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 COMMON COUNCIL-CHRONICLE EXAMINER. May 26, 2007: The President of the White Plains Common Council, in a statement sent to the six other Common Council members and shared with WPCNR acknowledged today that she was told in April  of the Louis Cappelli Station Plaza mega complex proposed for the White Plains Metro North station district before it was publicly presented to the council in the May 10 work session.

White Plains Common Council President Rita Malmud: Admits she knew about Station Square in April, but does not give a specific date.

The model of Station Square on the site of the White Plains Transit Center, Parking Garage. In the foreground is The Galleria. Ms. Malmud Admits She Knew About It All the Way.

In Malmud’s statement, she defends to other Common Council members the policy of  not voting the Exclusivity Agreement outright Thursday evening, because doing so would have prematurely killed the Exclusivity option without the public being afforded the chance to hear about it in the more widely viewed forum of the regularly scheduled monthly Council meeting June 4.

. Ms. Malmud’s statement:

” Last month I was apprised of the Capelli organization’s proposal to develop Station Plaza.  At that time I received no written documents and never received anything in writing until the Council Work Session (May 10) where the notebook of photos and drawings were distributed.   I received the proposed Exclusivity Agreement last Tuesday (May 22).

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WPCNR Common Council-Chronicle Examiner. By John F. Bailey. May 25, 2007:  Councilman Benjamin Boykin told WPCNR Friday morning, that he and several other Councilpersons had seen the drawings of Louis Cappelli’s giant Station Square project, including learning of the need for an Exclusivity Agreement to negotiate with the city,  about six weeks before the May 10 Work Session when Cappelli formally presented it to the Common Council.

Louis Cappelli presenting Station Square on May 10. Council appeared very surprised and stunned by the presentation. But they shouldn’t have been. Five of the 6 saw drawings 6 to 10 weeks prior according to Paul Wood, City Executive Officer, and Councilman Benjamin Boykin.

Paul Wood, City Executive Officer released a statement to WPCNR unsolicited today stating emphatically that all members of the Council with the exception of Dennis Power had been shown the drawings on the proposal two months before May 10. This is the second time the Council has done this to us, Wood says in the statement, feigning ignorance and surprise when a critical item is put forward for a vote.

 Boykin told WPCNR this morning that after seeing the drawings sometime between March 10 and April 10, he was receptive to the Exclusivity Agreement,  but he did not receive a copy of the Exclusivity Agreement until Tuesday evening, 48 hours before Thursday evening’s vote.

Boykin advised WPCNR Friday morning that he was one of those council people who had seen the drawings in late March to early April. Boykin did not recall the date. He did not recall the other councilmen who had seen “the drawings.”

Asked by WPCNR why the Council, if they had known about the proposal for the better part of two months, would not have voted down the Exclusivity Resolution outright Thursday evening, rather than taking the tabling action, Boykin said he wanted the full proposal aired in public at the June 4 meeting when the Exclusivity Resolution would be explained in public by Cappelli executives.

Actually, the council had the opportunity to have that very explanation Thursday evening on live television for the public to see, but the Mayor prevented Mark Weingarten, the well-known Cappelli attorney,  and Bruce Berg, Louis Cappelli’s aide-de-camp,  from stepping to the podium to speak on the Exclusivity Agreement for some reason.

Boykin said the reason he was prepared to vote against the Exclusivity Agreement last night was that he had not seen the text of the Exclusivity Resolution until Tuesday night. The original presentation was made to the council May 10.  Boykin also said the Exclusivity Agreement had the effect of committing the council to the project.

Asked if the Council would demand a monetary fee for the Exclusivity favor to Mr. Cappelli, Boykin did not say. It is also not known why, if the council was not prepared to vote on it, why the Council President Rita Malmud would allow it to be placed on the agenda

Paul Wood detailed the sequence of the birth of the Station Square project in this statement released to WPCNR today:

In the interest the record John, I offer the following:

Louis Cappelli approached the administration a few months ago (6 months) to discuss some concepts regarding the train station, office development, and some city-owned parcels in that section of town.

