Croton Week in Review: May 19-23
Alleged drunk driving on Route 9, raising the Pride Flag, an upset win in the school board elections, and the resignation of two social media leaders make for a dramatic week in the Croton community.
Monday May 19
Today we reported on the arrest the previous Friday of Jennifer L. Moore, 36, of Beacon, on several felonies related to alleged drunk driving on Route 9 in Croton (Moore is not the same person as the Croton teacher with the same name.) In the car with Moore were her children, aged 1, 2, and 13. Among the felony charges was New York’s Leandra’s Law, enacted in 2009 after two tragic accidents in which children were killed. We described the history of the law in some detail. (See below for details of Moore’s court appearance in Croton on May 21.)
If convicted, a person charged with Leandra’s Law can be sentenced to up to four years in prison for a first offense.
We also reported today on the upcoming raising of the Pride Flag at the Croton municipal building on June 1, and summarized the colorful history of the flag since its inception in 1978. The flag has gone through a number of design changes, some of them controversial. The current version is called the Progress Pride Flag, and that is what the sponsors of the event, which include the village of Croton, the Croton IDEA Advisory Committee, and Croton Pride, will raise on the day.
Tuesday May 20
Today, the Croton-Harmon school district’s elections took place. The proposed 2025-26 budget passed by a wide margin, 1470 yes votes to 349 no, and candidates Allison Samuels and incumbent Theo Oshiro were elected to the two available seats. (They were trailed by Will Begeny and Leslie Pollak.) Samuels, with 1062 votes over Oshiro’s 919, scored a decisive win, which may give the board, the district administration, and the entire community a lot to think about over the next three years of her term. See our editorial on the following day for about what we think it all means.
This evening the Planning Board continued its lengthy site approval process for the development that will be built by WBP Development LLC at the former Lot A and an adjacent property. WBP vice-president John Bainlardi was on hand to provide some updates, including on the funding for the proposed 100 affordable condos at the site. The developer has been waiting months for approval of its grant request to the New York State Affordable Homeowner Opportunity Program (AHOP), as well as funds from Westchester County, which are necessary for the project to be 100% affordable. Bainlardi said that the company was “getting good feedback” from these funding agencies, although he did not provide more details, nor did the Planning Board members ask for any.
The ongoing public hearing on the project then opened. The first speaker was Croton resident John McKeon, who has been raising questions for many months about whether there was enough water volume and pressure at the site, or would be once it was finished, to supply fire fighters if there was a conflagration. McKeon also noted that the entire area including Croton Point Avenue had been rezoned for such projects, up to five stories, and asked if there would be enough water volume and pressure for additional projects, and who would be paying for the necessary improvements.
Village Engineer Dan O’Connor said, among other things, that “the village has ample water supply,” but was not forthcoming with the kind of details McKeon was asking for. Gary Eisinger, who is running for mayor on the Voice of Croton ticket in this November’s elections against Brian Pugh, also raised questions about an easement that the developer is negotiating with a Wayne Street resident that would allow water to be piped from an already existing main. Eisinger asked that the site plan not be approved until there was full transparency about that easement and confirmation that it had been approved by both parties, as well as transparency over how much money the village would have to contribute to the project.
Bainlardi, asked to respond by the board, stated that if for any reason the easement did not go through, the developer had a Plan B that would involve storing water under the roof of the building. He declined to provide any details of what he described as a “private” negotiation with the Wayne Street resident, but did say that any contribution the village had to make would be compensated for by an adjustment in the purchase price of Lot A. Bainlardi also asked the Planning Board to close the multi-meeting public hearing, implying that it was now a waste of time and served no further purpose. The board, after a brief discussion, voted to do so. Bainlardi expressed appreciation to the board, adding that moving to the next step in the process might also help with the funding issues.
Wednesday May 21
Today, Jennifer L. Moore, charged with violations of Leandra’s Law and other felonies, appeared in Croton Village Court before Judge Sam Watkins. The main order of business was her request, via her attorney Michael Borrelli, to modify an order of protection so that she could return home to her husband and children. Over the objections of the prosecution, Judge Watkins agreed to allow her to go home, as long as she did not drive with the children in the car. Moore’s next appearance will be on June 18.
The court also dealt with further proceedings in the cases of Dengjin Chen, accused of scamming a Croton resident out of $20,000, and Hari Valdez, charged with several larceny offenses.
Also today, in a Chronicle Editorial, we commented on the landslide victory of Allison Samuels in the school board elections despite a concerted smear campaign against her and Leslie Pollak that lasted throughout the election cycle. While we found no evidence that opponents Theo Oshiro and Will Begeny were involved in the dirty tricks, they had earlier failed to condemn them, which we found very disappointing.
As we pointed out:
“As recently as the weekend before the election, campaign volunteers for the Oshiro-Begeny team were going around the village telling people that their candidates had to be supported lest the board fall into the hands of Trump supporters. And up to and including the day of the election, partisans were handing out flyers that implied Samuels and Pollak wanted to limit the knowledge of our children…”
We also detailed Samuels’s distinguished career as an instructor at Baruch College, and concluded that she was highly qualified for the position—perhaps, in some ways, the most qualified of the four candidates.
“Despite all of the smears and dirty politics, the voters of the district picked overwhelmingly, as their first choice, a highly qualified candidate, while at the same time giving the fewest votes to her running mate. This suggests that most voters did not fall for the falsehoods, and proved themselves capable of cutting through the nonsense and doing what was best for the district’s children. At such a contentious time in Croton and nationally, that is a very healthy sign.”
Thursday May 23
Today brought a surprise development in Croton’s social media sphere. Ana Teague and Nora Regis Odland, long-time administrators of the Facebook group The Croton Point, announced that they were stepping down from these powerful roles, although they would remain members of the group.
We say “powerful roles” because The Croton Point, with 2100 members, is one of the most important social media groups in the community, and a forum for lively and sometimes acrimonious debates about community affairs. The debates over the school board election had been particularly contentious, although there were other potential issues such as a possible conflict of interest created by Teague being school board president and a key moderator of community discussions.
Friday May 23
This morning the Veterans Award Ceremony was held in the ShopRite parking lot. Grace Richards, the store manager, presented a $5000 check to our American Legion Fox-Eklof Post 505.
********************************************************************************************************
Support local journalism—take out a paying sub!
Please recommend the Chronicle to one or more friends and neighbors, and—if you are currently a free subscriber—please consider upgrading to a paid sub or giving a gift subscription. You will get all of our content that way, and have the satisfaction of supporting local journalism right here in your own village. You can do this by clicking on these links and following the prompts. Thank you.
To share this post, or to share The Croton Chronicle, please click on these links.
Comments policy: Please be polite and respectful at all times.
Great article - thank you for the weekly review.