Letter to the Editor: Bill Gaston on Tuckahoe Planning Board’s Decision to Proceed with Marriott Hotel Project
To the Editor:
Oct. 26, 2016: Amidst rounds of catcalls and boos from angry village residents, the Tuckahoe Planning Board voted on October 19 to proceed with the highly controversial Marriott Hotel Project on Marbledale Road.
In a bitterly divided 3-2 vote, the board gave its approval to build the hotel atop a confirmed toxic waste dump. Adding insult to injury, the board also rejected pleas from two members of the board who urged a full environmental impact statement be required before digging begins on the site, where, God knows, what ticking poisonous time bombs lie buried below it.
In moving forward, the board basically told the community, "Trust the developer. Don’t fret your silly heads about clean air and community health, we have your back."
Is it any wonder after months of being stonewalled on basic facts about the hotel site, the community is angry and is ill disposed to heed these reassurances? Is it too much to ask that an environmental impact statement, supported by nearly 3,000 members of the surrounding communities, be conducted to allay the well-founded fears of a village whose residents do not want to be the next Flint, Michigan?
Members of the Marbledale Road Environmental Coalition, who have waged a valiant fight from Day 1 against the obvious environmental risks of this project, are plenty angry and determined.
Quoted in the Journal News, Rachel Zolottev, the head of the coalition, called the vote a “travesty,” which it most assuredly was. They have promised to continue the fight in the courts, which they most assuredly will.
They will do so at their own expense, no courtesy of a village board, which displayed its skill last Wednesday burying its collective head in the sand and placing its trust in a developer whose only interest is making a tidy profit at the expense of the wellbeing of its neighbors. Shame on both of them!
Bill Gaston
9 Bolton Gardens
Bronxville, NY 10708
Editor's note: MyhometownBronxville does not fact-check statements in letters to the editor, and the opinions do not necessarily reflect the thinking of its staff. Its objective in publishing letters to the editor is to give air to diverse thoughts and opinions of residents in the community.
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Bronxville is a quaint village (one square mile) located just 16 miles north of midtown Manhattan (roughly 30 minutes on the train) and has a population of approximately 6,500. It is known as a premier community with an excellent public school (K-12) and easy access to Manhattan. Bronxville offers many amenities including an attractive business district, a hospital (Lawrence Hospital), public paddle and tennis courts, fine dining at local restaurants, two private country clubs and a community library.
While the earliest settlers of Bronxville date back to the first half of the 18th century, the history of the modern suburb of Bronxville began in 1890 when William Van Duzer Lawrence purchased a farm and commissioned the architect, William A. Bates, to design a planned community of houses for well-known artists and professionals that became a thriving art colony. This community, now called Lawrence Park, is listed on the National register of Historic Places and many of the homes still have artists’ studios. A neighborhood association within Lawrence Park called “The Hilltop Association” keeps this heritage alive with art shows and other events for neighbors.
Bronxville offers many charming neighborhoods as well as a variety of living options for residents including single family homes, town houses, cooperatives and condominiums. One of the chief benefits of living in “the village” is that your children can attend the Bronxville School.
The Bronxville postal zone (10708, known as “Bronxville PO”) includes the village of Bronxville as well as the Chester Heights section of Eastchester, parts of Tuckahoe and the Lawrence Park West, Cedar Knolls, Armour Villa and Longvale sections of Yonkers. Many of these areas have their own distinct character. For instance, the Armour Villa section has many historic homes and even has its own newsletter called “The Villa Voice” which reports on neighborhood news.
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