Latimer Proposes Sale of Parking Lot, Not Parkland
By Dan Murphy
Westchester County Executive George Latimer loves a good political argument, and the give-and-take on the issues. Latimer sparred with former County Executive Rob Astorino last year whenever given the opportunity, and did so with success against any of his opponents when he ran for State Senate. Even Bill O’Shaughnessy, owner of WVOX 1460 AM radio in New Rochelle – a longtime friend of Latimer – has had “discussions” with the county executive on social media about President Donald Trump.
But the latest opponent to step into the ring against Latimer is the daily newspaper of record in Westchester, the Journal News, and “Tax Watch” reporter David Mackay Wilson. Latimer has proposed a 2019 budget for Westchester County that keeps the tax increase below the state-mandated 2 percent property tax cap, but includes the sale of a county-owned parking lot.
Wilson has sounded what many believe is a false alarm about the sale of the parking lot, writing headlines like “Are Westchester County Parks Under Threat?” and has attempted to link the sale of the parking lot to the impossibility of the county selling some of its 18,000 acres of parkland in the future.
Technically, the site, located across the Bronx River Parkway from the County Center, is designated as parkland, but it has always been used as a parking lot. Under Latimer’s plan, nothing will change; no usable parkland will be lost, and no green spaces will be paved over or affected.
This is a transfer of the parking lot from one county entity to another, the Westchester County Local Development Corporation, so that $22 million can be used to balance next year’s county budget and keep the tax increase at 2 percent.
Is this a one-shot revenue generator? Yes.
Would it be better if we could stay below the tax cap and pay our union civil servants and employees? Yes
Wilson pens a column titled “Tax Watch,” but in his recent columns about Latimer and the county budget he and others fail to offer an idea or a suggestion on how to offset the $22 million, other than via higher property taxes, which no politician will ever suggest.
And for many Westchester homeowners, taxpayers and voters – the majority of whom voted for Latimer – there is no choice; they want their property tax increases kept as low as possible. For the many senior citizen homeowner in Westchester, every dollar saved in property taxes is another month they can afford to stay in their homes.
For young adults, the possibility of home ownership in the highest-taxed county in the country becomes more of a reality with every effort made to stay below the tax cap. And, for those worried about their property taxes not being fully deductible under the new federal tax laws, every effort made to keep future tax increases to a minimum is appreciated.
No one is suggesting the sale of a county park or a county golf course, and to interject that into the conversation, we believe, is disingenuous. This proposal is not the sale of county parkland, it is the sale of land designated as parkland but used as a parking lot. No parkland will be lost because there will be no physical change to the property in question, which will remain a parking lot.
This transaction is unlike any other proposed in prior county budgets. Astorino proposed privatization of the county airport, and contracting with a new operator. Latimer is proposing that county government remain in control of the parking lot through the LDC.
Finally, Latimer’s commitment to open government is evident in the way he is willing to discuss the budget and the options on the table. The sale of the parking lot has not been done in secret or behind closed doors. Just take a look at Facebook and you might find yourself in a discussion or conversation about it with the county executive.
We have agreed and disagreed with County Executive Latimer and will continue to do so. But on his first county budget proposal, we support it and think it makes good financial sense.
We also have enjoyed Wilson’s columns over the years, which tend to focus on the abuse of taxpayer dollars by our local governments and school districts. As someone who has lived in this area for most of my life, I appreciate any efforts to try to keep my property taxes under control.
But we don’t find that narrative with the latest set of stories. We find Latimer trying to control property taxes. We agree with one comment on Facebook aimed at Wilson that reads: “I think you’ve bewildered a lot of folks with this crusade. I don’t think anyone gets your objection to a parking lot being transferred from one public entity to another under terms favorable to the county, which badly needs the revenue to get its finances in order.”
Knowing Latimer and Deputy County Executive Ken Jenkins, this proposal has been discussed with, and agreed to, by most of the members of the County Board of Legislators, who are all running for re-election in 2019 and who do not want to run on a county budget with a 5 percent tax increase.
