Eastchester REVIEW THE
May 5, 2017 | Vol. 5, Number 18 | www.eastchesterreview.com
Former FD attorney sues for Medicare reimbursements By COREY STOCKTON Staff Writer
BRONCOS BREAK LOOSE Bronxville’s Allie Berkery rushes past a pair of Edgemont defenders on April 27. The Broncos topped the Panthers 19-2 in a game that raised money for the One Love Foundation. For story, see page 15. Photo/Mike Smith
Westchester struggles to satisfy HUD settlement By JAMES PERO Staff Writer Eight years after a settlement on Westchester County’s lack of compliance with affordable housing standards, County Executive Rob Astorino’s administration continues to grapple with satisfying the requirements of a lingering 2009 decree being monitored by the federal government. Earlier this month, for the 10th time, federal the Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD, denied the county’s Analysis of Impediments, AI—a document meant to detail the barriers to affordable hous-
ing—despite the federal agency’s new helm, Republican Dr. Ben Carson. Dovetailing HUD’s decision to deny the county’s AI earlier this month, a federal appeals panel also denied the seventh appeal from the county on April 28, ruling that Westchester has engaged in “total obstructionism” regarding its 2009 federal mandate to increase access to affordable housing in more affluent pockets of the county. In addition to denying an appeal of HUD’s rejection to the county’s AI, the panel also found that county officials had failed to ensure the construction of a con-
tested project in the town of New Castle called Chappaqua Station by “all available means.” The project, which is geared to build 28 affordable housing units near New Castle’s Metro-North Railroad stop, was the subject of staunch opposition from local officials who insisted the development be built in a different location. The project has since moved forward with reluctant permission from the local town board. In a statement last week, Ned McCormack, a spokesman for the Republican Astorino administration, said he is confident that the HUD continued on page 5
An attorney who once handled legal matters for the Eastchester Fire District is now suing it—and current and former fire commissioners—for unpaid Medicare reimbursements. Nicholas DiCostanzo, who served as the fire district’s attorney from 1981 to 1997, filed a lawsuit with the Westchester County Supreme Court on April 3 against all five current fire commissioners as well as former Fire Commissioner Jerry Napolitano, seeking reimbursements for more than 17 years of Medicare deductions he says he’s entitled to as part of his Social Security benefits. DiCostanzo, 83, is seeking $40,000 in reimbursements plus interest, and is asking the court to grant him an additional $80,000 in punitive damages. The summons alleges that the New York state Department of Civil Services, DCS, issued an order to Dennis Winter, chairman of the Board of Fire Commissioners, in July 2014, ordering the district to disperse reimbursements to DiCostanzo. The Review has submitted Freedom of Information Law requests to the fire district and the DCS for a copy of that order, but has not received responses as of press time. During an April 20 public meeting, Winter said the board members have filed for immunity through New York state’s public officers law, meaning the district, and ultimately the insurance company, will defend the individual current and former board members. “Obviously, we think we’ll prevail; we’re not too concerned about it,” he said. Although the board had a much different makeup of personnel when DiCostanzo began collecting Social Security benefits in 2000, the lawsuit alleges that the
current board and Napolitano are responsible, claiming in the suit that the board members withheld benefits with “wanton and malicious conduct and callous disregard for [DiCostanzo’s] rights. District officials declined to comment further, as they have not filed a response to the summons as of press time. The fire district provides fire protection across the town of Eastchester and the villages of Bronxville and Tuckahoe through the use of professional and volunteer firefighter units. It is a separate municipality from the town or villages which has its own elected board of five commissioners, each of whom is elected to a five-year term with no compensation from the district. The district also collects property taxes separate from the municipalities within it and builds its own annual budget. This is not the first time the district has been embattled in lawsuits over employment benefits. In 2015, the district sued 18 current and former district firefighters who it said had been overpaid benefits totaling more than $350,000. That case is currently before the Westchester County Supreme Court. The district was also sued by its former secretary-treasurer Cara Piliero in 2014 in federal court for wage related issues. Piliero had worked for the district from 1987 until 2014; and she unsuccessfully ran against Winter for a fire board seat the following year, after voluntarily dismissing the case in June of 2014. The district currently employs a part-time treasurer at an hourly rate of $63, and until recently had employed a part-time secretary for $35 per hour. The district currently employs the Binghamton-based law firm Coughlin & Gerhart for $255 per hour. None of those employees are entitled to benefits. CONTACT: corey@hometwn.com
INSIDE A preacher’s daughter tells her tale Story on page 6.