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Record of Proceedings

Yorktown Town Board Meeting - February 25, 2025: Traffic Proposal, Wetland Permit, and FEIS Approval for AMS Development

Town Board — Tuesday, February 25, 2025

BodyYorktown, New York

SessionTown Board

DateTuesday, February 25, 2025

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:51:24

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:12

Good evening and welcome to the town board meeting of February 25th, 2025.

0:16

If we could all rise for the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:21

Mr.

0:21

Copstein, why don't you lead us off?

0:25

Of the United States of America to the Republic for which it stands one nation, under God, indivisible, liberty, and justice for all.

0:35

If we could remain standing for a moment of silence as we uh we pray for our first responders, our military, those who keep us safe and fight for our freedoms every day.

0:51

Amen.

0:52

Thank you.

0:59

Okay, we are going to start with our discussions.

1:02

Uh tonight we're going to start off with uh one of our residents with an idea for easier access uh for right turns uh simply by restriping on 202 and 35.

1:17

Dan, would you like to uh Dan Strauss uh 58 year resident so I'm coming before you tonight um based on uh kind of a brainwave I had a few weeks ago, a few actually a few months ago uh because um the uh main intersection in town uh has three approaches basically out of the four while the one that I'm focusing on 11820235 heading south only effectively has one.

2:12

There's really only effectively one lane going into that intersection before it branches out about a hundred feet from the light, effectively a few years ago, I guess, two or three years ago, Phil Greeley, Dr.

2:33

Phil, uh made a comment that that particular part of the intersection could be a lot of the traffic could be alleviated if you were able to go back to Maple Hill and make it at least two lanes.

2:56

So finally, I picked up on that, and I said, I know there was uh a project at the Roma building supposed to go through, but it didn't.

3:07

And uh one day I just called the DOT, and I have worked with the DOT.

3:13

You don't uh you're probably not aware of, and I won't go into it.

3:16

I work with them on a couple of things.

3:18

Um Ed Goff was a gentleman I used to work with, but he retired.

3:23

And I happened to uh speak to a lady, Amanda, who was very receptive to my call, which I understand is not always the case with the DOT.

3:34

And I explained what I wanted to do, and I'll make it very clear as I go, and I'm not gonna take all evening doing this, uh, exactly what I want to do, or what I would like you to do.

3:47

Uh she said, I'm gonna send you a protocol, and I I believe you got that uh from uh Lorraine.

3:55

Right.

3:56

Uh and she said, if they would do, if your town board would uh make a resolution, then we'll move forward in a particular fashion.

4:05

So what I want to uh just go over is again nothing to do with Hallex Mills.

4:15

I know that came up uh a few minutes ago.

4:18

I'm not talking about anything, maybe it would maybe would help the Hallex Mill road, what I'm proposing, but it's not to do with that.

4:27

It's to do with this intersection.

4:29

Okay.

4:30

And I've given you each uh a kind of a little map that I uh spend a few minutes, so a few, a little more than a few minutes on, uh, trying to explain exactly what I'm talking about.

4:45

And I'm gonna go through it from the bottom to the top, and I'm gonna start at Maple Hill Street.

4:53

Maple Hill Street is uh a street that a lot of people make left turns.

5:00

You're going again, you're going south into town, coming from Somers.

5:03

And this obviously would apply to all times of the day, but at certain times of the day the traffic jams up there pretty badly.

5:13

Mr.

5:14

CRC, come up and grab a copy of this so you and Mr.

5:16

Taggater could look at it.

5:19

Oh, you have extras, Dan?

5:20

Look at that.

5:25

Okay.

5:26

So we start at Maple Hill Street, and I've got an I've got an arrow pointing there simply to indicate that a lot of people make left turns there.

5:39

There's a street before at Brookside where you could go back there, but most people don't make lefts on the Brookside.

5:46

They make rights coming out of town.

5:50

They make lefts on Maple Hill because they want to circumvent the traffic in Yorktown.

5:56

It's a bypass for a lot of people.

6:00

That's where the road widens also.

6:04

That's why Phil Greeley made the comment, which stuck with me.

6:08

The road widens there.

6:16

And I'm asking you to disregard shoulders on the roads because they mean very little.

6:23

If you move forward, I've now put a red line where I have now instead of having the center line go right down, straight down the middle of the total road, I've shifted it.

6:38

So now you have two lanes of traffic going south.

6:45

And my goal in doing this is to make it easier for traffic to ultimately make that right hand onto 202.

6:59

That's the drift of it, and it may not have been stated in the way it was on the agenda, but that, and that's certainly no one's fault other than maybe my own.

