NO SOLAR FOR MAYOR WEIGMAN, JOEL GINGOLD'S 5/23/15 GAZETTE LETTER

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Croton United member Joel Gingold's 5/21 Gazette Letter Reflects Upon His Walk in the Sunshine...

To the editor:

It is rare that Mayor Leo Wiegman and I agree on a local issue, but I do support the Mayor’s Solarize program.  While solar power is not the sole answer to our energy needs, it is an important adjunct and should be encouraged.  I only regret that my own home is so heavily shaded throughout the day that installation of solar panels is not appropriate.

But the other day, as I was walking my dog along Benedict Blvd., I noticed a house with a large west-facing roof.  There was some shade at the edges, but the afternoon sun beat down on most of the surface.  “What a perfect spot for a solar installation,” I thought, “I hope that the Solarize folks will contact the owner.”

Then it hit me.  OMG!!  That’s Mayor Wiegman’s house!!  How could it be that there are no solar panels on the roof?  Did my advancing age and declining eyesight result in my inability to see them?   Has the technology advanced to the point where the panels now look just like roofing shingles?

Surely I must be missing something.  The man who has appeared at so many meetings and in numerous videos extolling the benefits of solar energy must be participating in the Solarize program.  A former neighbor of mine who owned a landscaping business had a beautiful garden.  Automobile salesmen always drive shiny late models of their employer’s product.  Those employed in fashion always appear chic and impeccably dressed.  Everyone tries to demonstrate the benefits of the product or service they sell through their own actions and activities.

And Mayor Wiegman makes his living promoting solar energy. His corporate website proclaims, “Solar has never been more affordable!”  He is quoted on the Solarize Cortlandt-Croton website saying “With electric rates rising so much, there’s never been a better time to invest in a solar system for your home or business in Westchester County.”  With the Mayor’s connections in the solar industry and with generous federal and state subsidies, you’d think he could acquire his solar energy system at minimal cost. 

One would have expected to have seen, long ago, a picture of the Mayor, with technicians installing the panels on his roof, prominently displayed in the press and on line.  But I guess I must have missed that, too.

It would be the height of do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do hypocrisy for Mayor Wiegman to decline to participate in the Solarize program -- and our Mayor would never act like that -- so I obviously don’t understand what’s going on.  Could it be that he’s trying to find a way for village taxpayers to cover the cost of his installation?  Perhaps as a demonstration project?  Of course not!  He’d never use his position to reap personal benefits to which he’s not entitled as a consequence of his occupying the Mayor’s office.  So I just don’t have an explanation.

As King of Siam sang in The King and I, “Is a puzzlement!”

JOEL GINGOLD

You may also have an interest in BRIAN POWERS related letter 4/30/15 http://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2015/05/brian-powers-43015-gazette-letter.html