Harrison REVIEW THE
March 24, 2017 | Vol. 5, Number 12 | www.harrisonreview.com
Westchester Airport deal ready to go to bid By JAMES PERO Staff Writer
From left, Natasha Caputo, director of Westchester County Office of Tourism and Film, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, and Juan Aguilar, the owner of La Chinita Poblana hold a signed Hudson Valley Restaurant Week plate during the wind down of the spring version of Westchester’s week of culinary treats. For story, see page 6. Contributed photo
Rye Brook to hold hearing on gun store ordinance By COREY STOCKTON Staff Writer The village of Rye Brook may soon become the first municipality in Westchester County to regulate the potential location and operation of gun stores within its borders. The village Board of Trustees has scheduled an April 25 public hearing for a draft local law originally proposed in December. The law would regulate where a gun dealer could operate within the village. The most recent draft of the law sequesters gun shops to commercial properties outside of a 500-foot radius from schools, day cares, playgrounds and religious centers. According to a planning map of the area around Port Ches-
ter Middle School, the 500-foot regulation would restrict firearm dealers to the southern wing of Rye Ridge Plaza and the building located behind it known as Rye Ridge South. The law would also regulate some gun store procedures. Stores would not be allowed to display guns in storefront windows, and would have to keep all weapons locked behind the counter. When a store is closed, it would have to store its guns in a fireproof safe or vault. The law would further require the store to maintain alarm and video surveillance systems, and submit biannual inventory reports; it would preclude anyone ineligible to purchase firearms from entering the store and would allow law enforcement officials
to inspect a store twice within a six-month period. Rye Brook received advice from Allison Anderman of the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, a California-based nonprofit organization which helps municipalities draft gun legislation. Several municipalities have proposed some iteration of gun legislation since November 2016 when a firearms dealer opened in Harrison less than 1,000 feet from an elementary school. The controversial and sudden opening of the store drew protest from area residents, nearly 3,500 of whom have signed a petition as of press time. Rye Brook was the first municipality to officially propose legislation following the shop’s
opening. In a public meeting earlier this month, Harrison officials heard a presentation from Anderman, who had been contacted by residents of that community interested in crafting a potential gun ordinance. Harrison Mayor Ron Belmont, a Republican, said the town’s attorneys are currently reviewing the law center’s recommendations. The ordinance proposed to Harrison included nine separate provisions, several of which are included in the draft legislation in Rye Brook. Village Administrator Chris Bradbury could not be reached for comment as of press time. Village Attorney Edward Beane did not respond to a request for comment as of press time. CONTACT: corey@hometwn.com
A plan to privatize the county’s airport is ready to go through a more rigorous vetting process after lawmakers collectively pumped the breaks on a previous version by Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, a Republican. Earlier this month, consultants hired by the county presented a plan to send out a request for proposal, RFP, for a multi-million dollar deal privatizing the Westchester County Airport that was sent down by the administration late last year just before the passage of the 2017 county budget. Dan Branda, a spokesperson for the county, declined to say what type of interest the county has received for the airport, if any. Lawmakers plan to have the RFP out by the end of the month. Absent from the most recent version of the plan, however, is an exclusive deal with the investment firm Oaktree Capital Management, which was previously slated by Astorino in November 2016 to become the sole operator of the county-owned airport. After criticism from lawmakers who accused the Oaktree deal of skirting proper bidding procedure, it was eventually sidelined from the county budget, but a new proposal, resulting from the RFP process, will be vetted by lawmakers who hope to finalize a plan before the passage of the 2018 budget later this year. According to a schedule proposed by the county’s hired consultants, all proposals to operate the county’s airport would have to be submitted by July with a
final deal potentially in place by November 2017. Adding pressure on lawmakers will be $15 million in prospective revenue from the plan that was going to be used to help balance the 2017 budget; that money has become an increasingly critical piece of the county’s fiscal future amidst projections of waning sales tax revenue and burdensome health care costs. Lawmakers are still hoping to transfer extra revenue from any potential airport deal this year into the county’s general budget in order to deal with ongoing fiscal shortfalls. But in order to redirect revenue from the airport, lawmakers will have to register it through a Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, privatization program; a process that was initiated last year. Before the county can execute on its plan, the FAA must approve the process. In some cases, approval processes have dragged on for years. Of the 10 airports that applied to the FAA’s program since its introduction in 1996, only one— Luis Muñoz Marín airport in Puerto Rico—has completed the process and has since remained privatized. Currently, under federal law, any revenue earned at the airport can only be used for airport-related purposes. Many of the county lawmakers, who had previously criticized the deal’s last minute introduction—it was sent down to legislators for approval less than a month before the budget deadline—and lack of bidding AIRPORT continued on page 11
INSIDE United Hospital redevelopment moves forward Story on page 8.