Cell Tower Plans In Mount Kisco's Leonard Park Abandoned

MOUNT KISCO, NY — A long-running battle to save protected Mount Kisco parklands from construction of a 130-foot cellular tower effectively ended last night with a procedural vote.

Nearly a year to the day after Mayor Gina Picinich, Deputy Mayor Lisa Abzun, Trustees Karen Schleimer and Karine Patiño voted to begin the process of alienating a recreation area in Leonard Park for the purpose of siting a cell tower, the Mount Kisco board members who were present voted unanimously to officially abandon those efforts.

The old growth woodland area that is home to a historic disc golf course designed by "Steady" Ed Headrick, the man known as "the father of disc golf," will remain undeveloped.

But, there was no celebrating last night by those who fought so hard in recent months to protect their treasured park. Many of those involved in the efforts said the process has exposed a troubling lack of transparency and accountability in local government.

"We weren't celebrating the decision," Theresa Flora, a driving force behind the Save Leonard Park group, told Patch following last night's vote. "It was actually kind of somber. This whole process has been eye-opening. It's not just about a cell tower in the park anymore. We need to make sure something like this can't ever happen again. And we need to make sure those responsible are held accountable."

Flora joked that her group has slowly morphed from "Save Leonard Park" to "Save Mount Kisco." She says that she still likes the original (and current) name.

"It's a nice tribute to what was accomplished," Flora said. "It's a way of letting everyone, especially the next generation of young people, know that you can fight city hall and that if something or someplace is special to you and your community, it's worth the effort."

At Tuesday's meeting, Mayor Gina Picinich, a proponent of the Leonard Park site, described the decision to look elsewhere in pragmatic rather than emotional terms.

"After a year's time, an extraordinary number of hours, effort and energy, there are still outstanding issues that have not been resolved to all board members' satisfaction," Picinich read from a prepared statement. "As a result, we have been unable to come to consensus on a variety of points, including the space to be dedicated as parkland to replace the alienated land. There continue to be questions that remain open for some on our board and it appears that more time will not enable us to come to consensus. As a result, I am proposing that we formally cease the process as we cannot continue to dedicate time and resource to this endeavor. It's unfair for all involved to continue to indicate that this is a potential location if this board, after a year of effort, has been unable to draw that conclusion."

Picinich will not run for reelection, but the man who hopes to win her job, Tom Luzio, said the abrupt change of course is too little, too late.

"I will not commend the Mount Kisco Town Board for their actions last night in finally discontinuing consideration of Leonard Park as a potential cell tower location," Luzio said in a statement Tuesday. "Their 'efforts' wasted taxpayer time and money ... I commend our residents who for years battled the board on this issue. It is unfortunate that it took my entry into the mayoral race and my stance on the cell tower for the Mayor and Deputy Mayor to suddenly have an epiphany and renounce their now-untenable position."

Deputy Mayor Lisa Abzun, who hopes to replace Picinich in this year's election, said the process worked like it was supposed to work.

"When the four of us on this board voted a year ago to begin a process to alienate a portion of property in Leonard Park, it was indeed a difficult determination to make," Abzun said at the meeting. "I understand that often we are asked to make difficult choices and that several competing interests, all positions, not just for or against or good or bad, would need to be digested, evaluated and considered. I committed myself to undertake the process with serious due diligence, integrating a thoughtful approach to all points of view."

Abzun reminded her colleagues on the board that taking the Leonard Park site off the table doesn't solve the problem of locating a site for a needed cell tower.

"We have been unable to come to a consensus on several issues that we were tasked with," the deputy mayor said. "However, the issue of the placement of cellular infrastructure in our community, and in every community across the country is not going away ... It is really all of our time to come up with thoughtful solutions that will work for our village now and into the future."

SEE ALSO:

• The Cell Tower And The Fight For Mount Kisco's Leonard Park
• PDGA Tourney Brings Some Winter Excitement To Mount Kisco Park

While Flora declined to take a victory lap, she did note that there were a few reasons to feel good about the concerted efforts to site the cell tower and accompanying structures and access roads in the beloved parklands.

"So, when it all started, I was the quiet girl in the back of the room," Flora told the board. "I didn't speak for a few months because I had to research it all and study it. And I did. And there was a little re-writing of history here tonight. But I think I'm going to leave it in the past because I don't feel celebratory, I don't feel victorious. I feel like it caused a rift that didn't need to be made. But I made some friends and I learned a lot of things. And I just wanted to say that I'm grateful to Colonel Leonard for having the deed written and for creating a Leonard Park committee and a rec commission and for having the foresight, and these are his words, 'to protect against a future corrupt board.' I'm not saying that that's here tonight but it's just very ironic and interesting that his belongings found their way back to Mount Kisco right when this was happening in 2022."

Flora explained the original deed not only offered a legal remedy to help save the park — it also provided some much need inspiration.

"So when I go into the Historical Society and I look up at Colonel Leonard's portrait, and I'm standing in front of his piano, and I know his documents are there," she said. "I think to myself that I'm really grateful that I had this opportunity to defend something that is a gem and a gift to all of us, past, present, future. And it was the side of right."