Frequently Asked Questions by Residents

Last Updated 2009.07.27

Upcoming/Recent Events
Farmer’s Market Opened - Sat, May 30th, 7:00am to 1:00pm, Memorial Plaza

Q: Do you know you can watch Board Meetings, School Meetings, and a number of other events live and recorded?
A: They are available via the PCTV76 website.

Q: What's going on with the run-down home at 55 Pleasant Avenue?
A: The County is considering donating the above dilapidated home for rehabilitation for middle class housing as managed by A-Home, a non-profit. The house would include an accessory apartment as well. This is allowed under Village Zoning ordinances (section 185-31). Currently, it's not on Village tax rolls and is an eye sore. So, this could be a win-win situation. There has been some local neighborhood negative feedback due to flood control and house size issues. This project is still in the planning phase.

Q: What is the status with Verizon FiOS TV service?
A: The board has been negotiating with Verizon almost on a daily basis as reported by the Mayor, and has requested the same deal offered to neighboring municipalities. Verizon has been extremely slow to respond. The Village TV station and other services are based on the tv fees, so it's important they are not cut. Once Verizon offers a "fair" amount, they will be welcomed into the community. Keep in mind, Verizon FiOS internet costs more than Cablevision's so I'm not sure it'll reduce everyone's cable costs.

Q: What is the status of the Church Street sidewalks?
A: At the Mon 5/18 board meeting, the board has hired a traffic engineering company (Adler) to look into the feasibility of sidewalks on Chruch Street. At the end of June 09, Adler should have their initial report ready. Board had been looking into what options exists from a traditional sidewalk to path.

Q: How can I ask a question?
A: Send an email to Ben Serebin. My email address is: ben "the @ symbol" serebin "dot" com.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Village Board Regular Meeting Agenda 01/26/09

[as posted to the Village mailing list. -Ben]

REGULAR MEETING OF THE
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
VILLAGE OF PLEASANTVILLE
VILLAGE HALL
80 WHEELER AVENUE - 2ND FLOOR
MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2009
8:00PM

Scheduled Meetings: All meetings are held at Village Hall, 80
Wheeler Avenue, 2nd Floor, Pleasantville, New York

Work Session, Monday, February 2, 2009 at 7:00pm
Regular Meeting Monday, February 9, 2009 at 8:00pm with a Work
Session at 7:00pm

Oral Communication:
Church Street Sidewalk Request

Public Hearing
Pubic Hearing regarding a continuation of a Public Hearing regarding a
Local Law Amending Chapter 185 Zoning, Section 185-3 Definitions
and Word Use and Section 185-19 Central Business A-l District.

Resolutions:
Res. No. 2009-11-Approval of Pre-Check Register
Res. No. 2009-12-Approval of Minutes/January 12, 2009
Res. No. 2009-13-Approving Unpaid Internship/Senior Center
Res. No. 2009-14-Accepting Donations for Senior Center
Posted by at 2 comments:
Labels: , ,

Village Board Work Session Agenda 1/26/09

[as provided by Village posting. Corrected spelling mistake. -Ben]

7:00PM
WORK SESSION
AGENDA
MONDAY, JANUARY 26,2009
80 WHEELER AVENUE
PLEASANTVILLE, NY 10570

7:00pm
Metro-North Commuter Railroad- Easement
Request and Substation Proposal
Posted by at 1 comment:
Labels: ,

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Village Board Regular Meeting Agenda 01/12/09 (CORRECTION)

[This is the corrected version of the agenda as provided by the town. -Ben]

REGULAR MEETING OF THE
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
VILLAGE OF PLEASANTVILLE
VILLAGE HALL
80 WHEELER AVENUE - 2ND FLOOR
MONDAY, JANUARY 12, 2009
8:00PM

Scheduled Meetings: All meetings are held at Village Hall, 80 Wheeler Avenue, 2nd Floor, Pleasantville, New York

