Moodys Removes City Bonds Negative Outlook. Mayor Dismisses Critics Rhetoric

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WPCNR QUILL & EYESHADE. March 24, 2006 UPDATED 7 P.M. E.S.T., 9:00 A.M., March 25, 2006, UPDATED Saturday, March 25, 5:33 P.M. E.S.T. Updated 1:14 A.M. March 26, 2006 UPDATED MONDAY, MARCH 27, 2006 4:30 P.M. E.ST.:  Mayor Joseph Delfino issued a statement Friday welcoming Moodys Investor Services announcement that the bond rating agency has removed the Negative Outlook from city bonds. The Mayor said the Moodys decision prooves that criticisms of the city financial policies of his administration were just “rhetoric.”


The reprieve on the negative outlook appears to have come from a new analyst, Lisa Cole,  assigned by Moodys to evaluate the City of White Plains. The previous analyst who assigned the negative outlook, primarily because of expenses running ahead of revenues and excessive use of fund balance to balance the budget was Edith Behr.


The Moody’s report on the new issue of $7.8 Million in bonds was posted to the Moody’s website Monday, March 27 as of 11:25 A.M. E.S.T.



Mayor Jospeh Delfino. November, 2005. Photo, WPCNR News Archive.


In an official statement released through the Mayor’s office Friday afternoon at 4:12 P.M., the Mayor hailed a return to normalcy: “This is certainly welcome news, but more than that it is a testament to the fiscal health of the City of White Plains. Moody’s has confirmed that they will remove the negative outlook, and affirmed our bond rating at AA1. The ‘doomsday’ scenario predicted by many has been exposed as rhetoric. The future of the City of White Plains remains bright, and this report from Moody’s is a clear indicator of that.”


David Maloney, Strategic Area Development Officer Grants Coordinator of The Mayor’s Office reported earliery that city hall efforts at balancing the budget have passed muster with the Moody’s Financial Services (the national bond rating agency)  committee which rates the city’s bonds.


Maloney said Friday the city was notified that Moody’s has withdrawn the negative rating they gave the city’s bonds two years ago, and affirmed the city’s bonds’ Double A-1 rating. Mr. Maloney had no further details  from Moody’s on the positive things the bond-rating agency saw that prompted them to remove the negative outlook — the source of much criticism from financial critics of the city. 


Not Posted on Moodys website.


However, as of Saturday evening, the Moodys website has not published any notice that the negative outlook has been lifted from the city’s bonds, though other ratings changes made Friday March 24 were posted as of 6 P.M. Friday. Persons familiar with the way the Moodys publishes rating changes remark that as soon as ratings are changed they are published on the website.


Councilman Benjamin Boykin told WPCNR Saturday evening that usually Moodys will call a company to advise them of any change in their rating and that a report will be coming out shortly.


Moodys could not be reached for an explanation. The Mayor’s Office also could not be reached to find out how they learned this information. (In 2004 when the negative outlook was assigned city bonds, the Mayor’s Office repressed this information from the Common Council and the Budget and Management Committee for approximately six weeks. The negative rating came as a shock to the Common Council.)

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Ticket Blitz Socks Westmoreland Avenue. Lack of Parking Creates Sitting Ducks.

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WPCNR THE PARKING NEWS. By John F. Bailey. March 24, 2006: Public Safety Aides armed with their registration-registering hand-held computer scanners to identify offending parked cars,  handed out a series of $15 tickets along Westmoreland Avenue and Intervale Streets this week. 


 



According to Thomas McLaren, the President of C. G. Swackhamer, Inc., (the lumber company headquartered on Westmoreland Avenue area since 1942), there is no public parking in the area. For years, he says,  workers in the businesses on the strip, consisting of towing companies, collision repair shops, the Westchester ARC building, warehouses, a meat packer, and some offices have been allowed to exceed the unmetered street time limits (For years marked 1 hour, and recently changed to 3 hours on Westmoreland and continue to be1 hour on side streets) because there is no other place to park. McLaren told WPCNR the last parking ticket he had heard of handed out on the street was six months ago, until Thursday when one of his workers received a parking ticket.  Photo, WPCNR News.


