Residents express their concerns for village’s future

As election season approaches, village residents spoke passionately about the current board as well as their concerns for the future of the village during the Oct. 9 board meeting.

Wayne Courtz, a town resident and proclaimed builder of several developments in town, commented on the anti-development sentiment expressed by members of the community, saying that without development, people have no place to live. He also called Woodbury Village Mayor Andrew Giacomazza “the worst mayor he’s ever seen” for what he claimed was the deliberate delay of approving projects in the community. He said the village has charged him thousands in fees to review the reopening of The Dug Out in Central Valley.

Giacomazza took Courtz’s accusations in stride, saying that if a developer accuses you of being “the worst Mayor ever,” you use that as a promotional slogan. He also said that while the village is working towards improving the situation, it does not have the water, sewer or volunteers to support new projects.

Trustee James Freiband also commented on Woodbury’s planning process, claiming even smaller projects are subject to overly extensive procedures, and called it a form of “municipal extortion.”

Maria Hunter responded that, as a former member of the Planning Board and current member of the Zoning Board, she was tired of people failing to understand that Woodbury has rules and regulations to follow when reviewing and approving projects.

Overdevelopment is a concern of James Ng, who said he would speak out against anyone whom he felt was not working to protect and preserve Woodbury, regardless of political affiliation. He added that certain candidates were campaigning on issues like conservation but not following through in practice and that residents should do their due diligence and vote accordingly.

Rhonda Fabbro responded to Ng’s claims, saying he was creating drama and falsely stating that Trustees Freiband and Matthew Fabbro are against the people of Woodbury. Valerie Hubble, who is a member of the Woodbury Democratic Committee also commented on what she called “nastiness and vitriol” directed at Democrats Fabbro and Freiband. She responded to previous negative comments made against the Woodbury Democratic Committee and said that they are members of the community who want the same things as everyone else, regardless of political affiliation.

Also during the meeting, the village approved the hiring of GREENPLAN to consult the village on a transit-oriented development plan. Freiband voted against the hiring, saying that the board only received the proposal an hour ahead of the meeting. He said that while he knows the company and believes they would do a good job, he wanted an opportunity to review the proposal.

Tara Burek, Confidential Advisor to the Mayor, responded to comments made in support of Freiband not “rubber stamping” proposals, saying that even if a board member doesn’t question every agenda item, they are still doing research to ensure they are making the right decision. She added that sometimes board members are asking questions for the sake of proving a point.

Anthony Spagna of Highland Mills shared his concern about Fabbro serving on the Climate Smart Committee and serving as the Climate Smart Liaison for the village. Spagna said he was worried Fabbro would be the deciding vote on important environmental issues, if Giacomazza wasn’t reelected, and would vote in line with Freiband and Giacomazza’s opponent, Brandon Calore. Spagna suggested the board pass a local law prohibiting any member of the village board from serving on a village committee.

Fabbro commented that he joined the Climate Smart Committee because he cares about the environment and not for political purposes. He also said that when he sees a good piece of policy, he votes for it, regardless of how other members of the board vote.

The village, with the exception of Freiband, voted to deny the New York State Thruway Authority’s request for a hardship waiver in connection to the village’s water moratorium.