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THE FOLLOWING REFLECTS THE 7/24 REMARKS OF JOHN McKEON TO THE BOARD REGARDING CURRENT DEVELOPMENT PROPOSALS
I’ve watched over the past several years with grave concern, the level of tidal flooding of our riverfront, particularly at Senasqua Park where I have been currently observing tidal waste deposits over more than 50% of the land area of the park on a regular basis.
These observations, coupled with numerous articles that I have read, announcing the expected onslaught of up to 4 feet of tide flooding on a regular basis developing over the next few decades in our area of the Hudson River has me concerned.
The announcement of New York State’s intention to elevate the Annsville circle by 6 feet drove home to me the extent of the threat we face moving forward. For our village to be expanding the amount and density of residential housing on the flood plains associated with our riverfront is pure folly.
We should have every expectation that our parking lots by the train station that already experience flooding at this juncture will be rendered almost unusable within the next decade. The only parking lot that we own associated with our village at the train station that will not be threatened with flooding over the next decade is parking lot A. Yet we are selling this property because our village has decreed that it is unnecessary, and therefore its sale is not subject to public scrutiny.
When I asked publicly at a seniors meeting about the escalating, flooding problem at the train station parking lot. I was told by a trustee that they would seek funds independently to correct that problem. I was provided with no timeframe for addressing the flooding issues nor availed of any anticipated programs available at county, state, or federal level.
The Finkelstein property is immediately adjacent to a rail yard on the Hudson River floodplain. That rail yard will need to be remediated by Metro North either with Dykes and pumping stations or by track elevation within the next two decades. It is sheer lunacy that we are going to provide a developer with a spot zoning change to allow for a six story residential structure with over 100 car spaces in a flooding zone. The storm sewer system that serves to abate the water cascading down our Bluffs from our village streets at high velocities is captured by the state stormwater system underneath the Croton on Hudson Expressway and then channeled into the river. When flooding occurs concurrent with rainstorms, the system will not be able to gravity feed into the river. We will be having water spout from our storm sewer drains along Riverside Drive. If you don’t believe me, take a vacation during stormy weather to South Miami Beach.
We have generational changes at play that are severely impacting our ability to successfully man the fire departments in our region. Fighting a fire in a residential community of two and three-story structures does not require the same skills, ability, equipment, and manpower that a six story structure with hundreds of residents Involved in potential evacuation requires. We have every reasonable expectation to expect the need to inject professional paid firemen into our village response structure within the next 4 to 10 years.
The village leadership has demonstrated a total lack of understanding and provided no leadership whatsoever on this issue. There is no evidence that there has been any significant analysis performed of the village’s ability to provide Safety services to multiple large residential structures of over three stories.
Obviously, that did not stop our reckless village manager and village engineer from giving a developer, private assurances of the probability of a successful spot zoning change as part of a money grab for the owners over a year ago.
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