This week, reports Larry Smith, Controller for Bearings & Motive Specialties Co. on 90 Westmoreland slightly down the block that policy changed.


The city Public Safety Aides are enforcing the 3 hour and 1 hour limits.  Even if a worker moves his vehicle to another space within the area, as Mr. Smith did, they still get a ticket Smith told WPCNR:


 


 


“The new parking enforcement group has begun a ticketing blitz on Westmoreland and adjoining Intervale Streets,” Smith said.  “The car registrations are being scanned and regardless of whether the car leaves for an extended period, and returns to the neighborhood such as our delivery car, if the car is anywhere in the neighborhood when the enforcement officer returns they are ticketed.”



Westmoreland Avenue. Bearings & Motive Specialties Co is on the right. Parking sign on left, indicates “3 Hour Parking, 7:30 A.M. to 6:30 P.M. Photo, WPCNR News./


Smith says this has stunned his work force: “This aggressive policy on the part of the city is putting an extreme hardship on these mostly small businesses. None of our employees can afford $15 per day parking fines, nor can our business afford to subsidize parking for them. Further, there is no alternative parking in the immediate area. The nearest city facility is at the White Plains Public Library, several (3 long) blocks away.”


City PSAs  Strike Without Warning.


Smith said the city did not inform the businesses in any way that the 3-hour and 1 hour regulations were going to be strictly enforced to the letter before he received two $15 tickets this week. The first ticket he received was in the afternoon, after he had parked his car in a different space in the same area, from when he had parked in the morning. (He had gone home for lunch.)



The Law on Intervale. One Hour Parking, 7:30 A.M. to 6:30 P.M. Park at your own risk. Photo, WPCNR News


He said he was not the only victim.  He reports “a long line of cars on both sides of Westmoreland” all of whom had received tickets. He said that Bank Street Commons (apartments) on Bank had been contacted about employees of his and other businesses using the empty places in Bank Street lots as an interim solution. Smith said he had been told they had to keep the spaces, even those unoccupied, to fill city parking availability requirements for the apartment units.


 



One Hour Parking on the Swackhammer corner off Westmoreland. Photo, WPCNR News.


McLaren, the Swackhammer owner  told WPCNR, “None of the people parking on this street are on welfare. They’re all hardworking people, working to put food on the table. There is no public parking in the area. Where are they supposed to park? I don’t feel I should be paying them (my employees) while they are out moving their cars.”


WPCNR observes some businesses have private parking lots on the street, but still there is overflow and workers park on the street. Until this week, they could.


 The Mayor’s Office Unavailable for Clarification of the Policy. 


The Mayor’s Office and the Department of Parking were not available for comment when contacted by WPCNR NewsCalls slightly after 5 P.M. today.


WPCNR is trying to clarify if the  parking ticket blitz policy of ticketing vehicles, even those returning to the same area  to park again (much like New York City cars shifting to another side of the street on street cleaningdays), after leaving a parking place,  extended to the downtown area where parking is metered on the street. 


 If the Westmoreland “no return” enforcement policy is the new model that would imply that participants could not “feed one meter” in the downtown past the 1 hour limit indicated on meters.


If vehicles in the Westmoreland “industrial area without meters,” were ticketed when they returned  to the neighborhood, that would imply a ticket should be written up if a vehicle parked in another parking meter spot in the downtown after having used up his/her first hour when their registration popped up on the Public Safety Aide’s hand-held computer registration scanner. WPCNR will pursue clarification on the matter. According to Smith’s information, the hand-held scanners do not differentiate by location.


Smith, after speaking with a Department of Parking representative, said “Due to the fact that there are no retail businesses here, (in the Westmoreland, Intervale area), I cannot understand the city’s enforcement logic, which, according to the parking authority rep is to provide everyone with a fair chance to park. Nobody parks here except employees. Most people in White Plains don’t even know that our street exists.”

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Good Old Ball Days

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WPCNR PHOTOGRAPH OF THE DAY. By the WPCNR Roving Photographer: March 24, 2006: The White Plains Tigers Softball Team emerged from Hangar 51 at White Plains High School for their first outdoor practice this week. The Roving Photographer captures the promise of that first outdoor practice on O’Donnell’s Bluff. The ball club plays in Utica this Sunday, weather permitting in a series of scrimmages against some top ball clubs.



