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Croton--our history, our homes, our issues, our businesses, our schools--in
short, EVERYTHING CROTON.
With permission to post, Paul Steinberg's Gouveia letter to the Gazette (the 1/9/14 edition), appears below. See additional links to important Gouveia information at the end.
To the editor:
The highest court in
NY has agreed to hear a case which will likely impact the proposed Gouveia
acquisition.
The case involves the use of a portion of Union Square park to erect a
restaurant, and opponents are saying that the state legislature in Albany must
approve the plan because it involves alienation of municipal parkland in
violation of the public trust doctrine.
Application of the "public trust doctrine" was at issue in the 2001
development of a water filtration plant in Van Cortlandt park, and that case
would seem to be squarely on point in the Gouveia matter, although the Village Trustees
fail to see things that way.
The Van Cortlandt park case is available from public library sources, and the
citation is 745 N.E.2d 383 (2001).
In that decision, the court said that once land has become municipal parkland,
there is a "public trust" which government officials must uphold.
That logic would appear to cover the Croton Trustees, much as they may think
otherwise.
While the Van Cortlandt court did allow for "de minimis" intrusion on
parkland, it held that the 5-year construction of the underground filtration
was indeed an alienation of municipal parkland and hence it required
legislative permission, even though the purpose was for a public good.
In the Gouveia case, the use proposed is not a public use but rather for use as
a private home. The upcoming case involving Union Square park may result in
some clarification, but unless the court radically changes course the law of
this state will remain the same, and the proposed Gouveia acquisition will
remain improper as a matter of law.
Paul Steinberg
Welcome to Everything Croton, a collection of all things
Croton--our history, our homes, our issues, our businesses, our schools--in
short, EVERYTHING CROTON.
The following letter appears in the 1/9/14 edition of THE GAZETTE; it is from Joel Gingold, is re-printed with permission and is very much worth your time. Important additional information links are provided at the end of the letter.
January 2, 2014
To the Editor,
Shortly before Christmas, I saw a
news article that offers some perspective on the Village Board’s obsession to
acquire the Gouveia property.
It seems that back in 2000,
Westchester County executed an agreement with Henriette Suhr of Chappaqua in
which Ms. Suhr donated her 13-acre private garden, Rocky Hill, to the county
along with an endowment of $500,000. The
property was to transfer to the county, and become a public park, on Ms. Suhr’s
death. However, last month the county
terminated the agreement citing the high cost of maintaining the property.
While there are parallels to the
pending Gouveia agreement, there are some very significant differences. Ms.
Suhr did not ask for a tax exemption during her lifetime, nor did she demand
the right to live on the property after the county took title. Ms. Suhr is 97, which is an indication of how
long Croton might have to wait before it has full control of the Gouveia
property (Ms. Gouveia is 71).
The county obviously did a real
cost-benefit analysis (not a phony analysis as was performed by the Village
Board on Gouveia) and concluded that it could not afford to properly maintain
the land. So rather than burden the
taxpayers with these costs, it withdrew from the agreement. Is there a lesson here for Croton?
Ms. Suhr is now looking for
another organization to accept and maintain the property. Maybe the mysterious religious organization
that wanted Gouveia will take it. Or
better, Croton can continue its program of open space acquisition and add Rocky
Hill to the Village’s inventory. It
would not result in any tax loss to the Village and so what if it’s in
Chappaqua. You have to drive to get to
Gouveia, so why not spend a few more minutes on the road and visit Rocky
Hill. To justify the acquisition, I’m
sure the Board can conjure up a cost-benefit analysis that will show that accepting
the Suhr property will result in a net profit to the Village.
Sincerely,
Joel E. Gingold
PAUL STEINBERG ALSO HAD A LETTER IN THE PAPER http://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2014/01/paul-steinberg-gouveia-letter-1914.html
You may also have an interest in http://www.everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2013/12/top-five-most-read-2013-gouveia.html
Welcome to Everything Croton, a collection of all things
Croton--our history, our homes, our issues, our businesses, our schools--in
short, EVERYTHING CROTON.
As many of you know, the village board is "considering" a five year contract with the Toughman competition. The word "considering" is placed in quotes because the contract is largely viewed as yet another "done deal".
In the 1/2 - 1/18/14 edition of The Gazette, a letter appeared from Bob Riekert of Ossining detailing the ongoing traffic nightmare created by The Toughman competition. It is an open letter to the mayor and the village manager. Click on the image to the right to read it in its entirety.
You may also have an interest in the Sept. 2013 letter from Richard Nagle: http://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2013/09/post-touchman-facts-richard-nagle.html
Please note that this posting is closed to all comments.
Welcome to Everything Croton, a collection of all things
Croton--our history, our homes, our issues, our businesses, our schools--in
short, EVERYTHING CROTON.