A couple of months ago, (March 10 to April 10) Louis presented his plan to the Mayor and administration officials and asked for feedback.  The plan was then subsequently shown to each Council Member none of whom voiced any opposition to the “concept,” but all agreed that the proposal would face much more scrutiny should the plan move forward.  The only Council Member not to view the proposal was Dennis Power, who declined an invitation from the Mayor’s Office to do so, prior to Mr. Cappelli’s presentation at the work session. (May 10)

It was Mr. Cappelli, not the administration, who asked that the matter be put on for a vote on May 24.  We acted on his request and the council “tabled” the item, thus halting any discussion and preventing Mr. Cappelli’s representatives from discussing the issues related to it, at that meeting.

Let’s be clear, the Mayor in his Economic Development Plans Two and Three had already articulated a vision for this section of the downtown, one very similar to the Cappelli proposal.  But the City was not actively seeking to market the city-owned parcels at this time.

Mr. Cappelli had a very creative idea regarding this section of the City, coupled that with the realities of the office market at this time and brought a unique proposal to the City.  No other developers have approached the City in recent history regarding the city-owned parcels in question.  Mr. Cappelli, asked the City simply to give him a period of time (in this case seven months) to protect his “intellectual property,” or creative vision for the area, by not acting to move on the parcels in question.

It seemed a fair proposal.  Why would any developer with a creative vision and the track record of completion that he has had in White Plains, spend several hundred thousand dollars to develop the vision into a concrete proposal only to have someone else highjack the idea and offer the City something else.

Again, the City was NOT actively engaged in marketing the parcels at this time.  In order for the City to do so, it would require the City to go to the expense of undertaking studies, appraisals, and other preparatory work in order to develop a concrete proposal for the area.

Mr. Cappelli did show his proposal to the executive board of the Battle Hill Association at meeting earlier this week.  The representatives of the Association were very receptive and open to the idea, especially to the new train station that would be included in the plan.

In any case, the proposal was not being “rushed” in any way by the administration and the “exclusivity agreement” had nothing to do with approving the resulting project.  It only would have enabled the developer to refine his creative vision into a concrete proposal without the fear of the idea being “ripped off” by someone else for seven months.  At the end of that period he would return with a plan that the Mayor and Council could accept and work with or reject.

I also need to defend the administration which is attacked routinely as being engaged in “secret” negotiations and “springing” things upon the  Council.  The Council was informed of Mr. Cappelli’s idea shortly after the administration became aware of it, and was briefed on it. 

This is the second time in recent months when the Council was involved in the development of a proposal (the other being the most recent New York Hospital proposal for parkland)  at nearly the same time as the administration.  In both cases, the Mayor was then left out of discussions the council members then subsequently had before the issues were brought to the floor.

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WPCNR CAMPAIGN 2007. May 25, 2007: Marc Pollitzer, the perpetual activist turned activism into action Thursday, when he opened up his campaign for the Common Council with Robert Levine and Robert Stackpole by inviting all of White Plains to his North Street Area Civic Association Annual Meeting June 20, from 7:30 to all hours for citizens to hear four community leaders on the future of White Plains. The meeting will be at Ridgeway School in White Plains and the topic will be When Did We Lose White Plains and How Do We Get It Back? 

Marc Pollitzer, longtime addessor of the Common Council — sponsors communitywide meeting June 20 to galvanize the issues.

The Civic Association meeting will feature his running mates, Robert Stackpole and Robert Levine,  and Dr. Saul Yanofsky, former Superintendent of Schools and former Planning Commissioner Mike Graessle. The four speakers will address four issues facing the city:  Fiscal Responsibility (Stackpole), Protecting Our Neighborhoods (Graessle), City/School Interdependence (Yanofsky), and Comprehensive Planning (Levine).

Citzens Plan Committee, January 13, 2005 — at a town meeting at Ridgeway School when the “CPC” first energized, attracting some 200 persons to a meeting on “Where is White Plains Headed.” Dr. Saul Yanofsky is seen addressing the throng, while John Kilpatrick, Mike Graessle and Robert Stackpole, (left to right) look on. Photo, WPCNR News Archive.

