AN OPEN LETTER TO THE CROTON BOARD FROM DANIEL BENNETT REGARDING 1 HALF MOON BAY & RELATED ISSUES

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THE FOLLOWING LETTER IS PRINTED HERE WITH PERMISSION---AN OPEN LETTER TO THE CROTON BAORD FROM DANIEL BENNETT REGARDING 1 HALF MOON BAY & RELATED ISSUES

Dear Mayor Pugh, Board of Trustees, and Planning Board,

I am writing you to request that you not move forward with allowing any new multiple-unit building in the Village.

Adding approximately 1,000 apartments (in total, spread out over 4 sites) is overdevelopment and will eventually tax the resources of the Police, Fire, and EMS Departments. In addition, despite the analytics that each developer uses (which all seem to be variations of the same theme and not fully forward-looking), there will be an adverse effect on the schools at some point in the future. (Regarding the latter point, I submitted a FOIL request to the School District, so in the coming days, I will find out exactly how much you have really known and discussed regarding development and its impact on the schools.)

I find it troubling that time and again, you disregard the will and feeling of the majority of the Village citizens. In February of 2020, roughly 2/3 of the Village was against selling the Katz property for development and rezoning the old hardware store property. At a public hearing, countless people spoke out against it and asked that you not go through with your plans. And what did you do? You overrode the overwhelming majority of the citizens did what you wanted to do anyway. And now look at what we have. At one site, we cut down God knows how many trees to make way for two shoddily constructed buildings that look nothing like the initial artist's rendering used to "sell" this garbage to us, and at the other, the hill has been cut back so drastically that we're just about one significant rainstorm away from watching lower Van Wyck Street wash into the highway below. Then, not even three months ago, another significant number of residents came to yet another public hearing to speak out against selling and developing Lot A. And again, what did you do? Yet again, you overrode the overwhelming majority of the Village to do what you wanted to do. Where does it end?

There is no "housing crisis" in the Village of Croton. What is here, however, is clear-cut evidence of someone's political aspirations for higher office driving certain decisions on the topic of housing. My property value and overall quality of life shouldn't be negatively impacted because someone wants to toe the party line about a "housing crisis" in order to reap a political reward that may have been promised. To be blunt, I can see the game you're playing from a mile away, and the majority of the Village does, too.

Between all of these buildings, and whatever may come of the cannabis dispensary by Shop Rite, Croton is at significant risk of losing its suburban charm. Now that might be the overall intent of some of the people making the decisions, but I can say that the majority of Crotonites do not want that at all, as we are all here for a reason. For sure, if I wanted to live in the Bronx, I would have stayed there.

Just stop the madness.

Thank you.

Daniel Bennett

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FOR THOSE LOOKING FOR THE PETITION OPPOSING ALL THIS: 

This petition has been posted opposing Croton's Ubranization. To sign it, go to Petition · Stop Croton's Urbanization Now! - Croton-on-Hudson, United States · Change.org