FASNY Fires Back at Gedney Association

The French-American School of New York (FASNY) is firing back against the Gedney Association’s accusations with a seven-page newsletter of its own.

“Unfortunately, rather than engage in a substantive conversation about the school, the Gedney Association has mailed out an 8-page anti-FASNY booklet that is full of wild exaggerations and falsehoods,” said FASNY Spokesperson Geoff Thompson, referring to the neighborhood association’s "" publication. 

The Gedney Association—a non-profit organization representing the Gedney Farms residential neighborhood, where FASNY’s property at the former Ridgeway Country Club lies—distributed the newsletter to city residents in July. Click to read that story.

That brochure outlines reasons why the Gedney Association feels the nursery school through twelfth grade campus FASNY wants to build on the 129-acre site would increase tax burdens, create massive traffic and exacerbate flooding.

The school campus would house about 1,200 students and 250 staff members, and would include the construction of:

• an upper, middle and lower school totaling 230,863 sq ft.
• three playgrounds
• four tennis courts
• four soccer fields
• a six-lane track
• basketball court
• baseball diamond
• softball diamonds
• 428 parking spaces
• an 84-acre open space educational conservancy 

“Rather than let this misinformation go unchallenged, we offer the following comments with respect to the most blatant of the misstatements,” said Thompson.

Click on the PDF to read FASNY’s response to the Gedney Association’s publication and visit www.GreenstoGreen.org for more information on FASNY's proposal.

“Additionally, we urge all interested residents to read the DEIS [draft environmental impact statement] and decide for themselves whether the project benefits outweigh any potential costs or alternatives," Thompson said. 

Thompson said that FASNY is aware of the potential impacts the project could have on the surrounding neighborhood, but that these impacts will be positive compared with other alternatives that could be built on the site where the failing golf course once stood.  

Click here to view the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) for the project. A copy of the DEIS will also be available for view at the . 

The White Plains Common Council declared the DEIS as complete and ready to be discussed at public hearings on Sept. 19 and Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. at city hall. Written comments will be received until 5 p.m. on Oct. 20 and should be directed to the City Clerk, City Hall at 255 Main St., White Plains, NY 10601. 

“Although we have not studied FASNY's public relations firm's press release, it is clear that the information in our newsletter has hit a nerve,” said Gedney Association President Terence Guerriere. “We stand by the information in our newsletter and, if upon complete review we feel a more detailed response is needed, we will be happy to comment further.”

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