WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER SETS RECORD VISITS FOR YEAR 7,017,658 VISITS! 2,098,003 VISITORS MADE 6 VISITS A DAY EVERY DAY. 63,330 UNIQUE VISITORS MADE 133,730 VISITS IN DECEMBER. WPCNR AVERAGED 17,284 VISITORS A WEEK, VISITING 31,270 TIMES.

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WPCNR AIR NEWS. By John F. Bailey. August 16, 2007 UPDATED with Pix 3:40 P.M. EDT: The Westchester County Airport introduced  the CLEAR  Biometric Identity Card system today for frequent users of the county airport that will cut their security wait time  down to 5 minutes or less  by entering at their own special security boarding gate.

CLEAR CEO Steven Brill demonstrates the CLEAR card to County Executive Andy Spano at the CLEAR Card Check Point that begins operations for present holders of a CLEAR card Monday. Local travelers wishing to avoid the security waits can apply for the card at the airport Monday through Friday.

The “CLEAR –ed” traveler still  must go through metal detectors and their carry-on bags will be x-rayed. But their wait will be cut by as much as 30 minutes to an hour. Obtaining a CLEAR Card means you do not have to be at an airport  an hour-and a half or more  before your flight.

The key to this time-saving device is the CLEAR Airport Security Fast Pass which travelers may apply for beginning Monday at the airport. Travelers first must  apply for the card online at the CLEAR website, www.flyclear.com,  then can have their fingerprints and eyes scanned at the airport beginning Monday to start the process of acquiring the CLEAR Card.

County Executive Andrew Spano and Steven Brill, founder and CEO of CLEAR introduced the system in a news conference today at the airport, announcing that travelers who are U.S. citizens may apply for their CLEAR  Airport Security Fast Pass at kiosks opposite the Air Tran Check-in at the Westchester Terminal.

Before you can use the FAST PASS gate you must register with CLEAR online at their website, www.flyclear.com. You will be issued a 16-digit account number in an e-mail (being demonstrated here by Clifton Turner who manages the CLEAR program for Westchester County Airport). You bring  the  web-site generated letter to the County airport to complete the physical identity check for a CLEAR Fast Pass at the kiosk pictured below.  Local residents may do that beginning Monday at Westchester County Airport for the next two weeks at the CLEAR kiosk which will be open Monday through Friday from 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. It will only be open at the county airport until August 30.

Mr. Turner Demonstrates the CLEAR electronic examiner which records your fingerprints, “iris” of your eye and takes your picture to create the CLEAR Fast Pass.

Mr. Turner Demonstrates how the kiosk takes fingerprints.

Presto! You are electronically fingerprinted! Prints and iris of your eye are encoded on the CLEAR Pass.

 In  approximately four weeks, your CLEAR Card will be issued through the Transportation Security Administration, granting you access to enter airport security check-in at the specially marked Blue CLEAR gate that will be available at HPN’s business times for boarding. The CLEAR Fast Pass Gate will begin operations initially open Mondays  and Tuesdays from 6 A.M. to 10:30 A.M and Thursdays from 1 P.M. to 6 P.M. The Fast Pass Gate will expand as needed according to Clifton Turner, who manages the CLEAR operation for the County Airport.

The CLEAR Check Point, with the security lines in the background at Westchester County Airport this morning.

The CLEAR Card enables the traveler and any of their family (who also must apply individually for a CLEAR Card) to bypass the regular lines for security check in by checking in at the Blue CLEAR gate.

Airport Manager Peter  Scherrer told WPCNR that CLEAR is the airport’s attempt to cater to and serve the business travelers who use the County Airport, and now are faced with large lines at security. (At the time of this news conference, the parking garage was jammed with no available spaces and line for security was a good 30 or more persons deep.

 “We brought in Air Tran and Jet Blue, catering to the consumer,” Scherrer told WPCNR, “and 60% of our usage is business travel. That’s caused longer lines and we wanted to do something for the frequent business traveler now (with CLEAR) they don’t have to stand in line with vacationers going to Disney World.”

Scherrer said this was an airport intitiative, and the airport put out a Request for Proposals for an express identification system, even though the airport did not meet CLEAR’s guidelines for such a system, Scherrer said, “we convinced them we could be profitable for them because we are a high-end market.”  CLEAR was the only company that responded. CLEAR  developed a system to the airport needs. CLEAR will charge $99.95 to each traveler who applies and is cleared by the Transportation Security Administration for a card. CLEAR supplies the systems at the airport at no cost to the airport, according to Mr. Scherrer.

In other Airport News.