Good Old Ball Days


 


Lace those cleats, adjust that do, pound that glove


The sun is smiling, warming frozen fields with its love.


Shadows shorten promise new thrills on the infield buff


The Tigers in the Rough have returned to O’Donnell’s Bluff.


 


Crack of steel on yellow cowhide


Drives hard hops cross chilled infield dirt


Unruly sharp March winds blow in spring’s flirt


 Unseasoned dirt cuffs balls into bad hops, darters to the side.


 


Ponytail hopefuls cavort, chatter and revel on awakening diamond


Striding and dashing for the first time between the lines of distinction


Where spectators wish they could be but only they, the determined


Have been chosen to follow in the tradition of Tiger conviction.


 


Lazy cans of corn soar into frowning spring skies,


Long legs stretch and dash cross endless outfields


Frisking like colts, the forever young rejoice in softball’s yields,


Spearing fungos and drives in outreached gloves,  snaring flies.


 


Perfecting the nonchalance from which to spring into fleet flight


To the edge of the earth, back, back back for the long majestic drive,


Weaving in wary crouch to speed, to dive, to backhand with majestic hand sleight


The joy of knowing you could, you might, you can – what delight!


 


In sweatshirts and sporting faces flushed by rawhide breezes,


These elite have returned filling, warming the lonely diamond with their laughters


Their talents, dedicating  themselves to the new season’s discoveries


The growth, the achievement the heartbreak, the triumph of softball daughters.


 


Blank scoreboard sits patiently awaiting games to begin


When its impartial realty shatters, disappoints, grooms, exalts and boasts.


But for now, the Tigers in the Rough delight in going flat out for the first time


On the field rich with names they remember, aspiring to follow the Tiger ghosts.


— Fastpitch Johnny

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Statement on the School Budget From League of Women Voters.

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WPCNR FOR THE RECORD. March 23, 2006: Here is a text of the statement on the school budget made by Marjorie Davies at the Public Hearing on the School Budget at Education House Monday evening.



Marjorie Davies, Co-President, White Plains League of Women Voters addressing the Board of Education. Photo, WPCNR News


 


Good evening, I am Marjorie Davies, co-president of the White Plains League of Women Voters.


 


I want to thank the Board of Education for this opportunity to speak tonight on the Proposed School Budget for the 2006-2007 school year. I also thank the school district for the opportunity for community representatives, including two members of the League to learn about the budget and participate in the budget development process through the Annual Budget Committee.


 


We are fortunate to live in a community whose school budget voters support the efforts to educate our city’s children by passing the school budget. The League recognizes the challenges in educating a diverse student population and the need to maintain small class sizes. The district is justifiably proud of its efforts and success in meeting this challenge. League members often cite this very diversity as a reason for selecting White Plains as the place to live.


 


Having expressed our support for the schools, we also wish to share our concern for the future if the district loses the support of the voters because of tax increases approaching 10%. Recognizing that salaries and fringe benefits constitute over 76% of district expenses, we urge the Board of Education to take a hard look at future contract negotiations. The overall salary of 4.2% (although lower than most years) exceeds increases received by most of us. We also hope the Board will continue to explore ways to tie increases to performance.


 


Likewise, health care costs need to be borne to a greater extend by employees either by a larger contribution to the premium or by an increased co-pay to reduce the overall cost of coverage. These steps reflect a growing trend for both current employees and retirees.


 


The concern of the League of Women Voters over the years for the need to evaluate the effectiveness of school district programs continues. Although there is discussion of this issue, we do not see how the stated priorities of the Board in “Utilizing data in the decision-making process” or to “Undertake program evaluation for cost effectiveness and efficiency” are reflected in this budget. As we said last year, there is an urgent need to be sure the time and energy of the staff is actually producing measurable gains by the students. Overlapping layers of teachers and programs need to be examined also.


 


We hope the district is involved in lobbying efforts on many fronts to achieve better management of the Teachers’ Retirement System which has required huge increases in contributions.


