24:23.920 --> 00:24:27.119 You know, again, the perfect segue into my next Okay, 387 00:24:27.160 --> 00:24:30.000 do you want to say something first? Please do so, please, 388 00:24:30.559 --> 00:24:30.920 thank you. 389 00:24:31.039 --> 00:24:32.720 I just wanted to add to what Dennis Sett and 390 00:24:32.799 --> 00:24:35.319 Robert said that. You know, the other thing that I 391 00:24:35.359 --> 00:24:38.039 think is really this is really highlighted for me is 392 00:24:38.160 --> 00:24:40.640 all the gifts and talents of all of my neighbors 393 00:24:40.680 --> 00:24:44.599 within the community. You know, people have contributed their talents, 394 00:24:44.680 --> 00:24:48.799 either their legal skills or their communication skills, or their 395 00:24:48.839 --> 00:24:53.559 marketing skills, or their organizational skills whatever they might be, 396 00:24:53.799 --> 00:24:56.039 or their use of social media, or their or their 397 00:24:56.079 --> 00:25:01.200 own networks within the community. And these little little networks 398 00:25:01.200 --> 00:25:03.799 within networks. You know, we have a village of you know, 399 00:25:03.960 --> 00:25:08.200 twenty five hundred people. Right, It is literally a mile 400 00:25:08.319 --> 00:25:11.759 square and part of that is a creek. So this 401 00:25:11.839 --> 00:25:14.359