The City of Peekskill Democratic Party Committee, at its March Meeting on Thursday, endorsed the following slate of candidates for the November elections of the City of Peekskill:

Question. Councilwoman Foster there has been a great deal of press coverage about your vote on the Target development project. Would you please explain the reasons you voted the way you did?

Answer.  The issue of Target is much more complicated than what was covered in the press and the Peekskill First newsletter. I always stated that I was not against the store Target. Yes, it'd be nice to have one. But I was dead set against where the staff wanted to build one. And my objection was not one of contrariness, but based on the lack of staff planning, foresight, and understanding of the implications (or perhaps unwillingness to share what they knew of the implications) of this development. The staff recommended something to the Mayor based on a knee jerk reaction to a land sale proposed between BASF-Engelhard and Perini. The City did not want the land to be used by Perini, and rightfully so, and entered into an agreement to buy the land itself. I wholeheartedly supported this decision and supported the resolution allowing the City to spend the money to buy the property. I anticipated that the council and staff would undertake a comprehensive study of the Louisa Street, Lower South Street and John Walsh Blvd. area (including the city garage that is next to Peekskill Stadium) and determine the best development strategy for this area.

A corporate park setting along the west side of Lower South Street would go a long way to cleaning up this area. It would also serve as an appropriate complement to the John Walsh Blvd. Industrial District. The city buyout of the recycling facility (Karta) on the east side of Lower South Street would enable us to develop that several acre lot as well. The city has the contractual right to buy out Karta in 2008 and 2009.

There is already a residential development, Riverbend, which borders this area.

And there is the Peekskill Stadium, China Pier, the Boat Basin and Charles Point Marina in the immediate area. Therefore, the planning for this development should also take into consideration the recommendations that are forthcoming from the 2 sets of consultants the City hired to advise the Council on how to maximize the use of our waterfront parkland. The Waterfront area being studied starts at Charles Point Marina and goes to the Annsville Creek.

Since there are 3 critical zones that culminate at the empty lot on Louisa Street--the industrial zone, the waterfront zone and a residential zone-- the council should not be very thoughtful about what we approve for the Louisa Street lot development.

When I cast my vote at that council meeting I said that neither the Target nor the Fed EX proposal was ideal and that we had no need to hurry into a marriage with less than the ideal suitor.

In addition to the issues of what is the best type of development for that buffer zone, there is the challenge of what the city needed to do in order to negotiate a deal with Target. Neither the staff, nor the mayor, nor the developer wanted to put the terms of the deal on the table for the council to discuss. For me that was a deal breaker. I spent more than 3 decades in business and would never accept any business deal on blind faith. I also voiced this concern when I cast my No vote.

I have suggested 2 locations to the staff that would be acceptable to me for a Target store. (1) redeveloping the Karta recycling facility site which is a straightforward demolition and then browns-field funded cleanup. That would put Target right on Route 9 in between the Louisa Street and Welcher Ave. exits. (2) The other location is at the Beach Shopping Center. A store at that site can be 2 or 3 stories high, similar footprint as the one in Stamford, and replace the dollar stores and empty storefronts at that Shopping Center. We would then have a Shop n Stop, a Target and a CVS in one location and would continue the retail corridor down route 6.

Question. Councilwoman Foster much has been stated about your position of Artist District Zoning. Can you explain what the issues are from your point of view and what your recommendations are?

Answer. Artist District Zoning--- the issue is maintaining a balance between market place rentals and rentals that are kept lower than market rate because of who is allowed to live there. For the record I am supportive of the Artist District, but I have questioned the size of geographic area that is subject to this restrictive zoning and the definition of artist. The Art Lofts are not affected by this issue because they are owner-occupied affordable units that have been subsidized by the county and the state.

Every privately owned building in the Business Improvement District (the BID), other than senior housing buildings, can only rent to qualified artists. These property owners did not receive any subsidies to help them rehab the buildings and, unless they are artists, cannot live in their own buildings nor can their adult children if they are not artists. There have been concerns about the ability to find enough qualified tenants and the concern that not all rehabbed space can be appropriately reconfigured into live-work space for artists.