 


In regard to the proposed bond vote for capital improvements, the League urges the school district to give serious thought to ways to better inform the public before placing this before the voters. At present, we do not have enough information to make a statement either for or against any of the proposals.


 


Again, the League of Women Voters is pleased with the goal of the school district to educate all children and with the continued partnership with the community in budget development.

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Cities Across Country Crack Down, Extract $$$ from Valet Ops. Set Up Hoops.

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WPCNR The Parking News  By John F. Bailey. March 23, 2006: Councilman Tom Roach’s suggestion that the city of White Plains license valet parking, is a thought already being turned into action by Denver, Houston, Boston, Palo Alto, Santa Monica, and is now being considered seriously by Charlotte, North Carolina and Washington, D.C.  Many of these cities cited the congestion valet parking was creating as the reason for regulating the nightly procedures.


 



The Valet Zone: Licensing to Come? Photo, WPCNR News


 


WPCNR research has found  cities just like White Plains are having problems with restaurants in burgeoning new downtowns using city right of ways they do not own to enhance their draw at city expense and motorists’ inconvenience. Charlotte is attempting to do something about it, and so is Washington, D.C. Cities which have already jumped on the valet renegade operations use a variety of fees and strict regulations  to keep them in line. One of the key provisions of most plans is the requirement the valet operator/restaurant/business carry insurance, as well as the company parking the cars.






With Traffic Commissioner Tom Soyk giving valet parking at the City Center a positive evaluation, and promising to make traffic signage more clear at the Main and Mamaroneck intersection, Roach suggested the city license valet parking now operating at other locations in the city, which are not under Mr. Soyk’s scrutiny or the city presently, being “maverick” operations, according to Soyk. Soyk is shown at the head of the table giving the City Center valet operation a vote of confidence. Photo, WPCNR News


 


 



Tom Roach proposing the licensing idea to Mayor Joseph Delfino Tuesday evening. The Mayor felt there were no problems with valet parking as presently executed in the city, and he did not want to dwell at long length on the licensing issue, attempting to head Mr. Roach off at the pass. But, Mr. Roach made his point, and Mr. Soyk is going to draft some legislation.  Photo, WPCNR News.


 


 


Let’s take a look at Some Valet Licensing Practices:


 


In Boston, time limits on how long a vehicle can be parked waiting to be parked are set. Beantown requires records to be maintained for each car parked; permits are issued for one year, and renewable. As of November, 2003,  Boston charged $40 per linear foot of curb space used for the permit, and $150 per sign for a five year period.


 


For example if one parking space was 20 feet long and “Cheers” used 10 spaces for their “holding queue” the fee would be $8,000 a year. Plus the restaurant and business would have to pay the establishment where they were parking the cars if they did not have their own lot or were using a city lot.


 


Reading Boston’s valet parking permit regulations indicates White Plains has to look at creating valet parking areas where the cars are eventually parked; perhaps consider shared valet parking zones, and insurance issues. Boston does not allow parking at street meters.


 


When Palo Alto enacted a Valet Parking ordinance in 1999, the fees were similar to Boston’s: $450 permit application, $74 annual permit renewal; $220 short-term permit; $35 per space per week for on-street parking spaces (for the valet parking zone); $150 per valet parking sign fee and a $30 penalty for unauthorized parking in on-street valet parking spaces.


 


When Santa Monica was drawing up their ordinance in 2001, they recommended $1,750 per valet location, and a space use fee of .50 per hour of valet operation annualized upfront. Santa Monica projected a $50,000 revenue from the 17 operations expected, and that was 5 years ago. They also opted for a uniform rate, so motorists could not congest traffic by “shopping” for the least expensive valet rate.


 


In Houston, valet parking regs were enacted in 2003. Businesses there must apply for a valet zone permit for $100 a year. Valet companies in that city which operate the valet parking for businesses that offer it must pay $1,000 the first year and $750 each additional year. Houston also requires the valet companies operating the nightly drop-offs and returns to maintain liability coverage of a  minimum of $300,000, and perform a criminal background check on their “Kookies.” (Remember Edd Byrnes as the Parkboy on 77 Sunset Strip?)


