Nyack needs a change, and voters are lucky to have 3 new, capable candidates running for the two open trustee seats.

So why vote for me?  I’ll give you 4 good reasons:

1. Experience
2. Vision
3. Positive attitude
4. Smart Plan

Reason 1 – Experience

I bring 15 years of professional experience in local government.  After getting my Masters degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Cornell, I worked for the City of Ithaca in the Planning Department on:

• Master Planning
• Economic Development
• Parking Studies
• Parking Garages
• Parks and Recreation

I’ve been to hundreds of public meetings, and also know how to run them.

Plus, you’ll get the extra bonus of my being a web developer, and having built municipal websites.

Reason 2 – Vision

I can step back, see the big picture, and effectively communicate what the issues are. The Village has a structural deficit. We have urban issues without the budget to support them.

We MUST address this structural deficit or we can’t build a sustainable future.  Consolidation of services and possibly governments with South and Upper Nyack is necessary to achieve sustainability.

Reason 3 – Positive attitude

I know there’s negativity about a combined Nyack.  People say it’s been this way for a long time and can’t change.

I disagree.  I’ve talked to MANY South and Upper Nyackers that want One Nyack.

It needs to happen one step at a time.  There’s a new State initiative with  “NON-COMPETITIVE” grants to study the consolidation of services and/or governments.  Who’s against getting more information at no cost? No one I know. I’ve  always been able to get things done with a positive attitude.

Reason 4 – My five point plan

I’ve spelled out a specific plan.  Here are the top priorities:

1. Improve our decision making process
2. Investigate structural changes, starting with consolidation
3. Bring openness and transparency to our residents
4. Improve management
5. Encourage Economic Development

If you elect me, I’ll use my experience, my vision and my positive attitude to implement the plan I’ve spelled out.

The Village of Nyack is rich with assets such as our vibrant downtown, scenic waterfront, diverse residents, strong sense of community, and a wonderful mix of residential, commercial and institutional development. Unfortunately, over the decades the Village has developed a structural deficit, where our tiny, balkanized tax base is unable to sustain our assets.

The Village is “asset rich, cash poor.” Our survival strategy has been to borrow from our infrastructure (roads, sidewalks, buildings, etc.) in the form of deferred maintenance.

Let’s treat this situation as a call to action. We need a Village Board that is willing to work together and tap into our amazing pool of residents to identify problems, find solutions, and implement them. If we are smart and focused we can regain a sustainable budget and build a better community.

As a starting point, I have outlined a Five Point Action Plan to move Nyack forward.

Statement of the Problem

In a nutshell, the Village (tax base) is too small. The $2.7 million in property tax revenues are not sufficient to sustain our regional assets such as the downtown commercial district and Memorial Park. The only way to change the game is to consolidate with South and/or Upper Nyack. We truly are one community; the municipal boundaries are arbitrary. Memorial Park and the downtown are shared by all residents in the three villages.

I have talked with many residents in both South and Upper Nyack and there is strong support for the idea of becoming one Village. There are reservations, most notably concerning taxes and services, but I am hopeful that we can build a collaborative effort to investigate the feasibility of One Nyack. A combined Village would have more than 12,000 residents, and would equal the size of Tarrytown’s tax base, which enjoys a robust economy.

Without a Tarrytown-sized tax base, the Village’s budget can’t provide the resources required to maintain our urban core. We don’t have the bonding power for major investments like a parking garage. We can’t afford staff with any management or development experience.

The way to dig out of this situation is for an experienced and motivated Board to rally equally experienced and motivated residents (of which there are many. We would implement a clear plan to reduce costs/inefficiencies, increase revenues (as little as possible through taxes), and invest in key infrastructure.

