STATEMENT BY DON DeBAR, WRITE-IN CANDIDATE FOR OSSINING TOWN SUPERVISOR

I have decided to announce as a write-in candidate for Ossining Town Supervisor this coming Tuesday (see "How to Write-In" instructions below).

The immediate reason for doing this, and the reason for this very late announcement, is the shuttering on Friday of the historic Ossining Boat & Canoe Club (OBCC) by the village building inspector at the instruction of the Town of Ossining, and the announcement by the Town Supervisor of her intent to demolish it.

 

Over the past 20 years, I've been actively involved in efforts to protect the Ossining community from bad decision-making by our local government officials. Since my primary area of professional expertise rests in real estate and land use matters, I've focused on calling attention to the potential negative impacts to the community of various development projects as they worked their way through the local boards and, where it seemed necessary, helping to organize a community response to the proposals.

The biggest problem I've encountered in these efforts has been the sense of impunity and the attitude of official arrogance that, sadly, is the trademark of our local government officials. It is this that needs to change in our community, and what happened this past week only served to drive home the point that the time to change it is now!

Earlier this year, I watched with interest as the residents of Croton organized themselves to resist an attempt by their local officials to tear down their local boat club and build a luxury restaurant in its place. Club members there were told that, due to revised FEMA regulations after Hurricane Sandy, there were insurance issues with their building that could not be remedied without a demolition and new construction, and that the only way they could afford to do this was to rent out the main part of the building to a restaurant, leaving some - albeit reduced - space for the club upstairs.

When the people of Croton refused to allow the eviction of the club and demolition of the clubhouse, a new proposal came forth: leave the club as it was, and build the restaurant next door. This, to all watching, demonstrated the true nature of the proposal, which had nothing to do with FEMA, insurance, or any other municipal or public concerns, but was, rather, an attempted giveaway of a precious community space.

I was therefore horrified to learn that a similar proposal was being considered for the Ossining Boat & Canoe Club, one of the last public outposts on the river in our community. Since I first heard of this over the summer, I've watched it wind its way through the town government with concern, but was told by friends at the OBCC not to worry. They believed the Town was acting in good faith, and that a fair accommodation would be reached preserving the historic boat club building and addressing the concerns of the Town. I expressed my doubts, given the history of the behavior of our local officials over the past decades, but held my piece and left it to them to try.

This past week, arrogance and impunity again took center stage. Members found the club padlocked, with a notice posted of violations of various codes. Clearly, urgent action is necessary, or the OBCC is a goner.

Town Supervisor Susan Donnelly is the primary mover of this project. In a healthy political climate, she would face opposition in this Tuesday's election, which would give voters a choice, and an opportunity to express their dissatisfaction by voting for her opponent. But Ossining does not harbor a healthy political climate; rather, it is customary for local politicians to run unopposed. This leads, inevitably, to a sense of impunity that simply does not exist where there is a healthy political debate, and a choice of candidates on election day. That is a larger problem that needs to be solved if we are to avoid continuous replays of this particular crisis.

Meanwhile, if I am elected. I will put an immediate end to this proposal, direct the reopening of the club, oversee the rational remediation of any safety issues in the building, and work with the members to re-engineer the relationship between the Town and OBCC in a way that provides long-term stability and protectts this valuable community resource from any further political mischief by future officials.