Greenburgh Divided Over Sports Bubble

The town is considering leasing the space formerly owned by Frank’s Nursery on Dobbs Ferry Road to Game On 365 LLC so it can build the Westchester Fieldhouse, a 94,000 square foot dome bubble that would include numerous recreational fields.

Town officials say that leasing to Game On 365 would create revenue, help lower taxes and allow for much needed field space, while opponents have questioned the speed in which the town is entering the deal and how much traffic would be created.

On Thursday outside Frank’s Nursery, Supervisor Paul Feiner held an information session attended by Game On 365 representatives, attorney Tim Louis and the assessor. Attendees frequently clashed with the town, yelling out their objections, while opponents argued with one another, at times shouting each other down.

Leading the charge against the Westchester Fieldhouse is Greenburgh resident Simon Cohen. Cohen runs Help Burst The Bubble, an organization designed to block Westchester Fieldhouse. The organization has been responsible for numerous mailings against the fieldhouse throughout Greenburgh, which critics say contain misinformation.

“There is no cap on what the town is prepared to pay for cleaning up the site,” Cohen said on Thursday. “The rent the town is charging Game On is extremely low. Game On is paying $1.30 a square foot while subletting the space for $40 a square foot. That should be a red flag. There is something wrong with the story”

Feiner said that the town is leasing the space, which it took over in 2004 and pays taxes on, because nobody has offered fair market value for the property and he would rather not sell for less than it’s worth.

“We put up a sign and asked people to submit bids,” Feiner said. “We got a lot of different concepts, from a shopping area to a catering center to a school.”

In December, the town passed a resolution naming Game On 365 as their proposed tenant. On Friday, the town is expected to approve another resolution expressing their support for Game On 365 and its project. The town cannot officially lease the project until various environmental studies have been done.

“People may disagree but we have to do something about property taxes,” Lewis said. “This is what is on the table.”

In the first year, Game On 365 is expected to pay $260,000 and in Year 15 will pay $335,000. The property taxes on the property are part of Game On’s lease. As the town continues to work on the lease, those terms could change.

According to the town, Game On 365 has also committed to paying $250,000 in cleanup costs, including $125,000 upfront. The town will also be paying for some cleanup costs, which has been a sore point among critics of the deal.

“This is a great location for any development,” Feiner said. “It creates a destination point in the area.”

Critics have also taken the town to task for not doing any traffic or environmental studies and for not officially getting the property assessed.

“[The town] has just accepted Game On’s proposed number for rent, surely missing out on hundreds of thousands of dollars every year,” Cohen said.

Feiner said that many people had their minds changed by Thursday’s hearing, despite the contentious nature.

“I thought the meeting went nicely,” Feiner said. “I thought it was going to be worse. They are running an extremely expensive opposition campaign, people are getting a lot of misinformation.”

Feiner contends that the town is getting more money for its bubble than similar bubbles in Mt. Vernon and North Castle. While critics complain about increased traffic, he thinks it will be improve life in Greenburgh.

“I feel that we’re almost being bullied,” Feiner said. “The board seems supportive of the proposal. They are spending a fortune for public manipulation, it’s not based on facts.”

The supervisor said he has been sending out more than 100 e-mails about the issue, and that he wants the project to be approved as soon as possible to show Game On 365 that they have faith in the project.

“The more you put it off, the more out of control it gets,” Feiner said. “They want to delay it so they can continue to misrepresent the facts. It’s a free country, they can do whatever they want.”

Feiner said that he thinks both House of Sports and the Westchester Fieldhouse can thrive in Greenburgh, saying that competition is a good thing.

“It allows for reduced prices for everyone,” Feiner said. “I will promote both of them, I plan to take my daughter to House of Sports. I want them to be very successful.”

In a situation like this, Feiner said despite the public’s wishes, the town cannot just sit back and do nothing.

“We’re not going to have a contaminated site and lose revenue,” Feiner said. “Whatever you do, people will get angry.”