Silly Geese

We are hoping the Court will make a decision on our article 78 petition in the next 60 to 90 days.  It's really hard to predict as the lead time varies from judge to judge, depending on case-load and other factors.

There are several other things we can discuss to pass the time such as the State Land Corp. rezone, the Costco site and the "Super" Walmart.  There will be a lot on that in the near future.  In the meantime, enjoy this video of baby geese walking down Mohegan Ave.  I'm going to use this post to propose the speed bumps that near the intersection of Scofield Road and Mohegan Ave be extended all the way up Mohegan to Sagamore Trail.  People actually walk on this sidewalk-less street while some people drive at break-neck speeds.  The speed bumps are very effective, in my personal experience.

Spring!

I'm personally not a fan of Canada geese because they poop on everything and I think their population could be responsibly and ethically thinned; much like Senator Gillibrand.  They are actually good meat; we could kill two birds with one stone (pun totally intended).  Donate the meat to food pantries and keep our environment well balanced.

However, I have to say I screamed like a little girl when I saw the babies down at the beach tonight.  So very cute.  And boy, do they ever have a unique, shall I say, locomotion.

Interesting Development

There's an article in this morning's Yorktown Examiner regarding the 100 acre development mentioned in the previous post for "State Land Corp." which is a private development and has nothing to do with the state.

Here's a choice quote from the Yorktown police chief:

In an April 26 letter to an environmental company assisting State Land Corp. in its efforts to rezone about half of the 100-acre parcel from four-acre residential (R-160 ) to commercial (C-3), Police Chief Daniel McMahon said, "The proposed State Land Corp. project will have a negative impact on the policing of the entire Town of Yorktown."

  

Let's hope the town board leaves this zoning district as it exists.  The developer can build several nice homes on the site and turn a handsome profit without detrimentally altering the character of the area.  The last thing the Yorktown Town Board should do is give another developer a handout at the detriment of the rest of Yorktown.

SaveYorktown.com?

Boy, I tell ya, northern Westchester is chocked full o' nuts crazy development and legislative proposals.  It's really, truly, very hard to keep up.  It's no wonder there's such a fatalistic mentality within the residential population of Yorktown when it comes to planning issues.  "You can't fight town hall" is a ubiquitous refrain with people who resign themselves to having to "live with it."

While this site was definitively set up to fight one particular issue, we may have to expand the scope of our discussion.  For example: there is a proposal to transfer approval authority to the town board, from the planning board.  I was heartened to see a lively group of people show up, en masse, to highlight the drawbacks of such a move.  The law was changed in 1994 based on sound reasoning.  There's not much of an argument to change it back other than "it used to be like that."  Imagine if we started changing laws back to how they used to be just because "it used to be like that."

Moving on, here's an issue that deserves some attention.  At the end of the day, to make a new commercial development a stone's throw from the Costco project site to move forward, there is a 100 acre site that needs to be rezoned to make that viable.  Under the agenda item titled "Forest Management Plan" , there is a substanative discussion that directly affects the viability of both of those projects; it's imperative that the public insert itself into this disclosure early and often [note: the preceding link is to Town Board summaries lovingly prepared by former supervisor Susan Siegel who maintains a LISTSERV here; I encourage you to sign up for mailings].

I leave you with the following moments of nature recently captured on the northern tip of Mohegan Lake:

Sidebar

There's some healthy public discourse going on with the Yorktown town board.  It involves transferring approval authority from the planning board to the town board (scroll to the end of this link, to read the meeting summary regarding the transfer of approval authority).  The town board will vote on the matter, soon.  I'm still gathering facts, but am leaning towards it's a terrible idea to approve such a change.

While I gather facts, please enjoy this photo from the meeting.  Those in the know may find some humor in that sign referencing the Yonkers town council/board member who was convicted of corruption and is serving jail time for yadda, yadda...

Glad to know that Yorktown has retained it's sense of humor.