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.

CLICK HERE to read the endorsement, or read on.

Journal News — Oct. 29, 2009

It’s a rarity to have three candidates running for two seats on Nyack’s village board. Even more interesting is that none is an incumbent; the two candidates whose terms were up, Marie Lorenzini and Denise Hogan, sought the mayor’s seat. Jennifer Laird White and Doug Foster are the Democratic candidates. Maureen Dougher, a Republican candidate – another rarity for Nyack – is also running on the Independence and Citizens Committee lines.

We endorse Laird White, who has already helped the village invest $100,000 in its priceless waterfront through her work with the nonprofit Nyack Park Conservancy. We also endorse Foster, an urban planner by trade, who said many of Nyack’s bigger problems can be addressed with a series of small-scale solutions.

While the trustee candidates called Riverspace Arts’ ambitious $100 million revitalization plan for downtown a “wonderful” and “lovely” concept, they all fixed their gazes on the bottom line. Foster questioned the grand scale for a small village. Dougher pointed out the 10 or so empty storefronts now downtown, wondering who would fill all the added retail space. Laird White said the plan would replace the “hideous gaping wound in the middle of Nyack,” but it remains unclear whether the village could handle the influx of traffic a successful project would bring.

Rowdiness from the late-night bar crowd often fuels tension in Nyack. “I think the Orangetown police are doing the job they are being asked to do,” Laird White said. She wants a more local presence from Orangetown. While going back to a Nyack Police Department is counterintuitive, the village board can accomplish more of a local presence through negotiations with Orangetown. Foster said security isn’t just about policing: better lighting downtown and a well-designed streetscape can improve nighttime safety. That same downtown is too quiet during the daytime for local merchants. Laird White said the village board needs to show more interest in economic development.

All three candidates had issues with the major parking changes the village has undertaken, but their solutions differed. Dougher wants to revisit the issue and ease up on “aggressive enforcement.” Foster wants a more “civil discussion” about the best solutions. Laird White wants a closer examination of the revenue it generates, but for now, “people need to calm down about parking.”

All three saw a need for the village board meetings to be more organized, and more productive. Laird White pointed to a “logjam of studies,” and Foster characterized meetings with trustees spending “a lot of time talking about very small things and little time on really big things.” Let’s see if Foster and Laird White can get the discussions focused and turn talk into action.

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.”

As the volunteer Chairman of the Nyack Zoning Board of Appeals for nearly a decade, I have had the pleasure of working closely with the Trustees on Land Use and other issues. Based on my experience in our Village government I strongly endorse Jen White and Doug Foster for Trustee.

Both Jen and Doug worked on the Mayor’s Task Force on the Redevelopment of the Downtown Superblock, which I chaired. Both had insightful comments which helped frame the final recommendations. I’ve known Jen for 10 years and am always amazed at her energy and “can-do” attitude. I am privileged to be able to call her my friend. Doug, while new to the Village, has a planning background that can only enhance his performance as a Trustee.

The Village needs new energy on the Board. These two will provide it in spades!