Paul Feiner began his career in public service at the age of 12, when he worked as a volunteer on the successful l968 Congressional campaign of Ogden Reid. At the age of 16 Paul Feiner was already fighting for quality of life improvements. As Chair of the Teen Democrats of Westchester, he persuaded the county of Westchester to open the Bronx River Parkway on Sunday for cyclists, a program that remains popular to this day.
Phi Beta Kappa, Magna Cum Laude at Fordham University and a l98l graduate of St. John's Law School, Mr. Feiner immediately put his academic skills to good use. He led the campaign to open committee meetings of the Westchester County Board of Legislators to the public. This successful effort prompted Common Cause to name Mr. Feiner one of six national recipients of the Common Cause Public Service Achievement Award in l982. His award cited Mr. Feiner's "force of imagination, initiative and perseverance that have made an outstanding contribution to the public interest in the areas of government performance and integrity." In l983 he was elected to the Westchester County Board of Legislators, defeating two opponents who were supported by the political establishment. As a County Legislator he always put his constituents first. Thanks to Mr. Feiner the county Legislature adopted a number of open government reforms, including meetings with public speaking access. And, in l986, Mr. Feiner established the "Have a Heart for the Homeless Committee" which to date has helped over 400 families avoid homelessness. As a Legislator Mr. Feiner worked to lower utility rates and find housing for indigent families.  In l99l, he was elected Town Supervisor of Greenburgh, the largest town in Westchester County. During the past 18 years Mr. Feiner has addressed the infrastructure needs of the town. The most significant of these accomplishments took place in 2003 when Greenburgh moved its Town Hall to a new facility: 177 Hillside Ave. The building, which is partially powered using solar energy (thanks to a NYS grant), was purchased at a price significantly below market value: $6.9 million. In the early 1990s, when the building was built, the cost of constructing 177 Hillside was over $12 million. An incredible bargain!  Other infrastructure enhancements include: The town, with the assistance of a $2.1 million NY State grant, constructed a 2nd floor at the Theodore Young Community Center. A multipurpose center for seniors was dedicated, most of the funding came from non tax dollars. A new public works garage was constructed. A water pump station was built that connects Irvington residents to Greenburgh’s water supply. Nine new playgrounds were built without using taxpayer dollars. There have been two additions to the police headquarters. A new interactive kiddy pool was built. In 2008 the town completed the construction of a $20 million library expansion (approved by the voters), The library uses geothermal power to heat the building. In 2007 the Town Board voted to conduct a full master plan review. The comprehensive plan will review the long term infrastructure needs of the town, including land use, flood, parking, maximizing the revenue the town can receive on vacant parcels of land.  Moody's has increased the town's bond rating 3 times under Feiner's leaderhip. In August, 2001 the town received a new rating of AA1, the second highest rating a municipality can receive. In September, 2006 Moody’s highlighted Greenburgh’s “strong financial operations…solid fiscal management.”  In 2007 the Town Board voted to approve a fund balance policy to guide future Town Boards on the use of fund balance. Very few communities have fund balance policies. Standard & Poor's Bond Rating Agency upgraded Greenburgh's bond rating to AAA, the highest rating a municipality can receive in 2008. Less than 3% of all municipalities in the nation have a triple A bond rating. Mr. Feiner's unique Town Board meetings were so widely recognized as models of good government that they were profiled in a C-Span special report in l997. Hudson Valley Magazine said that Town meetings in Greenburgh are the best in the Hudson Valley. Feiner initiated a new concept called Dial Democracy, where residents have telephone access to Town Board meetings in progress. Town Board meetings are also archived on the town’s web site: www.greenburghny.com. In 2008 the Town Board voted to stream Town Board meetings live on the internet. The Board also voted to televise work sessions, one of the few communities that does so. In June,2002 Greenburgh became the first locality in the Hudson Valley to provide library patrons with a mobile library that also has computers and satellite internet capability. The cybermobile makes stops throughout the town -including the pool, train station, senior centers and apartment complexes. During Mr. Feiner's tenure as Town Supervisor, the first new rental housing in 33 years was built in Greenburgh. Mr. Feiner initiated, started a Farmer's market, a sculpture in the park & summer jazz concert series on E Hartsdale Ave and opened the new Elmsford Animal Shelter. In September, 2006 Greenburgh became the first town in Westchester County to approve a franchise agreement with Verizon, providing area residents with cable TV competition. Madison Square Garden built their training facility for the NY Knicks, Rangers and Liberty teams in Greenburgh in 2002.  Dannon moved their national headquarters to Greenburgh (across from Greenburgh Town Hall). In 2009 OSI moved their national bio tech headquarters to Greenburgh. Greenburgh is known as one of the bio tech clusters in New York State. Regeneron, Emisphere Technologies, BioReference labs, Siemens, Ciba, Quest Diagnostics are among the bio tech companies that have chosen Greenburgh as major locations. In 2007 the Greenburgh Town Board adopted very strict ethics laws restricting the ability of elected officials form accepting contracts from those who have proposals before the town or business with the town.  