The EIC’s Advisory Board is a diverse group of Edgemont community leaders who support incorporation.  (Read more here: edgemont2017.org)   They’ve each expressed their willingness to serve a new Village of Edgemont as elected officials or as members of village committees.  (All elected officials will, of course, ultimately be chosen by a vote of Edgemont residents in a formal election.)

Over the coming weeks, we’ll continue to profile our Advisory Board members and hear directly from them about why they support incorporation.  Our next profile is of Robin Schaffer, a 26-year Edgemont resident who runs a large family business, Case Paper Company.  Robin has been President of the Edgemont School Board, a Vice President of the Edgemont Community Council, and a Chair of the School Board Nominating Committee.  In recognition of his distinguished service to the Edgemont community, Robin received the ECC’s Silver Box Award in 2004.  Below, he tells us why he believes it is so important for Edgemont to begin governing itself as a village.

When did you move to Edgemont?

We moved to Edgemont in February of 1992 to our house on Underhill Road in the Fort Hill Neighborhood.

Tell us about your family.

My wife Queenie is an antiques dealer.  She and I have three children.  Regina graduated from EHS in 1998, Wesleyan University in 2002, and Fordham Law School in 2010.  She is now an associate at Morgan Lewis.  Simon graduated from EHS in 2002 and Muhlenberg College in 2006; he now works with me at Case Paper Company, our family business celebrating 75 years this spring.  Tristan graduated from EHS in 2007 and Skidmore College in 2011.  He just completed his MFA at the Accademia dell’ Arte in Arrezzo, Italy and is about to begin a masters’ program at the London Academy of Music and Drama Arts.  He’s an accomplished stand-up comedian and aspires to be a stage actor.

What have been your major Edgemont community involvements?

From my first months of living in Edgemont, I became a regular attendee at school board meetings.  I was elected to the Edgemont School Board in 1998 and served two terms, culminating in my role as Vice President and then President from 2002 to 2004.  During my years on the school board, I had the privilege of working on the expansion of all three schools. 

After leaving the Edgemont School Board, I became Vice President of the ECC.  I also served for two years as the Chair of the School Board Nominating Committee.

In 2009, I revived the Fort Hill Association, and served as its President for six years.

Why do you support incorporating Edgemont into a village? 

In my 26 years of being a resident as well as serving the community, I have been dismayed at the cavalier disregard with which Edgemont is treated by the officials of the Town of Greenburgh.  We have been forced to pay for lawsuits and insurance claims resulting from the negligence of Town officials, and we have been harmed by their approach to zoning.  More broadly, under the current system, there is no possibility that Edgemont can control the decisions that affect us the most. 

Becoming a village will enable us to govern ourselves.  My experience over many years of serving the community has taught me that we have many residents who are highly qualified to serve.  Every year, we elect our neighbors to serve on the Edgemont Board of Education, and they do an excellent job in one of the most highly regarded school districts in the country.  We also have residents who serve us on the Greenville Fire District, E-Club, PTA-PTSA, Edgemont School Foundation, and the Edgemont Scholarship Council.  We certainly have residents who can serve on an Edgemont Village Board.

We should welcome this opportunity.  I look forward to serving in any capacity I can in helping to establish a new Village of Edgemont.