A LETTER FROM CHRIS ROOSE

Welcome to The New Everything Croton, a collection of all things Croton-on-Hudson: our history, our homes, our issues, our businesses, our schools, our houses of worship -- in short, EVERYTHING CROTON.

THE FOLLOWING LETTER FROM CHRIS ROOSE APPEARS IN THE GAZETTE.......

To the Editor:

It is possible to support affordable housing and dynamic growth in our village and also hold the view that the proposal moving forward for Lot A (1 Croton Point Ave) is inappropriate.

One of the original proposals put forth by WBP Development was for 55 condominium units, in an approximately 80%/20% market-rate/affordable (up to 120% area median income (AMI)) mix. What is now under consideration is 100 units of non-market-rate (80%-100% AMI) housing, devoting the entirety of the buildable area to a single structure and its required parking spaces. Despite its location, squeezed between Route 9 and Harmon Yard, no playground or other green space is included in the proposal.

Our mayor has called Croton "one of the most thinly settled villages in Westchester County." If that doesn't ring true to you, it's because our village is more densely populated than two thirds of the municipalities in northern Westchester. Our 2017 Comprehensive Plan update called for "smaller-sized single or multi-family dwellings" to address the need to maintain demographic diversity in the village. Perhaps the 55-unit proposal fits that criteria, but in my view the 100-unit version does not.

A word about "Transit-Oriented Development" (TOD), which is the justification for the zoning overlay that permits this kind of five-story building in our village. Outside of this new TOD zone (adopted in 2022), buildings cannot be taller than three stories. Transit-oriented development is a concept that encourages centralized, mixed use that attracts people from outside the area to it. This project, at the very edge of our village, would tear down existing commercial space and replace it with the most dense housing possible, with no amenities provided to the community. This is contrary to the requirement laid out in the project's Request for Proposals, which stated, "Public benefits and amenities should be part of any new development, including outdoor greenspace and an attached or separate indoor facility for community and recreational use by all Croton residents."

Finally, I know it sounds harsh, but a proposal consisting of all subsidized units in this location could be viewed as class-based environmental discrimination. The developer is on record stating that they were disappointed they didn't qualify for brownfield remediation at this site. Elsewhere, at least one proponent of the proposal called the location one of the "armpits" of Croton, and the President of Croton Housing Network expressed disbelief that anyone would want to live there at a recent Board of Trustees work session. I am concerned about the liability this could present for the village, once the various effects of living in this location -- noise, vibration, air and light pollution, pedestrian hazards -- are fully felt.

I agree with our own Planning Board. This project should be scaled back. We have 106 housing units in various stages of development in our village right now. Please, Croton, slow down.

Chris Roose
Croton-on-Hudson