During Supervisor Feiner’s tenure the town’s crime rate has gone down to the lowest levels in recorded history. Under Mr. Feiner’s watch the town expanded the police department by creating a Technical Rescue Team – a specialized response unit for extremely hazardous and difficult situations (1997). A canine (K-9) unit was established in 2003, using a dog to help make apprehensions –locate missing persons and track suspects. The town established a community policing program – putting police on foot and bicycle, giving residents more direct access to the police. A school resource officer was assigned to the Central 7 School district. In 2003 the town funded a police explorer post, geared to kids 14-20 years old, providing young men and women with exposure to law enforcement. A summer police camp has been offered to students each year for over a decade. The town also has a Youth Court—young offenders are defended, prosecuted and judged by their peers.  Supervisor Feiner’s administration has also initiated a marine unit (2004) which provides safe recreation environments on the waters of the Hudson River by enforcing NY State Navigation law. The unit provides emergency assistance to anyone in distress. The police department has received national recognition for their Child Safety Inspection Program which assists parents with proper installation of child safety seats. Greenburgh is one of the only localities in the state that uses police officers to provide residents with emergency medical services. The program was expanded during Supervisor Feiner’s tenure to include services to all six villages within Greenburgh. Greenburgh's parks were not only rebuilt, the town became the first municipality in the state to place a referendum on the ballot establishing a dedicated fund for parkland acquisition. Under Feiner’s leadership the town increased the number of acres of open space from 200 acres to more than 600 acres. Three major new parks were acquired: Harts Brook Nature preserve, Glenville Woods and Taxter Ridge. All three parks were acquired with the assistance of the state and county governments. A new dog park opened in 2008. In l999, Greenburgh became the first locality in the region to ban pesticides, within three years, on town property.  Greenburgh’s Arts and Culture Committee has expanded its programs during Feiner’s administration. The committee sponsors 30 art exhibits a year at the 48,000 square foot Town Hall, Town Court Art Gallery, WARC Gallery, Theodore Young Children’s Gallery and at the Multipurpose Center. The poetry caravan makes approximately 110 site visits a year. In 2006 Greenburgh became the first local government in Westchester to appoint a Poet Laureate.  The town of Greenburgh has received over $170,000 a year to start up an innovative after school program called Xposure. In January, 2009 Xposure made the cover of Scholastic Magazine. Students starting at the 8th grade invest in the stock market, learn finances, open up savings accounts and during the summer of 2009 started their own ice cream business. In l996 Paul Feiner established the Hudson Valley Regional Conference, uniting elected officials on both sides of the river to address regional issues. The Regional Conference compelled the New York State Thruway Authority to remove the tolls at Spring Valley in l997. In 2002 Greenburgh became the fist municipality in New York State to mandate energy conservation in residential construction. In 2009 the town became one of the first communities in the nation to mandate LEEDS compliance in new commercial and multifamily construction.  In l997 Mr. Feiner's leadership made local history, as the Tappan Zee Bridge was finally opened to cyclists once a year. In 2007 Supervisor Feiner was elected President of the Westchester – Putnam Town Supervisors Association, an organization consisting of the chief elected officials of every town in Westchester & Putnam counties. Paul Feiner is the only elected official in the United States to have based part of his salary on performance. He has tied salary increases to achievement of goals and has voluntarily returned a portion of his salary if his goals are not met.  Spotlight Westchester Magazine named Paul Feiner the "most interesting politician in Westchester" in their "the Best of Westchester 200l issue". Mr. Feiner was also honored by the Rotary Foundation as a Paul Harris Fellow. Mr. Feiner also began hosting a weekly interview program on WVOX Radio (l460 AM) every Friday morning in January,2002 The August, 2008 issue of MONEY MAGAZINE named Greenburgh as one of the “BEST PLACES TO LIVE” in America. Greenburgh ranked number 80. “If you want to know what makes Greenburgh special, look no further than Town Hall. The city’s remarkably open government (the town supervisor makes house calls to settle grievances) mirrors a community light-years away from the parts of New York state that appear on primetime crime dramas. The magazine praised the town for its 600 acres of parkland, water park and “compelling arts community with galleries housed at, where else, town hall.”  In July, 2009 CNN.money.com named Greenburgh #12 in 6 Figure Towns –best place communities that have high incomes.” Paul Feiner was the Democratic candidate for United States Congress from the 20th Congressional District in l998 and in 2000. Although Mr. Feiner lost the election to the chairman of the House International Affairs Committee, Mr. Feiner won the Westchester County portion of the district by nearly 65% of the vote.  Mr. Feiner, an avid cyclist, has participated in numerous long distance charity bike rides. He has cycled from NY to Vermont over a dozen times to raise funds for the Special Olympics & Westchester ARC. In 2006 Feiner organized a charity bike ride from Hartsdale to Washington DC to raise over $40,000 for a former Hartsdale Volunteer firefighter who was paralyzed from the head down as a result of a bicycle accident. Feiner and his fellow cyclists met with Senators Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer in Washington to lobby for stem cell research funds. Mr. Feiner was born on February l4, l956 and is married to Sherrie Brown, an attorney. They adopted 8 month old Julia Rebecca Feiner in November l999 from Russia. The family resides in Greenburgh, NY.Last Updated: 8/3/09 You might be interested in the profile of Supervisor Feiner - published in the July, 2008 issue of Westchester Magazine:  Please click onto the following link: http://www.westchestermagazine.com/Westchester-Magazine/July-2008/Profile/You might be interested in the article about Supervisor Feiner’s innovatiosn – published in July, 2009 Westchester County Business Journal. Click onto the following link: http://www.westfaironline.com/westfair-online/article/2872-greenburghs-feiner-marches-on.html  GREENBURGH NAMED BY MONEY MAGAZINE the 80th BEST PLACE TO LIVEhttp://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2008/snapshots/CS3630367.html