 


In the mile-high city of Denver, they have a most specific ordinance which can be read at www.denvergov.org/parking_Management/template311681.asp.  The ordinance allows the valet offering establishment two meter spaces (40 feet) for their valet zone included in the excise and license application fees. And Additional meter spaces for more than a 40 foot zone are purchasable for the annual meter time request for one year upfront about $2,500 back in 2001 when the ordinance was enacted. This is in addition to the fees the establishment will have to pay for the private parking area where the cars will eventually be parked. 


 


The issues are many: hours of operation; method of operation; how much of the street is given over; insurance; who parks the cars; where they are parked; the routes the cars take to and from the valet zone; signage; licensing fees; and potential revenue and enforcement penalties for violations.

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Latinos Career Development Summit Scheduled for April 1.

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WPCNR County Clarion-Ledger. From Westchester Department of Communications. March 22, 2006: Westchester County’s Office for Hispanic Affairs and Hispanic Advisory Board will present a Career Development Summit for Latinos  Saturday, April 1, at the Westchester County Center from 9 A.M. to 3 P.M. Admission is $15. The Summit is geared to Latinos looking to improve their job situation or learn about other opportunities they could pursue. The employers scheduled to attend — more than a dozen from both the private and public sector — are specifically seeking bilingual/bicultural staff.

More than 400 job-seekers will take part in a series of workshops. Participants will hear about the opportunities available from professionals in different fields and listen to the stories of those who have found good pay and rewarding jobs. Opportunities in health care, government and the non-profit sector will be discussed. Other topics include marketing your skills, building your own business, and looking for bilingual/bicultural positions. For those without college degrees, there’s a session on jobs and training in vocational fields.


One of the presenters is Mariela Dabbah, the well-known author of Cómo conseguir trabajo en los Estados Unidos, guía para latinos (How to Find a Job in the United States, a Guide for Latinos). While most of the workshops are in English, one program, “Entrepreneurship in a ‘New Land,’” will be in Spanish.


 The Summit is also a chance to talk face-to-face with recruiters looking for new employees. Met Life, White Plains Hospital Center, Iona College, Westchester Community College, Hudson Health Plan, Children’s Village, Open Door, Planned Parenthood, and Visiting Nurses of Westchester are among the employers expected to attend.


County representatives will also be available to talk about getting jobs as police or corrections officers or as summer employees at Playland.


There will also be a networking lunch so have your business card and resume handy.


“As members of the Latino community continue to move into the mainstream, they should be benefiting from all the same opportunities as any other ethnic group,” said Martha Lopez, director of the Office for Hispanic Affairs. “We want to empower people and give them confidence that they too can move up the career ladder.”


The Hispanic Advisory Board and Office for Hispanic Affairs have been organizing a Hispanic Summit each year since 2001. The programs, which have attracted hundreds of participants, have tackled different topics ranging from community needs and available resources to Hispanic pride.


To register, or for questions,  call the Office for Hispanic Affairs at (914) 995-2476. Attendees can also register at the door.

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Old Mamaroneck Rd Closures Both Ways Begin Thursday.

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WPCNR DETOUR DAILY. From Westchester Department of Communications. March 22, 2006:  Portions of Old Mamaroneck Road, between Mamaroneck Avenue and Scarsdale line, will be closed weekdays in both directions beginning March 23 until April 21 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

This is part of a county construction project to reconstruct Old Mamaroneck Road.  The project is scheduled for completion by September 20.  The roadway improvements planned for Old Mamaroneck Road include rehabilitation and repair of roadway pavement and shoulders, installation of new drainage structures, new pavement striping and utility work.


Detours will be posted for these closures.  Motorists are advised to seek alternate routes as delays will be expected when approaching this location during construction hours.  Minor delays may also occur to Bee-Line Bus Routes 60 and 63.


            For additional information on this project, contact Westchester County Department of Public Works at 995-2555 or log on to http://www.westchestergov.com/dpw

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LWV Admonishes School District Cut Spending. Prelim Budget, $165.8M

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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. By John F. Bailey. March 22, 2006: The Board of Education held a public hearing on the 2006-2007 Preliminary School Budget Monday evening that was sparsely attended. No new cuts in the $165.8 Million budget  announced last week were made.


