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MILLWOOD, N.Y. New Castle Democrats got up bright and early on Saturday morning to share both coffee and ideas with residents at Tazza Café in Millwood.
Its a chance to see real people and talk about real concerns and to have a cup of coffee on us, said County Legislator Mike Kaplowitz. The party avoided speaking to the crowd in a press conference setting, and instead chose to individually introduce themselves to customers walking into the coffee shop.
Conversations with Kaplowitz, Town Supervisor candidate Susan Carpenter, Town Board member Elise Mottel, Town Board candidate Jason Chapin, Town Justice Douglas Kraus and Town Justice David Zuckerman, centered around issues ranging from property taxes to garbage pick-up.
Two gentleman were just talking about property taxes and were concerned about that, said Kaplowitz. School taxes make up 70 percent of our property tax bill. The Town and the County are 15 percent each, and were doing what we can to try and control that.
While tax talk dominated the discussion on Saturday, Chapin also addressed other concerns he heard from residents, including a perceived lack of successful businesses in Chappaqua. I know that theres a perception that there are a lot of storefronts that are empty, and that we dont have a lot of successful businesses in town, said Chapin, who added that out of 141 storefronts between Chappaqua and Millwood, eight are currently empty.
Chapin cited DAgostinos and Grappolo Locandas old spaces being filled by Walgreens and a yet-to-be-named restaurant, respectively, as evidence that the demise of business in Chappaqua is being exaggerated. We know this is a very difficult economy but it will come back and we will have more businesses coming into town. When the [Route 120] bridge is done, I think well also see an uptick in business, said Chapin. I know things can be better, and I know things are going to get better.
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