The “Big 4” city personalities Pollitzer has put together for the panel created the Citizens Plan Committee in 2004 that drove city to reexamine its 1997 Comprehensive Plan, but were not given a hand in being part of the Mayor’s panel that wrote the review of the 1997 Comprehensive Plan.

Pollitzer writes in the flyer advertising the meeting: “We encourage all residents in the North Street community to attend this annual meeting.The preservation of the residential character of our neighborhood, which drew us all here, is dependent upon our show of concern and support. Be an activist in protecting the value of your property and the quality of life in our community.”

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WPCNR CAMPAIGN 2007. Exclusive One-on-One Interview with Robert Stackpole. May 24, 2007: Robert Stackpole, spearheading the three man assault on the White Plains Common Council when he confirmed he and Robert Levine and Marc Pollitzer were going challenge in November for the three Council seats, charged the city has been mismanaged and the Common Council had condoned the decisions that have resulted in escalating taxes and budget shortfalls through favored treatment of developers at the expense of taxpayers. In an interview with WPCNR today, Stackpole expanded on why he and his running mates are launching the campaign:

Robert Stackpole appearing on television during the last Common Council, brandishing the city budget.

WPCNR: What is Your First Step?

Robert Stackpole: The first step is to get our act together and get an organization developed around the process of getting petitions signed and the whole mechanics of the election process. None of us have ever done this before. Since we’re not an organized party, it is going to take the help of a lot of other people to be gathered up and assist us in the process. If people want to help us they can contact me, Mr. Levine, or Mr. Pollitzer.

WPCNR: What exactly made you three decide to run?

Stackpole: We’d (he, Levine and Pollitzer) been talking long before I made the attempt in the Democratic Party to be involved as a Democrat, and felt that by observation of the Democrats’ process, from our analysis,  (the process) was preconceived  (as to) who they wanted to be the new candidate on the team if they dropped  (Arnold) Bernstein.

I was told by the senior officials of the Democratic Party that they wanted a woman who was Hispanic and basically had the profile of the person they picked. I think it was basically an unfair process in the midst of the mechanical things of how they were going to do it.

Most of these nomination votes have been by ballot vote, and they elected to have a voice vote (the night of the decision). This surprised most because that would make sure that those people who would bolt the official nomination would now be exposed in public. There would not be a private vote. After the vote was taken, they went back to it being private again.

It turned out to be a very unhappy situation in terms of fairness to those who were seeking to have a democratic vote. It turned out it was not so, because they put a lot of pressure on people to vote from the field for the slate. They got the District Leaders to vote the way they wanted them to vote.

WPCNR: Would you say you were disillusioned by this?

Stackpole: I was very much disillusioned by the party process. I felt, if anything, they should be the pinnacle of fairness and openness and a good debate so you arrive at the best conclusion so you feel you’ve been treated fairly.

WPCNR: What will you be campaigning on?

Stackpole: The first and foremost issue is the financial health of  the city and its transparency, the discussions about what’s on the minds of most of the residents of White Plains who pay taxes that with all the publicity and promises of the golden halo of all this development downtown would be a financial panacea for the city’s long term financial health. Well, it’s not turned out that way.

The Mayor admitted in public at one of these last council meetings it’s going to take 10 or 15 years before we see the fruits of what’s going on downtown. Well, that’s obscene. If you’re going to giveaway 10 or 15 years of financial health to the city because you want to get this stuff done, most of us aren’t going to be here in the next 10 or 15 years, what is the legacy for the next generation to come to White Plains. That to me is a false hope. Wait until tomorrow? We have to pay for it today.

At the same, the school system is getting shortchanged in its ability to finance its own operations with severe raising of taxes. They have their own problems. You have to look at the city as a unit, and not in part. Education is one of the most important civic duties we have.

WPCNR: Are you against development?

STACKPOLE: Not against development per se. We have no agenda about putting a moratorium on development. Again we’re being forced into a situation where the Mayor in closed discussions with Mr. Cappelli have arrived at some design of the transportation center and what can be done down there without the input well he’s going to say, now we’re going to have discussions with the public. At the same time, during this initial phase, there should have been more input from the Common Council, which was left out I’m sure, the people who believe we’re creating a glass wall against other areas, Battle Hill and North Broadway.

