The vast majority of you - my American and world-wide readers - will have never heard of Paul Feiner. Understandable - you don't live in the town of Greenburgh, a few miles north of New York City, where my wife and I and family have lived since the summer of 1992.
But if you want know a local champion, a tireless fighter for everything that's good in suburban/urban life, then you'd benefit from knowing Paul J. Feiner. He's been Town Superviser of Greenburgh, New York - a two-year, elected position - since 1991. He ran twice for Congress and lost - Greenburgh and America's loss.
I've always voted for Paul Feiner, but got to know him really well last year. Verizon was offering fiber optic service in Greenburgh (I'm using it right now in this connection), and needed Town Council approval to offer television service through the fiber optics. Unsurprisingly, Cablevision, which had a monopoly on cable service in this area, opposed Verizon's request.
Feiner, with a mostly balky Town Council baying at his every point, stood up and courageously argued for freedom of choice in television providers in Greenburgh. This might not seem like such a controversial point, but if you've ever been to a local Town Council meeting you'll know that everyone on the council has an opinion, and it's usually not in favor of getting things done.
I was in favor of giving Greenburgh residents a real option in television, I wrote a few editorials arguing for that, but it was Paul Feiner's determination that got this to happen.
And he has been that way on every important local issue. Do you like being woken up all too early on weekend mornings by someone blowing leaves or mowing the lawn at decibel levels that could split your eardrums? Feiner doesn't like that either, and he's doing what he can to keep the noise down. He stays on top of utilities like Con Ed to make repairs today, not tomorrow, after storms. He's advocating wi-fi for a major street in Hartsdale - he wants it for the whole town, every inch of it, and the Hartsdale street would be the start. Paul J. Feiner is on the right side of every issue, be it nature or high-tech, communication to the world-at-large from your laptop or just dozing on your porch on a Saturday morning.
So, yes, I'm voting for Paul J. Feiner for another term of Town Supervisor. I saw him in front of the A&P last week. And I told him, hey, I not only hope you win, but give that run for Congress another shot some day.
Note added August 20, 2007: check out the comments to the post - the retrograde, establishment forces are coming out of the woodwork to attack Feiner...
Read more about Paul J. Feiner on his Wikipedia entry.
7 comments:
16 years of Feiner's gadfly gimmickry is enough. Feiner championed the WestHelp deal which the state comptroller found to be illegal. Feiner pushed hard for that hideous wall in front of webb field that destroyed the last stretch of open space between white plains and yonkers. why? so he could issue a press release that greenburgh has the largest 9-11 memorial. Feiner pushed to buy Taxter Ridge - another giveaway to the irvington school district. no one knows where this park is and there is no way to access it as it has no parking. feiner's taking money from developers with applications before the town and its boards is scandalous and under investigation by its ethics board. we had a senator pothole. we dont need a supervisor pothole. under feiner, greenburgh has reached a political dead end.
town wide wi-fi? a recent wall st journal article indicated the costs for municipal financing of wi-fi networks has far exceeded the original costs. feiner, with press release machine at full throttle, has been pushing for wi-fi without any understanding of the the costs of doing so. we see this with the parks he has acquired - they are increasingly more expensive to run and maintain and more and more voters are calling for the town to unload these excessesive purchases.
Across the United States, many cities are finding their Wi-Fi projects costing more and drawing less interest than expected, leading to worries that a number will fail, resulting in millions of dollars in wasted tax dollars or grants when there had been roads to build and crime to fight.
To the three commentators above: it's too bad that you don't have the courage to sign your comments with your real names. I suspect you're all working for Feiner's opponent - and may indeed be the same person.
But as to the "content" of your posts: You don't know what you're talking about. I teach this stuff. Parks usage has nothing to do with wi-fi-ing cities, and, furthermore, a temporary dip in interest here and there has no connection to the fundamental, irreversible increase in wi-fi that's happening in America and world-wide. Your critique is reminiscent of William Henry Orton's advice to his friend about investing in Bell Telephone stock in 1881 - don't do it, Orton advised, the phone will never be more than a scientific toy.
It takes people with vision like Paul Feiner's to understand technological progress.
As to the first commentator: wow, you have a real way with words ... but the facts are that Greenburgh has prospered in numerous ways since I moved here in 1992. I outlined some of them in my blog post. I see you have no response to that.
One other point about wi-fi: We had a major power failure in Greenburgh last year, after a storm. The only way I could log on was to go to a local Starbucks, where lots of other residents with the same problem had congregated.
Think about how much easier it would have been for everyone if the town of Hartsdale had been wi-fied - as Feiner is working for.
Note to the anti-Feiner poster: I just removed the scurrilous press release you posted here.
Actually, I didn't remove it because it was scurrilous. You can say whatever nonsense here you like, in your own words, and I'll be happy to respond.
But this blog is not a place for posting of your press releases.
Here's some advice: show a little creativity. Write in your own words.
And, while you're at it, how about letting us know your name.
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