Yorktown Town Board Candidate 2013: Evan Bray

Dear Yorktowners,

I've never considered holding political office, but recent experiences have changed that.

Gross inconsistencies permeate every level of planning in our town. The average Yorktown citizen may want to put up a fence in their yard, only to find out that it may take an architect, an attorney, and anywhere from three months to a year to push through the approval. Meanwhile, the Town Board will break or simply rewrite the rules to approve the types of projects that are ushered in by the right lawyers and lobbyists. Our community deserves better. 

I began training in the field of architecture as a freshman in high school. Since then, I have earned a degree in architecture, and spent my entire professional life navigating the various governing entities through which citizens shape cities and towns. When our growing family moved to Yorktown almost three years ago, I was almost immediately made aware of how poorly the Yorktown governs planning and building.  

My father initially tried to persuade me against taking this on, but ultimately said that it was better than grousing about it over rounds of beer. Cancer took my mother a few years ago, but I know she would bless this new pursuit, just as she did every other. The conversations I have had with my wife and 3.66 children have been more thorough and detailed than I knew to be possible. In the end, we are all committed, and hopeful. We have decided to run for the Yorktown Town Board in 2013.

I was born and raised in Canon City, Colorado. I moved to NYC in 1996 to attend the Cooper Union. I met my wife there, and got my B.Arch in 2001. I began working as a code and zoning consultant a few weeks before 9/11. Almost 12 years later, I still work for the same company. Our first daughter was born in August 2006. The second came in May 2008. We moved to Mohegan Lake in 2010, and added another girl. Our fourth child is on the way, and we are picking names.

Amid the second-to-second excitement that is our home, I have become active in the Mohegan Highlands Property Owners Association, a park district in Yorktown where I serve as vice president. I coach my girls' soccer teams in the Shrub Oak Athletic Club and volunteer time to serve their board. I'm also active in the Mohegan Lake Improvement District. 

Professionally, I make a living as a building code and zoning consultant in Manhattan, working with the city's largest commercial real estate owners and their tenants. Every day, I advise some of the top architectural and engineering firms on code and zoning issues. I have first hand experience with the nation's largest building department, one that --thankfully-- was reformed over the past few years and is now more transparent and easier to navigate. 

I have personally seen how these same processes work, and do NOT work, here in Yorktown. The appearance of favoritism seems to repeatedly crop up. The review of planning, building and zoning is a significant chunk of the town board's business--an area matched to my professional expertise. These processes determine how our town is allowed to grow. I will map out a plan to streamline the review process, make it more resident friendly, and more transparent, and more consistent. I would apply the rules the same way for everyone. 

I am not naive. As a political outsider, it will be extremely difficult to defeat those already entrenched on the Town Board. But, like my neighbors in this community, I know we can do better. As a community, we deserve a town board that reflects our values as citizens. We want to enable development in an even-handed way. We want the kind of growth that enhances the beauty of our town.

I hope to see you again at the Yorktown Democratic Committee candidate interviews, beginning later this week.