To the editor of White Plains CitizenNetReporter:

As a White Plains environmental group concerned with sustainability issues in all White Plains development, EcoNeighbors was shocked that the supposed public feedback at the Feb. 11, 2016, White Plains Transit District “Public Engagement Meeting“ was a sum total of literally 2 texted words per person.

  And the sum total of the “public learning” was a series of stand-up boards around the periphery of a room so packed that no one could see the boards, with only an occasional, haphazard one-on-one introduction of a Stakeholder Task Force member, depending on who an attendee happened to bump into in the crowd.

There was no signage as to who was responsible for the displays or any explanation about their significance.  It was not clear how the exercise at a couple of the boards, asking people to indicate where they live, work, or get to the train, would be used.  Nor was it clear how the auditorium texted responses would be used.  If this use of technology was designed to impress the attendees, we doubt it had that effect.

During the sit-down auditorium presentation, neither the Mayor nor the Planning Commissioner had the courtesy or professionalism to introduce anyone from Parsons Brinckerhoff, the consultancy the group the city hired four months ago at a cost of $794,000 out of the $1 million NYSERDA grant from the State of NY.  Nor was Parsons Brinkerhoff given an opportunity to speak or answer questions from the audience. 

Here is what true public engagement must be:

From the podium before the large sit-down audience in the auditorium, all Stakeholder Task Force appointees should have introduced themselves to everyone, and given their qualifications or reasons for having been appointed by the Mayor (e. g., the Stakeholder Task Force includes no one from BID — despite the Mayor’s stated goal of creating a walkable connection between the train station and Mamaroneck Avenue businesses!)

Parsons Brinckerhoff should have given a visual and oral presentation about past projects they will use as concepts for the White Plains project, and of various options they’re exploring for our Transit District.

There should have been a presentation of exciting, great models of the various project components that White Plains residents might consider from cities around the US and the world.