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Residents urge naming of Hartsdale parklet for Driscoll family; ownership questions stall dedication
Summary
Supporters asked the Greenburgh board to name a small parklet near the Hartsdale train station for the Driscoll family, who maintained it for years; board members said the Hartsdale Parking Authority currently owns the parcel and must provide legal description (meets and bounds) before the town can accept or dedicate it.
Residents and board members pressed the Greenburgh Town Board to honor the Driscoll family's volunteer maintenance of a small parklet near the Hartsdale train station, but ownership and jurisdictional questions with the Hartsdale Parking Authority mean a formal dedication cannot proceed yet.
Chair opened the item by praising "the Driscoll family" for roughly 18 years of volunteer upkeep and said many in Hartsdale "feel that the parkland should be named in honor of the Driscoll family." Board members quickly raised legal and fiscal constraints: if the parcel is not town-owned, the town cannot expend public money or unilaterally dedicate it.
Joan Driscoll, speaking at the microphone, said she had spoken with Stephanie Crowe at the Hartsdale Parking Authority and that the authority "has done all they're going to do" and "they don't want that property," adding the authority had said it wanted to give the parcel away but had not completed any formal transfer. "They don't want that property. They want to give it away," Driscoll said.
Board members urged due diligence and said the parking authority must provide a legal description (meets and bounds) and confirm whether it intends to transfer, dedicate, or sell the parcel. One member suggested supporters should attend the parking authority meeting to press the issue and the board asked staff to collect correspondence and coordinate an inquiry with McGahn to make sure the right legal questions are asked.
Members also discussed possible fallback options, such as identifying a town-owned parcel near Pipeline Road for a formal dedication if the parking authority cannot or will not transfer the site; several members cautioned about fairness and said they preferred the parklet honored be the same parcel the Driscolls maintained.
The board asked staff to reach out to the parking authority for documentation and said it would notify Driscoll supporters when concrete next steps were known.
