New Castle Supervisor candidates Penny Paderewski and Rob Greenstein discussed some of the town's biggest issues, along with how they would govern, at a candidates' night in Chappaqua.
The event, put on by the League of Women Voters of New Castle and held Thursday, drew a large crowd.
Pederewski, the Democratic candidate and current town administrator, noted her decades of service and said she had a "proven track record."
“You know what you will get with me,” she said.
Greenstein, who is the Team New Castle candidate and has the Republican and Independence Party endorsements, argued for change.
In addition to leadership, he said he has the “skill set, the passion and the drive to steer us back in the right direction."
Greenstein, who is an attorney with his own practice in New York City, is critical of the incumbent Democratic leadership in town, particularly with how the current town board has handled the Chappaqua Crossing retail plan and Conifer Realty's Chappaqua Station affordable housing plan.
During the talk, Chappaqua Crossing came up repeatedly as an issue.
When one person asked the candidates about 5-year vision, Paderewski endorsed having retail at the site, including a grocer, ancillary usage and a pool that could be used. Greenstein, in contrast, expressed concern, citing traffic impact and what he feels could be the creation of a third business area in town.
The traffic on Route 117, he argued, would be “a complete nightmare" and he felt that there would be a lot of downtown Chappaqua vacancies if the proposal goes ahead. Instead, he would like there to be a figuring out of what the community's brand is, meaning what it should be known for, and suggested support for a fine arts center, more density and residential usage in downtown Chappaqua instead. Additionally, Greenstein wants to process of updating the town's master plan to be done.
Paderewski felt that the traffic issue, which has been studied for the town during the review process, has not been finished yet.
One person brought up an idea that Greenstein previously suggested, which involves moving town hall and the police station to Chappaqua Crossing.
Paderewski stated that the idea of moving to Chappaqua Crossing was looked at but dismissed due to cost and that Summit/Greenfield, which is the site's owner, did not want to do a land swap.
The current retail proposal involves rezoning for 120,000 square feet of retail space, including a grocery store of 36,000 to 66,000 square feet. Greenstein, along with some other residents, have criticized the plan due to concern about traffic and economic impact on the existing business community.
Other downtown improvement matters were raised as well.
Ed Frank brought up a pair of reports done several years ago for downtown Chappaqua, which were given in 2003 by Vollmer Associates and in 2007 by Project for Public Spaces, according to the town's website.
Paderewski acknowledged that more work needed to be done and noted that the project for the bridge, referring to the overhaul of the Route 120 bridge, held it up. There will be some ideas brought up in the past that are being acted on next spring, Paderewski added. Additionally, she noted how sidewalk work is planned for Millwood based on the tentative 2014 town budget.
Greenstein stated that nothing was done with the Downtown Steering Committee, a group that explored helping Chappaqua, in the past two years. Referencing the reports, Greenstein supports having sidewalks that are safe and expressed interest in having traffic lights and a stop sign by the Starbucks. He also noted that a fine arts center was raised by Project for Public Spaces, which he is interested in, and suggested that downtown Chappaqua does not have what he called a major attraction.
Rob Fleisher asked the candidates what they would like their legacies to be after a term. Greenstein stated that he would like to have party affiliations removed from ballots at the local level. By doing this, he feels that better people could run and that the community as a whole would be choosing them instead of political leaders involved. He also feels that relationship between residents and government should be better.
Paderewski hopes to see a downtown that is vibrant, has beautiful streets and is one that people enjoy coming to.
Nicole Riche brought up Millwood and the West End in her question. Both candidates described about how they care about the area.
Paderewski repeated her updated, given to Frank, about downtown Millwood, and also stated that grants had been applied for to help streets located in the West End.
Greenstein brought up his role in helping to form the Chappaqua-Millwood Chamber of Commerce, and his involvement its Movies in Millwood Park series. He felt that an important West End issue is the equalization rate, which has been a source of higher tax increasing for the section of town, and thinks that a revaluation could help.
Will Wedge, giving his opinion on Greenstein's attitude when he speaks publicly, asked how he would work in groups that he does not have control over and in working with other elected officials. Responding, Greenstein brought up his experience in working with merchants who are part of the chamber. He also admitted that he is "passionate." He attributes his passion to fighting for residents and merchants and feels that his intentions are good.
One question brought up concerned how the candidates would approach the job, which argued that while the job is part time it has a commitment that is full time. Greenstein noted the position's part-time status and that he would still be working at his law practice. However, he noted that Paderewski will be retiring and that he would hire a new town administrator and a communications director, who would help out. Additionally, Greenstein talked about how he already has multiple roles, including with the chamber and in campaigning. Paderewski intends to work on a basis that is full time and wants to be in the town more than she is now.
The full video for the candidates' night is located at this link. It includes the supervisor candidates' portion, along with those for council seats, town justice and county legislator.
Find out what's happening in Chappaqua-Mount Kiscowith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
