WPCNR BLACK DENIM TROUSERS AND MOTORCYCLE BOOTS. November 11,2009: The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles introduced the new look of New York State License Plates today. The changeover to the new plates will be required of all motorists in April 2010 when all 12 Million New York State automobile owners will need to purchase new plates at the cost of $25 per set of two per car. A family with three registered cars would pay $75 for three vehicles they own, (with new license numbers), $135 to keep the same license plates with the new design.

The new New York State Plate introduced today by the DMV. If you wish to keep your old plate number, it costs you $45 per set, and this would mean $90 for two cars.  The DMW will sell the plates, by mail through the automatic mailed registration renewal.  Previously New York State Plate Sets for new vehicles sold for $15 per 2-plate set.

The legislation introducing the new plates and fees was included within the 2009-10 New York State Budget, and will raise $120 Million for the 2010-11.

Here is the official news release from the DMV introducing the new plate, edited:

WPCNR FREEWAY FLYER By John F. Bailey. August 25, 2009: The ongoing construction at the Exit 6,7,8 area paralleling and above the Cross Westchester Expressway is taking shape. Gregory Kisloff, Community Liaison for the I-287 Stage III Reconstruction Project put together a graphic explanation of how the project, the Department of Transportation hopes will eliminate the criss-cross traffic patern at the Exit 7 area that has plagued the area for decades. The new Exit 7, taking shape between the North Street bridge and the Westchester Avenue cross-over, is scheduled to open in the spring of 2009. Here’s how it works.

New I-287 Exit 7 Ramp "I" is being positioned  under construction  under Westchester Avenue Westbound Overpass  leading into White Plains, and beginning about halfway between the North Street cross over ramp (railing in photo) and the Westchester Avenue Overpass (background) ( The scene of the new ram is shown at a distance above, and closeup below)

WPCNR BUMPER TO BUMPER.. By John F. Bailey. July 29, 2009: Greg Krisloff, the liaison and spokesperson for the Department of Transportation for the ongoing Exit 8 project that White Plains commuters have been weathering the last three years reports that by next spring the cross-exit/entrance traffic flow pattern should be relieved when the new Exit 7 opens.

Krisloff says  the new Exit 7 will allow traffic westbound on I-287, desiring to exit to North White Plains via the Central Westchester Parkway will be able to shuttle off on their own private ramp connecting to the Central Westchester Parkway northbound.

The Exit 7 Connection -- making its way under the Main Street Bridge. Ebersole Rink is at right of Picture.

This improvement will eliminate the current bottleneck resulting for decades which had traffic exiting to North White Plains  via the Central Westchester Parkway crossing traffic wishing to enter I-287 westbound.

WPCNR POLICE GAZETTE. From Department of Public Safety. June8,2009 UPDATED 5:15 P.M. E.D.T.: White Plains Department of Safety has  issued this statement on this morning's pedestrian accident at the intersection of Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard and Quarropus Street:

A 77 year old woman was struck by a vehicle and pronounced deceased later at Westchester Med. Center.

The Vehicle involved was a Honda Element operated by a 71 year old woman from Tarrytown.

The accident is under investigation and the victim identity is not being released at this time pending notification of family.

WPCNR BUMPER TO BUMPER. Special to WPCNR. March 23, 2009: Motorists should use caution traveling under the Lake Street overpass over I 287. A White Plains Fireman reports to WPCNR:

John , Stone debris is falling from the Lake St. overpass deconstruction zone eastbound. My vehicle windshield has been hit twice in one week. Had to have it repaired once. 

WPCNR THE PARKING NEWS. By John F. Bailey. March 12, 2009: Paul Wood, City Executive Officer told WPCNR Wednesday evening the city is discussing a lease sale of the Galleria and Library parking garages to any of four parking management companies, for an estimated $30 Million. Wood described  one of the firms as the managing company for all Chicago parking garages and New York City’s leading parking garage operator (which would be Central Parking Systems). CPS, based in Nashville did not return WPCNR calls for confirmation.

Paul Wood, City Executive Officer Exploring the leasing of City Municipal Garages for Cash

Galleria Municipal Parking Garage, being eyed for lease to private operators.

WPCNR THE TAXI NEWS. By John F. Bailey. February 21, 2009: The Common Council was offered a draft of the Recommendations of the White Plains Taxi Industry Review Committee Thursday evening. The Common Council reserved comment with plans to hold considerable discussion on the measures that if adopted will change the ad hoc, loosely administered, and much publicly maligned taxi industry in White Plains.

