Dobbs Ferry, September 30, 2007. The Gateway Park Feasibility Study Committee (see disclaimer below) comprised of Joanne Bailis, Richard Borkow, Pete Carey, Steve Centrillo (Chair), Vic Golio, Ed Hennessy, Steve Hunter and Paul Petretti released its report this week on the financial consequences of the proposed park on the Scott Chevrolet site at the crossroads at Broadway, Ashford, Walgrove, Esterwood and Cedar. This is the site where the Continental Army camped on the night before it left on its heroic march to victory at Yorktown, Virginia, 388 miles to the South. This balanced study was commissioned by Mayor Joseph (Joe) Bova, Dobbs Ferry Party.
This corner of the world is also interesting because it is an archeological site from the early automotive period when US manufacturers dominated the industry. Here, Chevrolets built in Tarrytown, New York competed against Fords from Dearborn, Michigan sold across the street.
The bottom line of the Feasibility Study is that an investment of $6.2 million will increase the property values in Dobbs Ferry by up to $20 million. In the investment business, that is called a ‘three bagger’ and would be a ‘no-brainer’.
To get this $20 million in value, the Village taxing authorities – Village and School District — would have to give up $4.6 million over 20 years if the site remains a vacant lot, or $22.9 million over 20 years if a ‘low estimate’, realistic, private real estate development were permitted and built. The report did not estimate the offsetting costs of private development. Each student attending the Dobbs Ferry Free Union School District costs the local taxpayer on average $22,714 per year [$32,685,440 (excluding State funding) divided by 1,439 students, source http://dobbsferry.k12.ny.us/07-08budget/07-08BudgetNewsletter.pdf ]. The breakeven for the School District (ignoring differential cost escalators over twenty years) for the ‘low estimate’ private development is 15 new students [$339,000 divided by $22,714]. Dobbs Ferry has about 3,750 households each of which send on average 40% of a kid to school, so breakeven for the School District appears to be 38 residential units. It should be noted, however, that if the residential units are condominiums, the breakeven will drop by 60% to 15 units because of the beneficial tax assessment (i.e., income method) accorded to condominiums under New York State law.
The second cost factor to consider is the possible need for more Village personnel to perform various Village services such as police protection and sanitation. Fully burdened, one extra Village employee costs at least $100,000 per year or $2.0 million over a 20-year period, making the Village breakeven point about one person (ignoring differential cost escalators which would lower the breakeven point to less than one person).
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Disclaimer: The Gateway is woefully misnamed. A better name for this uninspiring patch of weeds at a busy intersection would be the ‘five points’, ‘crossroads’, ‘chokehold’, ‘bottleneck’, ‘constriction’ ‘ jam’, ‘stop light’ or ‘sphincter’. This disclaimer is in recognition of the perennial objections of Herb Rosenberg.