Communication and Transparent and Ethical Government (part 1 of 2)

•       We believe in keeping residents informed and staying connected.

•       We believe in listening and not just hearing.

•       We believe in being responsive to the needs of residents.

•       We believe residents should know what their government is doing.

•       We are committed to the highest standards of ethics and policies

We believe in keeping residents informed and staying connected. Under the leadership of Rob Greenstein, residents have never been more informed!

•       The e-Newsletter is now a communication staple for the community.

•       New Castle now has a new web site designed to provide an extensive amount of useful information to residents, businesses and visitors.  

•       The Town Board adopted a mobile application that will enable residents to obtain pertinent information about the town directly from their smartphones.

Team New Castle 2.0 will continue to will keep residents informed via the e-Newsletter, the New Town website, and social media. TNC 2.0 will investigate using a 311 type of number to simplify calling town hall – communication should be easy, effective and streamlined in order to better enable town government to meet residents’ needs.

We believe in listening and not just hearing. TNC 2.0 asserts that communication is essential for effective government and must include two-way conversation. Under Supervisor Rob Greenstein’s leadership:

•       the town board now recognizes the importance of not limiting public comment at its meetings. 

•       the Greenstein town board has held many (10) well-publicized public hearings focusing on Chappaqua Crossing.

•       the Greenstein board launched a series of live-streamed round-table discussions on a wide variety of subjects important to the residents of New Castle, inviting both residents and business leaders in the community to exchange ideas.

•       communication with the Town Supervisor has never been easier or more thorough! Supervisor Greenstein has experimented with various modes of communication to obtain public opinion: town-wide mailing asking for feedback, surveys in the e-Newsletter, Feedback options in every e-Newsletter, and even tried a special Bab-ka with Rob-ka meeting to solicit ideas and concerns in a small group setting. 

•       the town’s Facebook followers has increased by 500%. 

Building on the success of this open communication approach, TNC 2.0 remains committed to reaching out and communicating with residents utilizing social media, Nixle, Code-Red, the town website and will to continue to explore ways to be effective to reach all of our residents. As a town, we recognize the dominance of families with school-aged children, but many residents remain outside of civic life. We want to undertake outreach efforts to promote civic mindedness for all members of our community – especially our empty-nesters! 

TNC 2.0 believes in:  

Community First

We believe that town government is about people and principles, not parties.  When we come together to work for the benefit of the community, we all win. TNC 2.0 is a bipartisan ticket that believes in the power of community. The issues facing our town are neither Republican nor Democrat, they are New Castle’s issues. Fixing a pothole is neither a Democrat nor Republican issue. No matter our differences in New Castle, we are one community and we all want what is best for everyone in our community. When our town prospers, everyone benefits. An added advantage to having a bipartisan Town Board is that it allows us to work effectively with elected officials from any party.

TNC 2.0 will continue bipartisan lobbying to secure federal funding for the construction of a railway and roadway bridge, to obtain the needed funding needed for the sewage diversion project, FEMA reimbursements for Hurricane Sandy repairs, Clean Water Infrastructure grants, and to pursue mandate relief. TNC 2.0 will always act in the best interests of the community – regardless of party affiliation!

We believe in the power of community. We believe that we are greater together, as one community. Under Rob Greenstein’s leadership there is new energy and vision in New Castle. Residents know he works hard for the community, that he is tireless, proactive, responsive, and represents the whole town. TNC 2.0 wants to take that energy and continue to tackle some of the issues that our town still faces. TNC 2.0 recognizes that although we have diverse interests, we are one community. 

Having started TLC 2.0 Gives Back projects during our campaign, when we take office, we will continue to give residents the opportunity to participate in a variety of projects to improve our community that can be completed in a day. We recognize that residents are busy. These Give Back projects, done in collaboration with other community organizations, would foster community mindedness across all age groups within a manageable time frame. TNC 2.0 pledges to work hard for all New Castle residents.

Just wanted to announce the formation of two new FB groups for New Castle, NY town residents, and also to announce that TNC 2.0 will start conducting Thursday Night Conversations -- TBA, with the TNC 2.0 ticket of Greenstein, Gallagher, and Chodosh, who will be available to hear from town residents.  Stay tuned to the following sites for more information. Don't forget, we also have a Twitter site and a blog... Dems for TNC 2.0

This Week's Platform Plank:

Team New Castle 2.0 Core Objectives

Public Safety

•       We are committed to Zero tolerance for Distracted Driving!

•       We are committed to ensuring that our community is prepared for the next emergency.

•       We are committed to Railroad Crossing safety.

•       We are committed to Biker/Driver safety.

•       We believe New Castle must continue to provide a safe environment for adults, children and pets. 

•       We believe in inclusion and accessibility.

We believe in inclusion and accessibility.

