Our first Advisory Board profile is of Marc Ackerman, a 13-year Edgemont resident.  Marc is an attorney who serves as the Senior Vice President for Legal and Business Affairs at Tough Mudder, a mass participation sports and fitness lifestyle brand. 

Marc also has a deep firsthand understanding of what it means to incorporate as a village.  He grew up in Rye Brook during the time when it incorporated (1982), and in 2012, he chaired an Edgemont Community Council task force charged with studying whether incorporation would benefit Edgemont.  Below, we talk with Marc about why he thinks incorporation is the right move for Edgemont’s future. 

When did you move to Edgemont?

We moved here in 2005, and live in the Longview neighborhood.   

Tell us about your family.

My wife Faith and I have two children.  Our son is about to start his freshman year in college, and our daughter is entering tenth grade at EHS. 

What have been your major Edgemont community involvements?

I have served as a Director and First Vice President of the Edgemont Community Council (ECC).  I’ve also chaired (and been a member of) the School Board Nominating Committee.  In 2012, I chaired an ECC task force that studied whether incorporation would benefit Edgemont.

Tell us more about that task force on incorporation.  What was its process?

I, along with other task force members, reviewed in detail the report that had been produced by the Edgemont Village Exploratory Committee (EVEC) back in 2005.  We also interviewed the EVEC members themselves.  Additionally, we attended meetings of each of the local Edgemont civic associations to assess the community’s views on incorporation.  And we conducted our own independent research.

What conclusion did your task force reach?

We concluded that incorporation was a path that could bring significant benefits to Edgemont, including local control of zoning decisions, more responsible expenditure of tax dollars, and more responsive government.  Because incorporation is a major initiative, and the ECC was focused on other important matters, we recommended that future efforts on incorporation be driven by an organization independent of the ECC.  That’s what subsequently happened with the Edgemont Incorporation Committee (EIC).

Fast-forward to today.  What’s your current view on whether Edgemont should become a village?

The potential benefits of incorporation that our task force identified in 2012 are even more compelling today.  Edgemont needs more responsive government—and due to our small voter base, Edgemont can never have a real impact on the Town of Greenburgh’s government.  I believe that residents of Edgemont will do a better job of serving Edgemont’s interests than the Town Board has ever done.  I would much rather have my Edgemont neighbors, who understand the particular issues facing our community, make decisions about how our resources are deployed. 

For me, incorporation is about Edgemont creating its own path, rather than being subject to the decisions of non-residents who have little or no incentive to be responsive to Edgemont.

You grew up in Rye Brook, which incorporated in 1982.  How does that influence your thinking?

I experienced firsthand the pride we felt in having our own village.  Since then, I’ve seen the financial and quality-of-life advantages to Rye Brook of controlling its own destiny.  We deserve the same in Edgemont.