Feiner Stresses Experience Edge Over Young in Democratic Primary Forum

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Democratic primary in Westchester County — Candidates participated in a virtual forum Monday evening.

June 1, 2021

By Brianna Staudt

Incumbent Paul Feiner emphasized constituent services, experience and “progressive” accomplishments while challenger Tasha Young called for systemic change and transparency in a Greenburgh Town Supervisor Democratic primary forum held Monday evening.

The event, hosted virtually by a local human rights advocacy group with moderators and candidates each participating from their own locations, ended on a mildly shocking note when Feiner suggested that Young, who currently holds a significant position at the New York City Council and has extensive experience working with the Greenburgh community, run for a lower-level town position before seeking the top job.

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“The position of Greenburgh Town Supervisor should not be an entry-level job. Usually, if somebody is seeking the top job, they have experience working in lower-level jobs. And I would recommend to my opponent that she basically get involved in the town. Be appointed to some committees. Maybe run for a lower-level position before seeking the top job,” Feiner said in his closing statement. “It is not a political job. It requires the skill set of a municipal chief operating officer who has developed the skills along with many important relationships and diverse knowledge base over decades. And I ask residents to support me.”

Young is the chief of staff for New York City Council Majority Leader Laurie A. Cumbo. Her prior experience includes stints as executive administrator at Irvington’s Abbot House; Medicaid managed care director at Elmsford’s North American Family Institute; program manager at Elmsford’s Today’s Students Tomorrow’s Teachers; program manager at Greenburgh’s Theodore D. Young Community Center; and chief program officer at White Plains’ My Sister’s Place. Young would be the first woman and first black supervisor for the Town of Greenburgh.

Feiner, who has been town supervisor for 30 years (the longest current tenure in Westchester, equaled only by Cortlandt Supervisor Linda Puglisi), opened the night with his signature call for any concerned constituents to call him directly and expect a prompt response, providing his phone number. In a reaction indicative of how the candidates disagreed throughout the night, Young later called this approach out of touch, citing residents who speak English as a second language.

“The ‘call me’ adage is great, and maybe that worked very well 20 years ago, but we’re in the 21st century, and we need to provide Greenburgh residents every vehicle possible to reach the supervisor,” Young remarked. “So, yes, you will get me — I know what it means to be on call. But you will get a more professionalized and larger version of constituent services, which is one aspect of the job.”

Young also contended throughout the night that Feiner approaches problems in an ad hoc manner, and a systemic approach would be better for Greenburgh residents. When Feiner promoted a recent effort to coordinate a donation of a chair lift for a disabled constituent he encountered who lives in public housing, Young pointed out the building should have been ADA-compliant almost two decades ago.

Feiner blasted Young for not speaking at town board meetings or public hearings before this past winter, yet still criticizing his leadership decisions as a candidate. Specifically, Young has denounced the relocation of seniors out of their public housing units on Manhattan Avenue last fall amid the COVID-19 pandemic so that construction on new low-income housing could start.

“I feel that if she or other community activists had concerns…they should have spoken to us. They should have spoken to the Town Board. They should have spoken to the Greenburgh Housing Authority,” Feiner said.

Young countered she had been working with affected constituents since 2015 and called for more transparency at the Greenburgh Housing Authority. She said the seniors involved are “not of the activist mindset” and are “not going to advocate for themselves.”

Feiner also knocked Young’s call to increase the required portion of units to be set aside as affordable housing for new construction in Greenburgh. Young said the portion should be increased from 10 percent to 25 percent and called for the town to take advantage of the percentage set aside in every instance.

“Although that is laudable, it also could result in less housing being built in the town because it is very, very expensive for developers to build housing,” said Feiner. “I agree that requiring affordable units in new construction is critical, but careful study of feasibility must be done prior to suggesting any specific minimum unit mix requirement. If not, there could be no affordable new developments.”

“When we are developing, you have to ensure it is for the greatest good for the residents and not the developer,” said Young.

Young endorsed “something similar to a broken windows policy” — zero tolerance for even the lowest level acts — “but for acts of racism, anti-Semitism, and intolerance for our LGBTQ neighbors,” which is notable given New York City’s history with the policy and its outgrowths. She cited participants in the local caravan rally for former President Donald Trump last November that stopped and blocked traffic on the Mario M. Cuomo Bridge who drove with covered license plates yet weren’t charged. “At any occurrence of a minor infraction, these persons could have been discouraged from doing these caravans.”

Feiner contended a zero-tolerance policy is in place. “Anyone who commits any act of hate in the town is going to be prosecuted.” He cited a personal experience where an individual who committed an anti-Semitic act against him was found and convicted.

He spoke about working with the villages to organize and fund a program where civilians could help police departments manage mental health calls. However, Young said Greenburgh could explore partnering with the county to achieve this end immediately via shared services and as such, the effort doesn’t necessarily need to be funded from the town budget. She questioned Feiner’s knowledge of available opportunities for Greenburgh residents.

Tarrytown-Sleepy Hollow Human Rights Action (TASHRIA) hosted the forum, it’s first. The organization will vote on a candidate to endorse by tonight.

The primary election is Tuesday, June 22. Early voting is available June 2-20.

The Township’s Democratic district leaders fell short of endorsing a primary candidate earlier this year.

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