YONKERS, NY: Lesnick is trying to bring solutions to the traffic concern for the Ridge Hill Village Project

Yonkers City Council President Chuck Schorr-Lesnick is trying to bring solution to the traffic concerns for the Ridge Hill Village Project. He should be complimented for looking into the issue brought out by the community. The issue of Tuckahoe Road traffic is the stumbling block in the acceptance of the Ridge Hill Project.

The traffic concerns of the community have been that Tuckahoe Road would be flooded with cars. Lesnick with his planning background is trying to come up with a solution that meets the needs of the community. Yonkers will be a winner, if we can get this project & it be a project that the community can live with. It is also a win that if community concerns can be met.

Lesnick is proposing to come to a solution by having a "charrette," a French expression used in planning circles to describe a design process. Because as it stands right now As it stands now, the most probable traffic resolution, according to state engineers, is the one already proposed by the developer, Forest City Ratner, to modify and widen the road and install new traffic signals. The Yonkers Insider believes that the Charrette is worth a try.

Lesnick also feels that the community will see their concerns heard. If there is a perception that the community concerns haven’t been met Lesnick believes dialogue is always the way to go. The Charrette should be given a try in light of a lawsuit currently in State Supreme Court before judge Colabella opposing the zone change approved for Ridge Hill in December by the Yonkers City Council. It is great to have Chuck Lesnick fighting for the communities concerns & bringing his planning & development experience to the Ridge Hill process.

It would be hoped that would be a solution that would bring the communities concerns to light & pass the Ridge Hill Project, so everybody can enjoy the village. But those concerns must be met first. The Yonkers Insider has confidence in Chuck Lesnick’s leadership abilities in bringing the public’s concerns to the table.

The charrette Lesnick proposed would be conducted next month by the Manhattan-based Environmental Simulation Center, a not-for-profit group that worked in Yonkers when Zaleski was mayor.

The first charrette came to Yonkers in 1994 during the administration of former Mayor Terence Zaleski, which Lesnick, a professional urban planner, served as director of development. The idea was to determine whether downtown redevelopment, focused on the waterfront and main Metro-North Railroad Station, was feasible. The charrette was conducted by the widely respected Regional Plan Association over four days in which city officials, area residents, merchants were interviewed and their ideas melded with those of planners, architects and transportation experts.

The verdict: Voila — there was indeed real hope for redevelopment on the Yonkers waterfront. Since then, development has taken off at a gallop. Surely the charrette cannot be credited with it all, but it was definitely a catalyst and confidence-builder after decades of failed plans.

The ESC Web site lists the organization as specializing "in applying information technology and decision support systems in real-world planning, design, development, environmental and visual impact projects" serving "governments, institutions, developers, community groups and others interested in how technology can help make planning and design more efficient, accountable and democratic."

The citizens of Yonkers should be pleased that we have someone with the credentials of Chuck Lesnick to fight for the public concerns. Chuck will make sure the community has a voice at the table. Chuck will make sure that there is an open & transparent process in Economic Development in this City from now on. The Communities concerns will be heard.