A Five Point Action Plan to get us going

1. Deliberative process– The Village Board can only make good decisions with an organized and well-crafted process. The public process can be cumbersome, and if it isn’t careful, the Board can easily waste its precious time on reacting to momentary issues. I will work with the new Mayor to establish a rational, deliberative process so that the Board can properly manage the Village.
   1. Board Roles – Each board member should have specific responsibilities for key management areas such as economic development, budgeting, parks/recreation (see previous post).
   2. The Board agenda should be set by Monday or Tuesday, posted on the Village website. Board members should have all required materials well in advance so they can prepare.
   3. Ministerial actions, including certain permits, should be handled at a staff level (see previous post). Board meetings should spend as much time as possible on the larger, important issues.
   4. Public comment managed with time limits and proper protocol (respectful).
2. Consolidation — Did you know that there is a state-wide initiative to streamline NY’s 4,720 local government entities? The Nyacks should apply for a New York State Local Government Efficiency Grant. Dozens of grants have been given to Villages ranging from $25,000 to $50,000. I would seek a combined application with the Villages of South and Upper Nyack to investigate the feasibility of consolidation. I propose we establish a collaborative committee with representatives from the three villages to write the grant.
   1. Police consolidation – As we are pulling together a grant proposal, we can research other avenues to consolidate. Nyack residents pay about $2 million per year for police protection, whereas, South Nyack residents about $1.2 million. We should investigate the feasibility of using our tax dollars for a more local police force. Consolidation would be beneficial for South Nyack by broadening their base, which places a heavy burden on property owners, representing 43% of their taxes.
3. Openness and transparency – An ambitious and inclusive agenda requires communication channels to the public. There are simple things to be done to give people access to what’s going on including:
   1. Website – Nyack’s website needs to store agendas, minutes, calendars, notices, forms/applications, etc. It needs to be a content management system (CMS) easy enough for staff to maintain. As a web developer, I will volunteer to oversee a small task force to build a new site. I have already started this process.
   2. Television – Many people would like to see meetings without leaving their homes. The Village should record the meetings for distribution through Cablevision and Verizon. Orangetown and many other local governments already do it, and it isn’t difficult.
   3. Mailing – Like the iContact list we established at Nyack First, the Village should have a mailing list to update those who want to be kept up to date.
4. Establish management processes — Managing a $5 million budget and vast capital assets properly requires dedicated managers and a clear process.
   1. General Management — It is challenging to manage with a part time Mayor, no Village Manager, and no department heads with management training. The very first thing to do is to establish weekly management meetings between the Mayor and department heads. A working committee should be established to find alternatives ranging from contracted assistance to a village manager.
   2. Capital Budget – We need to implement a capital budgeting process, where there is a long-term plan establishing a prioritized list for big ticket infrastructure projects. This should include streets, sidewalks, parks and the marina. Re-establishing the 50-50 program, where the Village shares 50% of the cost with a property owner, does not prioritize repairs by need, but rather, by who happens to be aware of the program. A possible alternative would be to conduct a sidewalk audit, prioritize necessary repairs, and establish a village wide contract at a wholesale price.
   3. Board Oversight — A Village Board Committee should be dedicated to oversee Budget and administration(see previous post). We need to take a sober look at the budget, deconstruct it, and create a process so that budget items can be prioritized. Currently, the Board has several public meetings to review the budget once a year, which is commendable in its transparency. Unfortunately, this process results in taking last year’s budget, and marginally increasing or decreasing each line item. What is needed is structural changes that will take a more sustained and deep analysis.
5. Economic Development – We need to increase ratables, add more housing, streamline the development process, and do a better job promoting our downtown.
   1. Streamline development review process – Establish a Review Coordinating Committee made up of an elected official, Building Department Staff, and Chairs of key Boards. It will review and assist large scale projects through the process. Developers don’t mind paying higher “pre-development” costs if there is a predictable path to completion. There is nothing developers hate more than unpredictability.
   2. Downtown marketing Coordinating Committee – There are several organizations that help market Nyack’s downtown, but there is no easy way to coordinate with Village Hall. We should create a standing committee to coordinate all interested organizations. This should include representatives from all relevant organizations like the Chamber of Commerce. This committee would coordinate all Village related planning and activities, and would streamline the permitting process and marketing such as signage, banners and advertising.
   3. Streetscape improvements – Downtown is looking like a 40-year old version of Urban Renewal. It was ugly to begin with, now it is ugly and old. It needs a major investment based on our streetscape improvement plan, which has nice sidewalks, lighting, signage, sitting areas, etc. A beautiful streetscape makes a dramatic difference in creating an appealing place to come and hang out. Fortunately, the streetscape improvement initiative is moving along. When the engineering drawings are complete, the Village needs to expedite the process of defining and implementing the first phase of the project.
   4. Riverspace — The “superblock” is located at the heart of our downtown and underutilized. It is an unfortunate result of an incomplete, urban renewal project. I strongly support the Riverspace concept (an arts center with mixed use redevelopment), and believe it is a priority. The main issue is scale and feasibility. A large and complicated project such as this takes a lot of time and ongoing work and communication, and the Village needs to dedicate both elected officials and staff time to help move the process along.

If I am elected as Trustee, I plan on rolling up my sleeves and get some work done. My background as a professional urban planner gives me a unique ability to help the Village achieve a sustainable budget and a solid, long range plan for our future.

Doug Foster is a candidate for trustee in the Village of Nyack.

Nyack needs to change. We have no business playing the game of partisan politics. There is just too much work to do.

We live in a Village with crumbling sidewalks and not enough tax revenue, with empty storefronts and an underutilized waterfront.

There are pockets everywhere of people who feel unheard and disenfranchised, from developers with ideas for responsible expansion of both our real estate options and our coffers, to out of town visitors who’ve heard we have parking problems and don’t want to come anymore.

