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WPCNR SOUTHEND TIMES. September 7, 2014:

Opponents of the French American School of New York have alleged the “Neighborhood Letter” widely circulated in the Southend of White Plains Friday, and endorsed by 41 residents of the area,  calling on the Mayor and Common Council to approve the French American School campus project was sent, and paid for not by the endorsers, but by the French American School of New York itself..

The letter was printed in its entirety on the lohud.com website. WPCNR excerpted highlights of the letter on Saturday..

Saturday morning WPCNR was informed  that the envelope in which the letter was mailed was marked with First Class Permit Number 2101 , White Plains, NY which is registered in the name of the French American School of New York. The implication apparently is the sending of the letter was paid for by the French American School and not by the residents who signed the letter, though the residents might have been asked by the French American School to put their names to the letter.

A letter signed by Denise and Joseph DeMatzo,  now circulating pointing out the French American School of New York Permit, alleges,

“the pro-FASNY letter was sent under USPS Permit No. 2101. Neighbors who have saved (previous)FASNY mailings found that this is FASNY’s Permit Number. Thus, this is not a grass   roots effort.”

The writers also note: “the (FASNY) letter contains a critical factual misrepresentation. On the first page of the letter the author(s) states: FASNY now owns the property, and it is zoned for a school (emphasis added). This is patently false, for, as you know, FASNY requires a Special Permit for the very reason that the property is not zoned for a private school such as FASNY.”

It is unclear at this time whether the endorsers of the letter collaborated to draft the letter and asked FASNY to send it for them, or if FASNY drafted the letter and asked the endorsers who wound up on the letter if they could use their names to sign the letter.