I acknowledge that there are several interconnected issues to be weighed when looking at the size of the restricted zone and the quality of the available space in that zone. I had asked the City staff to gather information on the number of rental units and the feasibility that they could be converted into artist live-work lofts. I also suggested we broaden the definition to artist to include technology and that we reconsider what criteria should be used in this broader category----there is so much overlap between the graphic arts and web design, that expansion into web masters and administrators, technology builders, software workers, etc. is similar to allowing arts administrators to fall under the definition of artist. There is a lot to study and discuss on this topic including incentives for someone willing to buy and rehab a building into artists’ live-work lofts. There are ways of giving property tax credits to privately owned buildings that keep rental units affordable for artists. 

Unfortunately, the discussion never got off the ground in the council work sessions because Drew and I were accused of wanting to turn the district into more Section 8 housing. It's a accusation that I find unbelievable since in the next breadth the council discusses building 600 condominiums two blocks away in the downtown (some of which is in the Artist District) and believe these will be for upper middle income families and have no zoning restrictions as to artists.

So in summary, I want a thriving Arts Community that includes affordable home ownership and affordable rentals in the downtown. But I want equity between the little guy who buys and rehabs 1 building and the big developer who builds 15 story condominiums and apartments. By the way, I am against 15 story buildings that take up a city block in our downtown.

Hon. Mary Foster for Mayor
Hon. Don Bennett for Common Council, Patricia Salvate-Riley for Common, Council, Joe Schuder for Common Council.

“I am very excited about this ticket. The Democrats are going to win the Majority on the Common Council, and we are going to win the Mayor’s Office,” said Party Chairman Darren Rigger. “Our party is strong, organized and growing on last year’s success.”

“We are looking forward to a vibrant campaign on the issues with clear and open dialogue about the future of our great city,” said Rigger. “This election is not abut the current mayor. This election is about the people of Peekskill and the kind of city that they want for themselves and their children.

Mary Foster was elected to the Peekskill Common Council in 2006. She is a certified public account who recently retired from Deloitte and Touche after more than 25 years of service, a national company that specializes in improving private and government business practices. Mary has served on business and government committees here in Peekskill and throughout Westchester County.

One of eleven children, Mary worked her way through college and also earned an MBA She has lived in Peekskill since 1978. She, along with her husband, Donald, and their two children, have served on city beautification projects, the Chamber of Commerce, school fundraising projects, school sports, and Little League.

Don Bennett has been an elected Member of the Peekskill Common Council since 2003. He works for Pamal Broadcasting which is radio’s WLNA and WHUD. Don is very active in the Peekskill community, especially with the Cancer Society and youth outreach. He is a member of the Rotary Club, Youth Exchange program and Peekskill Youth Bureau.

Don, who is known for his respect for other people and especially for children, is proudest of his own son, Damon, who has been promoted to Captain in the US Army.

Patricia Salvate-Riley is not a professional politician. This is her first time running for elected office. She was born and raised in Peekskill to a family that has been here for generations. She teaches elementary School for more then 20 years. For the last decade has served as a union representative for the Federation of Teachers.

Pat and her husband Kevin are both active in Assumption Church and serve as District Leaders with the City of Peekskill Democratic Committee. Pat says that she is tired of the division in the community she looks forward to representing the citizens of Peekskill in a unified effort to better the community.

Joe Schuder started his career 30 years ago as a union member at a company. Through education at Wharton School of Business, hard work, intelligence and talent he excelled at every level of the corporate ladder, until he became CEO. Joe has designed programs and budgets for his company that involved hundreds of millions of dollars.

He is a life long resident of Westchester County who, with his wife Karen, lives in Chapel Hill. His transition away from a corporate focus to greater participation in community has led to his involvement in church programs and family groups. Joe also served on his condominium board.

When he appeared before the Democrat’s Nominating Committee he expressed what he calls ”his principals for successful business:
Use fairness and integrity as the guidelines when dealing with all people.
Strive for excellence in everyday process especially in the area of service.
Don’t settle for mediocrity.”

The candidates have pledged to begin their campaign by contacting Peekskill residents to find out what they people want for the City of Peekskill. The will use this information to layout a unified platform.