Harrison REVIEW THE
May 13, 2016 | Vol. 4, Number 20 | www.harrisonreview.com
Harrison residents may sue over zoning amendment
More than a game
By cOREY STOcKTON Staff Writer
Dean McCarthy throws a pitch against Rye on May 7 during the Andrew Gurgitano Memorial Game at Silver Lake Park in West Harrison. McCarthy struck out 10 batters in 5.2 innings of work as the Huskies topped Rye 6-3. For story, see page 15. Photo/Mike Smith
PepsiCo completes ‘Project Renew’ after 3-plus years By ANGELA JORDAN Staff Writer More than three years after a public announcement that PepsiCo would be renovating its Purchase headquarters, a representative with the company told the Review that “virtually all of the renovation is complete.” In October 2012, PepsiCo announced that it was going to spend $240 million renovating its headquarters, and said that the plan, titled “Project Renew,” would preserve 1,100 local PepsiCo jobs in Purchase in addition to creating 1,250 construction jobs in order to complete the task. Construction began in early 2013. Robert Fitzsimmons, Harrison’s building and plumbing in-
spector, described the renovation as significant and said that PepsiCo stripped its 450,000-squarefoot corporate campus “back to steel, and then built [it] from the ground up.” The company’s goals, outlined in 2012, included the replacement of outdated technology and infrastructure, reducing energy usage by 22 percent, reducing water usage by 52 percent, providing better access within the buildings to daylight, and “[increasing] the capability of the facility by up to 15 percent.” The renovation of the now 45-year-old building, which is currently open for business, also included a 15-month-long process of asbestos abatement, according to Fitzsimmons. “They brought the building
into the 21st century and made it totally code complaint,” Fitzsimmons said. “It’s very modern inside now.” In 1970, PepsiCo moved its headquarters from a 13-story building at 500 Park Ave. in Manhattan to its current location at 700 Anderson Hill Road in Purchase. The corporate campus, which consists of seven 3-story buildings, was designed by Edward Durell Stone, who was also the architect behind Radio City Music Hall and the Museum of Modern Art. Project Renew was the complex’s first and only major renovation, and was meant to coincide with PepsiCo’s 50th anniversary in 2015. When the project was announced by PepsiCo in 2012,
it was heavily supported by the Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, a Republican, who viewed the $270 billion company’s continued interest in keeping its headquarters in lower Westchester as vital to the county’s economy. In conjunction with that sentiment, the Westchester County Industrial Development Agency granted PepsiCo a 7.35 percent sales tax exemption on qualified purchases for the duration of construction. Although these renovations are nearly complete, the company might not be finished overhauling its headquarters just yet. Fitzsimmons said that PepsiCo has additional construction plans PEPSIcO continued on page 8
A group of Harrison residents is preparing to sue the town, if the town board approves a requested amendment to the zoning code which would allow senior living facilities to be built in nine residentially zoned areas. More than 60 Harrison residents met collectively on May 3 to plan their next move in order to try to prevent the amendment. The group discussed storming board meetings, continuing to send petitions to town officials and fundraising to hire a lawyer with the intent to file a lawsuit against the town if the amendment is approved. As of press time, the group has raised nearly $13,000 from 42 donors, via the crowdfunding site YouCaring. The group previously displayed its disdain for the proposed zoning amendment earlier this year, organizing en masse at townwide public hearings in January and February and submitting two petitions to stop the zoning amendment—an online petition with 555 names and a paper petition with more than 200 signatures. The proposed zoning amendment, requested via petition by Shelter Development LLC in October 2015, proposes a Special Exception Use in large residential zones on nine parcels of land that are 6 acres or larger and have 1,500 feet of frontage on arterial roadways. The special exception would allow as many as 25 senior living units per acre of land on properties such as SUNY Purchase, Manhattanville College, Harrison
Avenue School, Louis M. Klein Middle School, Pasidomo Veteran’s Memorial Park, Willow Ridge Country Club and Old Oaks Country Club. If approved, Shelter Development plans to use the zoning amendment to build a 4-story, 160-unit Brightview Senior Living Facility on one of the parcels in West Harrison, the former site of the defunct Lake Street Quarry at 600 Lake St. David Steinmetz, an attorney who represents Shelter Development, said his client requested the amendment on every piece of land that fit the criteria, but that they have no intention to put a senior living facility on any property other than the former quarry site. “Nobody is trying to put an assisted living on Old Oaks Country Club,” said Steinmetz during a Jan. 28 public hearing. “Nobody is trying to, realistically, put an assisted living on Veteran’s Park. Nobody wants to put an assisted living on any of your school properties.” Sam Hoisington, who helped to organize the resident group, said that the building, which would be one of the largest in West Harrison, “would change the character of our town forever.” His wife, Angela Damiano, raised concerns about what would happen to the building if the owner subsequently went out of business. The zoning proposal has also drawn accusations that Shelter Development or the town board is attempting to cover up an instance of spot zoning, changing ZONING continued on page 9
INSIDE Town facing possible housing lawsuit Story on page 5.