Letter to the Editor: Mass Mail from the GOP

Today, I got quite a surprise when I received my mail. I was the recipient of a spam snail mail from Supervisor Grace and the NYSRC.

I am not a registered Republican, so I had to wonder how did they get my address? I asked my family if anyone had ever signed up to get snail mail from the NYSRC. Everyone said “no.” It was a mass mailing. So I spent the day wondering. Did they get my address through a F.O.I.L.? Did they buy street addresses from a company that sells such things? Could they possibly have gotten it from some deep, dark vault where they keep vital and secret information in Town Hall? Maybe they got it from the same place Councilman Patel got his email list. Who knows?

Believing an educated citizen is the best voter, I read the spam mail. I learned a lot. I used to think that landlords rented their stores to businesses that wanted to open in Yorktown. I never knew that when a merchant wants to open a business they first need the approval of the Supervisor. At last I am aware that he is the landlord of all stores and properties in Yorktown, except of course when when he acknowledges “that town officials are restricted in what they can do to fill vacancies” (Yorktown News 10/22/15)

Do you think he is confused? I am.

Mr. Grace noted that he is responsible for Costco wanting to build in our community. I did some research and Costco first approached Yorktown in January 2010. Its been over five years, four of them under Mr. Grace, and ground has yet to be broken at the site. I learned that the Supervisor is convinced that taking five years, four under his leadership, to get this done is a real accomplishment.

The spam mail also mentioned that he restored the Yorktown IDA (Industrial Development Agency). Imagine my amazement, when I found out that Westchester county has an IDA that Yorktown could always be part of. In fact all counties in NYS have one and it is rare that an individual town does.(www.osc.state.ny.us). Surely Mr. Grace knew he could have take advantage of the tax benefits it affords any time during the last four years. Why didn’t he?

Lastly, I learned that he is proud to claim that he ended the sewer moratorium, but not proud enough to notify 200 homeowners that they could get permits to hook up immediately. It was Susan Siegel who took the initiative and informed the residents of this new development. Ms. Siegel had worked for years to get Hallocks Mills homeowners the right to be sewered.

So Supervisor Grace and Councilman Diana, please keep your spam snail mail/emails coming. I want to be an informed voter. It was a real eye opener and I want to continue my political education.

Rosalind Kliban Weis Yorktown Heights, NY