October 5, 2018

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Mamaroneck REVIEW THE

October 5, 2018 | Vol. 6, Number 41 | www.mamaroneckreview.com

LMCTV firehousue move still in limbo By JAMES PERO Staff Writer

IT’S A MATCH In an effort to foster artistic creativity in the county, Arts Westchester and Westchester government are teaming up up for a matching grants program. For more, see page 6.

Waverly Avenue development to begin leasing this fall A near 100-unit development in the village of Mamaroneck will begin leasing apartments this fall, according to its developers. The development, dubbed “The Mason” and located on Waverly Avenue is nearing the completion of its construction

INSIDE

Town earns energy certification Page 8.

and will feature three stories and 96 units which include a mix of one-bedroom, two-bedrooms and townhomes. Work began on the approximately $35 million set of apartments in June 2017; the project’s developers, Halpern Real Estate Ventures, are receiving $1.1 million in tax exemptions from Westchester County. The developers say the building was dubbed “The Mason” due to its factory-like exterior and its locations in the former manufacturing hub adjacent to Mamaroneck’s downtown business district.

The planned completion of the development comes at a time when large-scale residential development in the village remains under intense scrutiny. Earlier this year, the village Board of Trustees passed a moratorium on residential development shortly before launching a nearly $100,000 study meant to help steer the future of development in Mamaroneck. According to trustees, the moratorium was passed partly as a response to the $35 million Waverley project, which represents one of the largest developments built in the vil-

lage within the last decade. The Mason, since it was started before a March 2018 cutoff date, has not been affected by the ongoing construction stall. And last month, the Board of Trustees indicated it will extend its moratorium on development—which encompasses buildings three units or larger— until March 2019, as it continues to assess the future of its current zoning and planning policies. The completion of the apartments will also mark the first step DEVELOPMENT continued on page 8

A plan to move local public access channel Larchmont Mamaroneck Community Television into an old hook and ladder firehouse sits in limbo with alternatives still on the table. According to Mayor Tom Murphy, a Democrat, while a lease moving the public broadcaster, better known as LMCTV, into the firehouse was drawn up between the village of Mamaroneck and LMCTV last year, it has yet to be signed. Murphy, who was elected village mayor in November 2017 after serving as a councilman for the town of Mamaroneck, opposes LMCTV’s transition into the firehouse due to its cost. He added that an alternative plan to consolidate the broadcaster’s operations in the Mamaroneck Town Center is still on the table. “I think they could reach all their artistic goals at the Town Center,” he told The Review. Meanwhile, according to Assistant Village Manager Daniel Sarnoff, the village is still currently in the process of providing all of the requisite information to New York State to determine whether it is eligible for a state grant renovating the building to fit the channel’s needs. Preliminary documents show that the renovations would cost a little more than $2 million while a grant would cover $500,000 worth of the work to retrofit the firehouse for lighting, wiring and ensuring that it is designed to fit cameras as well as other necessary equipment. The remaining cost would be split between

LMCTV and its corresponding municipalities. Which entities would be responsible to fund specific portions of he renovations would be the subject of an agreed upon lease, but the most recent iteration would see the village of Mamaroneck investing $500,000 toward equipment repairs in exchange for LMCTV paying a higher rent for the space. In 2016, the Board of Control—a governing body that consists of one representative from the town of Mamaroneck, and one each from the villages of Mamaroneck and Larchmont—voted to authorize LMCTV’s move to the firehouse, but since then, disagreements between board members and LMCTV regarding the station’s lease and new location have prolonged a debate that started more than two years ago. Board members are mixed on where LMCTV should move its headquarters to. LMCTV officials have repeatedly pushed for a new consolidated headquarters at the firehouse on Mamaroneck Avenue. The public access television operation is currently spread out between two locales in the Mamaroneck Town Center and Mamaroneck High School citing the benefits of maintaining a headquarters more visible to the public eye. The Board of Control is responsible for collecting and allocating franchise fees from Cablevision and Verizon, which support the main budget of LMCTV in addition to the municipal subsidies it receives. CONTACT: james@hometwn.com

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