The merchants fear for their livelihoods and African American families have been asking for a community center for twenty years and no one has even lifted a finger to assess whether it’s something we need or can do. The elderly and the mothers fear crime. The elderly, that they will be victims, the mothers that their children will end up following that path. Five hundred and eighteen Republican voters feel they have no voice in the local government and many citizens worry that their taxes will skyrocket and they won’t be able to afford to raise their children or grow old in the place they love.

It was with excitement, about nine months ago, that I decided to run for Nyack Village Trustee. I had dipped my toes into this kind of community service heading up the Nyack Park Conservancy and working on the Park Commission but running for office seemed like the next logical step in working with others to implement change.

The process of getting elected has been shocking, a bit upsetting and more difficult than I might have imagined. From the moment I decided to run as a Democrat I have been pressured to endorse people whose viewpoints I don’t share, simply because we are Democrats. By the same token, some Republicans who I like and admire and with whom I share beliefs have refused to sit down at a table and discuss issues like sidewalks and development because, simply, I am a Democrat.

It doesn’t have to be that way.

So here’s a crazy idea. What if our Village rejected partisanship and replaced it with practicality. Instead of labels like Democrat, Republican, Working Families, Independence, Green and other national level parties we form our own party. Let’s call it The Practical Party.

It will be a non-partisan party whose goal is to get things done rather than wallow in the “us versus them” politics that paralyzes our nation with vitriol, insider politics and criticism.

The Practical Party approach would match daunting problems with creative solutions to implement effective change. Here’s one example of how that might work to increase revenue for the Village, add more administrative expertise and improve efficiency.

Based on the work the Parks Conservancy has done raising funds for the waterfront, I know that there are lots of places to go besides taxpayer pockets for infrastructure improvements and programming for the lower income members of our community.

The Nyack Treasurer, who has run an enormous chunk of the Village on a day to day basis, is talking about retiring after serving us well. Let’s use this unique timing as an opportunity to explore hiring a part time, non-staff Treasurer and a Village Administrator to take his place. The new administrator could focus on grant writing and bringing in new business, on economic development and serving as a liason to the community of merchants.

At the same time, let’s use this as an opportunity to demand more of Orangetown and the county from the taxes we pay. Let’s also look at restructuring our Village government and reach out to South Nyack and Upper Nyack to find places where we can join forces to increase revenues, improve services, lower infrastructure costs and give the Nyacks’ a worthy downtown and waterfront.

The Practical Party will work hard to promote smart growth and encourage healthy, reasonable development projects that will add some land to our tax rolls. Let’s make Memorial Park and the rest of the waterfront a destination instead of an afterthought.

These are just a couple of big thoughts. But we have to start somewhere. We are a community rich with talent and yet, somehow, not much gets done. Let’s be bold and inspire all of our smart citizens with interesting ideas or thoughts to step up and join the fight. Let’s toss out local partisanship so that Republicans and Democrats can sit down with the Independents and the Green Partiers so everyone can talk about making our Village a better place. Let our Village Board meetings be full because people know that their presence matters and their ideas might help and their voices count. Let’s commit to making Nyack the place we all know it can be.

Oh, wait. Instead of the Practical Party, how about if we call it “Nyack First.”

My wife and I were very intentional on choosing Nyack as the place we wanted to live. It has all the aspects we wanted:

• a strong sense of community

• a traditional and walkable downtown

• a vital commercial core with locally owned stores and a critical mass of stores for local residents, like a natural food store, drug store, hardware store, dry cleaners, and a great choice of restaurants and cafes. It could be better, but we are very, very lucky for the retail mix we have.

• Diverse community with a strong progressive tradition

Nyack is a special place and is worth the needed effort.

Now for the doom and gloom. Despite all its assets, Nyack has significant troubles, mostly stemming from an inherent, structural budgetary problem. Over the years the Village has “borrowed” from its assets in the form of deferred maintenance. A quick walk around the Village is all you need to see that there has been no significant investment in infrastructure since 1970.

In 1970, Nyack had its own police force and professional development staff. It had completed a major infrastructure improvement which dealt with a terrible drainage problem which periodically flooded the downtown. As much as we hate the fabulous urban renewal project resulting in our “superblock,” it did deal with channelizing the stream running through the middle of downtown.

The urban renewal project was the result of a significant federal capital infusion. It was Nyack’s stimulus money. Since then we have shed major expenses like our police department, pushed responsibility of sidewalks to the property owners, and struggled to maintain our streets. We have a skeleton staff with no administration or planning/development experience.

Now the Village faces the perfect storm where the housing crash has created a serious budget gap even with deferred maintenance. And the economy will not rescue us in the short run.

