Goals

Economic Development

Andy is committed to business development that is appropriate to Orangetown’s zoming and comprehensive plan, and does not subject town residents to hazards such as excessive traffic, noise, air pollution or ugliness. For example, moving the stalled Rockland Psychiatric Center redevelopment process forward to boost the local tax base and create open space and parks for Orangetown is one of his top priorities. Under his leadership, the town has interviewed development consultants, updated the RPC Redevelopment Plan, forged a working relationship with the Empire State Development Corporation and obtained Home Rule Legislation to create a new park on the waterfront of Lake Tappan. In his third term, Andy will work with New York State to market the RPC property to potential developers. His goal is to foster appropriate commercial development that improves the local tax base and creates jobs, but does not overwhelm local schools or clog our roads with traffic.

And to help market the rest of Orangetown’s commercial properties to potential business investors, Andy will work closely with the Rockland Economic Development Corporation, the Rockland Industrial Development Agency and the Rockland Business Association to attract and retain high quality businesses.

Fighting for Taxpayers

In his third term, Andy will:

  • Fight to keep taxes down and continue his tradition of passing town budgets that are within the NYS 2% Tax Cap through tight budget control.
  • Develop new sources of non-tax revenues for the town.
  • Dramatically reduce the town’s electricity bill through a buy-back of our almost 3000 streetlights from O&R and converting them to energy efficient LED bulbs.
  • Continue to reduce the annual golf program deficits, having fought successfully to reduce the golf deficit at Broadacres Golf Course by placing the maintenance and management of the course in the capable hands of the Applied Golf company.
  • Implement an external review of all opportunities for efficiency, shared services and cost savings at the town’s wastewater treatment plant, after having fought successfully to obtain external funding and Town Board support for this review.
  • Push for consolidation and shared-services among town departments and with nearby school districts and municipalities, wherever such opportunities exist.
  • Oppose the County government’s effort to shift costs for community college tuition and elections to the towns, and oppose cuts in County services that are important to Orangetown residents, such as law enforcement and environmental regulation.
  • Work with other town supervisors and elected officials to oppose unfunded mandates and support a common legislative agenda in Albany focused on tax relief and more efficient government.

Protecting Our Quality of Life

  • Learn from the lesson of the Anellotech project and propose improvements in town land use law to better protect public health from toxic chemicals and other hazards.
  • As a strong supporter and fundraiser for sidewalk projects in Palisades, Sparkill and Pearl River, Andy will continue to prioritize pedestrian safety initiatives while seeking NYS support for the Route 303/Greenbush Road Bicycle Safety Bypass Route.
  • Flooding and water contamination on the Sparkill Creek, the Muddy Brook and Pascack Brook threaten people, businesses and ecosystems. Andy currently leads a committee advising NYS on how to spend about $500,000 on green infrastructure in the Sparkill watershed and will use his leadership to insure that this money is invested wisely for the benefit of current and future Orangetown residents.
  • Having been in a leader in the successful effort to stop the United Water Hudson River Desalination project, Andy will use his position on the newly created Rockland County Taskforce on Water Resources to fight for clean, affordable and reliable water supplies for Orangetown residents.
  • He’ll continue opposing any use of the Pfizer or Rockland Psych Center properties for educational or religious uses that would take these sites off the tax rolls.

Government Transparency

Over the last three years, Andy has led the effort to upgrade the town’s local access cable TV platform from a “live only” broadcast of town board meetings to a modest but fully equipped TV production facility and audio and filming features that make it much easier for town residents to see and hear elected officials and public comment. All town board meetings are now archived on the town’s YouTube channel.

In his third term, Andy will lead an effort to make the very important land use boards (zoning, planning, community appearance and historic review) equally accessible. He will also support the development of a consistent town policy for responding to information requests under the NYS Freedom of Information Law (FOIL), training for town employees in responding to public requests for information, and use of the town’s website to make access to government information as easy as possible.

Andy is particularly concerned that town residents are able to easily access and understand the town’s annual budget, both as a process with opportunities for public comment, and as a product — the town’s most important planning document. To this end, Andy will lead the creation of accessible charts, graphs and other budget summaries and will actively seek community feedback on the budget through appearances at senior clubs and civic associations and the use of online surveys.

Andy will lead an effort to modernize the town’s website, giving residents easier access to town records and services. A better website would allow people to fill out forms online, saving time and money for residents and town government. And using cutting-edge technology such as online forums, issue surveys, and smart-phone apps that facilitate the reporting of potholes and other municipal housekeeping concerns, will forge a tighter and more productive relationship between Orangetown residents and our government.