The Traditional White Plains Taxi Chaos -- Note Taxis in queue (yellow vehicles) -- August 2007. WPCNR News Photo Archive

The measures of key interest recommend taxi stands be established at the Westchester Mall, Fortunoff, Wal-Mart (on Main Street), and City Center with bus shelters as taxi stands when buses end their runs for the day;  Parking Officer jurisdiction over non-White Plains taxi drivers’ unauthorized use of taxi stands and a $1,600 fine for each interloping taxi caught using a taxi stand illegally; Sale of medallions at auction to drivers using alternative fuel vehicles; A deadline for all licensed drivers to switch to alternative fuel taxis; An “800” Number dispatch system; and a metered system with base fare beginning at $5, and a "uniform" look to all cabs.

Melissa Lopez, Director of Economic Development and Coordinator of Public Information, Chairperson of the Taxi Industry Review Committee issued a copy of the Committee recommendations to WPCNR:

WPCNR MR. AND MRS. AND MS. WHITE PLAINS VOICE. February 17, 2009: Do you find yourself going more to CVS, Stop and Shop, and free parking lots, rather than driving into downtown? Do you put off going downtown to eat because of the parking hassle? Do you avoid The Westchester, The Pavilion, and the White Plains Mall and Galleria because of the parking machines you can't figure out? Do you skip the St. Patrick's Day Parade because you don't want to get a $15 ticket on parade day? Could the White Plains draconian parking rates, viscious ticket fines, and Parking Enforcement Stalkers get you down? Is that what's driving down Parking Ticket revenue?

Well, here's your chance to sound off at the City Hall Parking Bandits. Would you go downtown to shop more if on street parking hours were increased? Parking was not a $1 an hour and you did not have to think out a parking strategy just to go downtown? Well tell them in the survey at the right.

WPCNR MAINLINE NEWS. Special to WPCNR By Renee Marks Cohen. February 1, 2009: On January 30, the Westchester County Association presented Elliot (“Lee”) Sander, Executive Director and CEO of the MTA, at their Distinguished Speaker Breakfast.

Metro North Northbound Tracks, White Plains

Sander oversees 2.4 billion subway, rail, and bus trips each year (about one third of U.S. mass transit trips); and the bridges and tunnels that carry over 300 million vehicles per year. (In light of the economy, the writer wondered what Sander’s bonus, pension, and parachute are.)

Here are MTA Director/CEO Sander’s main points:

WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From Board of Legislators. November 10, 2008: The County Board unanimously approved legislation prohibiting motor vehicles from idling more than three minutes in Westchester County in order to improve local air quality and reduce greenhouse gases.

“Tackling climate change is about more than complex treaties and trading systems,” said County Legislator Tom Abinanti (D, I, WF-Greenburgh), Environment & Energy Committee Chair and the sponsor of the legislation. “We also need simple yet effective local actions to chip away at our carbon footprint.”  

WPCNR THE TAPPAN ZEE NEWS. October 14, 2008: The Tappan Zee Bridge/I-287 Enivironmental Review “team” will hold a public information meeting two weeks from today on October 28  at 4:30 P.M. and 7 PM at White Plains High School to brief the public on their final decision of how the Tappan Zee Bridge will be replaced. The public will be informed by a presentation on the state decision to build a new Tappan Zee Bridge with a dedicated Bus Rapid Transit  line plus commuter rail from Rockland County to Grand Central, with the Bus system  across Westchester incorporated into the Cross Weschester Expressway through White Plains.

Questions, comments and concerns will be answered.  Local residents and officials have until December 1 to submit comments.

The issues of how any Bus Rapid Transit System will be structurally incorporated into I-287  which courses through White Plains and other Westchester communities (Tarrytown, Elmsford, Rye, Port Chester) have not been addressed by the Department of Transportation publicly.

 At lower right is the 333 Westchester Ave former Kraft Foods property. At lower center is the North Street interchange, planned to go under a new Westchester Avenue Superramp. For Southenders coming up North Street they have to cross the Expressway and take a left into White Plains to access I-287 Eastbound via the SuperRamp upper left of picture.

Any Bus Rapid Transit System could possibly include construction of new bus stations, eastbound and westbound dedicated lanes, and inserting them into the extensive Department of Transportation construction now ongoing at Exit 8 in White Plains are worth considering as the environmental impact statement – the next stage of the $16 Billion project goes forward.

