A very substantial win for the Greenburgh Town Attorney's office headed by Town Attorney Tim Lewis and for Deputy Town Attorney Ed Lieberman.
BIG WIN FOR TOWN THAT WILL MAKE RESIDENTS WHO LIVE NEAR FERNCLIFF CEMETERY VERY HAPPY
A very substantial win for the Greenburgh Town Attorney’s office headed by Town Attorney Tim Lewis and for Deputy Town Attorney Ed Lieberman. In short, an Appellate Court of the NYS Supreme Court has ruled that Ferncliff Cemetery on Secor Road cannot use its 12.5 acre parcel on the south side of Secor Road for use as a cemetery (i.e. burials, graves, tombstones etc.) because ownership of the 12.5 acre parcel had changed hands, and was not being used as a cemetery, prior to a 1963 Town Ordinance prohibiting the expansion of cemeteries in the Town. Neighbors adjacent to the 12.5 acre parcel feared that their property values would drastically decrease if Ferncliff were permitted to use the 12.5 parcel as a cemetery in an otherwise single-family residential home neighborhood. Significantly, Ferncliff can still use the 63 acre parcel it owns on the north side of Secor Road for cemetery purposes but it cannot use the south side. Residents who live near the Cemetery had significant concerns and the Town Board members - past and present - Francis Sheehan, Diana Juettner, Ken Jones, Ellen Hendrickx, Gina Jackson and the late Kevin Morgan worked hard to be responsive to the community. Ed Lieberman worked very hard on this case--he deserves our thanks for his dedicated service. He’s a talented and tireless attorney who works hard for our town. Also-special thanks to the hard working members of the Zoning Board, past and present for spending so much time on this case and for their decisions on this application.
PAUL FEINER