We can no longer afford to continue with business as usual. We need to be very creative and find short term ways to increase revenue and become more efficient. Short term solutions will help us weather the next few years, but we also need to make long term plans to restructure the Village so that it has the budget to plan, maintain and improve its infrastructure.

Thank you to everybody who showed up tonight and have given support over the last few months.

In fact, Jen and I are both running because so many people have encouraged us to run.

My wife Rosemary and I were very intentional when we moved to Nyack 3.5 years ago. Finding a place that we both loved wasn’t easy, since she was coming from Greenwich Village, and I had lived in Ithaca for many years. Nyack has what we were looking for: a sense of community, the walkability, the charm, the River, the arts, the diversity, the progressiveness we wanted.

I was very excited to move here, and still love being part of the community. But Nyack has a fundamental problem. There is a term called a structural deficit, which refers to a governmental budget that chronically takes in less revenue than expenditures. Nyack has a similar situation. It has “big town” issues and a “small town” budget. It is the quintessential champagne appetite with a beer budget.

Nyack has a significant commercial district with a regional market area, it has waterfront also serving a more regional area, and it has a diverse population, and subsidized housing.

With less than 7000 residents and a $6 million budget, the Village doesn’t have the capacity to manage its commercial and waterfront districts property. There is no staff expertise in public administration, or planning and development.

This puts an extra burden on elected officials, because they can have the best of intentions, but they don’t have the staff to support them. We have to be extra creative and work harder.

With two board seats becoming available, it made sense for Jen and me to run as a platform, since we have the same approach.

• Openness – We will get information to the people. Many people know me from Nyack News and Views, which Dave Zornow and I started because we found it impossible to find out what was going on. Richard Kavesh and I have talked about getting television into the Board room. This is important if we want the community to be involved.

• “can do” attitude – We will be creative and persistent to find ways to come up with money, to get information, to work with people. Without professional staff, we need to think outside the box.

• Manage – Get information – We need

• Think big – Jen has shown how she can think big with the parks, raising the money to get top notch people to plan Nyack’s future.

Jen and I are running to be on the Board, but we are truly doing this as representatives for the community. We need your help with ideas, with serving in various ways, with staying in touch. Will you help?

The committee was formed as the Village’s response to the Riverspace Downtown proposal. The CC will report its findings to the Village Board on Wednesday 8/19 at 7p.

The CC listened to several experts including those hired to do the 2002-2007 comprehensive plan and the 2007 parking study. The result is a document that outlines the insights and recommendations of the seven expert consultants.

The Village Board has been awaiting the results of the CC since April, when it directed the Mayor to form the committee. The resolution had an overly optimistic timetable for the CC to report back in 60 days (June).

The Superblock issue is poised to be a central issue in the Mayoral campaign. The resolution creating the CC was passed 3-2, with Richard Kavesh and Marie Lorenzini opposed. The CC’s recommendations clearly state that the Board act and devote resources to develop a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) and Request for Proposals (RFP). Developing these two documents will cost at a minimum $50,000. Hopefully the bulk of that money can be found from outside sources.

It will take considerable effort to find the resources to develop the RFQ/RFP, and given that Riverspace is paying $18,000/month to hold a dark theatre, there will be pressure to move expediciously. The Board has been able to keep a wait-and-see attitude since last year, as it was first waiting for the “White Paper” from the public/private partnership committee, and now for the CC’s report. At this point, the ball is clearly in the Board’s court to move forward, or not.

Some other interesting points that came out of the CC’s report concerned the creation of a Business Improvement District (BID). This is an entity that is formed within a specific boundary of the commercial district that can be used for Tax Increment Financing (TIF), a useful tool used to finance infrastructure projects. It also is an entity that’s purpose is to promote the commercial district. The down side is that it taxes those properties within that district.

Another issue brought up by Steve Knowlton, Zoning Board of Appeals chair, is the current 20% affordable housing mandate in the zoning ordinance. Knowlton says that the mandate has had the unintended consequence of discouraging affordable housing construction. The report doesn’t elaborate on Knowlton’s rationale, but logically it be because the requirement is too high and thus discourages development all together. The CC’s recommendation is to keep the requirement but find a level that doesn’t prevent development.

Source: Citizens Committee Superblock Report

When you are mayor, would you include money in the budget to repair the deplorable, dangerous sidewalks on Nyack’s residential streets?

I think it was folly for the Village to eliminate any program in which an expense that should normally be provided by the Village government is split between homeowners and the Village.  That said, I don’t believe that the system ever worked in Nyack as is apparent in the sad state of many of our streets, something that cannot be attributed to economic down turn.  It is important that the health of any community be reflected in the way it looks to those visiting and living there.  I think the sidewalks need to be repaired.  How to fund such a thing is not clear to me yet.  I will repeat the refrain throughout this questionnaire that we must find alternative ways of funding necessities and luxuries in this community.  In my time raising money for Memorial Park, I have discovered many alternatives to taxes and punitive fines or general parking fees.  That said, I think that infrastructure and aesthetic repairs should be high on the list of things the Village spends, or raises money for and on.

