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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09.14.2021 M. Wolman Comments1 Alex Marshall From:Mindy G. Wolman <mindywolman@access.net> Sent:Tuesday, September 14, 2021 2:16 PM To:Mayor Paul S. Rosenberg; Jason A. Klein; Susan R. Epstein; Stephanie J. Fischer; David M. Heiser Cc:Alex Marshall Subject:Objections to Proposed 900 King Street Redevelopment Plan Good afternoon. This is to follow up on my prior email objecting to the proposed 900 King Street Redevelopment Plan. I attended the August 10, 2021 Village of Rye Brook Board of Trustees meeting via Zoom. As of that point in time, I had only very recently purchased a home and moved in to The Arbors, and I had only limited information regarding the proposed redevelopment plan. Having listened to the statements and the discussion at the August meeting, I still have serious concerns about the plan. It was very clear that the noise during construction issue remains. The proposed "sound barriers" will be far away from the demolitation and construction noise. As such, the barriers will not likely be effective in controlling the noise. It was clear at the meeting that the developer has no intention of taking any additional, or more effective steps, to alleviate the noise. It was also clear that the Trustees and Mayor will not be actively involved in monitoring and addressing the noise problems. The proposal to limit noise to day time does not address the problem. That means noise will impact students (as school will be in session) and will greatly impact local residents who are working remotely or have home offices. Based on the discussion at the last meeting, it appears that there will be a considerable noise impact in the areas surround the demolition and construction. It does not seem reasonable (or appropriate) to subject local residents to many hours per day of noise. Even residents who are not in school or working remotely would like to live in a quiet neighborhood. In addition, I don't think that anything was mentioned at the last meeting regarding the demolition/construction impact on air quality in the surrounding area, which is a significant issue to residents who have asthma or other pulmonary/bronchial issues. The construction project (and the buildings, when completed) will significantly impact the general quality of life in the area and will increase traffic. It will double or triple the population density in the surrounding area. The multi-unit residential buildings will impact Village resources, facilities,and stores in the area. I am also concerned about how the large population increase will impact emergency services (possibly resulting in the need for staff and equipment increases, leading to increased taxes, etc.). It will also significantly increase the number of individuals availing themselves of town resources (libraries, public events, etc.). Another very serious concern is about what will happen if the project "fails" by not being able to obtain a sufficient number of senior citizens as residents. In such an eventuality, there are a couple of different possible outcomes. One is that the company will file for bankruptcy - leaving a vacant or half-constructed buldings sitting there for years. Another possibility is that the facility will switch to being a "regular" residential development -- with families and more students than our current schools can easily accommodate (with the potential for increased class sizes, the need for additional staffing and school facilities, increased taxes, etc.). A negative impact on our schools will likely have a negative impact on property values. Another critical issue is the impact that the project will have on the ability of homeowners in The Arbors to sell their homes. As a recent home-buyer in The Arbors, I can tell you that I absolutely would not have purchased a home here if I had been aware of the pending redevelopment plan. I can only assume that other potential homeowners may well feel the same way. Once the demotion and constrution starts, it will impact the ability to sell for an extended time. This will, quite possibly, reduce property values in the area. Once the construction is completed, property values may remain suppressed due to the change the the character of the area (more urban, less suburban, etc.). The impact on property values will be even more striking if the project fails and winds up liquidating or reorganizing in Bankruptcy, or by morphing into a large multi- unit residential rental complex. 2 As such, despite the discussions and explanations given at the August meeting, I remain vehemently opposed to the approval of the proposed redevelopment plan. I would urge the Board of Trustees to vote agains approval. Thank you. Mindy G. Wolman -- IHO Mindy G. Wolman Law Office of Mindy Wolman 168 Ivy Hill Lane Rye Brook, New York 10573 (Please note address change) Email: mindywolman@access.net _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________ Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail communication and any attachments may contain confidential and privileged information for the use of the designated recipients named above. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you have received this communication in error and that any review, disclosure, dissemination, distribution or copying of it or its contents is prohibited. 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