Harrison REVIEW THE
February 3, 2017 | Vol. 5, Number 5 | www.harrisonreview.com
New PD chief focuses on drugs, communication By COREY STOCKTON Staff Writer
Anderson Hill Road church proposal approved Despite communitywide disapproval, a church’s journey to build a permanent home on a 6.5-acre site on Anderson Hill Road in the Purchase section of Harrison has now ended upon approval by the Town Council. After 20 years of holding services in a rented space at the School of the Holy Child while looking for an established home, Trinity Presbyterian Church’s proposal to significantly expand a nearby property at 526-530 Anderson Hill Road was approved by the council on Jan. 26. “This has been a long process and it’s been an overall productive and positive experience finding the right property and facility that will meet our needs for the church,” said Steve Magneson,
the director of student ministries at Trinity Church. “We’re glad to be done with what we consider to be a significant milestone.” The expansion plan calls for adaptively reusing a 6,800-square-foot Tudor manor home on the site and constructing a 19,200-square-foot addition where church services and religious instruction will be held. The new section of the church, which has been designed by Molinelli Architects, of Briarcliff Manor, will connect to the rear of the existing residence and will emulate its original Tudor style and feel. Additionally, the residence will be used for administrative offices and meeting rooms, and will include a kitchen and com-
munal space. The sanctuary is expected to accommodate 350 people on the main floor. Approximately 200 people, consisting of families with children, attend Trinity Church’s religious services on a typical Sunday, according to the final environmental impact statement, FEIS. The project, when it was first proposed, was met with communitywide disapproval four years ago after residents raised concerns about the potential increase in traffic. “Those concerns were our concerns as well,” Magneson said. “When we went through the filing process, we knew that traffic was going to be one of the issues we wanted to address.” He
added that the FEIS concluded that a new church would not adversely affect traffic in the area. According to Mayor Ron Belmont, a Republican, a federal law known as the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, RLUIPA, prohibited the town from impeding the project from taking off anyway. Thus, it was approved by the Planning Board on Nov. 29. RLUIPA, which was established in 2000, prevents governments from implementing land use regulations in a manner that impose a burden on the religious exercise of a person or institution. “It was a very long and CHURCH continued on page 7
“I always wanted to be a police officer,” said new Harrison police Chief Michael Olsey. “I took many exams: court officer exams, police officer exams. But it was all about the timing and the opportunity.” Now two months into his tenure as chief, Olsey, who sat down with the Review on Tuesday for an interview at police headquarters, said becoming the department’s lead official required a similar amalgam of determination and luck. “Within any organization that I was a part of, I always looked to excel; I’ve always looked to help and give input and strive to get to the top,” he told the Review. “But if the timing wasn’t right and the opportunity wasn’t available when I was here, then I would have missed it.” Olsey, 46, has served on Harrison’s police force since July 1997, and has spent the last 10 years of his career as part of the department’s executive staff. He became a lieutenant in January 2011. He took over the department on an interim basis on Oct. 6, 2016 when his predecessor, Anthony Marraccini, resigned while suspended, and was officially sworn in as chief almost two months later, on Dec. 1. In his first official act as chief, Olsey promoted then Lt. Edward Detlefs to captain—a position which had previously been vacant since 2010—and promoted John Vasta, then a sergeant, to lieutenant. “You have to surround your-
self with competent people that can help with input and can help with the decision-making process,” the chief said. While chief, Olsey said he will look to build on the programs started by Marraccini, and to push forth his own plans to keep the community safe. Olsey’s administration will focus largely on drug enforcement, continuing on the efforts of the former chief. In September, under Marraccini’s leadership, the Police Department initiated a program called Heroin Opiate Prevention Effort, HOPE, which allows drug users to forfeit their drugs and paraphernalia to the department without penalty. Olsey said he would keep that program alive, adding that heroin and opiate addicts are often the victims. But while Olsey would continue to allow leniency to drug addicts, his department will continue to crack down on drug traffickers and dealers. “The people that are selling narcotics are responsible for the demise of that person,” he said. Olsey said drug enforcement is a key concern of his because he has seen firsthand what drugs can do. When Olsey was in the third grade, his father died of a drug overdose from a mixture of heroin and cocaine. He said that experience has influenced the way he handles drug cases. But the chief added that opiates are more quickly prescribed and readily available now than they were 30 years ago. “Long gone are the days where if you went to the emergency CHIEF continued on page 8
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