Click on the images, courtesy of THE CROTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY, for some 1973 Unitarian Fellowship newspaper clippings. For more info about the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Briarcliff, Croton and Ossining, visit https://www.uuchudsonvalley.com/
Putz artisan Howard Lamey has finished two small projects this month--click on the photo--and went with all mica flakes this time instead of standard glitter. The effect is quite nice indeed. You can see it from start to finish here over at the forums: http://bit.ly/19fC9Eh
See more of Howard's work at www.littleglitterhouses.com
These two houses reminded us how much we love the old-fashioned vintage look of mica...and so here are some sources--including one for colored mica:
You
can get 8 ozs. At http://www.ebay.com/itm/8-ounces-Old-Fashioned-Mica-Flakes-w-Early-Vintage-Look-/400294832813?pt=Folk_Art&hash=item5d336e6aad Thanks Howard!
We're so happy to bring you this rare, working find: the 1954 Raylite Musical Church Organist. It
contains a Swiss music box. When the music box plays, his arms move up
& down and he sways from side-to-side, creating the illusion he is
playing music. Raylite used a very thin
Vinylite plastic, which broke very easily--the Swiss mechanism did as well--which accounts for why finding one in good working order is difficult. There are a few missing pieces here and and some minimal paint loss but it's still an outstanding find. Click on the photo.
THE 1959 CHRISTMAS IDEAS MAGAZINE FROM BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS; so much kitschy 50's goodness http://www.flickr.com/photos/30673837@N02/sets/72157639455389675/
The Valentine Shop is open at Blumchen http://www.blumchen.com/valentine_shop.html
Fab fun blog: THE DEPARTMENT STORE MUSEUM http://departmentstoremuseum.blogspot.com/
THE VILLAGE QUILTER #3 http://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-village-quilter-3.html
Welcome to
Everything Croton, a collection of all things Croton--ourhistory, our homes,
our issues, our businesses, our schools--in short, EVERYTHING CROTON.
We're launching a new series here at EverythingCroton at the request of local quilters: THE VILLAGE QUILTER!
Along
the way, we'll feature the work of local quilting artisans--search for
vintage and antique items--provide tips, interesting links, and more....AND SO...Click on the photo to see a beautiful concentric squares lap quilt created by one of the women at Holy Name of Mary--and raffled off with all proceeds going to the St. Vincent de Paul Society. Great color choices.
Sara also found a great site called the QUILTING BOARD--with tips, forums, photos, patterns and more - click on the link http://www.quiltingboard.com/
Stay tuned for more.
SEE THE VILLAGE QUILTER #1 HERE http://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-village-quilter.html
SEE THE VILLAGE QUILTER #2 HERE http://www.everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-village-quilter-2.html
Welcome
to Everything Croton, a collection of all things Croton--our history, our
homes, our issues, our businesses, our schools--in short, EVERYTHING CROTON.
Back in early January 1973, Croton was in a deep freeze similar to the one now---click on the photo--but there are 'warmer' days ahead according to News 12. In the meantime, stay warm. Wind chill advisories still in effect and it is brutal out there: http://westchester.news12.com/weather
And
check out this January 2013 photo of the ice wall on Route 129 near the
Croton Dam; click on the photo below.
Always a spectacular sight.
And entertaining people for generations.
Welcome to
Everything Croton, a collection of all things Croton--our history, our homes,
our issues, our businesses, our schools--in short, EVERYTHING CROTON.
It's been a real pleasure to get an exclusive sneak peek at some of the items coming to the block at Croton's own SeriouzToyz 2014 auction...(stay tuned for more info) and one of our favorite "things"--pun intended--is this vintage store promotional display for THE THING toy of Addams Family fame. Click on the photo. STAY TUNED FOR MORE.
Welcome to
Everything Croton, a collection of all things Croton--our history, our homes,
our issues, our businesses, our schools--in short, EVERYTHING CROTON.
CONTINUING OUR POPULAR SERIES IN 2014--BUT WITH A NEW YEAR--1962.
THIS MONTH IN CROTON: JANUARY 1962 - PART 2 - Courtesy
once again of the outstanding archives maintained by the volunteers of THE
CROTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Click on my photos below and stay tuned for
more. SEE PART 1 HERE http://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2014/01/this-month-in-croton-january-1962.html
YOU MAY ALSO HAVE AN INTEREST IN:
--CROTON'S STARLIGHT LANES http://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2011/08/croton-memories-starlight-lanes.html
An outstanding vintage French Valentine postcard, pre WWI. Click on the photo.
For those of you who have admired my Radko Pine Valley putz Church, yes you can still find old stock and this one in particular--here: http://bit.ly/1lvC1bt
So worth looking at again: the Poloron Vacucel blow mold fireplace http://www.flickr.com/photos/27088143@N03/3941766368/
Oh to one day visit the Marx Toy Museum http://www.marxtoymuseum.com/
Welcome to
Everything Croton, a collection of all things Croton--our history, our homes,
our issues, our businesses, our schools--in short, EVERYTHING CROTON.
Daniel
McClung, who grew up in Croton and attended Croton schools, perished in a high rise Manhattan fire yesterday. http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news%2Flocal%2Fnew_york&id=9382321