Air Link

Kenneth Jenkins, County Legislator, head  of the Legislator’s Transportation Committee gave WPCNR an update on two other key county airport issues.

 He said that the Air Link bus shuttle, operating from the White Plains Railroad Station was currently carrying 60 persons a day, about 5 passengers an hour, which he said, had exceeded expectations. Asked why the county did not advertise Air Link more, Jenkins said the county was attempting to inform businesses and corporate campuses about the bus system.

AIRPORT PARKING

Asked if the county was any further along in furnishing more parking for the airport, which as WPCNR observed this morning was “packed” with cars parked on embankments inside the parking terminal, Jenkins said the county was attempting to live up to agreements and understandings it had with the community regarding enabling airport expansion (which, by inference, WPCNR took to mean more car capacity would lead to more flights). The bottom line was there were no immediate initiatives he knew of to increase parking facilities.

Pilot I.D.s

Mr. Scherrer told WPCNR the security access system for private pilots was still about two weeks away from being implemented because the airport was having problems with a vendor. Asked why the airport did not use the CLEAR system as a security check for the private pilots and aviation personnel based at the airport, Scherrer said that it did not qualify, that the TSA system was only for commercial aviation.

He also said the county would have to deploy CLEAR equipment at too many checkpoints to make a CLEAR system feasible. He said the pilot/owner access identification system was designed to be strictly an identity “swipe” card system, allowing pilots to access the entrance gates with a swipe card rather than the present key system which could be easily duplicated. It is also designed he said to prevent gates from remaining open after they have been unlocked.

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WPCNR PRESS BOX. From Larry Giordano. August 16, 2007: Tuesday night an agreement was reached on the merger of the White Plains- based Hudson River Panthers and Team Explosion softball programs, to be effective this upcoming fall season.  Both sides are very pleased with this merger.

White Plains Explosion July 2003

Ray Frederick and his  Hudson River Panther Scholarship girls: L to R, Dena Frederick of the White Plains Tigers, Poughkeepsie’s Taryn LaColla and New Rochelle’s Erica Koehler. Photo WPCNR Sports.

The unification now offers competitive players, in and around Westchester County, an opportunity to develop and grow under one banner as they move up in age. Besides developing a player’s softball skills, the program will continue to strive in building a player’s self-being. One key element that separates the HR Panther program from other programs in the area is that it is not affiliated with any high school program.

White Plains Explosion  12-Under 2006.

This allows every player a fair chance to compete no matter where they reside. This is not always the case for other tournament programs in the area. Tryouts for the three teams the organization will be sponsoring will be held August 25 and 26, 9 to 1 PM at Ridgeway Field on August 25 and 9 to 1 at Delfino Park, White Plains on Sunday, August 26. 

Here is how the combined programs break down for next year:  

• 18u  – Head Coach – Ray Fredricks
  
• 16u  – Head Coach – Cyndi Carneghi 
  
• 14u  – Head Coach – TBA

Our first step together will be to hold tryouts on August 25^th and 26^th. Time and place TBA early next week. All Team Explosion players from this past summer teams are invited to tryouts. Players that make a team must be willing to commit for the 2008 summer season at this time. Like past years, we will still have access to Frozen Ropes as well as structured winter workouts on the weekend. 

If you have any further questions, please feel free to email either Ray (hrpanthers@aol.com) or Cyndi (socwrkr312@gmail.com).

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WPCNR SOUTHENDER. By John F. Bailey. August 15, 2007—Joseph Apicella, Executive Vice President of Cappelli Enterprises, accompanied by Brian Cappelli, weathered a skeptical and hostile gathering of the Council of Neighborhood Associations Tuesday evening at Education House, presenting a Cappelli Enterprises that was seeking ideas for the development of the White Plains train station area.  He also announced a makeover for the City Center Mamaroneck Avenue marquee and entrance to make access to the second and third floors easier. S. L Green/Reckson also disclosed to this reporter they were coming in with a competing proposal after Labor Day.

Joseph Apicella of Cappelli Enterprises, adroitly handled many questions on the office market that the firm feels is the prime market for the four building and train station complex it proposed last spring. Apicella told Council President Rita Malmud that Cappelli was willing to discuss lowering the density of the project, but felt that decreasing the density by half, from 1.5 Million square feet to half that, as Ms. Malmud suggested, would not work economically.

The genial  and adroit Apicella stood his ground in a very smooth manner when faced with tough questions, and invited persons to submit their ideas to Cappelli Enterprises on what should be done at the railroad station site to an interactive website, www.cappelli-info.com.

