Eastchester REVIEW THE
August 19, 2016 | Vol. 4, Number 34 | www.eastchesterreview.com
Eastchester BOE to hire environmental consultant
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By COREY STOCKTON Staff Writer
and wanting more Tao Porchon-Lynch in the full lotus pose, or Padmasana. Porchon-Lynch, 98, was declared the world’s oldest yoga teacher by Guinness World Records in 2013. She spoke to At Home on the Sound members on Aug. 9 as part of its Remarkable Women Over 90 series. For story, see page 6. Photo/Teresa Kay-Aba Kennedy
Eastchester fire union files grievance against district By COREY STOCKTON Staff Writer The Eastchester Professional Firefighters Union has filed a grievance against the fire district, which could cost the district upwards of $5 million if the union is victorious. The Local 916 Union claims the district should have been contributing to the New York state retirement system for final year average salary pensions, according to a grievance filed by Steven Ranellone, the union president, on June 1. Eastchester firefighters can collect their pension through one of two methods: a threeyear average salary, in which their payments are calculated based on their best three con-
secutive yearly salaries; or a final year average salary, in which their payments are calculated based on their last year’s pay. Ranellone said this has been part of their contract for more than 50 years. However, according to the grievance, the fire district has only been paying into the three-year average salary fund. During a July Board of Fire Commissioners meeting, the board approved a recommendation by fire Chief Michael Grogan, denying the grievance. As a result, the district now plans to take the claim to arbitration. Attorneys from both sides are currently in the process of picking an arbitrator. If the arbitrator rules in favor of
the union, the district would be forced to pay $5.5 million as a lump sum, or $7.2 million over time in retroactive pay, in addition to an annual cost. Jamie Hedstrom, treasurer for the fire district, said the district would have to save $2 million per year to pay the $7.2 million over time, and estimated that the district would have to cut between 12 and 14 positions to make room for the added expense in the district budget. During the same meeting, Dennis Winter, chairman of the Board of Fire Commissioners, said, “This would have a fairly material impact on the department.” He added that in addition to reducing manpower, the district would likely have to cut overtime hours in order to
compensate for the $2 million budget reduction. The Eastchester Fire District’s budget for 2016 is $15.5 million. A $2 million reduction would surmount to nearly 13 percent of the annual budget. Winter told the Review that the district will not raise taxes in order to finance a payment to the union, and therefore would have to cut jobs if an arbitrator rules in favor of the union. The district currently employs approximately 75 professional firefighters, 18 of whom have leadership roles within the department. Winter said that a ruling for the union would be “draconian for the district,” which would, UNION continued on page 5
The Eastchester Board of Education has passed a resolution to hire an environmental consultant in anticipation of the DECapproved remediation of a contaminated property in Tuckahoe near the Waverly Early Childhood Center. During a Tuckahoe Board of Trustees meeting on Aug. 8, Dr. Walter Moran, the superintendent for the Eastchester school district, announced that the district voted to hire a consultant to help establish and evaluate evacuation plans and to help safeguard students from a hazard during the remediation of a property on Marbledale Road in Tuckahoe, where more than a dozen contaminants were found in soil vapors and groundwater. The state Department of Environmental Conservation has sanctioned a Brownfield cleanup of 3.5 acres of land between 109 and 125 Marbledale Road, part of the former Marbledale Quarry which was used as an industrial landfill from the 1950s through the 1970s. The property owner, Bilwin Development Affiliates LLC, plans to build a five-story hotel on the site once the contaminants have been removed or suppressed. The site has drawn the attention of concerned residents in the area, many of whom have filed petitions and sent letters to both the DEC and state representatives asking for more testing and better protection. The parentteacher associations in Eastchester have been notably mobilized on the issue; their efforts have been generated, in part, from the
proximity of the site to one of the district’s elementary school. Addressing the Tuckahoe village board, Moran drew particular attention to Waverly, an elementary school for kindergarteners and first-graders, which is approximately 800 feet east of the Brownfield cleanup site. He told the village board, “As you consider next steps—and the Planning Board as well—I urge you to exercise your due diligence, to exercise the courage of your convictions and take into account, as you do so, the 530 students in kindergarten and first grade and the more than 50 members of our faculty and staff who come to that Waverly school each weekday morning with a smile on their face to teach and to learn.” The Tuckahoe schools will not be taking any action. Tuckahoe Schools Superintendent Carl Albano told the Review that he understands Eastchester’s decision to seek consultation, given the proximity of Waverly to the Brownfield site, but that the Tuckahoe school district did not have the same concern because its schools are farther away from the location. “We’re supportive of any measures to ensure health and safety, but at this point, we are not retaining any consultant to review the project,” he said. In late July, the DEC released a Decision Document approving a revised version of the Remedial Action Work Plan submitted in February by HydroEnvironmental Soultions Inc., the consultant hired by the developer to research the site. The DEC BOE continued on page 8
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