Is Kirby Plaza a park? Debate simmers proposed drinking law

Kirby Plaza in Mount Kisco, where it could be illegal to carry alcohol if a proposed law strengthening regulations on the consumption and possession of alcohol is approved in its current form. MARTIN WILBUR PHOTO

By MARTIN WILBUR

Questions over whether Kirby Plaza is a park and implications about potential illegal searches and seizures forced the Mount Kisco Village Board to delay a vote this week on strengthening the code regarding alcoholic consumption and possession.

The board agreed to wait at least until its next meeting on Monday, Oct. 20, to consider a vote on the legislation so it can obtain an opinion from town counsel.

The new local law would add Kirby Plaza and the conservation areas to the list of parks and recreation facilities where carrying unsealed containers of alcoholic beverages would be prohibited, sparking debate between Trustee Tom Luzio and Mayor J. Michael Cindrich. During the resumption of the public hearing Monday evening on amending Chapter 43 of the Village Code, a couple of speakers also expressed uneasiness at including Kirby Plaza, which is just outside the Mount Kisco Metro-North train station.

Drinking alcoholic beverages is already banned in public places, including parks, unless there is a village-issued permit for a special event such as a block party.

Luzio said he is not against prohibiting carrying unopened alcoholic beverages in Leonard Park, Flewellyn Park and likely Fox Park because the law allows the state and municipalities to invoke a multitude of regulations for parkland. However, Kirby Plaza is different because thousands of people walk through the plaza to get to the train station, which could subject commuters to unreasonable searches and seizures, Luzio said.

He called Kirby Plaza “90% parking lot and 10% greenspace” that no one in the village would consider a park.

“There’s no amount of signage that’s going to get around the Fourth Amendment violation that having cops approach, police approaching a group of people,” Luzio said. “If there’s a suspicion, and I said this in detail last time, that does not give anyone probable cause. So if you think this is going to solve your problems … you’re wrong because it’s a violation of the Fourth Amendment.”

Cindrich defended the proposed revisions because he argued that Mount Kisco has seen a large number of people using the parks and conservation areas to drink and a high level of intoxication. His priority is to save lives and protect the public.

He cited the death of a homeless man last year three days before Christmas who died in frigid temperatures off Lieto Drive and Lexington Avenue in an area littered with beer bottles and cans.

“We also had in the same area a homicide where there was evidence of intoxication, a lot of drinking and carrying on and I think the position that we tried to carry to the community is if we can stop people from entering into the parks, playgrounds, conservation areas with alcoholic beverages we may save lives,” Cindrich said.

But Luzio said that the Westchester County Police, which the village for the last 10 years has contracted with to provide its law enforcement, will be unable to enforce the law in Kirby Plaza and possibly the conservation areas.

“It’s legal if you’re of the age to purchase alcohol,” he said. “I want to clean up this as much as anyone does, but I’m saying this law is overbroad, it is overbroad in the definition of parks and when you’re in public spaces, I don’t think the county PD is going to enforce this kind of law.”

Cindrich said he believes Kirby Plaza, evidenced by a state grant it once received to improve parkland, should be considered a park.  The mayor also said the law is virtually the same as what is on the books for Westchester County and municipalities around Westchester. 

Village resident Anna Fawcett told the board that Kirby Plaza should be excluded from consideration because not only do commuters go to and from the train station, but shoppers park there to use the shops.

“There is a wine shop on Main Street. I often park in Kirby Plaza, so I could buy a bottle of wine and, walking out, and if I’m stopped, I’ll be in violation of this law as I understand it,” Fawcett said.

She also said there was the possibility of racial profiling, where police could stop people of certain ethnicities.

During the public comments portion of the meeting, resident Louis Terlizzi commended the board for their attempts to clean up Mount Kisco, which has been plagued by reports of public drinking and intoxication, and refusing to look the other way.

“If you don’t address a problem, it will invariably only get worse,” Terlizzi said. “The key is to pass the right legislation, and I’m encouraged to hear that the village is possibly contracting with a law firm that specializes in civil rights issues.”

Officials agreed to consult its legal counsel after Village Manager Ed Brancati explained that portions of Kirby Plaza are owned by three entities — the village, the state and the MTA, potentially complicating the issue.