Letter to the Editor: Frank Catalina Wrong About Methadone Clinic

To the Editor:
 
I am writing in response to the letter submitted to you by Frank A. Catalina regarding the Methadone Clinic Case (Clinic Case). As you may already be aware, Mr. Catalina is the Republican candidate for this upcoming election for Mayor of the City of Peekskill. With that in mind, I now respond to his letter to you regarding the Clinic Case. Mr. Catalina’s letter starts his letter by stating “What a sad day for Peekskill.” This sentence may be a foretaste of the doom and gloom campaign that he intends to wage during his quest to become mayor. His missive then goes on to list several points that, in his world of thinking, proves in sum that the Foster Administration created the problems surrounding the Clinic case and that he should be elected mayor after the election in November. I now respond to each of Mr. Catalina’s points.


Firstly, Mr. Catalina argues that the Foster Administration used the zoning laws as a ‘weapon’ because it shut down outside private development, left the City with only subsidized projects and now the City will have a methadone clinic. This point is as ridiculous as it is false. The Paramount Theatre has reopened, a Holiday Inn Express will be opening soon this year, Rihanna’s tattoo shop has opened, Rita’s Ice Cream Shop will be opening soon, and there is some private economic development taking place on Main  Street and Nelson Ave. Despite a continuously weak economy, the Foster Administration has worked diligently to promote economic development and vitality in this City—an indisputable fact Mr. Catalina seemed to have ignored.


Secondly, Mr. Catalina asserted the groundless accusation that the Foster Administration conducts public business with “winks and nods” to hospital and clinic operators “in the shadows of City Hall, covered by the darkness of night or the Mayor’s famous weekends at City hall; or cloaked under the cover of ‘executive session.’” Such a groundless charge belittles Mr. Catalina’s stature as a serious candidate for mayor. I defy Mr. Catalina to lay bare to the public any proof that he has to support the reckless charges of cover up and complicity that he has hurled against the Foster Administration. 


In fact, the lawsuit by the Foster Administration is indicative of just the opposite of any “winks and nods” between the City and hospital and clinic operators. 

Thirdly, Mr. Catalina’s curious charge that the Foster Administration lacks accountability because it did not oppose the Methadone clinic’s application out the gate is without merit. Many applications are passed upon by the planning and zoning boards without raising a red flag. In fact, the first approval (although later vacated due to lack of notice to an adjoining municipality) did not see any public opposition, despite the fact that the application itself was published sufficiently within Peekskill. When the application raised serious questions, the Foster Administration opposed it and even commenced a lawsuit against the planning commission seeking to overturn its second approval of the application. To state that “the plan was approved because it was designed to happen by this Mayor, her Deputy and Council as their approval was implicit by their lack of opposition from day one” is nothing more than a baseless political attack. In addition, to blame the Foster Administration for the resignation of Dwight Douglas is shameful. All of the members who serve on the various boards, particularly planning and zoning, have an ethical duty to perform their jobs despite public criticism and lawsuits. 

Mr. Douglas’ resignation was personal; the fact that the remaining board members did not resign speaks well of their commitment and resolve to serve the community and of their independence as a board.  The board members who did not resign should be the focus, not the member who did.         

Lastly, Mr. Catalina has shown an almost gleeful willingness to point out all the things he perceives to be wrong with the City. However, he has yet to tell us what his great plans are for the City. Maybe it is because he does not have any. One of the hallmarks of a truly effective public leader is one who can identify real problems and then offer sound solutions to address them. Mr. Catalina has a proven knack for criticism, but does he also have the ability to provide sensible solutions to address the needs of the City in these tough economic times? If his Letter to the Editor is any indication, he would be a bad choice, indeed, as mayor of any city.    

Thank you. 

Reginald J. Johnson
Peekskill, NY