Letter to Mayor and Common Council

18 Environmental Groups and Leaders Endorse FASNY Plan

This letter was sent to White Plains Mayor Thomas M. Roach and the Members of the Common Council:

October 30, 2013

Dear Mayor Roach and Members of the Common Council,

One year ago many of us wrote to you to express our general support for the plan of the

French-American School of New York (FASNY) to build its campus on the former Ridgeway Country Club property in the City of White Plains. Our letter cited both the environmental and economic benefits of the concept, recognizing you were in the early stages of consideration of the project under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) in your role as lead-agency.

As you approach the final steps in the process, with imminent publication of the findings,

we wish to congratulate you on conducting a SEQRA process that has been fair, open and

impartial, taking the requisite hard look at the key issues and assuring their incorporation

into the FEIS. We understand you are considering mitigation measures that would

address the key issues of concern to some of the neighbors, notably including traffic

impacts.

With this background, we are hopeful that the findings will incorporate such reasonable

measures as would allow for final approval by the Council. We write to voice our

continued strong support for the project – both to create a new educational campus and

the Greens to Green Conservancy. While we understand the Conservancy may face some

reduction in size and continuity to accommodate an alternative driveway, we still

wholeheartedly endorse the conversion of a failed golf course into a publicly accessible

nature preserve. With no cost to the city, this would provide significant passive

recreational and quality of life benefits to White Plains, its citizens and the region. The

Conservancy’s location across the street from the White Plains High School would

provide excellent opportunities for hands-on environmental learning and serve as a

resource for teachers and students throughout the school system.

The school itself would bring tremendous educational and economic benefits to the city

and its residents. By introducing a world-class bi-lingual educational institution to the

city, FASNY would add diversity and strength to the educational options in White Plains

and the region. The school will no doubt attract new residents, seeking to enroll their

children in a high-caliber program that will prepare them for college and careers in a

global market place. The school is harmonious with the Mid-Hudson Regional Economic

Development Council’s strategic plan – the state-sponsored blueprint for economic

development in the Hudson Valley. The Council recently endorsed the Mayor’s

proposal to develop a master plan for transforming the White Plains train station into a

multi-modal regional transit and commercial hub. Working in concert, FASNY and the

transit hub promise to boost the city into a new orbit in attracting and retaining young

residents and businesses seeking the best and brightest for their workforces.

In conclusion, given the thoroughness of analysis, research, planning, and commitment

shown by both the applicant and the Common Council as lead agency, to date, we see the

potential for the environmental impact review process associated with the FASNY

project to distinguish the City of White Plains and allow creation of a model of adaptive

reuse and educational leadership. We urge you to prepare a fair and constructive

findings statement, in support of a project that complies with all governing laws and

offers a unique chance for city leaders to leave a legacy of a healthy, economically

vibrant and livable White Plains for future generations.

Sincerely,

Eban Goodstein, Ph.D.

Director

Bard Center for Environmental Policy

Bard MBA Program in Sustainability

Sandy Morrissey

President

Bronx River - Sound Shore Audubon Society

William H. Schlesinger, Ph.D.

President

Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies

Katie Ginsberg

Executive Director

Children’s Environmental Literacy Foundation

Zywia Wojnar

Interim Program Leader

Environment and Energy Program

Cornell Cooperative Extension Dutchess County

Janet Harckham

Director

Green Schools Coalition of Westchester

Jonathan F.P. Rose

Founder & President

Jonathan Rose Companies

Green Real Estate Policy, Planning & Development

Rick Werwaiss

Executive Director, Eastern New York Chapter

The Nature Conservancy

Edward Goodell

Executive Director

New York – New Jersey Trail Conference

Michelle D. Land

Director

Pace University Academy for Applied Environmental Studies

Paul Gallay

President

Riverkeeper

Ned Sullivan

President

Scenic Hudson

Jill Isenbarger

Executive Director

Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture

Kevin Carter

Executive Director

Teatown Lake Reservation

Jane Daniels

Author

Walkable Westchester

Lucy R. Waletzky, M.D.

Member

Westchester County Pest Management Committee

Michele A. Miller, Ph.D.

Executive Director

Westmoreland Sanctuary

Benjamin Van Doren

Intel Science Talent Search - 5th Place in USA

White Plains High School ‘12