Due to the Martin Luther King Holiday, Village Offices will be Closed

Regular Meeting Monday, January 26, 2009 at 8:00pm, with a Work Session at 7:00pm

Oral Communications:
Gary Schneeweiss, Automated Parking Garages

Resolutions:
Res. No. 2009-1-Approval of Pre-Check Register
Res. No. 2009-2-Approval of Minutes/December 22 & December 29, 2009
Res. No. 2009-3-Approval of Agreement with Westchester County Re: Enhanced 911 Services
Res. No, 2009-4-Designation of Polling Place and Hours for Village Election
Res. No. 2009-5-Appointment of Election Inspectors
Res. No. 2009-6-Approval of Budget Amendments
Res. No. 2009-7-Approval of Fire Department Parade
Res. No. 2009-8-Authorization to Sign Retainer Letter with the Law Firm of Bryan Cave
Res. No. 2009-9-Accepting Donations to Clinton Street Center
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , ,

Monday, January 5, 2009

Variety article about Jacob Burns & the new Media Arts Lab Building

Article in Variety about Jacob Burns & the new Media Arts Lab Building. Good article.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117997722.html?categoryid=18&cs=1&query=jacob+burns+film
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

Village Board Work Session Agenda 1/05/09

BOARD OF TRUSTEES
WORK SESSION
AGENDA
MONDAY, JANUARY 5, 2009
80 WHEELER AVENUE
PLEASANTVILLE, NY 10570
7:00PM

7:00pm Miscellaneous Administrative Items

8:00pm EXECUTIVE SESSION
1) Advice of Legal Counsel in Bonura Litigation
2) Cablevison/Verizon Franchise Negotiations
Posted by at 1 comment:
Labels: , ,

Planning Commission Meeting Agenda 1/14/09

Planning Commission Meeting
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
8:00 P.M.
Village Hall
80 Wheeler Avenue
Pleasantville, New York

AGENDA

1. David Sims – 51 Guion Street, Pleasantville, New York – Proposed re-subdivision of property to establish a new single family dwelling

CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARING - PRELIMINARY SUBDIVISION PLAT

2. Shirley B. DiPace – 109 & 147 Wheeler Avenue, Pleasantville, New York – Proposed exterior storage, fencing and associated site plan modifications

3. Kass Realty Company – 21 Paulding Street, Pleasantville, New York – Proposed legalization of interior renovations/site plan modifications
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

The Dunkin Donuts Corner (SPECIAL FEATURE) - Updated Last 2008.10.07

---------------------------------------------------------------
Regular Announcements Below This - Scroll Down
---------------------------------------------------------------

Tue 10/7 Update
Last week, Dunkin Donuts decided to hang up a traditional Dunkin Donuts sign violating the Signage Ordinance and the Architecture Review Board's agreement with the Donuts Donuts franchise owner, TBG. Numerous complaints were lodged with Village Hall and they demanded TBG immediately remove the illegal sign which they promptly did. TBG complained that the wood curved sign was taking too long, hence they broke the rules to advertise Dunkin Donuts.

Wed 9/10 Update
On Monday, 9/8 the Pleasantville Board of Trustees announced the following proposed amendments to the introductory local law 2008-181 which to summarize the major points improves upon the definition of what a restaurant is, prohibits drive-throughs for non-bank establishments, adds a new formula fast food establishment definition and restricts their establishment, and clarifies and restricts 1st floor permitted uses for professional services (e.g. legal services, architectural, brokerage firms, accounting, etc) in the central business districts. Public comment is open now. You can read the original document on the Village's website. Next public comment meeting is on the agenda for the Mon, October 27th meeting. Please provide feedback to the trustees and village administrator before then as well.

- Ben Serebin, Pleasantville Resident
----------------

Hello Everyone,

The vast majority of the people I speak with are upset to hear about the planned Dunkin Donuts across from the Jacob Burns (2nd Dunkin Donuts in Pleasantville), so I realized it would be good if I had a special section dedicated to it. I'll update this area with Dunkin Donuts related issues which includes the business moratorium and ordinance changes.