How could the following block in Nyack be improved so as to blend in more with the rest of the downtown – the block on the south side Main Street between the Riverspace Theater and the Korean War memorial Park?

I am familiar with the carefully developed Streetscape Plan for the downtown and think that it is a good one.  I have spoken to those organizing it about wrapping their fundraising efforts into those already underway for the waterfront.  The two are not exclusive of each other and the Village should be seeking a cohesiveness that makes the waterfront a natural extension of the center of our community.  This applies to the Village as a whole.  The Korean War memorial Park was a well-intentioned beginning and an improvement over what was previously there.  That said, it needs the thoughtful eye of a talented landscape architect and a substantial increase in the amount of planting and greenery.  As it is now, it is merely a walk through space full of hard surfaces and unfriendly hard to utilize areas.  This may be an unnecessary discussion depending on the future development of the Superblock.

How do you feel about issuing parking permits to residents on residential streets?  In other words, on a residential block only people who live    on the block would have permission to park on that block at night after a certain hour and they would display a residential parking permit in           their windshield or on their bumper.

The parking permit question is an intriguing one.  I am not sure that, should the Village decide to go ahead, it needs to be limited to residential streets.  Certainly a nighttime residential permit is a great way to raise revenue, even if the fee is nominal, help homeowners and, if properly organized, not interfere with garbage pick up or routine maintenance by the Village.  I am curious and researching the possibility of extending the range of such a permit to all parking in the Village and purchasable ONLY by Village residents and on a per car basis.  It troubles me that our Village serves as the downtown for a number of communities and we bear the tax burden but have very little reward for our financial contributions.  Perhaps, if an effective way to establish such a program can be found, this could generate revenue (permits would be sold only to Village residents) but also a reward to residents for their tax contributions.

Obviously the important question is position on Riverspace? If against the concept -why, and if for the project how would you manage it so it doesn’t overwhelm the village?

I think that the Riverspace proposal is fascinating and potentially exciting.  The Master Plan makes it very clear that the “Superblock”, or the most important piece of real estate in our downtown, is severely underutilized.  It’s also tremendously unattractive.  The Riverspace team has come forward with a concept that is not only appealing from a business generating position but would aesthetically improve the downtown substantially.  I approve wholeheartedly of the process that has been set forth by the Mayor and the Village Board.  We need to examine whether this is something we want, which, according to the Master Plan, seems to be the case.  We then need to establish exactly what we want there.  I love the idea of an art center and am curious, once numbers have been assessed, if it is a viable core business for our downtown.  I’m optimistic that it is.  That said, I have always maintained that whatever happens there need not be Riverspace, per se.  It can be the dream of any developer who has an idea for that block.  The people behind Riverspace are visionaries and I suspect no one else will come forward to challenge their image with an alternative vision.  I think the Village needs to stay open to the possibilities reflected in the Riverspace vision while maintaining a tight grip on elements such as scope, scale, tax abatements and the actual content of the development.  That said, we shouldn’t kill something as potentially as exciting as this, particularly when Chuck Schumer and Elliot Engel and many others have pledged their financial support.  It could, if done properly, do magical things to our wonderful community.

How would they tighten the village budget? Are there places where expenses could and would be cut?

The biggest problem I see in our Village budget is the revenue stream.  I think we need to focus on alternative areas for a number of big budget items.  I believe, for instance, that with guidance, the Nyack Center, a key to the well being of Nyack’s lower income families, can raise it’s operating budget from a more aggressive fundraising effort at the state and federal level and reduce it’s dependence on the Village.  I am confident that some shifts in the structure and workload of the DPW can trim some substantial budget items.  We need to examine ways to join forces with other municipalities to lower costs on items and services that might be better shared, both from a community standpoint and a greener world position.  I think we need to increase grant writing for things like the Streetscape plan and carefully monitor hours of work.  Economic development needs to be encouraged and smart development or growth, thus an increase in property tax revenues, encouraged.

How could we as village attract new business to the downtown?

There needs to be an aggressive approach to economic development.  Zoning codes and Planning issues need to be re-examined to assess whether they make our Village a friendly place for a business or building owner.   Members of the Village Board and the Mayor need to establish a process by which new business owners are encouraged to come to Nyack and set up business.  Parking needs to be examined because many merchants believe that it is a determining factor in their success.

There is a concern that Nyack’s infrastructure, including sidewalks, is deteriorating.  If you agree that this is a concern, how would you find money to deal with this concern?

