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Some residents there seek to make Edgemont the seventh village within Greenburgh. Tuesday's forum begins at 7:30 p.m. at Theodore Young Community Center-on Manhattan Avenue and is expected to last hours.
The question-and-answer presentation is titled “Edgemont Incorporation: What Would it Mean for Greenburgh?”
Key Greenburgh town officials have been invited to speak on existing services and the impact another new village would have.
Don Cannon, former member of the Citizens Budget Committee will serve as moderator.
Other speakers include: Greenburgh Councilman Ken Jones
-- Commissioner of Planning Garrett Duquesne
-- Building Inspector Steven Fraietta
-- Greenburgh Police Chief Chris McNerney
-- Commissioner of Parks Gerry Byrne
-- Commissioner of the TDYCC Andre Early
-- And Commissioner of Public Works Victor Carosi
Jeff Sherwin and John Lewis, both members of the Edgemont Incorporation Committee (EIC) filed a 1,400-signature petition with the town attorney’s office.
In earlier Daily Voice coverage, Greenburgh Supervisor Paul Feiner raised his concerns about the potential impact of a seventh village in the unincorporated areas of the town, such as Hartsdale and Fairview.
There was an informational meeting on March 1 in Hartsdale.
Sherwin said he thought Feiner was already telegraphing his position on incorporation by bringing up potential financial impacts in his email to residents.
In an earlier email, Feiner said the unincorporated bits of Greenburgh “will lose significant revenue.” He referenced a figure of more than $17 million that the Hartsdale Neighbors Association has put forth.
“The average resident of Edgemont pays 16 percent of their total tax bill to the town of Greenburgh for municipal services. The rest of their tax bill goes to the school district, county and fire district,” Feiner wrote.
While he understands that fear about increased taxes, Sherwin said there are a number of options Edgemont could pursue as a village, some of which could actually save the town money.
The town tax rate, the EIC said, has more than doubled since 2002, and debt is up 44 percent since 2007.
Since Edgemont represents only 8 percent of the town’s voters, it has “limited political influence.”
“The Greenburgh Town Board includes no Edgemont representatives, and its long-term interests are often not aligned with Edgemont’s,” the EIC said.
The move toward incorporation has taken on more urgency of late, the EIC said, because of recent development projects that, it claims, were “mishandled by Greenburgh, resulting in litigation.”
And reassessment has caused Edgemont’s share of town taxes to increase to 26 percent from 24 percent, for, the EIC said, “the same level of services.”
For more on the EIC’s arguments for incorporation, click here.
For more about the Hartsdale Neighbors Association, click here.
To read a previous Daily Voice story on Edgemont, click here.
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