There doesn’t seem to be a plan that the city has in mind. We wait for a developer. And it seems to be Mr. Cappelli again. Is he the only guy with any money? I think it’s going to make such a mess of an attempt at rebuilding that part of the city that it ought to open to other creative thinkers in the real estate field. Mr. Cappelli shouldn’t have an exclusivity on this (station area). It should be open to see what other items there are. I’m not sure what he is proposing is the best design for that part of the city. We have a small city and a very crowded area to stuff all the stuff in.

WPCNR:  How could the city could be better managed financially?

 Stackpole: We have already started studying a number of options that would give a broader base to the taxes on our real estate, but we have to look at other revenue sources instead of raising fines and parking fees. That’s a lose-lose situation, over the long term because you’ll be chasing more people away from the city rather than inviting them in.  You have to look at other creative ways to bring money to the city. I think that’s going to be a big issue.

The fact that the Mayor has discovered the other side of the negative of a PILOT that we lose the asset, we talked about this three years ago at our first Ridgeway meeting (of the Citizens Plan Committee). In the last two months now he’s discovered we lose the asset to the county. Where was he 10 years ago when there was an opportunity to bring an IDA to White Plains.  Mount Vernon got one. New Rochelle got one. Yonkers got one, Peekskill has one. Why weren’t we doing it when all this development was going on?

WPCNR: You’re thinking of participating in the North Street Civic Association Meeting June 20?

Stackpole: We ‘re in the stages of giving the public a chance not just us preaching to the public, but I believe the best politics is grass roots and if you have the citizenry voice their opinions about development, schools, taxes, you begin to get the meat and potatos of the campaign of why you would want to run, and why you wanted to spend the time helping the city recover from a very bad 10 years of all one way.

WPCNR:What’s next on your agenda?

Stackpole: We have some time, there’s no need to make a 100 yard dash at one point.  We have an organization to develop. There’s a need to develop intelligent position papers on these issues, not operate off  the cuff. Our approach has to be straightforward honest and heartfelt.

The city has been mismanaged with the help of the Council. They’ve been partners in this.

WPCNR: How are you going to reach out to the minorities who, in this reporter’s opinion, have been excluded in the election process?

Stackpole: This is one city. I’ve always resisted putting people in little boxes saying you’re Hispanic, you’re black, you’re Catholic. First, you’re a citizen. You should be colorblind and treat everybody equally. If some decides to leave someone out they’re just missing one of the big points of Democracy that everybody is part of the process that they should be reached talked to and convinced to be participants.

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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. By John F. Bailey. May 24, 2007:  A total of 61% of White Plains Eighth Graders passed State English Language Arts Test in 2006-2007, slightly better than the 58% of New York State 8^th Graders who passed the tests.  The results of the 2007 tests were made public Tuesday in a news conference of the New York State Education Department. The 2006 White Plains Middle School Eighth Graders passed at a rate of 58% so there is slight improvement in the way Mr. and Ms. Teen White Plains are reading when they hit high school.

The performance of the White Plains’ 2007  509 eighth graders declined over four years from when they were fourth graders in 2002-2003 when 68% of them passed the fourth grade English Language Arts Achievement Test. This trend reflects the problem across the state of declining English skills as students progress through the Middle School. The above State Report Card Chart for 2002-2003 shows how this year’s 8th Grade White Plains students did on English Language Arts in 2002-2003.

The State Education Department is pleased with this year’s ELA results in Middle School, as a corner seems to have been turned. According to the news release, “Achievement in grade 3 to 8 English has improved overall…Grades 6 to 8 improved. Grade 6 increased by 2.8%, grade 7 by 1.4% and Grade 8 increased by 7.7% statewide.

The state results on the testing of White Plains Middle Schoolers show 64% of 7^th Graders passed the ELA, and 66% of sixth Graders passed. The vast majority of the students passing though are in the Level 3 category. Meanwhile in the 5 elementary schools the passing rate on the English Language Achievement Tests through 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th grades, respectively are 68%, 69% and 66.3% which plummet to 61% by eighth grade, despite five years of attention to the problem.

The 3rd grade to 8th grade results provided at this time by the State Education Department do not break out the district scores across the state on an ethnic basis.