What specific blocks or neighborhoods should be a priority in terms of improvement and how would you undertake these improvements?

The entire Village needs to be a priority.  The downtown is important but so is the waterfront.  Each neighborhood has its needs, whether it’s trees or availability of recreational activity.  We are not a very “green” community and we need to look long and hard at how to improve our contribution as a community to that ideal.  I have itemized above how I would deal with some of these issues.

Should Nyack make it a priority to have a publicly funded community center?  If so, where would funds come from and if not, what are some alternatives?

The Village of Nyack has long had a vocal collection of residents who would like to have a community center.  They range from residents of Nyack Plaza to the director of the Nyack Center.  There is currently a dearth of opportunities for indoor recreation for kids involved in programs at the Nyack Center as well as residents of the community who cannot afford to join the YMCA.  I have examined a number of options including access to the High School and elementary schools in the area.  The insurance costs and concerns that the Superintendent has seem to make this a prohibitive option.  I think the Village needs to look long and hard at how a community center would work here, perhaps going so far as to order needs assessment.  Once a determination is made that a Community Center is a need, we as a community should make sure that it is more than a gym for kids to hang out in.  I have dreamed of having a building that is financed by developers looking to build in the Village in exchange for a reduction in their affordable housing requirement.  The building would be a green, innovative place, ground breaking in its design and concept.  Perhaps a community garden could be housed on the roof.  The new community center would house all of the Nyack Centers programs as well as create indoor recreational opportunities for kids.  More importantly, it should be a center for the entire community, one that includes cooking classes and exercise programming and all sorts of educational opportunities.  I think it would be great if all of those business’s who exist in Nyack off the tax rolls, the Not For Profits who’s percentage is a staggering…% would be asked to contribute some programming.  For instance, Nyack Hospital could provide prenatal care or well child care or prostate cancer screening, on a limited basis, in lieu of the enormous tax write off they currently take.  I think the community center should not be financed by taxpayers or bonding but by barter and grant writing. This, of course, would all come after a needs assessment.

How should the village government balance the needs of its residents and its business owners when their interests do not coincide?

Ultimately, all of our needs are the same.  We want a healthy, thriving community that is as wonderful to live in, as it is to visit.  I think if that is kept in mind than the answers will become clear.  One of the biggest issues in Nyack is that information is often spotty and communication between groups of interested parties doesn’t happen often enough.  The Village Board needs to encourage community participation in meetings and in the process of addressing concerns by being more open, by publicizing upcoming issue based meetings, by keeping the website up to date and perhaps even televising or creating online access to public meetings.  The more people understand about the process and the other parties concerns, the more likely we will be in reaching a satisfying conclusion.

1.       There is a concern that Nyack’s infrastructure, including sidewalks, is deteriorating.  If you agree that this is a concern, how would you find money to deal with this concern?

I do agree that the apparent condition of Nyack’s infrastructure is worrisome, and there appears to be a high degree of “deferred maintenance”.  A top issue for me if I am to be Trustee is to institute proper management practices.  For infrastructure, Nyack should have a capital plan.  The base of such a plan will be a long-term analysis of roads, sidewalks, utilities and other infrastructure (like street trees).

Armed with the resulting information, a budget and calendar would be created to maintain Nyack’s assets.  Major infrastructure expenses, which have long-term benefits, should be bonded.  The key is to base decisions off of a clear plan so the process is based on good information and a long-term viewpoint.

2.      What specific blocks or neighborhoods should be a priority in terms of improvement and how would you undertake these improvements?

I see three types of improvements the Village needs to manage: basic infrastructure, commercial zones, and parks.  As I stated in the previous question, decisions on infrastructure improvements should only be made after a Village-wide analysis is conducted which can then lead to the capital plan that would specify which improvements get priority.

I believe Nyack needs to give the commercial zones more attention. Our downtown business district needs a major improvement; it is an asset with huge potential returns since it generates so much economic and cultural activity.  Think of the downtown as an outdoor mall.  The public areas are haggard and unappealing, and need a “face lift” to become a place that attracts people as a place to come spend time and money.

The downtown serves a much larger area than the Village proper, and the Village should only pay a portion of the costs.  The rest of the costs should be shouldered by a combination of federal, state, county and town sources.  I believe the Village should invest in the next phase of the Main Street improvements.  It would be unfortunate to lose the HUD money dedicated to the project.  The Village should pay for the engineering work and use the current HUD commitment as leverage for further funding.

Nyack’s parks, particularly Memorial Park, is another key community asset which, like the downtown, serves a greater area than the Village proper.  The Village has been lucky to have an active Parks Conservancy, and frankly, Jen White.  The Conservancy (volunteer residents) has been able to raise significant money and develop a fabulous plan.  The Village can not afford to shoulder the park improvements, and so getting funding is essential.  The plan and connections the Conservancy has built will serve as a base to leverage further dollars.  Nyack’s waterfront is its primary natural asset that differentiates us from most communities.  Along with our built environment (traditional, walkable downtown), it’s a killer combination.