7:09

I didn't make it clear, but it's evolved also.

7:13

And I also have spoken to Dave Paganelli about it.

7:16

I would not have come up here before speaking with him, and he felt that restriping was a possibility.

7:26

And I'm also mentioning that I know costs are involved.

7:30

DOT doesn't want to spend a whole lot of money.

7:33

So I backed off my original proposal, which would have been to add another lane in front of the Roma building.

7:45

In other words, bring back that right turn lane all the way back.

7:50

Didn't have to go back all the way to Maple Hill, but if it went back six or seven cars, it would be a terrific bonus.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Transportation Safety███████████████████19%

Traffic Safety█████████████████17%

Procedural█████████████████17%

Zoning Regulations███████████████15%

Affordable Housing██████████10%

Engineering And Infrastructure████████8%

Parks and Recreation██████6%

Water And Wastewater Management██2%

Housing Diversity██2%

Summary of Proceedings

Yorktown Town Board Meeting - February 25, 2025

The Yorktown Town Board held a regular meeting on the evening of February 25, 2025, to discuss a resident’s traffic restriping proposal, a residential wetland permit, and the final environmental impact statement (FEIS) for the proposed redevelopment of the former Contractors Register site by AMS LLC. The board also voted on several administrative resolutions and concluded with a 5-1 vote to accept the FEIS.

Consent Calendar

Police Department: Approved one member to attend the New York State Law Enforcement Intelligence Summit.
Finance Department: Authorized the Comptroller to pay Fred Amarosa the cash value of unused time upon termination and to transfer funds from salaries to lump sum payout.
Sewer Department: Authorized the supervisor to sign a sewer lateral easement and maintenance agreement with Hallex Square LLC.
Property Management: Authorized a license agreement for tree removal and fencing at 654 Edge Hill Road.
Website Services: Authorized an agreement with Civic Plus LLC for web hosting, maintenance, and support for 2025.
Resolution in Support of State Legislation: The board voted unanimously to support New York Assembly Bill A01270, which would require public utilities to notify customers of rate increases of 40% or more and to make bill assistance programs clearly visible on their websites.

Public Comments & Testimony

Dan Strauss (58-year resident): Proposed restriping a portion of Route 202/35 near the intersection with Maple Hill Street to create two southbound lanes, allowing easier right turns onto 202. He stated that he discussed the idea with the NYS DOT and was told a town board resolution could initiate a traffic study. Strauss argued the change would improve traffic flow and safety by reducing double-line crossings and bypass jams. Town engineers noted potential issues with right-of-way, shoulder requirements, and multiple egress points from adjacent properties. No formal resolution was taken; the board will consider next steps.
354 Alden Road Residents (homeowners seeking expansion): The family requested approval for a 2,320-square-foot addition to their existing home, which falls within a 100-foot wetland buffer. The town’s engineering department confirmed a complete application with a stormwater plan. Because state wetlands are involved, the town board must issue a local wetlands permit. The board voted to refer the application to appropriate departments and schedule a public hearing.

Discussion Items

FEIS for AMS Development (800 East Main Street): The board reviewed the preliminary final environmental impact statement for the proposed redevelopment of the former Contractors Register site into a 180-unit age-restricted (55+) rental community. Key discussion points included:
- Traffic: The applicant committed to a traffic signal at the intersection of Route 6 and the site, costing seven figures, and pledged to fund 100% of traffic improvements. The traffic study showed the intersection would improve from an F rating to an overall C (worst approach D). The NYS DOT must ultimately approve the signal; the applicant said they would accept DOT conditions. Concerns were raised about the town’s reliance on DOT approval and the possibility of additional costs.
- Housing Diversity and Affordability: Councilmember Susan questioned the lack of affordable units and diversity (only one- and two-bedroom units for seniors). The applicant argued that the project meets a regional need for senior housing and that their financial partner restricts investments to age-restricted projects. Rents were projected at $3,000–$4,000, which the applicant considers affordable to Yorktown seniors based on 100% AMI, while the town definition typically uses 80% AMI.
- Sewer: The applicant plans to replace the existing pump station rather than connect via gravity to nearby manholes, which was deemed infeasible due to grade issues. Councilmember Susan questioned the long-term maintenance burden on the town, but engineers supported the upgrade.
- Visual Impact: The applicant presented a visual impact study showing that the buildings (45–55 feet tall) would be visible from the Taconic Parkway only in leaf-off conditions, and the difference between 45 and 55 feet was imperceptible.
- Recreation Fee: Councilmember Susan advocated for a recreation fee, noting the RSP-2 zone does not require one and that another developer (Toll Brothers) voluntarily agreed to pay. The applicant argued it would be unfair to impose a new fee after 2.5 years of process, and suggested that on-site walking trails and conservation easements could provide equivalent value. The town attorney clarified that the planning board can address recreation demands during site plan review under state law.
Discussion on FEIS Acceptance: Councilmember Esposito (Sergio) requested one additional week to review the FEIS before acceptance, citing the document’s length (800 pages). Councilmember Patel and Supervisor supported moving forward. A vote was taken.

