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Common Council Corral:
Over $87,000 in new grants secured by Youth Bureau for benefit of White Plains children.
Casablanca Cafe cabaret license application not bungled by city. New info proves need for city caution.
Snow removal performance lauded by Mayor, Council.
King on Cars:
Councilman details issues Traffic Department needs to address;
Calls for high speed rail-link on Cross Westchester Expressway;
Asks City for program to discourage commuters from driving through White Plains to bypass I-287 congestion.
By John F. Bailey
CityLine: January 5, 2001 - City Hall
The White Plains Common Council began the second year of the New Millennium in a spirit of bipartisanship Tuesday evening.
The highlights of the evening were the announcements of two new grants totaling over $87,000, secured by the city's Youth Bureau, and Councilman William King's highlighting of key traffic issues in the city.
New Youth Programs at 86 DeKalb and for Entrepreneurship: The Youth Bureau has received a grant of $44,824 from the Westchester County Invest in Kids program, and $2,000 from the Westchester Community Foundation to begin an After School Community Learning Center at 86 DeKalb Avenue, according to Councilwoman Pauline Oliva. She reported that it will be used to establish a community room for tutoring, recreation, computer instruction for 75 children living in the DeKalb complex. She reports the School District is furnishing the computer work stations with the city doing the community room construction.
Frank Williams, Director of the Youth Bureau said the Board of Education is donating 5 computers and that teaching aids will be hired to conduct the program, which is beginning "now," according to Williams.
Ms. Oliva also announced the Youth Bureau has received a $43,244 grant to provide a Youth Aiming for Financial Independence Program, also through the Invest in Kids Fund. The program, according to Frank Williams, Youth Bureau Director, who was instrumental in acquiring the grant, will be run out of the Youth Bureau offices and at space at Mercy College in White Plains. Oliva said the program is being conducted under the auspices of "Nifty," the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship. Williams said the $43, 244 funding is being provided by the Westchester County Urban Youth Initiative.
Williams said that what is significant about this grant is that previously the program had only been funded as a summer program, but now this grant makes it possible to run the program year-round. Williams said the program basically teaches White Plains children how to run a business.
Return to Casablanca. Mystery negotiations involved.
Dooley Mack forever:
Mayor Delfino discussed the mysterious matter of the Casablanca Cafe cabaret application, which at last month's Council meeting precipitated criticism of how the city communicates with downtown business owners.
At the December Common Council meeting, when the Casablanca application to run a cabaret featuring entertainment came up, it could not be voted on because no paperwork had been submitted by the applicant. Councilwoman Rita Malmud raised the issue of why the city did not have a printed brochure explaining to business owners the procedure for applying for cafe and other kinds of licenses. The Mayor replied that there were very few such applications, and that he had directed the departments involved (Building and Planning) to prepare such brochures. Mayor Delfino also said that the Planning and Building Departments had made numerous attempts to contact the owner of Casablanca, but could not find him since no address or telephone number was on the owner's letterhead.
At Tuesday evening's meeting, the Mayor introduced Edward Dunphy, Corporation Counsel to explain that city caution in dealing with Casablanca was justified due to information the city had recently uncovered.
Dunphy explained that "there is an existing lease that prohibits use of the premises for a cabaret, and that if we'd granted the license we would have assisted the cafe owner in violating his lease. We've (the city) have also discovered that there is another owner interested in buying the premises if a cabaret license is granted," so there was more, the Mayor indicated, behind the application than simply a request to obtain cabaret privileges.
Mayor Delfino pointed out that Planning Commissioner Mike Graessle "detailed at length for the applicant" what he needed for his application at the time he originally approached the Planning Department. He also said the information Counselor Dunphy discovered was evidence why the city needed to be very careful in granting applications and cautious in not rushing approvals.
On the matter of the Dooley Mac Publick House application to extend their Special Permit to operate a cabaret, the Council voted unanimously to approve the owners' application, and also praised the quality of the food, especially the corned beef and cabbage. One of the owners of Dooley Mac's commented how the city has made it "so much easier to maintain a business in the city of White Plains." To which, the Mayor replied, "It is an honor to have your establishment," noting that Dooley Macs gives back a lot to the community in public service and contributions to community events.
Snow Removal Performance Lauded.
Towards the close of the meeting, the Mayor and Members of the Council lauded the Department of Public Works for their performance in clearing snow from the city streets over the New Years Weekend when 16 inches of snow fell on the city Saturday.
Councilman Larry Delgado said that 22 municipalities declared Snow Emergencies, meaning they needed help from other communities to clear the white stuff, but that "our city of White Plains managed to get the work done."
Mayor Delfino said he took calls at city hall from 7 PM to 11 PM Saturday night, and said he fielded "very few irate calls," with the few angry ones being from residents who had shoveled their driveways and had them plowed back in by passing city snow trucks. The Mayor said he regretted that there was not too much that could be done about that.
