2011 Candidates' Questionnaire
List of City and County Candidates
[Candidates with underlines have responded to the Questionnaire. Click on a name to view their responses.]
| City Council |
County Board of Legislators |
District 1
Brian Carter (R & C)
Christopher Johnson (D)
Ivy Reeves (WFP) |
District 14
George Kevgas (D)
Bernice Spreckman (R) |
District 3
Jay Bryant (C)
Michael Meyer (R)
Michael Sabatino (D, I, WFP)
|
District 15
Gordon Burrows (R) - unopposed |
District 5
Michael Breen (R)
Stephen Cerrato (C)
Kathleen Thomas (D)
|
District 16
Ken Jenkins (D) - unopposed |
Mayor
Carlos Calvi (I)
John Murtagh (R)
Mike Spano (D & C) |
District 17
Virginia Perez (D)
Carmen Gomez Goldberg (R) |
Questions
1. Briefly summarize your campaign platform for this election.
· What are your top 3 priorities in office, and how do you plan to achieve them?
· What is the first legislation that you will try to enact if elected to office?
2. Redevelopment
Yonkers is in the midst of extensive redevelopment plans that will alter the city for generations to come. Tell us what you know about the following matters.
A. Urban Planning
The Yonkers Planning Department is currently working on a comprehensive downtown Master Plan which will include rezoning of the central downtown area prior to the issuing of permits for any new development projects in that area.
· What are your thoughts on this plan?
· What is your vision of community involvement in the implementation of this plan?
B. Sustainable Development
- How do you define sustainable development?
· Do you think sustainable development should be a goal for Yonkers? If so, how would you implement it?
· What are your top three sustainability goals for Yonkers?
· What is your opinion of a structured program for energy savings as part of new or renovated construction for residential or commercial buildings, particularly for homeowners?
3. Climate Protection Agreement
Yonkers is now a member of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, and as such has committed to taking the following three actions:
· Strive to meet or beat the Kyoto Protocol targets in their own communities, through actions ranging from anti-sprawl land-use policies to urban forest restoration projects to public information campaigns;
· Urge state governments, and the federal government, to enact policies and programs to meet or beat the greenhouse gas emission reduction target suggested for the United States in the Kyoto Protocol --7% reduction from 1990 levels by 2012; and
· Urge the U.S. Congress to pass the bipartisan greenhouse gas reduction legislation, which would establish a national emission trading system.
(see: http://usmayors.org/climateprotection/agreement.htm)
If elected, how would you help ensure that the City of Yonkers meets these goals?
4. Historic Preservation and Adaptive Reuse of Buildings
Like many older cities, Yonkers has existing building stock that can be adaptively reused instead of demolished. Some of these buildings are potentially historic.
- If a choice must be made between rehabilitation, adaptive re-use or demolition, what criteria do you believe should be considered?
· Describe your thoughts on government’s role in historic preservation initiatives.
5. Environmental Review
In New York State, most projects or activities proposed by a unit of local government and all discretionary approvals (permits) from a NYS agency or unit of local government require an environmental impact study under the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA).
· Have you ever participated in the SEQRA process? Please describe your experience.
· Have you read and commented on an Environmental Impact Study (EIS)?
6. Low Income and Affordable Housing
- Does Yonkers have enough low income and/or affordable housing?
- If not, how would you work to remedy this?
- Should developers be required to include a certain percentage of low income housing in their projects? If so, under what terms?
7. Job Development and Retention
· What would you propose to keep Yonkers existing small businesses flourishing in the current economy?
· Should developers be required to give Yonkers’ residents priority for jobs?
8. Tax Subsidies for Development
There has been much discussion in New York State about the role of Industrial Development Agencies in development projects at the local level. Westchester County has an IDA working in Yonkers. Yonkers itself has the Yonkers Industrial Development Agency (YIDA), as well as other Local Development Corporations (LDCs) that were formed by the YIDA and the City for various development initiatives. Yonkers, often working through these bodies, offers financial inducements and tax subsidies, such as Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILOTS), for developers. Decisions on tax subsidies are frequently determined by the YIDA, etc., which is chaired and appointed by the Mayor.
- How do you propose we track accountability for the agreements made regarding jobs, tax payments due, and community agreements made by developers in their contracts with the city?
- How transparent and representative are these bodies? Are they an effective development tool? Are they necessary?
- Share your thoughts on IDAs, LDCs, and what role, if any they should play in Yonkers redevelopment. Give specific examples.
- Do such entities provide a necessary service or would municipalities be better able to handle development projects without them?
- How can we ensure that these deals offer a significant return on taxpayer investment in PILOTS, real estate tax breaks, mortgage recording tax rebates, etc?
9. Neighborhood Character and Quality of Life
Quality of life is an important topic to Yonkers residents. Please comment on your top three items after reviewing the bullet points below:
- Open Space. Does Yonkers provide enough open space, parkland and recreational facilities to its residents? If additional open space is required, how would you fund and implement it? Share your thoughts on local government’s role, if any, in preserving and providing public open space, access to the Hudson River waterfront, nature preserves, “greenways” or wildlife corridors, etc.
- Air and water quality. Does the city/county adequately protect the quality of its air and water? If not, what do you propose? What challenges to you see in instituting more aggressive local efforts to reduce pollution, and how would you deal with them?
- Stormwater Management. What is your opinion of the City and County’s Stormwater Management Programs?
- Wastewater Treatment. The Westchester County Wastewater Treatment Plan in Ludlow processes 65-70% of the county wastewater. Do you think this is too high a burden for Yonkers and what changes would you ask the county to make?
- Community engagement. How would you improve community participation and education in the above matters?
- Traffic. Are there ways to solve the traffic bottlenecks in Yonkers?
- Parking. Current Yonkers zoning regulations require a certain number of parking spaces per dwelling unit. Should these regulations be revised and under what circumstances?
10. Government Transparency and Civic Engagement
Cite your experiences with the Open Meetings law and FOIL (Freedom of Information Law) and their implementation.
· Do you think the current laws are sufficient and accomplish their intended purposes?
· What is your opinion of the Yonkers Ethics Code and its enforcement?
· Do you think that there are currently any Conflicts of Interest in Yonkers or County Government that have not been addressed or corrected? Please specify, and explain how such occurrences could be prevented in the future.
· How do you view the role of the general public in government? Is more or less community participation called for? Please be specific. Do you envision specific ways in which to increase or decrease the public role as it exists now?
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