Friday, April 11, 2008

Pieman Pisses Off Whole New Town



Apparently, not content with pissing off the political leaders of KJ (he keeps getting in their way), of the Town of Woodbury (he keeps reminding them that they lied to the voters) and the Town of Monroe (he claims that he's not quite certain what he did there, but Sandy Leonard did say that SOCA had to be crushed), the Pieman has now pissed off the powers that be in Cornwall.


Take a look at this week's Cornwall Local:

Making it personal
Legacy Ridge booster accuses us of snobbery
By Margaret Menge
Cornwall was accused of snob­bery and xenophobia on Tuesday night when the Village of Woodbury met and voted to approve the two local laws to increase the number of homes built at Legacy Ridge from 155 to 313. The vote was 3-0, with one mem­ber absent and one, who was just elected, abstaining.

A Woodbury resident and Legacy Ridge booster took to the micro­phone after the vote and told the board that Cornwall's attitude is "causing a lot of friction" between the two municipalities. He com­plained of the impact of Cornwall on Woodbury, and said one thing wrong with the Cornwall Central School District is the first word in its name — Cornwall. Jonathan Swiller, the speaker, said Cornwall treats kids from Woodbury and New Windsor who are in the Cornwall school district as "interlopers" and "foreigners sneaking over a fence." The police chief and his wife, sitting in comfy chairs along the wall, nodded along as Swiller spoke. And Lorraine McNeil, the defeated Woodbury Town Board member who sparred with Randazzo in 2006 when he was opposing .Legacy Ridge, tried to bore holes with her eyes into the skull of the editor of The Cornwall Local.

Swiller spoke after Tony Incanno of Cornwall, who told Woodbury's Village Board: "You have given us, Cornwall, taxation without representation." Brendan Coyne, president of Cornwall's Board of Education, followed Swiller, telling Mayor Stephanie Berean-Weeks and three board members (one was absent) that Woodbury can't have it both ways - they can't sell homes by talking up Cornwall schools and then overwhelm the Cornwall school district, thereby threatening the health of those schools. And he countered Swiller - "I take excep­tion," he said. "We're in the busi­ness of educating all students." (Coyne had jumped into the ring earlier in the meeting to inquire why Gerry Jacobowitz was speak­ing up just before the vote when others could not.)

Half the people in attendance at the Tuesday night meeting at the firehouse in Highland Mills were from Cornwall, including Supervisor Kevin Quigley and three members of the board: Al Mazzocca, Kerry McGuiness and Mary Beth Greene-Krafft, and also a number of members of the Cornwall Conservation Advisory Committee, including Bernie Sussman and Ed Flynn. Also there was Iris Sandow from Cornwall, who's in charge of the public rela­tions effort for Legacy Ridge. She was handing out copies of the Record's house editorial from
Friday, April 4 "Schools can't shut doors to newcomers" to everybody coming in. Mary Gross-Ferraro, a resident of Highland Mills who's been track­ing this project from the start was also there. She had been at Cornwall's Town Board meeting the night before, and told the board members of the hearings before the Woodbury Town Board in 2006. "I was absolutely amazed at how they just blew off Randazzo's questions," she said. She told the board of leading the Save our Streams effort in the 80s, and how they raised thousands of dollars to cover the cost of the lawyers. "I'm just concerned about nipping this in the bud before everybody's driven out of these towns by higher school taxes," she said. Also at the Town Board meeting on Monday, April 7 were representatives of the Black Rock Fish and Game Club, who said they were concerned about the "Class A trout stream" that is the Woodbury Creek. "Adding anoth­er couple hundred homes could be the death of the stream," said Jimmy McGee, a member of the club's Board of Trustees.

Coming out of Woodbury's meeting the next night, Incanno said, "See you in court"; Mary Gross-Ferraro said, "Totally pre­dictable."

The editor was stopped coming out of the door by Jonathan Swiller who said there are parents 'she should speak to. What par­ents? He rustled one up in sec­onds: man in a trench who said he lives on Route 32, just south of Trout Brook, steps away from the proposed Legacy Ridge develop­ment. He says he thinks the Cornwall Central School District does discriminate against Woodbury residents because he had trouble getting information about the new high school when it was being built. He calls Legacy Ridge, "the best, most wholesome kind of project there could be." When asked his 'name he conies out with it - he's Pat Conroy, hus­band of the former Town of Woodbury Supervisor Sheila Conroy who served from 2001 to 2005, and was the main engine behind Legacy Ridge.


Oh Pieman, why can't you be good?

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

So Here's Mr. Musich's latest installment on his "My way or the Highway" website...

"3.) Q: What do you mean neighbors, friends, enemies?
A: What I mean is Woodbury is under siege.

It is being divided by many different groups of people from different backgrounds, different religions, different political parties and by normal everyday intelligent people that lack common sense.
Some fear our neighbors to Woodbury's Western boundary, that caused zoning changes and then we disregard our neighbors to the North and that causes friction.
Our residents have been belittled, insulted, ridiculed, slandered, and lied to behind a veil of anonymity.
Words have been twisted around, taken out of context distorted and regurgitated into sentences and statements by writers without names that aim to divide our community instead of unify it.
You don't need a PHD to know that a Village divided is weaker and easier to control than one that is whole and in unison.
We have our friends, let's hope we can trust them.
We have our neighbors, strong fences make good neighbors, and our enemies.
Enemies could be anyone. They can smile at you and say good morning and then talk bad about you to every person they see. That's the thing about your enemies, you really don't know who they are until they show their hand. So learn to ask questions for your self and don't always take another persons opinion of one of your community members. Make up your mind for yourself."


