Greenstein Sets Sights on Third Term as New Castle Supervisor

Since Robert Greenstein burst onto New Castle’s political scene in 2011, he certainly hasn’t conformed to the way politics has been conducted in the town.

Running as an independent candidate for Town Board in 2011, Greenstein was soundly defeated. But he didn’t run and hide. Instead, he returned with running mates Lisa Katz and Adam Brodsky two years later, all running on the Republican line, even though none of them are registered Republicans, and won his first race for supervisor in an overwhelmingly Democratic town.

After re-election in 2015, Greenstein, 50, has once again eschewed New Castle’s political norm and is pursuing a third term, while his recent predecessors have adhered to self-imposed limits of no more than two terms.

“The truth is that we have more to do,” Greenstein said. “I got involved to make a difference and we are making a difference, but we have more to do. We started this (downtown) project and we want to finish it. Chappaqua Crossing was handed to us. I think we made it better and I want to see it through.”

His administration was the first in 28 years to update the town’s Comprehensive Plan after four years of study and input. It paves the way for potential zoning changes and more than 180 listed goals for this Town Board and future boards to consider.

Greenstein said revitalizing the hamlets, particularly downtown Chappaqua, has been the priority since before his Team New Castle slate was unable to stop Chappaqua Crossing. He said one of the first things to do if he’s re-elected is to tackle zoning changes downtown in hopes of attracting mixed-use development and generating more foot traffic.

“We want people living downtown,” Greenstein said. “That has to be our top priority, to get more people living downtown, and the train station is something we obviously need to study. I think one of the first things we need to do is reach out to developers and say give us your ideas.”

Contrary to the charges made by his opponent, Kristen Browde, and her running mates, the downtown Chappaqua infrastructure and streetscape project is off to a good start, Greenstein contended. Estimates from the town’s planning consultants, WSP Sells, were off by between about $4 million and $9 million, but the board was able to trim streetscape costs and use $1 million in fund balance. The $1.2 million in contingency and $1 million each to be paid to WSP Sells and the construction manager, put the total cost of work at $14.78 million, of which streetscape accounts for 21 percent of the expense.

Greenstein said Browde has made misinformed claims that his administration has been guilty of cost overruns and is wasting money.

“The truth is we haven’t spent a penny in contingency,” he said. “There is a very good chance – we’ve done a lot of excavation, there’s no rock, there’s no contaminated soil – there’s a very good chance we’re going to have $1.2 million to put that stuff back in.”

Despite his original opposition to retail at Chappaqua Crossing, Greenstein said his administration was handcuffed when the prior Town Board adopted the findings statement a week before his election. With the help of the Planning Board, the project was reworked, so two-thirds of the 120,000 square feet of retail at the former Reader’s Digest campus will consist of Whole Foods and Lifetime Fitness, limiting small-store competition for downtown.

The other project Greenstein campaigned against, the Conifer Realty affordable housing proposal, is on track to be built after site mitigation began over the summer. He said to have fought the project, which had already been approved, would have been foolhardy.

“We would have lost in state court and we would have got demolished in federal court,” Greenstein said.

He vowed that once the project is built and families have moved in, he will make sure they are welcome in town so they avoid being stigmatized.

Another effort that has moved forward are the sewage diversion projects for Yeshiva, Riverwoods and Random Farms, Greenstein said. After years of being stalled because of a money shortage and the inability to get the sewer district certified, the town helped facilitate a bifurcation process where Yeshiva and Riverwoods will divert to Mount Kisco and Random Farms to Briarcliff.

Greenstein dismissed claims that he has tried to push through the Sunshine Children’s Home & Rehabilitation Center expansion project, pointing out that the application has never been before the town board.

He readily acknowledges that he approached Ossining officials to bring in municipal water not only for Sunshine but for residents, which would have been helpful for firefighting.

Greenstein said the town’s fiscal record has been strong in his time in office with minimal tax increases that have been well below the tax cap while providing additional amenities such as the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center, a new playground at Gedney Park and a new basketball court being constructed behind Town Hall.

“We have a track record. We get stuff done,” he said.

Greenstein brushes off being portrayed by Browde and the opposing slate as a Trump-style Republican, reminding the public he is registered Democrat. For every photo they have of him with Republican state Sen. Terrence Murphy and Rob Astorino, he has photos of himself with Rep. Nita Lowey and the Clintons.

“You may not like me, but what you see is what you get,” Greenstein said. “I’m just trying to make the community better and set a good example for my kids. I never said I was perfect but we’ve done some pretty darn good things.”