WPCNR THE TRAVELING NEWS. By John F. Bailey. September 26: The New York State Department of Transportation recommended today  New York replace the aging Tappan Zee Bridge,  with a new  bridge that could support a commuter rail line and bus line  to span the Hudson River at a cost in 2012 dollars of $16 Billion for bridge, bus/commuter equipment and infrastructure, and rail. 

The Envelope, Please, Astrid! And the Winner of the 8-Years in the Making DOT Tappan Zee Study Is  Alternative 4-C -- $16 Billion New Bridge, supporting commuter cars, Bus Rapid Transit and eventually Commuter Rail from Suffern to Tarrytown and Manhattan!

 Astrid Glynn, Chair of the New York State Department of Transportation flanked by Westchester and Rockland County Executives, Andrew Spano and Scott Vanderhoef, announced the decision five years in development, saying that the next step would  be a series of meetings across both counties to explain the new bridge concept and how it would work.

The Transmilenio (Bus Rapid Transit system) in Bogota, Columbia. The system which moves 75% of the city's commuters with frequent buses running in two directions with stations inbetween the lanes, uses about three lanes of convention automobile lanes. This shows how a successful Bus Rapid Transit System works in a multi-lane highway right of way. How such Bus Rapid Transit would work in the I-287 right of way has never been shown by the DOT to date. It will be designed according to the news conference.

She said design of the system and its effect on the Cross Westchester Expressway (new construction, station stops, place of the bus lanes, presumably),  corridor would be  discussed as part of that process. No meaty details were provided.  No proposals viewed by the public to date have not indicated specific locations for Rapid Bus Transit along I-287, nor how approaches to the bridge on both sides of the Hudson would effect the towns of Nyack, Tarrytown and Irvington.  Dates for the community meetings were not announced.

The DOT's Ms. Glynn and Rockland County Executive Scott Vanderhoef made clear, would not start the bridge for four years (2012) and would go forward  next with developing a Draft Environmental Impact Statement by 2010, at which time when the EIS is approved, design of the new structure would begin, with construction expected to start by 2012.

No time was given when the bridge would be completed. The prospect of how the bridge would be paid for would be studied with the DOT’s financial advisor, which at the present time is Merrill-Lynch, but Glynn indicated that relationship would be watched as would the Wall Street situation.

Scott VanderHoef, the Rockland County Executive said a public private relationship with financial support from Washington was hoped for as a financial feasibility and funding search would be conducted by the DOT next.

 The cost of the project was set by Ms. Glynn as being $6.4 Billion for the new bridge, (indicated inclusive), $2.9 Billion for equipment, construction of Cross counties Bus Rapid Transit System and $6.7 Billion for the Commuter Rail from Suffern  across the new Tappan Zee Bridge to Tarrytown to connect with the Metro North Hudson Line. Total: $16 Billion.

WPCNR THE PARKING NEWS. August 7, 2008:  The Department of Parking released to WPCNR details of the George Fuller Company-supervised repairs to he City Center Parking Garage joints completed in June, the same day the department announced installation of new lighting.

City Center Garage  shown below the Trump Tower left and One City Place (center tower) Got a Clean Bill of Health Wednesday from Deputy Commissioner of Parking, John Larson who detailed the repairs made to the welding plates at the City Center Garage, completed in June.

WPCNR TAXI STAND. By John F. Bailey. July 30, 2008: Paul Wood, Executive Officer for the Mayor told WPCNR tonight the city will not recognize District  Council 9 of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades as the negotiating representative of the White Plains independent cab owners. He said the city would not negotiate taxi work rules and fees and assorted issues with the union.  The District Council 9 of the IUPAT announced a majority of the 400 White Plains drivers had joined the union Wednesday after a membership drive last week.

Paul Wood said the city is looking at a metered cab system. This is a typical Pulsar Cab Meter, costing from $259 to $329 to install. It also has credit card acceptance accessories. Mr. Wood said it was to be determined whether the city would pay to install  meters or whether cab drivers would have to pay for them themselves or the cab companies. To furnish all 400 cabs would cost the city approximately $130,000, using this model. No model meter has been selected by the city. This is a typical best-selling meter available at http://www.andystoplites.com/pages/pulsar-taximeters.html, provided as an informational supplement by WPCNR

 “We negotiated for a year with Mr.  Mario Alfonso, whom we thought represented the drivers, and we are through negotiating,” Wood told WPCNR Thursday afternoon. “The Taxi Advisory Committee will be issuing its recommendations in a press conference in about a month with its recommendations for White Plains taxi service.”