Despite the town of Greenburgh’s pledge to rent out the 108 efficiency apartments at the former WestHELP homeless complex, Ferncliff Manor for the Retarded in Yonkers hasn’t given up its campaign to tear down the apartments so it can build a campus for developmentally disabled children.
Greenburgh, meanwhile, has set a Dec. 1 deadline for proposals from housing management groups to run the housing for low- and moderate-income tenants. The county Board of Legislators has remained firm in its resolve to preserve the housing and not tear it down.
An email message to the “Friends of Ferncliff,” the for-profit agency said: We are writing to share with you a very important meeting that will occur tomorrow evening, Tuesday, November 13, 2012 at the Westchester County Board of Legislators in White Plains. If you wish to speak on behalf of Ferncliff you need to arrive at 6:30 PM to sign up and you will be given three (3) minutes. If you wish to simply come in support of us, please arrive by 7:00 PM.
Purpose of the meeting before the County Board: Is to speak about the valuable resource that Ferncliff provides to our children with severe developmental disabilities and who reside here. The need is so great and we wish to have you express the important need for an upgraded facility identified specifically at WestHelp. If you are so inclined to speak on behalf of Ferncliff, we would be grateful to you if you could speak about our merits, the importance of Ferncliff Manor to our community. We are not wishing to be hostile in any way but to respectfully convince the Board to consider the WestHelp site for Ferncliff.Please feel free to read the issues at hand as we advocate for a new home for our children and staff. We look forward to seeing you tomorrow evening. Please feel free to call Ferncliff if you need any assistance. Thank you on behalf of all of us at Ferncliff Manor! Sincerely yours, Gayle Cratty Director, Community Relations The School for Adaptive & Integrative Learning (SAIL) at Ferncliff Manor
3 Comments
Clearly this blog is misrepresenting the facts and if this is representative of “fighting for taxpayers and keeping an eye on their money” Mr Wilson should first examine the facts. Yes, he is correct in stating that Ferncliff is proposing replacing the existing structures with housing for its 56 residents but he fails to mention that it is at no cost to the taxpayers of Westchester County. In fact the County and Town of Greenburgh would benefit from revenue for the rental of the property. The existing structures are not habitable in their present state. I had the opportunity to visit them a couple of weeks ago and the “efficiency apartments” are riddled with mold and mildew from sitting there vacant. That condition alone would require a major overhaul of them at…...THE EXPENSE OF THE TAXPAYERS. Coupled with that is the need for parking, making them ADA compliant and the installation of elevators for residents with mobility impairments. And that’s only IF the existing structures are usable. So, Mr. Wilson, Ferncliff submitting an RFP for the use of now vacant property that would cost the taxpayers nothing and generate revenue as opposed to the millions of dollars that it would cost to make the existing structures meet the requirements of affordable housing on the backs of the taxpayers looks a lot more attractive to me as a life long Westchester resident and tax payer. Oh, I am sure that you know that Greenburgh has more than met the needs of affordable housing in Westchester and that this property would not satisfy the Federal Mandate for Westchester to build more affordable housing.
Bravo to Ferncliff for advocating for their residents to live and be educated on a property that would more than meet the needs of their population and at no cost to the taxpayers that you watch out for.
Stephen,
Building Ferncliff would cost taxpayers as it would be built using funds from the state of New York. According to the proposals made to the town, the developers will be providing the funds to fix up the units to make them ready for renting, at no cost to the taxpayers.
david
Why are comments and responses to this item and the other item regarding Ferncliff not being posted? Why are Ferncliff supporters who know the truth being silenced by this paper???