Mamaroneck REVIEW THE
August 12, 2016 | Vol. 4, Number 33 | www.mamaroneckreview.com
Harbor commission calls for sewer review policy By JAMES PERO Staff Writer
ON ICE!
A lawsuit against the village of Mamaroneck filed by the owner of Ralph’s on Boston Post Road was dismissed by the judge on Tuesday, Aug. 9. For story, see page 3. Photo/Andrew Dapolite
DiNapoli: Mid-Hudson region economy shows strength By SIBYLLA CHIPAZIWA Editorial Assistant The mid-Hudson region is showing economic strength following the recession, but its high cost of living and doing business could obstruct future growth, according to an economic profile released by the Office of the New
York State Comptroller. State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said in a released statement that while the region’s closeness to New York City has helped the economy, it “needs to carefully manage its ongoing need for services and infrastructure improvements given the already high cost of living.”
The mid-Hudson region is made up of the counties of Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Orange, Dutchess, Ulster and Sullivan, with a total of 198 municipalities. The biggest highlight of the report is the annual regionwide unemployment rate dropping from 7.6 percent in 2012 to 4.7
percent in 2015. Further, according to the state Department of Labor, the unemployment rate for June 2016 has improved with the mid-Hudson region’s rate averaging out to just below 4 percent, which is lower than the state’s 4.7 percent for the same ECONOMY continued on page 11
With mounting concern over the condition of sewer systems countywide, the village of Mamaroneck’s Harbor & Coastal Zone Management Commission looks to place some of the onus of sewer analysis on developers; a proposal which has drawn flak from the village engineer. “It’s my belief that when there is a proposed increase in intensity of use on a site by a developer,” harbor commission member Clark Neuringer explained, “they should ensure that the pipes are in reasonably good condition.” Skepticism over the integrity of sewer lines in the village and areas of the county reached a tipping point over the past year after Save the Sound, an environmental advocacy group, launched a multi-municipal lawsuit alleging violations of the EPA’s Clean Water Act. The suit—which names 10 other municipalities across the county in addition to the village—claims that porous and neglected sewer lines have attributed to the contamination of waterways as well as the Long Island Sound; a long protected body of water. Despite what some commission members view as deficient systems, however, Neuringer said developers continue to add
strain on the village. Neuringer explained that applicants often enlist the help of lawyers who, during an application process, point to a site’s predetermined sewer capacity as a basis for approval. This process, he said, doesn’t take into account the level to which a system has degraded over time. “The question is not of capacity, but of condition,” Neuringer said. “How much stuff is leaking out of the pipes?” In response to growing concerns over leaking sewer systems, harbor commission members have begun discussions with village officials over requiring developers or applicants to televise sewer systems—an analysis which entails opening a line and running cameras through it—before building. This proposal, however, has drawn criticism from Village Engineer Hernane DeAlmeida, who said that such a requirement wouldn’t just be onerous on both the village and applicants, but also a danger to the integrity of sewer lines. “Televising lines can cause significant issues,” DeAlmeida said. “I feel uncomfortable with anyone sticking equipment unnecessarily into the sewer lines.” In addition to the potential of a camera getting stuck in a line, SEWER continued on page 5