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The forum is being organized to help voters know on which side of the issue the trustees and candidates sit. Issues to be raised include:
- rezoning of the current site;
- school funding and the proposed payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT;
- workforce housing;
- jobs, labor standards and local hiring practices;
- traffic and environmental impact;
- impact on village services, including fire, police, EMS and sanitation.
For its part, Starwood Capital, a development company based in Greenwich, has distributed postcards and run ads in local papers discussing possible benefits to the village. But the Alliance notes that the company hasn't yet met with it, to discuss the creation of a community benefits agreement, or CBA.
A CBA is an enforceable document that would be signed by the developer and the Alliance, representing the Port Chester community. A CBA can include benefits that the community would receive, in exchange for allowing Starwood Capital to develop the property.
The forum will begin at 7 p.m., at the Knights of Columbus, located at 327 Westchester Ave., in Port Chester. For more information, check out the Alliance's website.
The Sustainable Port Chester Alliance is a coalition of faith, housing, education, labor and Port Chester resident groups advocating for responsible development at the United Hospital site. Members include the Port Chester Teachers Association; the Council of Community Services of Port Chester, Rye Brook and Rye Town; the Port Chester/Rye Branch of the NAACP; Don Bosco Workers; Human Development Services of Westchester County; All Souls Parish; Metallic Lathers & Reinforcing Iron Workers Local 46; Communication Workers of America Local 1103; Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 21; and the Building and Construction Trades Council of Westchester and Putnam Counties.
Six trustee seats will be up for a vote on March 15.
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