Tuckahoe Village Departments

TUCKAHOE TALK
With Mayor John Fitzpatrick

Tuckahoe Gothic

December 31, 2010

Writing this morning, 2010 is almost in the books and that time to reflect on the year gone by is upon us. Never one to simply list perceived accomplishments of the governmental year gone by, for this retrospective I decided to highlight the fair share of public debate within Tuckahoe that took place over this past year. I felt the accompanying photo parody of the famous Grant Wood painting would also serve as a supplemental chronicling of some of those conversations and public hearings.

The original "American Gothic" painting, while enigmatic in its meaning, has been thought to be either satirical of Midwestern narrow-mindedness or praise of the moral virtue of rural America. Personally, I have always thought it was a little of both. The meaning of the work, as with all great works of art, remains in the eye of the beholder.

Unlike great art, I have decided to point out the significance of the variations in my own photo. First, Elaine Garry, a member of the Tuckahoe Tree and Environmental Committees is the mystery woman with the symbolic rake. These committees were instrumental in two specific pieces of legislation that saw much conversation during 2010, namely the tree ordinance and the leaf blower regulations. Elaine could have just as easily been holding a broom to symbolize the feelings of many who believe there is no need for leaf blowers in the summer. Several residents told me the many meetings dedicated to leaf blowers were torture to watch but confessed they were still unable to turn them off. Those meetings, for those most part, were devoid of residents and instead dominated by landscapers; some eloquent, some polite, some angry and even one who didn't know which community he was in.

The tree ordinance hearings were an altogether different animal. From past experience, whenever trees are to be the topic of discussion, my order to the ship is - batten down the hatches. As with any proposition of new regulation, a few come griping of nanny government or big brother, but beyond that group when it comes to trees, feelings are all over the board. The smell, the leaves, the needles, the berries, the angle at which it grows is enough for normally rational residents to cut down healthy trees. In order to remain a desirable suburban community, there must be an attempt to control the amount of larger specimen trees. Sick or diseased trees can still be cut down anytime, in any amount. The Solomonesque task was to allow everyone to remain king of their castle, without marginalizing the potential benefits or dangers that trees pose.

The iPad is homage to a topic that never formally found its way to public hearings, but nevertheless provoked much discussion and even petitions. My own contribution to the dialogue touched on the prudence of consolidating our services by moving the library to Village Hall, my certainty that Kindles, iPads and technology will ultimately change libraries, and my belief that funding three separate libraries in one town is excessive. In pleased retrospect there was something for a lot of people to hate in one package and therefore it met with opposition. For instance, shockingly people who lived across the street from the library didn't want it moved two blocks away; regardless of offsetting potential six figure revenue loss due to a vacant 3rd floor at Village Hall. Also, all librarians I meet, still sneer at me. On all counts, I remain unwavering.

No subject in 2010, however, received more attention than the Crestwood rezoning hearings. It became a topic wrought with doubt. Doubt in the accepted principles of planning. Doubt on what was improvement. On those two fronts I had no doubt. Those who asked the question why grow - had already missed the point. Transit connected suburban communities like ours are attractive places to live and even work, therefore growth is inevitable. The only legitimate question is how we should grow and that answer is responsibly combining the most benefit and least impact.

Tuckahoe Gothic's parody uses our oldest building the Marble Hotel as a backdrop, while for the original painting's it is a Gothic Revival home, a style which was embraced because it fed public fascination with the romance of the medieval past. During the time of the painting the growing middle class, as a result of the economic opportunities of the Industrial Revolution, had more money to spend on housing and wanted attractive homes outside the cities in healthful surrounding. Ahh, sounds like the birth of the suburbs to me.

But in Tuckahoe's case we are a suburb with an industrial history. Many communities with industrial pasts, such as ours, only have as their legacy lost blue collar jobs and brownfields. We have certainly taken proper steps to evade that fate, but we have much more work to do. Embracing the style of older Tuckahoe buildings as we move forward is one thing but other aspects of the past are best left there.

Sadly, some will always question why topics are being presented for debate. To that I can only say: change will occur whether heads are in the sand, so we must continue to discuss ways to make it better. Public debate is the cornerstone of great community. That "foolish consistency… of small minds and adored by little statesman" is a practice that at all costs must be avoided. We must continue to create a dynamic environment for living, business and thought within our village.

For 2011, may our Tuckahoe Village and its residents continue to prosper, and finally, I will confess my belief that the mission of SETI or the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence looks more hopeful than my own search for intelligence from Tuckahoe Housing Authority Commissioners.