Why they are running, their critique of the Pugh administration, the limits of housing development in Croton, village democracy and transparency, and other topics.
This interview reveals an in depth understanding of the village’s situation by the Voice of Croton candidates. Their responses are thoughtful and constructive. They must find a way to get this interview in the hands of voters. The majority of voters still don’t know them or understand the issues here. They need to be more visible and vocal starting now. Pugh has the advantage of incumbency and support of the Democratic machine. But the average villager, once they become aware of the threat of urbanization, will be on their side.
Thanks for your comment. I think all of the candidates, including Croton Democrats, realize that being interviewed by the Chronicle or writing Guest Editorials for it is the best way to get the largest audience for their views. That’s because we have few length restraints and can include appropriate color images and photos. The Chronicle as of today has 1,225 direct email subscribers and articles like this are likely to be viewed by well over 2000 people over the next few days. I hope all readers here will share these interviews with their friends and neighbors, and support what the Chronicle is trying to do for the community—provide everyone with a voice.
If you are reading this and support the Voice of Croton, then consider yourself officially deputized as a volunteer. Please do all you can to spread the word about their campaign. Forward on their website to all of your friends and neighbors, inform people about their campaign when you’re at the local coffee shop, and last but not least, please contribute whatever you can afford to their campaign. They really need it! Thanks!
Very well said, Gerry. Please do all you can to spread the word about their campaign. We will need people like you from now until the election. Thank you!
The village is absolutely mismanaging its relationship to developers. It’s perfectly reasonable to demand a lot from organizations who build here, up to and including that development not be ugly, or making sure that amenities for more dense communities include local sidewalks or more retail space. Lots of small community governments in westchester don’t have the resources or experience to even know what to ask for (and it shows).
Absolutely. A 100 unit apartment building in our tri-state area is worth in the neighborhood of $15-$20 million. Our village should be driving a hard bargain. Not sure if you are aware, but the other RFP for Lot A included a village community room. Guess what, there is no village community room for the project chosen by the current administration. To add insult to injury, our current administration passed something called a Payment in Lieu of Parkland. Basically, if a developer is constructing a building and there is no plan for a park, they have to pay a one time hefty fee to our village, which goes into a special fund, which is 100% allocated for the upkeep of our parks.
100% affordable projects are exempt from paying this fee! If our current administration had chosen the other RFP for Lot A, with 80% Market Rate/20% Affordable, the Payment In Lieu of Parkland fee would have been in the neighborhood of $300K-$400K.
Obviously, the yearly taxes on an 80/20 development would’ve been higher as well, for years to come.
If you look at the Village finances and projections out for the next few years, it becomes obvious the Village budget will rely more and more on federal and NY State grants. Does anyone know if the Village received a grant for being on the first Pro-Housing Communities? If we ever do receive a grant for being on the of the first Pro-Housing Communities, what doe the Village intend to do with the money?
This interview reveals an in depth understanding of the village’s situation by the Voice of Croton candidates. Their responses are thoughtful and constructive. They must find a way to get this interview in the hands of voters. The majority of voters still don’t know them or understand the issues here. They need to be more visible and vocal starting now. Pugh has the advantage of incumbency and support of the Democratic machine. But the average villager, once they become aware of the threat of urbanization, will be on their side.
Thanks for your comment. I think all of the candidates, including Croton Democrats, realize that being interviewed by the Chronicle or writing Guest Editorials for it is the best way to get the largest audience for their views. That’s because we have few length restraints and can include appropriate color images and photos. The Chronicle as of today has 1,225 direct email subscribers and articles like this are likely to be viewed by well over 2000 people over the next few days. I hope all readers here will share these interviews with their friends and neighbors, and support what the Chronicle is trying to do for the community—provide everyone with a voice.
If you are reading this and support the Voice of Croton, then consider yourself officially deputized as a volunteer. Please do all you can to spread the word about their campaign. Forward on their website to all of your friends and neighbors, inform people about their campaign when you’re at the local coffee shop, and last but not least, please contribute whatever you can afford to their campaign. They really need it! Thanks!
https://www.voiceofcroton.org
Very well said, Gerry. Please do all you can to spread the word about their campaign. We will need people like you from now until the election. Thank you!
Thank you all for stepping up! And to the Chronicle for this in-depth post.
The village is absolutely mismanaging its relationship to developers. It’s perfectly reasonable to demand a lot from organizations who build here, up to and including that development not be ugly, or making sure that amenities for more dense communities include local sidewalks or more retail space. Lots of small community governments in westchester don’t have the resources or experience to even know what to ask for (and it shows).
Absolutely. A 100 unit apartment building in our tri-state area is worth in the neighborhood of $15-$20 million. Our village should be driving a hard bargain. Not sure if you are aware, but the other RFP for Lot A included a village community room. Guess what, there is no village community room for the project chosen by the current administration. To add insult to injury, our current administration passed something called a Payment in Lieu of Parkland. Basically, if a developer is constructing a building and there is no plan for a park, they have to pay a one time hefty fee to our village, which goes into a special fund, which is 100% allocated for the upkeep of our parks.
100% affordable projects are exempt from paying this fee! If our current administration had chosen the other RFP for Lot A, with 80% Market Rate/20% Affordable, the Payment In Lieu of Parkland fee would have been in the neighborhood of $300K-$400K.
Obviously, the yearly taxes on an 80/20 development would’ve been higher as well, for years to come.
If you look at the Village finances and projections out for the next few years, it becomes obvious the Village budget will rely more and more on federal and NY State grants. Does anyone know if the Village received a grant for being on the first Pro-Housing Communities? If we ever do receive a grant for being on the of the first Pro-Housing Communities, what doe the Village intend to do with the money?