The bottom line is that Nyack has great resources and we need to be creative to leverage them to make improvements so that we can have a beautiful downtown, waterfront and a solid budget so we can keep taxes affordable and afford to pursue our other goals.

3.      Should parking permits be issued to residents to allow them exclusive parking on their street during certain hours?

On-street parking should be looked at as part of a larger transportation system.  Finding places for parking cars in downtowns (which are multi-modal) is probably the biggest challenge in modern planning.  The bottom line is that cars take a huge amount of space and that translates to the fact that parking is extremely expensive, particularly structured parking.

Residents have different needs than employees or visitors.  All these needs must be looked at holistically to find the most efficient allocation of precious resources (space).  Residents that live adjacent to large parking generators are heavily impacted because they can’t find parking on their own street.  For those older areas where there isn’t off-street parking, it makes it very difficult.

Resident parking passes are an excellent way to manage on-street parking in residential areas that also are used heavily by visitors and/or commuters.  Such a program requires a member item in Albany, but the neighborhoods adjacent to downtown and the hospital would be good candidates for such a program.  One concern is that a lead staff person needs to shepherd the process. If there is sufficient momentum for such a program, and we can find staff resources, it is worth pursuing.

4.      Which parts of the proposed Riverspace project do you view positively?  Negatively?  Why?

I think the vision of redeveloping the “superblock” is long overdue.  Like thousands of downtowns throughout this country, the “superblock” is a sad result of a misguided “urban renewal” policy from 40 years ago, which was dealing with difficult problems of the time.

The block is severely underutilized.  It should be a mixed use, traditionally designed development, and having the arts as an anchor would be wonderful.  Riverspace has done a good job creating the overall vision and are the only ones seriously considering such a project.  For that reason, the Village should work with Riverspace to craft a plan for the block’s redevelopment.

To be clear, this project is a community project, and the Village Board needs to take ownership of the process.  Developing an RFP is a great start, although the Village needs

5.     How would you tighten the village budget?

One of my primary areas of focus will be to set up management processes so elected officials and staff executives can make effective decisions.  The most effective way of “tightening” the budget is to make procedural improvements, so that decisions will be strategic and allow for re-engineering departments.  It’s better to focus on becoming more efficient, rather than just taking resources away from an inefficient system.

I believe the Board should set up a Budget&Administration and a Planning&Development committee, each to have their own chairs and agendas.  This will institutionalize a more rational management process for the Board.  You can read more at an article I wrote at http://nyackfirst.org/2009/05/rethinking-village-board-meetings.

6.     How would you attract new businesses to downtown specifically, and Nyack in general?

Obviously, making the Main Street improvements, as I have stated above, would help attract people to our downtown, and thus more profitable for stores.  There is no better way to attract businesses than increase the number of people on the streets.  Retail businesses were not rushing to locate in the Southeast part of downtown Manhattan, until Southstreet Seaport was built.  After those public improvements, there is not difficulty finding businesses to fill storefronts.  It is the Village’s responsibility to invest in the public areas to provide a safe and beautiful environment for people to come and shop.

Nyack’s small budget and lack of professional staff limits what it can do to develop a marketing plan for its downtown.  What is often done is to create a Business Improvement District (BID), which would hire staff to market the commercial district. But funding for this is derived from the property owners within the business district in the form of an additional tax, which would be yet another burden on Nyack’s businesses, the last thing they need at this point.

One thing the Village can do is facilitate the process for businesses to renovate their store, without losing their grandfather rights to the use, and impose parking requirements.  My understanding is that the proposed zoning ordinance will address many of these issues.  I need to understand the details more, but moving ahead and passing the new ordinance would be a priority.

7.      Should Nyack make it a priority to have a publically funded community center?  If so, where would funds come from and if not, what are some alternatives?

The Village simply can not afford to build a new building and staff a new program.  Given the small tax base and myriad of deferred maintenance and other priorities, the Village should not jump into funding a new community center.

That said, I think having programs to support our youth and provide an environment for recreation, learning and community building is essential.  There are a lot of existing resources available (school, churches, Nyack Center, library, YMCA, etc.), but little coordination among the resources already in existence.

My overall theme is better management.  There are a lot of resources already invested in programs with similar goals of a community center.  A better place to start would be to set up a community board comprised of each of the major stakeholders and use a holistic approach, aligning the existing programs to improve services.  Once this is done, needed additional resources can be obtained, and hopefully the Village would not be the sole funder.

8.    How should the village government balance the needs of its residents and its business owners when their interests do not coincide?

