Mamaroneck REVIEW THE
March 31, 2017 | Vol. 5, Number 13 | www.mamaroneckreview.com
Meetings pave way for Army Corps approval By JAMES PERO Staff Writer
As part of a community service project, Rye Neck High School senior Camryn Sullivan hosted The Prom Collective, offering girls an opportunity to purchase their prom dresses. For story, see page 6. Photo/Andrew Dapolite
Village of Mamaroneck hires new manager, attorney By JAMES PERO Staff Writer The search for a new village manager and attorney was decided in tandem this week, with the village of Mamaroneck Board of Trustees hiring attorney Robert Spolzino and manager Robert Yamuder. Yamuder, who is slated to fill a gap created by the resignation of Richard Slingerland, will bring previous experience as an administrator and treasurer in the village of Pelham as well as a background in engineering to the job.
For Spolzino, the appointment will mark a return to a village attorney position, reprising a role he filled previously for Mount Kisco from 1987 to 1995. In addition to his tenure as a municipal attorney and a career in private practice, Spolzino also acted as an appellate judge for New York state from 2004 to 2009. According to Trustee Leon Potok, a Democrat, Yamuder will be earning $185,000 per year, while Spolzino will be earning $6,000 per month. Both employees’ contracts are substantially similar to those of their
predecessors. The village attorney serves on a part-time basis. Trustee Victor Tafur, a Democrat, characterized replacing current Village Attorney Charles Goldberger—who has held the post since 2012—not as an indictment on Goldberger’s performance, but more of a pivot toward an equitable approach to the position’s appointment. “The entire board is engaged in overseeing policies and how the village is moving forward,” he said. “So it does make sense for [the appointment] to be a consensus of the board.”
Mayor Norman Rosenblum, a Republican, criticized board Democrats, claiming the process of appointing a new attorney was lacking transparency. “It’s not necessarily a matter of what you do in the village, it’s how you do it,” he said, adding that the decision to negotiate over Spolzino’s appointment in a special meeting was opaque. Rosenblum—who abstained on the vote for village attorney—has been a consistent critic of that search, advocating for the HIRES continued on page 8
An $80 million flood mitigation plan looking to channelize portions of the Mamaroneck and Sheldrake rivers cleared another major hurdle last week after receiving the green light from a panel of federal regulators. According to Mamaroneck Village Manager Richard Slingerland—who attended a forum last week in Washington, D.C., to discuss the project with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials and state and federal lawmakers—following a recent round of approvals, the plan is ready to be finalized. “We all went through the plan and talked about alternatives,” Slingerland said. “We determined it was the ‘sweet spot’ plan… it maximized the cost-benefit ratio.” The recent sign-offs come from the Army Corps’ Civil Works Review Board, which consists of Army Corps senior officers and other federal staffers, in addition to the Government Accountability Office. Also in attendance, according to village of Mamaroneck Mayor Norman Rosenblum, a Republican, was U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel, a Democrat, as well as a representative from U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer’s office, both speaking in support of the project. From here, Slingerland said the Army Corps’ plan will move forward to state agencies who will give the final authoriza-
tion on whether the project can proceed. Of the plan’s $80 million price tag, the village would foot $8 million to $10 million while the rest of the cost will be split between the state, federal and county governments. While the federal government would foot 65 percent of the bill, the remaining 35 percent would be shared between the state, county and village. Specifically, this iteration of the Army Corps’ flood plan— which was chosen amongst several more expensive alternatives—would deepen and widen portions of the Mamaroneck and Sheldrake rivers in addition to constructing 7,500 feet of concrete retaining wall. The most recent approvals of the plan come after scrutiny from both state and local regulators this past summer that deemed the project noncompliant with the village of Mamaroneck’s Local Waterfront Revitalization Program. After revisions, however, language in the plan was eventually revised and received approval by the New York state Department of State. Recent approvals and support of the plan mark a second coming of a previous flood mitigation effort dating back to the 1980s when a similar proposal from the Army Corps was sidelined due to lack of support APPROVAL continued on page 9
INSIDE Village to look into new DPW facility Story on page 9.