As a lifelong Yorktown resident, I have watched our community change and grow.
Now, as a member of the Town Board, I see municipal government from another perspective. One thing becomes clear very quickly: government is rarely as simple as it appears from the outside.
A recent opinion piece suggested Yorktown's leadership has failed to make public safety and infrastructure a priority, citing Granite Knolls, Underhill Farms and the Par 3 ("Safety basics shouldn't be optional," by Jann Mirchandani, Aug. 6, Page 28).
Criticism comes with public service, and residents should hold us accountable. But when claims involve fire protection, emergency access and public safety, residents deserve the complete facts and history.
The suggestion that Yorktown ignored the need for drinking water at Granite Knolls leaves out an important fact: last year, the town began a project to bring water-bottle filling stations to our parks. Granite Knolls is scheduled to receive one in conjunction with the opening of the new sand volleyball courts.
The issue being criticized had already been identified and was being addressed.
Granite Knolls is also a project that spans administrations. Like many town facilities, it continues to evolve as residents' needs change. Today we are adding the filling station, sand volleyball courts, paving and other improvements.
The claim that residents have nowhere to escape the heat except their cars also overlooks the shaded gazebo within the park. Could we use additional shade? Certainly. But suggesting another improvement is very different from portraying the park as a public-safety failure.
The Underhill Farms criticism also leaves out years of history.
The overlay district that made the development possible was approved three administrations ago by a bipartisan Town Board whose members collectively had more than 50 years of municipal experience.
Since then, the project has crossed administrations and undergone extensive review involving Town Boards, the Planning Board, engineers, planners, traffic professionals, state agencies and the public.
Reasonable people can disagree with decisions made along the way. But portraying Underhill Farms as simply an example of today's administration putting "developers first" ignores how the project actually evolved.
The same applies to the Route 118/Underhill Avenue intersection.
Route 118 is a New York State highway. Yorktown cannot unilaterally redesign it. Improvements must comply with NYSDOT requirements and go through state approvals.
The intersection's problems existed long before Underhill Farms. Rather than ignore them, the town used the development process to advance substantial improvements.
And the work isn't finished.
We are completing Phase 2 while anticipating a potential Phase 3. During Phase 2, the town deliberately invested additional money in infrastructure capable of supporting future improvements. That means when funding is secured for Phase 3, taxpayers shouldn't have to pay to tear out relatively new work and build portions of Phase 2 again.
That's responsible capital planning — spending strategically today so taxpayers don't pay twice tomorrow.
The article also suggests Underhill Farms residents could be endangered because Yorktown does not independently possess a particular piece of fire apparatus capable of reaching its upper floors.
That overlooks the Westchester County Fire Mutual Aid Plan, through which fire departments provide one another with personnel, specialized equipment and apparatus when additional resources are required.
Mutual aid isn't a loophole in emergency planning. It is part of emergency planning.
That doesn't mean Yorktown ignores its future needs. As development changes, we must continually evaluate building heights, call volumes, staffing, apparatus and response requirements. When additional local equipment becomes necessary, we plan and budget for it.
Responsible planning means using the regional resources available today while preparing for what Yorktown will need tomorrow.
The Par 3 criticism similarly leaves out both history and jurisdiction.
The property was once home to Shallow Creek, a nine-hole Par 3 golf course that closed in 2007. Beginning around 2017, the town had an opportunity to revive that recreational use. The effort crossed administrations and eventually became the Links at Valley Fields.
Today, it is extremely popular. A full parking lot isn't automatically evidence of failed planning. It is also evidence that residents are using the facility. Success can create challenges, and government must adjust.
More importantly, access to the Par 3 runs through the Park and Ride along Route 6, which is state-owned property. Yorktown cannot simply redesign it.
The access concern has already been referred to our Highway Department to discuss with NYSDOT. If improvements are identified, we will work with the state to pursue them.
That's not ignoring a problem. That's how you solve one.
This brings me to the larger issue.
The author apparently wants to step into a leadership role in Yorktown. There is nothing wrong with aspiring to public office. New ideas and competition are healthy.
But wanting to lead a town and understanding how a town actually operates are two different things.
As a lifelong resident, I thought I knew Yorktown pretty well before joining the Town Board. Serving on the board gives you an entirely different appreciation for the history, regulations and coordination behind decisions that may look simple from the outside.
Granite Knolls spans administrations. Underhill Farms spans administrations. The Par 3 spans administrations. Route 118 and the Par 3 entrance involve state jurisdiction. Fire protection operates within a countywide mutual-aid system.
These aren't excuses. They are the realities of municipal government.
It's easy to point at the Par 3 entrance and say, "Fix it." Governing means knowing the entrance is on state property, determining jurisdiction, involving our Highway Department, working with NYSDOT, determining what changes are permitted and then getting them accomplished.
That difference matters when someone asks residents to entrust them with leading the town.
There is a saying I've heard Supervisor Ed Lachterman use that accurately describes municipal government: we inherit — or sometimes suffer — the sins of our fathers.
Every Town Board inherits decisions made before it: zoning that was adopted, projects that were approved, infrastructure that was built or deferred, and problems that may have developed over decades. Future boards will inherit decisions we make today.
That isn't an excuse. It is the reality of governing.
When you take the oath of office, you inherit responsibility for what is in front of you, regardless of who created it.
If Granite Knolls needs an improvement, we make it — which we're doing. If the Par 3 has an access challenge, we work to solve it — which we're doing. If Route 118 needs another phase, we seek the funding and approvals to advance it. If development changes our emergency-service needs, we plan for them.
As a lifelong Yorktown resident, I care deeply about what this community was, what it is today and what we leave behind.
Public safety is too important to become a campaign talking point. Criticism can be valuable, but leadership requires the next step: understanding the history, verifying the facts, listening to professionals, navigating regulations, finding funding and getting the work done.
The measure of leadership isn't how effectively you can point out a problem. It's whether you understand the problem well enough to solve it.
Patrick Murphy is a member of the Yorktown Town Board.
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