Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Letter to the Editor, February 23, 2012
I fully support the Croton Historical Society and the Friends of Croton History in their desire to protect the Clifford B. Harmon Sales Building from Harmon Rezoning
The Harmon Sales Building has stood for over a century as the cornerstone of what was once called Harmon-on-Hudson. Its bones remain intact – including its magnificent fireplace and its period dormer window, even if we probably all agree it could benefit from some restorative work. Regardless of its present condition, the building stands as the nucleus of much of what is now our Village, created by a colorful and famous-in-his-time character, Clifford B. Harmon, who had a vision of a special community anchored by intimate cultural facilities and nearby villas and bungalows. He is responsible for transforming a large part of the Van Cortlandt estate into what many of us now call home.
Contrary to recent statements by the Mayor and other rezoning proponents, the Harmon Sales Building is at great risk for demolition under Harmon Rezoning. One need look no further than the Village website to understand why (http://www.crotononhudson-ny.gov/public_documents/crotonhudsonny_webdocs/2008_08_Harmon_Recommendations.pdf). Here’s what is suggested as an optimal utilization of the commonly owned lots now housing the old Croton Dodge and the Harmon Sales Building under Harmon Rezoning Recommendations:
Does anyone see the Harmon Sales Building in this picture?
The Croton Historical Society, in asking that the Harmon Sales Building be spared, did not ask the Village to abandon its Rezoning legislation. Instead, it asked only that that just one of the 39 property lots up for rezoning be carved out. Why is it that, instead of respectfully considering this request, the ex-chair of the Harmon Business Development Committee went on the attack against the Historical Society, against the Harmon Sales Building, and most especially against Tom Simone, who has tirelessly served this Village for the last 30 years exclusively through nonpartisan organizations; namely, the Croton Historical Society and the Croton Caring Committee?
Unfortunately, such hostility has been the officially preferred treatment for those who oppose even the tiniest piece of Harmon Rezoning. Although the new version of Harmon Rezoning contains some legal and (I believe) illegal revisions suggested by its supporters, the opposition’s concerns have not been alleviated. For example, the re-insertion of the special permit requirement for mixed use can hardly be reassuring when we all just witnessed how the special permit process works when the Board majority wants something to occur. In the case of the farmers’ market special permit application at the old Blockbuster site, the Village Board majority ignored the requirement that the permit be referred to the County, favored the applicant’s word over Trustee Schmidt’s regarding the opinions of its commercial neighbors, and relied on a parking study done by the spouse of the applicant!
Opponents of Harmon Rezoning remain deeply worried about how the large apartment buildings projected in the Rezoning area may negatively impact our schools, our neighborhood character, our Mom & Pop businesses, our history, our views of the Palisades and the Hudson, our traffic, our parking, our infrastructure, and our emergency services. In part because we feel our concerns have not been given an unbiased “hard look,” some opponents have sought an impartial review in Court. We look forward to finally having our concerns examined thoughtfully and fairly. It’s just a shame that has to occur in White Plains, rather than here in our Village.
Roseann Schuyler
Croton on Hudson
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