Enter S.L. Green/Reckson

Dan Richmond, an attorney for S.L.Green/Reckson, observed the meeting. S.L. Green/Reckson is the firm that submitted a letter criticizing the city considering granting an Exclusivity Agreement to Cappelli Enterprises last May, which some observers felt was instrumental in convincing the Common Council to reject an Exclusivity Agreement with Cappelli Enterprises to develop the site. 

Richmond told WPCNR that S.L.Green would present a competing proposal for the White Plains train station property Cappelli Enterprises is eyeing after Labor Day to the Common Council. Richmond told WPCNR it would be predominantly office space with some retail, but would not provide any further details.

Overview

Apicella in beginning his presentation said “an exchange of ideas is healthy and the residents needed to be involved more in the day to day planning as to what is built and where,” and proceeded to review what Cappelli enterprises has done in the city, fielding sniper questions along the way, criticizing how those projects have developed.

City Center Mamaroneck Avenue Interior Lobby Makeover.

Apicella, in describing the City Center development said that Cappelli  Enterprises “realizes some mistakes were made” in designing the City Center Mamaroneck Avenue entrance.

To rectify generate more walk-in pedestrian traffic at the Mamaroneck Avenue entrance, he said his firm was going to install escalators to the second floor of City Center (where Filene’s Basement is located), and to the third floor (site of the National Amusements Cinema de Lux and the White Plains Performing Arts Center). Presently the second and third floors are accessible only be elevator.

Apicella said that with Silverman Realty opening up new attractions across from the City Center and the Ritz Carlton opening in October, Mr. Cappelli wanted to assure the City Center would attract more pedestrians in from the Ritz and the Silverman properties. Brian Cappelli told WPCNR he expected the new grand entrance would be completed by the end of the year.

CVS and The Melting Pot Across Street.

In a related development, new tenants of the Silverman property across from City Center were made known this week. CVS announced it was taking the space in the Silverman Building and a Silverman executive announced the national fondue chain, The Melting Pot would be taking space across from the Center.

Deflecting Hand Grenades: The news of the evening centered on Mr. Apicella reintroducing the Station Square project that Mr.Cappelli had withdrawn last spring (June 5)  in the face of Council opposition to the Exclusivity Agreement.

Apicella handled the crowd with a deferent  attitude, saying that with “the kind of passion we have for our projects, we make a lot of mistakes.”  Asked how Cappelli Enterprise tax breaks (which Mr. Apicella said he was unable to site specifically, the tax credit had not been received yet, he estimated it to be about $20 Million net) on the 221 Main project would benefit White Plains, Apicella promised that 221 Main, site of the Ritz-Carlton would provide tax pluses and sales tax increases “on the rim” of the project in a five to 10 year period, and that “the (city) tax base will stabilize.”

Questioned on how Cappelli projects seem to have a history of morphing and through rezoining, grow into bigger and different projects after they are approved, Apicella said “we always look for elasticity in a development module, we suggest zoning changes that make sense.”

Carrie Kyzivat, President of CCOS, witheringly chided the lack of greenery in the Renaissance Square Fountain, calling the Starbucks “an atrocity.”  She challenged Apicella about how the open space in front of the Ritz was going to be designed. Apicella invited Kyzivat to participate in helping to finalize the design of the Ritz open space area that would occupy the present site of the Ritz-Carlton sales office. Apicella politely pointed out that Cappelli Enterprises did not design the Starbucks.

Tax Break Free

Apicella described the Station Square project as not requiring any tax breaks to be built, that it would be fully taxable. He said the project needed to deliver within 24 to 30 months to take advantage of the office market opportunity Cappelli Enterprises sees available now with prime office space in Manhattan at $100 a square foot. Apicella, when confronted with an article citing the vacancies in office space in the county, said that did not apply to the White Plains market because the most vacancies are occurring in Northern Westchester, which is not as attractive as White Plains.

Questioned on infrastructure costs that the city would face with new development at the Station area, Apicella said that infrastructure issues are driven by the nature of the projects, and that the infrastructure envisioned in the days of urban renewal in the 1960s cannot be relied on in the same urban renewal area today to handle the projects of today.

Apicella listened and invited the public’s input on what Station Square should be, “we need to do better in the process, we need to involve you in the process.” He said Cappelli Enterprises wanted residents to send ideas and thoughts on the project and what should be done to www.capelli-info.com That he was going to travel to all neighborhood associations to sample their opinions. He emphasized, “We don’t make the judgements. We don’t grant ourselves approvals.”

Asked if he would share Cappelli Enterprise financial projections on the project, Apicella said he would if he were the “designated developer,” otherwise he would not, saying Cappelli Enterprises projections were proprietary information.

