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The Gedney Association
NEWSLETTER SUMMER 2021
PRESIDENT’S LETTER
Dear Neighbors,
As Summer begins the Board has been quite involved with a number of important current issues: the proposed 360 unit apartment building at 701 Westchester Avenue and the effort to update the City’s Comprehensive Plan. In both cases we are working closely with our neighboring associations.
701 Westchester Avenue
The floating zone that would allow multi-family apartments is in direct contravention of the 1997 Comprehensive Plan that recommends that high-density development be prohibited in the outlying areas of the City. In our view, this floating zone if implemented on the campus office properties would change the character of the south end of the City and extend the urbanized area of the City. We and other neighboring associations have implored the Common Council to reject this proposal and limit multi-family development to the downtown area.
Comprehensive Plan Update
The Council of Neighborhood Associations (CNA) formed a committee earlier this year to urge the Common Council to commence a process to undertake a thorough update to the Comprehensive Plan. The Common Council has listened to CNA and recently announced preliminary plans regarding the process. Importantly, CNA is insisting that the residents have direct participation in the process instead of merely offering comments.
With regard to the former Ridgeway Country Club property we have not heard anything definitive on FASNY’s efforts to sell the entire property. Regrettably, the property continues to be poorly maintained despite constant requests by us and others to provide more regular maintenance.
Wishing you a pleasant Summer,
John E. Sheehan
President
CITY NEWS
701 Westchester Avenue Proposed Zoning Change
There will be a
PUBLIC HEARING at City Hall on Tuesday, July 6th to determine if 701 Westchester Avenue will be rezoned as a Campus-Office Overlay District. Granting the developer permission to construct a multi-family apartment complex of 360 units would be a significant development in a location where it was previously prohibited under the City’s Comprehensive Plan. This proposal together with 1133 Westchester Avenue, which was re-zoned an Overlay District last year, would result in approximately 700 new housing units with an additional population of approximately 1,700 people. The rezoning would have a significant impact on municipal services and traffic, but more importantly, would change the land use character of the south end of the City.
We urge you to attend the meeting and/or email the Common Council. If you are interested in speaking at the meeting on behalf of Gedney Farms, please contact John Sheehan at JSheehan@gedneyfarms.net. (mailto:JSheehan@gedneyfarms.net?subject=701%20Westchester%20Ave%20Rezoning)
Mayor Thomas Roach
troach@whiteplainsny.gov (mailto:troach@whiteplainsny.gov)
Justin Brasch
jbrasch@whiteplainsny.gov (mailto:jbrasch@whiteplainsny.gov)
Nadine Hunt-Robinson
nhrobinson@whiteplainsny.gov (mailto:nhrobinson@whiteplainsny.gov)
John Kirkpatrick
jkirkpatrick@whiteplainsny.gov (mailto:jkirkpatrick@whiteplainsny.gov)
John M. Martin
jmartin@whiteplainsny.gov (mailto:jmartin@whiteplainsny.gov)
Jennifer Puja
jlpuja@whiteplainsny.gov (mailto:jlpuja@whiteplainsny.gov)
Victoria Presser
vpresser@whiteplainsny.gov (mailto:vpresser@whiteplainsny.gov)
https://one-white-plains-comprehensive-plan-1-wp-planning.hub.arcgis.com
White Plains Comprehensive Plan
On June 16, 2021, The City of White Plains announced it has begun the process of updating its Comprehensive Plan. The current plan was created in 1997 and last updated in 2006. According to the announcement, the plan will seek to create a community-wide vision for the City.
Click here (https://one-white-plains-comprehensive-plan-1-wp-planning.hub.arcgis.com) for more information.
History CORNER
https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/00/11/12/specials/miller-monroe.html
DID YOU KNOW…that Marilyn Monroe married Arthur Miller at the Westchester County Courthouse in White Plains in 1956? The screen star and the Pulitzer Prize-winning dramatist married at 7:21pm by fellow Gedney Farms resident Judge Seymour Robinowitz in a ceremony that lasted less than five minutes, according to The New York Times. Judge Seymour Robinowitz formerly lived at 31 Oxford Road. Click here for the full article. Photo: Ken Heyman/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images (https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/00/11/12/specials/miller-monroe.html)
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Link to full email: Gedney Association Newsletter SUMMER 2021.