Key Outcomes

Approval of Administrative Resolutions: All consent calendar items and the resolution supporting Assembly Bill A01270 were approved unanimously.
Referral of 354 Alden Road Wetland Permit: The board referred the application to appropriate departments and will schedule a public hearing.
FEIS Acceptance for AMS Development: The board voted 5-1 to accept the FEIS and direct its filing. Councilmember Esposito (Sergio) voted nay, stating he wanted more time to review. The board will now proceed to draft and adopt findings, which will guide the project’s approval.
Adjournment: The meeting adjourned after the vote.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening and welcome to the town board meeting of February 25th, 2025. If we could all rise for the Pledge of Allegiance. Mr. Copstein, why don't you lead us off? Of the United States of America to the Republic for which it stands one nation, under God, indivisible, liberty, and justice for all. If we could remain standing for a moment of silence as we uh we pray for our first responders, our military, those who keep us safe and fight for our freedoms every day. Amen. Thank you. Okay, we are going to start with our discussions. Uh tonight we're going to start off with uh one of our residents with an idea for easier access uh for right turns uh simply by restriping on 202 and 35. Dan, would you like to uh Dan Strauss uh 58 year resident so I'm coming before you tonight um based on uh kind of a brainwave I had a few weeks ago, a few actually a few months ago uh because um the uh main intersection in town uh has three approaches basically out of the four while the one that I'm focusing on 11820235 heading south only effectively has one. There's really only effectively one lane going into that intersection before it branches out about a hundred feet from the light, effectively a few years ago, I guess, two or three years ago, Phil Greeley, Dr. Phil, uh made a comment that that particular part of the intersection could be a lot of the traffic could be alleviated if you were able to go back to Maple Hill and make it at least two lanes. So finally, I picked up on that, and I said, I know there was uh a project at the Roma building supposed to go through, but it didn't. And uh one day I just called the DOT, and I have worked with the DOT. You don't uh you're probably not aware of, and I won't go into it. I work with them on a couple of things. Um Ed Goff was a gentleman I used to work with, but he retired. And I happened to uh speak to a lady, Amanda, who was very receptive to my call, which I understand is not always the case with the DOT. And I explained what I wanted to do, and I'll make it very clear as I go, and I'm not gonna take all evening doing this, uh, exactly what I want to do, or what I would like you to do. Uh she said, I'm gonna send you a protocol, and I I believe you got that uh from uh Lorraine. Right. Uh and she said, if they would do, if your town board would uh make a resolution, then we'll move forward in a particular fashion. So what I want to uh just go over is again nothing to do with Hallex Mills. I know that came up uh a few minutes ago. I'm not talking about anything, maybe it would maybe would help the Hallex Mill road, what I'm proposing, but it's not to do with that. It's to do with this intersection. Okay. And I've given you each uh a kind of a little map that I uh spend a few minutes, so a few, a little more than a few minutes on, uh, trying to explain exactly what I'm talking about. And I'm gonna go through it from the bottom to the top, and I'm gonna start at Maple Hill Street. Maple Hill Street is uh a street that a lot of people make left turns. You're going again, you're going south into town, coming from Somers. And this obviously would apply to all times of the day, but at certain times of the day the traffic jams up there pretty badly. Mr. CRC, come up and grab a copy of this so you and Mr. Taggater could look at it. Oh, you have extras, Dan? Look at that. Okay. So we start at Maple Hill Street, and I've got an I've got an arrow pointing there simply to indicate that a lot of people make left turns there. There's a street before at Brookside where you could go back there, but most people don't make lefts on the Brookside. They make rights coming out of town. They make lefts on Maple Hill because they want to circumvent the traffic in Yorktown. It's a bypass for a lot of people. That's where the road widens also. That's why Phil Greeley made the comment, which stuck with me. The road widens there. And I'm asking you to disregard shoulders on the roads because they mean very little. If you move forward, I've now put a red line where I have now instead of having the center line go right down, straight down the middle of the total road, I've shifted it. So now you have two lanes of traffic going south.

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