The Mayor said that employees of the Water, Recreation and Department of Public Works worked for 36 consecutive hours over Saturday and Sunday. "Every man worked, all contributed." He said that the city could not plow out parking spaces on Mamaroneck and Main Street because there was no place to put the snow except on the sidewalks. He said that the city planned to close the downtown from 11:30 PM to 7:30 AM Wednesday morning to remove the piles of snow from the downtown streets.
King on Cars: Councilman William King, took the occasion of the submission of the Traffic Department Annual Report, to make public for the record his and neighborhood concerns about traffic issues.
King noted that White Plains has 10 traffic accidents per day. He said that in the future, he hoped the Traffic Department would focus more on speeding and intersection enforcement. He applauded the electronic speeding signs being implemented this month as being a step in the right direction. He suggested speed bumps be considered on certain streets as well as 4-way Stop Signs.
King said he wants to see better intersection signals, and enforcement, because "crossing traffic does not stop." He suggests lobbying for a change in state law, allowing traffic lights and stop signs with cameras to take pictures of motorists running red lights (currently allowed only in New York City).
The Councilman also raised the issue of "cut-through traffic," suggesting that traffic signals be tied in with major gateway and downtown arteries such as Central Avenue to prevent traffic from cutting over Battle Hill to avoid Central Avenue, or linking Bryant signals with Old Mamaroneck Road to discourage speeding through Bryant Avenue.
Mr. King supported the extension of Court Street across Main Street to Hamilton Avenue, advocating that Court and Mamaroneck Avenue be made into one-way streets either North or South to provide swifter North-South traffic movement utilizing Hamilton Avenue. He said that the Court Street extension (favored in the City's Revitalization Plan) allowing Mamaroneck conversion to one-way, would allow for slant parking on Mamaroneck Avenue, opening up more parking in the downtown in a more, efficient manner.
He said he wanted to see use of more pylons to slow traffic; more visible crosswalks and mid-block crossings to slow traffic and protect pedestrians.
He also raised three issues which he links to contributing significantly to White Plains traffic woes.
The first issue is "Drive-through traffic through downtown White Plains," which he defined as motorists avoiding Cross Westchester Expressway Traffic by driving across Tarrytown Road and through White Plains in the morning, and at night, driving through White Plains westbound, to avoid the westbound bumper-to-bumper traffic on I-287. He feels that with the Stop and Shop opening at the Westchester Avenue gateway, giving potential for greater congestion, that this "Drive-Through" problem needs to be addressed.
The second issue is "Decreasing the Amount of Automobile Commuters from the Surrounding Region." He went on record as being for a major "mass transit line" in the I-287 corridor, saying it would mean less cars, less pollution. He said that air pollution in central Westchester, according to a recent survey was already as high as New York City.
His final issue was White Plains dependence on Auto Dependent Housing. He said he felt that residential housing had to be geared more to apartment buildings nearer mass transit, than to single family home development.
Councilman Boykin involved in traffic accident because of a stop sign being ignored.
Mr. King's manifesto on traffic issues had a living witness in Councilman Benjamin Boykin who disclosed that as he was driving through Highlands prior to a recent trip to Florida his car was hit broadside by a driver running a stop sign at Greenridge and Stratford Avenues in the Highlands. Boykin said his car was "a total loss" but he fortunately, apparently escaped serious injury, though he says his right arm still hurts.
Boykin supported the Mayor's speed enforcement program, saying attention needed to be paid to enforcing "stopping at the foot of hills. It's very dangerous."
McClain named Employee of the Month: Eileen McClain, a Planner in the White Plains Department of Planning for two years, was named Employee of the Month. Ms. McClain, "Trusty Secretary" to the Planning Board was recognized by the Mayor and Planning Commissioner Mike Graessle as "an extremely reliable member of the Department. She excels at working on projects independently or as part of a team."
She was complimented on "her professional demeanor and helpfulness" and her accurate minutes of Planning Board proceedings, as well as efficient circulation of Board proceedings in a timely manner.
Ms. McClain said she was thankful for working with such a smart hardworking department, that she was committed to public service, and said she was "fortunate to be a part of this team (The Planning Department.)"
Frank Donohue's Departure... Mayor Delfino took a few moments to express condolences to the Donohue family at the passing of the former highest ranking attorney in the County District Attorney's Office. The Mayor recognized Mr. Donohue as a man who was "tough and firm who enabled men and women to move up in the (legal) profession."
Malmud clarifies "Consent Agenda" procedure: Councilwoman Rita Malmud took some moments before the evening consent agenda was passed to explain to the public what the Consent Agenda procedure is.
She said that a "consent agenda" is prepared by the Mayor in order to avoid a lengthy meeting. The Mayor circulates the items the council has agreed to consent to, a full three days before the Council meeting. She said the Mayor then calls each Council Member to see if they agree or disagree on any items on the Consent Agenda. Any one Councilmember can remove any item from the Consent Agenda.
She said that a Councilmember can remove an item right up until the Council meeting begins.
At the council meeting the Agenda is moved, and the Mayor gives an explanation of each item on the Consent Agenda.
Reported from the Common Council Meeting of January 2, 2001.
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