Village releases alternative bid for Lot A. What might have been, Part Two.

The competing proposal envisioned five stories, 52 units (11 affordable), and 2600 square feet of community space on the first level, accessible to all Croton residents.

Architect’s conception

In late December, the Croton-on-Hudson Board of Trustees, after many months of deliberations, hearings, and considerable controversy, approved a special permit that would allow WBP Development LLC to build 100 condominium units on the site of former Parking Lot A, along with an adjacent property owned by Croton Point Realty Inc.

The village had received two proposals for the Lot A redevelopment, the one from WBP and a competing bid whose details were not publicly released. As we reported earlier, the Chronicle attempted last spring to receive a copy of the losing proposal via the New York Freedom of Information Law (FOIL.) The village denied that request, on the grounds that officials were still in contract negotiations with WBP to sell the site, and that divulging it could affect the final sales price. Our appeal of that decision was also denied.

As we editorialized at the time, we believed that refusal to tell the citizens of Croton the details of a competing bid for the sale of village land—property that belonged to all of us—was a violation of basic democratic principles. Indeed, when the Chronicle requested the several competing bids for Maple Commons, which had never before been divulged to villagers, some residents felt that the winning bid for that project was not the best one for Croton.

Nevertheless, we were not in a position to take the matter further, which would have required going to court to litigate the issue. (We have since created a legal fund to support such litigation should it be necessary in the future.)