 



Timothy Connors, Superintendent of Schools, presenting the Budget in Monday evening’s Public Hearing at Education House. Photo, WPCNR News.


Terrance Schreurs, Assistant Superintendent for Business, held out the possibility of more state aid from Albany to lower the 9.31% tax rate increase because both houses of the state legislature have budgeted more in state aid than Governor George Pataki has called for. The Assembly has ticketed $690,000 for White Plains, the Senate a lesser amount. Schreurs attributed the year-to-year 7.16% increase in budget spending to salaries (up 4.2%) and health benefits (up 12%), debt servce, utilities and Transportation costs.


 


Schreurs said the annual tax rate would be $448.67/$1,000 of assessed valuation up from $410.45/$1,000 for 2005-2006.. This means, Schreurs said, the owner of a property assessed at $15,000 (the median) would pay an additional $573 in school taxes in 2006-2007, and a total of  $6,730.05 in school taxes.


Mr. Schreurs reported 17%  ($6.50) of the tax rate increase of $38.22  is due to the loss of $6,354,257 in assessments in 2005-2006. Referencing the city’s recent development boom impact, Schreurs said that income from Payments in Lieu of Taxes in the city rose $1,581,601, to $89,830,006 up from $7,248,405 last year. However, Schreurs observed the school district lost $2,000,000 cash in loss assessment values, necessitating the increase in the tax rate to cover that loss as well as the increased expenses in the budget.



The League of Women Voters made a statement sharply critical of the Board of Education for failing to ride heard on the budget. Marjorie Davies, Co-President of the LWV, speaking for the League of Women Voters, while complimenting the District efforts to hold the line on small class size, said “we urge the Board of Education to take a hard look at future contract negotiations. The overall salary increase of 4.2% exceeds increases received by most of us.” Photo, WPCNR News


Ms. Davies urged employees be made to make larger contributions to insurance premiums or co-pays on insurance coverage. She also on behalf of the League, called for evaluation of the district’s many programs and to look for overlapping layers of teachers and programs. “We do not see how the state priorities of the Board in utilizing data in the decision-making process or to undertake program evaluation for cost effectiveness and efficiency are reflected in this budget.”


In a corrollary matter, Ms. Davies said the League did not have enough information to support or advise against the proposed financing of $25 Million to $66 Million in infrastructure, stadium and new school construction next fall.


The CitizeNetReporter asked the Board if it felt the City of White Plains was increasing assessments of new construction projects in a timely matter. The Superintendent of Schools said this was not a relevant question.

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Exchange Students Arrive at WPHS Monday from White Plains Sister City.

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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. From Melissa Lopez of The Mayor’s Office. March 22, 2006:  The City of White Plains and the White Plains School District will host a welcome breakfast for exchange students from  White Plains “sister city” of Mevasseret Zion, Israel,  Monday at 7:40 A.M. at White Plains High School in the College Career Center .


The goal of the “sister city” relationship between the City of White Plains and Mevasseret Zion is to create dialogue covering issues of economic development, strategic planning, and cultural exchange. The students from Mevasseret Zion will attend White Plains High School for two weeks, and will participate in events with various City of White Plains departments.


 


 

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Hudson Hills Tees Off Today.

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WPCNR PRESS TENT. March 22, 2006: Westchester County’s premier public golf course opens for play today. Hudson Hills, the controversial, challenging golf course is introducing new spring rates. The county announced today you can play the rolling challenger Monday through Friday noon, for just $65 including cart, GPS-equipped. Seniors pay $45, and after 1 PM the fee drops to $35. After 4, it’s just $25. On Friday afternoon, rates go up to $90, $65 after 1 PM and $35 after 4 P.M. Tee-times may be booked by calling the friendly pros at Hudson Hills, at 914-864-3000. To see what Hudson Hills is like to play, go to http://www.whiteplainscnr.com/article2387.html, to play the Front 9, and to cruise the Back 9, go to http://www.whiteplainscnr.com/article2420.html



The Fabulous First at Hudson Hills. Photo, WPCNR Sports.


 

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