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CHAPPAQUA, N.Y. – After seeking to adjourn the public hearing portion of its request for a special permit for its Chappaqua Station proposal, Conifer Realty was once again a no show in New Castle Town Hall on Tuesday night. However, the New Castle Town Board still allowed residents to speak out on the project.
POLL: Is a smaller Chappaqua Station the solution?
View ResultsPOLL: Is a smaller Chappaqua Station the solution?
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Yes, the building's overall massing is the biggest concern.
28% -
No, the location is the problem regardless of the size.
68% -
Conifer's proposal is fine the way it is.
4%
Chappaqua resident Wallace Toscano took advantage of the opportunity, offering what may serve as a compromise for the controversial affordable housing project proposal.
“Looking at the details of their floor plans, I realized there are no studio apartments,” he said. “Wouldn’t it make sense for an affordable housing building to have some studio apartments?”
Some apartments in Conifer’s proposal are as big as 950 square feet, and a studio apartment could be half that size, Toscano said. Currently, Conifer’s proposal includes only one- and two-bedroom apartments. The proposed building's overall size is one of the biggest issues among residents and Town Board members.
“If making the building smaller is the goal, that’s a way to do it.”
It was unclear whether the Town of New Castle and Conifer would ever find common ground.
The project is riddled with zoning complications, complaints from residents and, most recently, a resolution from the Town Board stating all of its issues with the current proposal.
Although Conifer has twice asked for the public hearing segment of its proposal to be closed, it has had no such luck.
The Town Board announced the public hearing will continue April 9.
Comments (1)
It is my opinion that the Town Board should not be concerned about a Conifer lawsuit, the Board needs to be more concerned about a damaging legacy that the construction of Conifer's ill advised project will bring upon the Town. The Hunts Place site has already been criticized twice in the NY Times, Mr. Gurion of the NY Metro Anti-Discrimination Center who brought the lawsuit against Westchester County that resulted in the Consent Decree has called the site isolated, Mr. James Johnson, Westchester County Housing Monitor's best practices for AFFH states that suitable sites must not be isolated. The Board should not be concerned about a five year long Conifer lawsuit for not issuing a special permit to them, it is my opinion that should Conifer file a lawsuit against the Town, it would be thrown out by the Court at an early stage. The Town Board must take a much stronger position.
Based upon the above, permitting the construction of AFFH units at the Hunts Place site would bring shame upon our Town forever and the Town Board needs to be very concerned about that. How can the Board justify permitting Conifer to proceed with their proposal based upon the above? How can they in good conscience place AFFH units specifically for persons who are ethnically of African and Hispanic descent in an isolated site. The Board needs to understand that they would be creating in my opinion an isolated stigmatized ghetto. This project is a slap in the face to 50-60 years of progress in the civil rights movement; this is a project that would have had approval in the early 1950's. How does the Board plan to respond to non-Town critics who criticize the Town for creating a ghetto, this is the best you can do for persons of African and Hispanic descent who need to live in AFFH? The Board must not try and hide behind remarks such as we have no other locations, that does not cut it.
There is no requirement for any number of affordable housing units to be constructed in New Castle; even if a location were found for several units, that would meet our obligation to help Westchester County meet the requirements of their Consent Decree.