MTA Metro North Attitude Dictates Local Action.

Apicella said he had gone to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Metro North Railroad about redoing the station, and said that they do not feel the station is inadequate.  He characterized their response to the Cappelli proposal for the station as being “What’s the problem?”

Rita Malmud, Common Council President expressed the opinion that she’d like to see the 1.5 Million square feet proposed for the Station Square project cut in half, and the density reduced. Apicella said he’d be willing to discuss that once a proposal is again before the council.

Apicella showed how the Station Square Project would turn the Bronx River into a Riverwalk, and also create a Veterans Park (base of rendering) across Tarrytown Road

Apicella returned to his main theme towards the close of the meeting, saying of Louis Cappelli and the market for the project:  “He’s not looking to dictate anything.  There’s no other way to be at this point. We don’t have all the answers. We use our projections.”

Apicella said the parking garage would be built first on the site of the firehouse that Cappelli Enterprises hopes to acquire from the city, to accommodate commuters, before the balance of the project commences, should the city find the project acceptable, of course.

He called the station area a “blank palette,” which invited the community’s ideas. At one point he said, he wanted to “bring down the wall” that he saw was between his firm and the community.

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WPCNR WHITE PLAINS LAW JOURNAL. By John F. Bailey. August 14, 2007: The new White Plains Building Department Policy of requiring persons asking to  see a site plan to fill out a question asking why they want to examine the plan, and prohibiting photographing of site plans in the Building Department as WPCNR was prevented from doing last week, violates the Freedom of Information Law, according to Robert Freeman Chair of the New York State Committee on Open Government .

Robert Freeman, Executive Director of the New York State Department of State Committee on Open Government clarified that the city is out of compliance. As Freeman puts it, “if you can look at it, you can photograph it.”

Freeman said the city is allowed to require a Freedom of Information Law request to see a plan, but they have no right to ask you why you want to see it.

Last week, WPCNR was told by the Building Department we could not photograph a site plan with the WPCNR digital camera. No photography lights or disruption to the offices would have been involved.

 I was told by a Building Department employee that I had to request the Building Department to make a copy and also file a FOIL request for it and have the request for a copy approved by the Commissioner of Building. To date no one has contacted me saying my request for a copy of the site plan was approved.

Since this policy obviously delays putting out information to the public on stories in a timely manner, WPCNR checked with the Committee on Open Government to the see of the city is allowed to restrict photography and demand explanations from people wishing to see site plans.

They are not. 

Freeman said usually plans are too bulky to photograph and that is why departments send them out for copies – but the White Plains Building Department has no right to stop you from photographing site plans.

The new policy of requiring reporters and presumably citizens to complete a FOIA form and say why they want to see a site plan has been in place since last December by the Building Department.  

Sections 87(2) of the Freedom of Information Law says that accessible records must be made available for copying.

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WPCNR CAMPAIGN 2007  News & Comment By John F. Bailey. August 13, 2007: The Democratic Primary is 5 weeks away and features Benjamin Boykin, the two-term councilman fighting for his political life based on a pro-administration voting record, Dennis Power trying to retain his nomination with his earnest concerned warm image and no current record, and newcomer nominee Milagros Lecuona attempting to keep her nomination against a challenge by the Democratic Party ousted incumbent , Arnold Bernstein also with a pro-administration voting record, and long denied Democratic Party personality, Candyce Corcoran.

Bernstein, in a mailing last week was portrayed as not a real Democrat. Council President Rita Malmud in a Democratic Party flier endorsed Boykin, Lecuona and Power as follows:

“Ben Boykin, Dennis Power and Milagros Lecuona are the real Democrats in this race, leaders committed to making White Plains a better place to live, while moving forward with a people-oriented agenda”

This raised the issue of what is a real democrat.

Mr. Bernstein, the Democrat incumbent, denied nomination for reelection by the Democratic Party this spring countered with a piece charging the Democrats with “an unprecedented act of political retribution, I was denied renomination by our party. Instead, the nomination was given to someone with no legislative experience, but who is beholden to party bosses.”  Bernstein declares himself a person that “puts you first and his party second.”

This innuendo could mean presumably Ms. Lecuona, who came out of nowhere to get the nomination over such notable contenders  and “issue-raisers” as Ms. Corcoran, Claire Eisenstadt,  Don Hughes and Robert Stackpole .  

Lecuona appeared to fit two needs for the Democratic Party:  her ethnicity would appeal to the rising Hispanic population in the city, and her gender would put another woman on the council. Her only political experience  has been with the Weschester County Planning Board, the White Plains Cable TV Commission and as a Board Member of the Westchester Hispanic Coalition, Inc.