This issue was caused by a ruling by the Pleasantville Building Inspector (Mike Testa) on 11/28/07 due to the lack of definition of the current zoning for a bakery (section 185:11, no definition of bakery), simplistic definition of a fast food restaurant (more than 8 seats with ready to consume food), "one hundred feet of the intersection" of any business street as per section 185-22 section 12 (a) [4], and "lack of applying the interpretation or conflict of the zoning and ordinances, the more restrictive language should apply" (section 185-59 section B). His consultation of a dictionary for defining what a bakery is should have been targeted to the board of trustees for clarification especially since most people would probably classify Dunkin Donuts as fast food (since the company labels it as such and so does the franchise owner). In essence, the application was a technique of a wolf in sheep's clothes. Challenges via a Zoning Board Appeal in section 185-55 or an article 78 to applications are required within 30 days, which was not available to me since I became aware of this after that period.

There is a solution that we can promote to prevent uncontrolled increases of fast food businesses and franchises in Pleasantville, and it's called Business Formula Ordinances (BFOs). To summarize the explanation of this, it means that each business would need to be to a certain degree unique and could not be cookie cutter like, e.g. same trademark, signage, tables, lighting, menus, uniforms, etc. The BFOs can be as restrictive (e.g. no businesses sharing trademarks, menus, signage, etc) or accommodating as desired (e.g. capping the # in an area or entire business district, such as up to 5 business allowed in the village sharing trademarks, menus, signage, etc). Traffic safety should also play a role in approving businesses in Pleasantville.

Read the following PDFs or websites just by clicking the links:
Original Building Permit Application filed by T.B.G. Food Acquisition Corp (aka Dunkin Donuts owner Manhattan based private equity firm The Beekman Group L.L.C.) on November 25, 2007. There are mistakes on the application and the identity of the signature of the owner is unknown even to Mike Testa (building inspector).

Background on The Beekman Group Private Equity Firm and TBG as per Westchester County Business Journal interview with John Troiano and Peter Marrinan. Peter has attended at least one Pleasantville meeting. Or read it on the Westchester County Business Journal website.

The Examiner Article of March 10, 2008 announcing the Pleasantville Downtown Business Moratorium and "know your Neighbor" highlight of Ben Serebin.

The New York Times Article on May 25, 2008 "Punching a Hole in Paradise" about the planned Dunkin Donuts and use of Formula Businesses. Interview with Mayor Bernard Gordon and Pleasantville Resident Ben Serebin. Or read it on the NY Times website.

Pleasantville Zoning Map of Business Districts (A1 & A2) Affected by Business Moratorium.

[Provided to Pleasantville Board of Trustees during May 19, 2008 meeting & Westchester County Legislator John Nonna who was present]
List of some Municipalities that have Implemented Formula Business Ordinances (e.g. Port Jefferson NY, Fairfield CT, Bristol RI, Chesapeake City MD, Nantucket MA, Portland ME, Ogunquit ME, Coronado CA, Pacific Grove CA, San Francisco CA, Sanibel FL, Sauslito CA, & York ME to name a few.

Formula Business Ordinance upheld by California Court of Appeals

[Provided to Pleasantville Board of Trustees during May 19, 2008 meeting & Westchester County Legislator John Nonna who was present]
Port Jefferson, NY (on Long Island) Business Formula Ordinance (BFO) Code (I've provided the exact sections that discuss the BFO.)

City of Portland, ME's BFO Code. This is a good example like the Port Jefferson, NY code.

Pleasantville, NY Local Law code for Signage as of Jan 2008

Dunkin Donuts Website Press Release announcing that Dunkin Donuts received the award of "Best Fast-Food Coffee" - maybe they are a fast food franchise company?

-Ben Serebin, Pleasantville Resident
-----------------------------------------------------