Balancing the needs between residents and business owners is like any other issue, in that it is best handled with good management, an open and fair process, and a civic spirit.  Here are some ways in which I would want to ensure a productive and positive process to balance between constituents:

• Information dissemination – people need to know what the issues are and what is going on. There are several ways to improve the process of getting the word out:
  • Make information readily available to people through www.nyack.org, which should be regularly updated with current information and issues.
  • Set up televised meetings. I’ve already talked with Suzanne Barclay about this, and the Town would be willing to share its equipment they have with Verizon and Cablevision.
  • Set up podcasts of the meetings
• Public comment – Board and other public meetings should be regulated to limit discussion by each public member and to demand a level of civility. This will allow more people to participate, and ensure people that they will not be the recipient of personal attacks at public meetings.

Ultimately, it should be emphasized that Nyack needs a vibrant and successful commercial core.  The downtown is key to Nyack for its identity, lifestyle and economic future.  An attitude of mutual respect and celebration of our diversity must be at the core of any discussion between groups within our community.

9.      Please include anything else you wish the committee to know.

If you want more information about me, you can find it on Jen White’s and my website http://nyackfirst.org/doug-foster.   Jen and I are running together on the same platform, which we are still in the process of developing.  You can read about the platform on our website.

The Village should restructure the way it holds meetings. Currently it is too easy to slip into a mode where very small decisions take too much of board members valuable time (and the public who attend the meetings), and HUGE decisions never get on the agenda or if they do, they are rushed. In the end, the Village Board spends all its time tending to the trees in front of its face and forgets about managing the forest.

Thursday’s meeting, which included two critical resolutions (2009/10 budget, “superblock” redevelopment) was a painful example where more time was spent on a single event in Memorial Park than on moving ahead with Nyack’s biggest redevelopment initiative since urban renewal. For the first hour the Board had a lengthy and incredibly detailed conversation about two events and a proposal that the downtown businesses would pay for parking three hours on Fridays for two months (doing the math, that’s 24 hours in total).

The Board discussed what should be staff level discussions and decisions, such as insurance and if a project needs to go to the Architectural Review Board. The Village has a Building Commissioner. It is his job to make ministerial decisions like that. And, for the record, putting covers over the Munimeters 8 times for three hours is most definitely a “temporary” sign, so should not be subjected to the ARB. It wastes a lot of peoples time (which is money) and adds to the perception that its hard to get anything done in Nyack.

I suggest the following way to restructure the meetings so that the Board can actually spend time planning and managing:

The problem is that there are only 5 board members, not enough to break up into committees. Commonly the local government legislature will have committees such as Budget/Administration and Planning/Development. The committee meetings are working meetings where no formal resolutions are passed. The time is spent to dig deeper into issues and development them for a full board discussion and formal vote. This is more efficient because many of the smaller issues are worked out ahead of time before it gets to the full board. Also, the committees are responsible for key long term issues.

Currently the Board has two meetings a month. I suggest that one of the meetings is a “Meeting of the Committees”, where no formal resolutions are passed. There should be two committees: Budget/Administration and Planning/Development. Each committee should have a Trustee as chair person who is responsible for the agenda and actually runs that part of the meeting.

At these meetings each committee can investigate the two main areas that need a lot of attention. The Budget/Administration discussion can be used to investigate how departments can be run more efficiently, and how the Village can fix its seemingly structural deficit. The Planning/Development committee can discuss land use issues like the superblock redevelopment, the zoning changes, parks development, the comprehensive plan, etc.

The Mayor’s task force on the superblock, which I was on, submitted a white paper 5 weeks ago to the board, and nothing has been done. The first thing the white paper said was the board had to decide if the redevelopment was a priority. The board had to make that decision, otherwise we stay in the holding pattern we’ve been in for the last two years, where nothing happens. The board hasn’t done anything to figure out how it would make that decision, and it took a virtual revolution by Riverspace to get it on the Mayor’s report at a Board meeting to get the ball rolling.

In the scenario I suggest, the chair of the planning/development committee would be the point person for such an issue, and it would be on the board’s agenda. The planning process would be institutionalized, so that the board would naturally take a recommendation like that and figure out how it would make such a decision if the redevelopment is a priority.

And one other important point about the meetings. There needs to be limits on how long people talk. Amazingly Josh Goldberg was the only one the entire evening to get cut off by the Board, while at the beginning of the evening there were others that talked much longer about a single issue. Setting a boundary on time would force people to be more efficient in their discussion.

The problem is that the board gets lost in the minutia of individual events and requests and never gets around to the big issues, the issues that take time to work on and develop. Everything gets turned upside down and little items get a lot of attention and huge items get ignored or rushed.

This simple change in process would help get our priorities straight.