Each member of our town is important and has a lot to offer our community. We must make our town accessible to all of our residents. TNC 2.0 will work to identify areas in town that make it difficult for those with limited mobility to get around. We will call upon the community to help us identify these problem areas. We will bring these problems to the Downtown Revitalization Project Committee and to Chappaqua Crossing to make sure our town is completely accessible and meets all ADA requirements. Initial target areas include: making sure there are handicapped spaces in all of our commercial lots in our business districts; constructing an access ramp between the thoroughfare next to Local and the back parking lot; improving curb access and repairing sidewalks so wheelchair access is unimpeded both in downtown Chappaqua and near the community center; making sure all current handicapped spots function as intended – particularly those on King Street.

This Week's Platform Plank:

Team New Castle 2.0 Core Objectives (updated)

Nurturing Our Welcoming, Caring, Engaged, and Proud Community

•       We are committed to being a welcoming community.

•       We believe in affordable housing that we can be proud of.

•       We believe in inclusion.

•       We believe in updating the Master Plan with community involvement.
•      We believe in collaboration and getting residents involved

We are committed to being a welcoming and caring community. TNC 2.0 wants to encourage civic mindedness. We are a caring community that has time and again risen to the occasion to help our neighbors in times of crisis.

Under Greenstein’s leadership:

•       the town introduced a new welcome pack to introduce prospective home buyers to our rich history, bucolic setting, scenic parks, community groups, volunteer opportunities, countless recreational activities and community events.

•       a welcome email is being developed that will immediately provide new residents with necessary information to get adjusted,and feel welcomed in the community.

TNC 2.0 recognizes that the town benefits when all residents become involved. It is important to include new residents for fresh ideas as well as long standing residents for perspective. We will continue round table discussions with all residents.

We believe in affordable housing that we can be proud of. The town understands the necessity of integrating affordable housing into the community.

The Town Board under Greenstein’s leadership:

•       has expressed concern about developing a 4-story residential building, from lot-line-to-lot-line, on a 1/3 of an acre in size that is wedged alongside Metro-North Railroad tracks, an exit ramp from the Saw Mill River Parkway, and a bridge overpass. 

With the current plan for development of this site the risk of significant stigmatization and isolation of residents is very real. TNC 2.0 believes that diversity enriches communities and as a result other sites that are safer and can better integrate these families into the community benefits all concerned. We will continue to explore putting affordable housing in other areas as well as in the historic Cupola building at Chappaqua Crossing…now that’s affordable housing we can be proud of!

We believe in inclusion.  
TNC 2.0 believes that ALL of our residents should have access to our programs – when everyone is included, the town benefits. NC 2.0 advocates establishing a committee, “Exceptional Experiences for Exceptional People of New Castle” (EEEP) to support and enhance the town experience for residents with special needs. Besides enhancing sports programs that are already in place, TNC 2.0 would urge the committee to focus on creating additional organized recreational, educational, social and skill building activities. This committee would also raise general awareness about the needs and rights of persons with disabilities within the Town of New Castle. TNC 2.0 would also urge the committee to investigate educational, employment and theatrical opportunities at the Wallace Auditorium for residents with special needs.

We believe that the Master Plan is a living document and requires regular updating with ongoing community involvement. It has been 26 years since the Town's Master Plan was last updated.  Under Greenstein’s leadership:

•       the Master Plan update is moving ahead and we are doing it the right way -- with community participation! 

•       Pace Land Use Law Center was retained to hold seven public outreach meetings, and to provide an economic analysis for downtown Chappaqua and Millwood.

•       Penn Schoen Berland was retained to conduct a survey for the town master plan process.

Team 2.0 wants short-term actionable projects that do not conflict with the Master Plan to be implemented while continuing to work on long term goals.

We believe in collaboration and getting residents involved. Our residents want to be involved, and believe they should be.  They are our greatest resources! Under Greenstein’s leadership:

•       we have restored a good working relationship with the Chappaqua Central School District School Board.

•       we have had several joint meetings with the Chappaqua Central School District School Board, Planning Board, Architectural Review Board, Millwood West End Advisory Committee and Recreation Commission.

•       we have established new boards that draw on our residents’ expertise: a newly revised and more independent Ethics Board, Mandate Relief Committee Downtown Business Development Committee Emergency Planning Committee Coyote Management Task Force Coyote Awareness and Safety Advisory Committee, Millwood-West End Advisory Committee.
Team 2.0 is committed to continuing to promote resident involvement in these boards and will continue to tap underused community resources, primarily targeting all age groups. For instance, we will use seniors on our committees that focus on senior issues, and high school students to give them a voice in town government and to help develop tomorrow’s leaders. We will develop community wide projects that can be completed in a day to allow our busy residents the opportunity to contribute.