RyeCity REVIEW THE
January 19, 2018 | Vol. 6, Number 3 | www.ryecityreview.com
Mayor says Crown Castle set to appeal By JAMES PERO Staff Writer
CATS ICE TITANS
Rye Country Day School goalie Eddie Abrams protects the net against Rye Town/Harrison on Jan. 15. Abrams made 26 saves in the Wildcats’ 2-1 victory over the Titans. For story, see page 15. Photo/Mike Smith
In first mayoral address, Cohn focuses on finances By JAMES PERO Staff Writer A new Democratic city administration will look to bring a fresh perspective to the city’s ongoing issues, including balancing a tightly defined budget and juggling various upcoming, and costly, capital expenses. Those were some of the words echoed by Rye Mayor Josh Cohn. On Jan. 10, the newly elected mayor outlined where he sees the city’s priorities in the year to come in what he called “an annual message from the mayor”—a departure from the prior administrations’ State of the City addresses. Cohn replaced former
Mayor Joe Sack, a Republican, who served one term as mayor before losing re-election to Cohn in November. Balancing the city’s finances appeared at the top of Cohn’s list. “I think the dominant view on the City Council is that we must act with financial caution,” said Cohn in regard to the city’s budget. “We’ve inherited a budget that leaves us little room. The prior council was prepared to rest on optimistic assumptions.” Among those assumptions, Cohn claims, were Building Department revenues and declining legal fees. Adding to financial pressure on the city, Cohn said, is a fund
balance only slightly above—by $400,000—the threshold earmarked by the council to retain Rye’s AAA bond rating. That bond rating, which is currently the highest possible rating by Moody’s, dictates what interest rates are available to the city and therefore how expensive its debt is. With a backlog of capital projects, including Boat Basin dredging and downtown parking reconfiguration, a favorable rating could be the difference between seeing projects to fruition. Cohn went on to detail the city’s expenses, including employee salaries, health benefits for current and former employees, as well as four open union
contracts awaiting resolution. “Our city workers contribute immeasurably to the quality of life in Rye, we honor and we respect them,” Cohn said. “At the same time, we the City Council must work within the budget we’ve inherited and within the uncertain financial environment we face. We must and will be prudent on behalf of the city present and the city future.” In tow with the city’s financial picture, Cohn transitioned to a slew of upcoming capital projects—some new and some lingering—that will come to a head in the near future. ADDRESS continued on page 8
A lawsuit between Crown Castle and the city of Rye may carry on, as the telecom company looks to appeal a federal court’s decision to throw the case out late last year, according to the mayor. “Crown Castle has indicated that it intends to appeal its loss in federal district court and that it may bring an additional state court action,” said Mayor Josh Cohn, a Democrat, during his first public address on Jan. 10. “We want carriers to provide good cell service to Rye. At the same time, we must continue to fight to use and protect our city’s approval rights. It is striking that Verizon, Crown’s sponsor, has failed to see an opportunity to do something customer-pleasing in Rye.” In December, after an extended legal dispute, a federal court ruled in the city’s favor, stating that the city did not violate the federal Telecommunications Act by forcing contractor Crown Castle to undergo a city-imposed environmental review. Any environmental review is a much lengthier approval process that would delay the project considerably. The ruling sent a plan to
install more than approximately 70 wireless nodes across the city as a part of an effort to expand Verizon Wireless’ cellular infrastructure to a screeching halt. In April 2017, the city voted to undergo an environmental review of the project under the lens of the State Environmental Quality Review Act, SEQR, after issuing a positive determination for the project. Among other things, the city review will assess the pending application’s effects on neighborhood aesthetics, noise and the environment. Since 2016, when Crown Castle initially proposed its expansion in the city of Rye, the issue has ballooned to become one of the major focal points, giving way to the formation of active citizens groups which have helped to pressure city government into pumping the brakes on Crown Castle’s application. Cohn, who was part of one of those citizen groups, was elected mayor in November. Rye Attorney Kristen Wilson and Councilwoman Danielle Tagger-Epstein could not be reached for comment as of press time. CONTACT: james@hometwn.com
Despite a ruling in federal court late last year, litigation between the city of Rye and Crown Castle may not be over yet. File photo