Town Board Meeting

September 8, 2004

My name is Richard J. Garfunkel, I live in an unincorporated section of Greenburgh with a Tarrytown address. Over the past few years I have had the pleasure of serving on the Greenburgh Park and Recreation Advisory Board. Over that time I have tried to involve myself in many different activities that range from serving on that board, attending Town Board meetings attending conferences on the aging, energy conservation and the like.

Two weeks ago at our last Town Board meeting I was criticized for over-reacting and heckling a speaker. I was also accused of being a friend of the Supervisor. I would like to state here and now that I am truly guilty of that indiscretion. Not only did I object to the specious and insulting remarks promulgated by the speaker, but I also admit to friendship with the Supervisor. I am proud of that friendship that goes back almost 30 years. Over that time I have watched a young man develop into an outstanding leader of this great town, who puts the people first, the special interests second and practices what some many preach, “that a public office is a public trust.” 

After over two years of almost continuous attendance at these meetings, I have found out one uncontrovertibly fact; there is a small cabal of haters that spend their and the public’s time running a 730 day campaign. These obstructionists nit-pick their own special issues and interests. They obfuscate the real issues facing this town, and they serve through their rudeness to frustrate and turn off legitimate debate.

They complain about where the meetings are held, the size of the offices Town Hall, the location of the cable television studio, and a myriad of other distracting and time-wasting points. They scream and clamor for open government, but abuse that tenant at any given moment. They are rude, partisan and self-promoting.

Yes, I call Paul Feiner a friend, and I will continue to call him a friend. Paul Feiner embellishes what the term “Public Servant” is all about. It is too bad that so many of our citizens are tired of coming out to these meetings and being secondary victims to the vitriol and the baseness that this group constantly employs.

By the way the issue of the Union Baptist Church should stand on its own and any assertion or insinuation that the Solomon Schechter School used “sub rosa” or unethical means or methodology to accomplish its construction is disingenuous. The Union Baptist Church serves a noble purpose like all Houses of Worship. Let us not put the important needs and functions of this important institution against any other noble institutions. Therefore I take exception to the last speaker’s (William Greenawalt) comparison regarding one group as home-grown and the others as some type of carpetbaggers.