Mr. Bernstein was, according to inner party circles, denied the nomination on the basis that he supported the Mayor on issues, such as sale of the controversial Railside Property. However, so did the other incumbent Benjamin Boykin, who now finds himself in a struggle with Mr. Bernstein. Mr. Boykin has voted consistently with the Administration on all major issues  (often the swing vote), while a laissez faire attitude towards the city budget as Chair of the Budget and Management Committee has rubber stamped every Delfino Budget for the last three years.  Boykin’s lone exception to his pro-Mayoral stance was the Station Square Exclusivity Agreement proposed by Cappelli Enterprises this past spring. That proposal was told the council in advance and they were prepared to grant it, (otherwise why put it on the agenda), but when their prior knowledge was exposed by this reporter, public pressure forced them to vote it down.

Ms. Corcoran is organizing a door-to-door campaign attempting to go to voters directly. Ms. Corcoran has grown tired of waiting for the Democratic Party to nominate her for Council. They refused to do so in 2001  when they nominated Glen Hockley instead of her, and she ran for County Legislator against Bill Ryan at that time.

 The Democrats punished Corcoran for the Republican transgression in 2003 and 2005, and again refused her this year, despite her dedicated work with the party as an organizer for a decade.  Corcoran was frustrated with the Democrats and ran as a Democrat on the Republican line against County Legislator Bill Ryan in 2001, when Ryan was nominated for Mayor, and was denied that nomination when the late Robert Greer mounted a challenge. Corcoran then switched over to run as a Democrat on the Republican ticket against Ryan when Ryan moved back to run for County Legislator..

 Lecuona, though nominated for three months (since May) has stayed in the background, being noncommittal on most issues with two exceptions: she spoke out against the Verizon cable agreement, and criticized the 189 Main Street approval last week because citizens committees were not asked for their input on what should be done at the 189 Main Street site or the design.

Mr. Power has benefitted from a series of press exposes in recent weeks of alleged Republican Party illegally funded mailing sallies against him in his runoff election against Cass Cibelli in November 2006. The exposes (that rehash campaign events of a year ago) for some reason were not run in the press until now. Their effect is to portray Power as an unfairly targeted candidate by illegally funded mailings. Mr. Power has been cleared of any conflict of interest resulting from his county job which those mailings had targeted. The effect of the strangely belated exposes sets up Mr. Power as a sympathy candidate in this primary – paints him as a victim – (when he was criticized for comflict of interest at the time of the mailings) – and enhances his teddy bear image.

 Mr. Power despite the findings of no conflict of interest, continues to be reluctant to criticize county policies towards the homeless that affect White Plains and continues to ignore seeking solutions to sewage backups in White Plains due to incompatible county sewer pipes.

Mr. Power is employed by the Westchester County Department of Environmental Facilities. Presumably he might be a helpful ally, catalyst, or in the popular vernacular these days a “facilitator” in helping the Department of Public Works in White Plains and the County Department of Public Works work out a solution to the storm flooding problems which plague the Beverly Road area.  To date, he has not taken that initiative. With his experience at Westhab as director there, he would be uniquely positioned to develop  “facilitate” a White Plains homeless initiative perhaps in cooperation with the compassionate Mayor’s Office  to handle the Drop-In Shelter problem “dropped” by the county last week. But he has not.

The nominated candidates will attempt to campaign by not campaigning, because the more they say the more their opponents can react to them. While the challengers have to reach out and get some voters to vote for them.

The Primary will depend upon the challengers getting out to voters who will support them against the slate, and finding voters who will analyze the records of the incumbents vs. the promise, the criticisms, and the record of the challengers, and balance that against what they want their Common Councilpersons to do.

In the long analysis, the candidate who stands the most to lose if he does not oust a Dem in the primary is Mr. Bernstein. If he does not obtain an Independent line in the November election ballot, which is attempting to do, he is out if he loses the primary. Corcoran will have the Conservative Line in November.

Boykin, Power and Lecuona will have the Working Families line in November, even should Boykin, Power or Lecuona be squeezed out in the September 18 Primary.

The Democratic Party did not challenge Bernstein’s petitions, but did attempt to throw out Corcoran’s petitions, only to find out they were forbidden to do so by previous court decisions.

Rounding out the November Challengers presumably will be Robert Stackpole, another Democrat denied and Robert Levine, currently collecting signatures to appear on the Independent line in November.

The Republicans have nominated  Cass Cibelli, Anthony Pilla, Jr., and Augie Zicca to run in November for the three Council seats, but the Republican candidates appear not to have started their campaigns.