Now if this isn't propaganda at its finest, I don't know what is! So he wants all residents of Woodbury to now become SUSPICIOUS of each other and of anyone who might smile or say a friendly hello??? Talk about dividing and conquering. A play right out of Ralph's own handbook. Especially the line "You don't need a PHD to know that a Village divided is weaker and easier to control than one that is whole and in unison." Hey Steve, wasn't it Ralph, you and all YOUR minions that spread panic and fear in order to DIVIDE the TOWN into the VILLAGE?? But alas, your plan fell short when your mighty leader couldn't get himself and his zombies elected to run the Village.

So, here we have it. A bunch of sore losers, who cannot accept their defeat, cannot get what THEY want, once again trying to spread panic and fear, in the most insidious of ways...by telling people that they must now be suspect of everyone around them...sounds like an extremely desperate way to get your ignorant, one-sided messages across, Mr. Musich!

Anonymous said...

Coyne just might be right, about Cornwall Schools being overwhelmed. word on the street has it that many out of district kids are currently being educated in Cornwall school, lot's of Taxi's in the morning at the H.S. Not sure, ask a CCHS student what they hear,
most times the kids, know more then you think

Anonymous said...

If Woodbury wants to let devopers run wild then its time for the school districts to realign thmselves in conjunction with their borders. The powers that be in Chester, Tuxedo, and Cornwall should call Albany and get it done. Or Monroe-Woodbury should just agree and rezone immediately.

Lets keep our problems to ourselves.

Anonymous said...

People act like these homes will be filling the schools without having to pay for them. Excuse me but won't they be paying a rather hefty school tax to send their children to the Cornwall school district? It's not like the kids will go for free. Unfortunately, just like every other public school district that is busting at the seams, Cornwall may have to build yet again. And it isn't like Legacy Ridge is the only development that will be putting new kids into the Cornwall school district. From watching the paper, it looks like there are plenty of other developments within the Cornwall district being ok'd by Cornwall, so perhaps Mr. Swiller isn't that far off in his assessment of their exclusionary ways.

Anonymous said...

I don't see what the big difference is. When they approve houses in Monroe, Harriman, Blooming Grove etc. I do not see the residents of the other municipalities whining and crying foul. Suck it up or re-adjust the school district boundaries.

Anonymous said...

The people from Cornwall are nothing but a bunch of xenophobic hypocrites! (too much Greek for you?) They don't want Woodbury children in their schools and yet, for some reason, they are not complaining of the MANY more children that will go to the Cornwall district schools due to the large developments in New Windsor and in Cornwall itself.

Anonymous said...

why o why must woodbury keep giving into developers who can't afford to build with the present zoning and then promise the moon. legacy ridge only benefits about 200 home with sewer. it will supply water to woodbury junction (rob peter to pay paul) and residents of woodbury and cornwall will deal with the population, traffic, and other infrastructure problems. no precedent set with woodbury junction? we'll see about that.

Anonymous said...

Legacy Ridge is NOT going to supply water to Woodbury Junction.
Get your facts straight. Millenium Homes doesn't want anything to do with Brodsky.

Anonymous said...

So, now I am confused. I, too, heard that Legacy Ridge had the wells that would supply Woodbury Junction. I understand that there is, or will be, a water loop. What's the story?

Anonymous said...

Can someone identify "The Pieman" for me, is it that dick Swiller?
I'm new at this site, but I can tell already by researching past blogs, he must be an asshole!

Anonymous said...

Can someone identify "The Pieman" for me, is it that dick Swiller?
I'm new at this site, but I can tell already by researching past blogs, he must be an asshole!

12:43 PM, April 19, 2008

NEW TO THE SITE, MY ASS! You seem to have some kind of perverted fondness for male body parts, and keep expressing it over and over and over again! You're an idiot!

Anonymous said...

The "loop" will benefit "all" of
Woodbury.

Anonymous said...

re: the loop -- how so?

Kieran Conroy said...

Mary Ferraro's quote is priceless. What she, and the editorial ignored was how Cornwall's board rep blew US off by leaving minutes after her statement, not giving residents any chance to respond to her unfair scapegoating of Woodbury over all the other high-density projects Cornwall's been allowing. I don't blame the Town Board for not taking her seriously at the time. She came off as arrogant, as did Randazzo and his board a few weeks earlier to our visiting Town Board members (which I also attended, and spoke at). Where is the accountability for Cornwall's own development?

The Legacy sewer system is to replace the failing Valley Forge plant, thus providing sewers for BOTH developments and saving those residents millions of dollars and serious problems in the immediate future. It will also provide improved water pressure for the entire town, important for fire systems and such. The project was designed to have private roads, ensuring our taxes don't have to cover all their highway/plowing costs. But all their (high) tax values will fund our schools and community.

The health of the stream is, and has always been a top concern for many of us. I was glad when its class was upgraded, because it gives the town more enforcement over its protection.

Legacy is to be phased over several YEARS to spread out/observe its impact, and I understand it will be possible (and necessary) to test water quality/runoff/etc throughout the process. If there is a problem, things can and should be adjusted. The Planning Board will probably do additional fine tuning right now, its responsibility after the Village Board's approval.

And yes, still Sheila Conroy's son, Cornwall School graduate and Eagle Scout from one of their troops. Not afraid to post because of some pushy editorial.

Kieran Conroy said...

I don't have the maps in front of me, but if you count both phases of Valley Forge and the 3rd development next-door, this new plant should, I believe support no less than 4 developments, and provide pressure to the whole town.

It should, additionally include all sorts of state of the art stuff not in the current plant, UV treatment and such. At least 2 or 3 of technologies sound similar to a state of the art sewer plant in California mentioned in this month's Discover Eco-issue, a place that produces directly drinkable water. I doubt it will be THAT good, but its impressive.