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.

Hits: 0

 

WPCNR THE PARKING NEWS. By John F. Bailey. June 6, 2007: The city of White Plains is undertaking a comprehensive thorough engineering inspection of the 27 year old Galleria garages, opened in 1980.

The survey came to light as a result of a minor structural failure, reported by the Department of Parking at the Galleria garage Monday. A flooding at a juncture, as described by a person who witnessed the cascade, was caused, according to Commissioner of Parking Albert Maloni was described as being the result of a precast double T intersection.

The Commissioner  said, “ What happened yesterday was the result of a precast double-T intersection located at the corner of a very heavily trafficked intersection, so to speak, where water intrusion problems over the years caused a minor structural failure. It could have been a big problem. We had a double-T fail like this in 1996, and it was repaired as this one will be in the exact same fashion, and it’s as good as new.”

WPCNR asked if this meant the garage was wearing out and needing replacing,or whether this was just routine problems.

“Absolutely not,” Moroni said.

The Commissioner revealed though that the city is taking no chances. Contrary to what was reported in the paper press, that Charles Sells Engineering was repairing the Double T break, it turns out the Charles Sells firm is undertaking a much larger job.

Moroni explained: “I’m not saying that there aren’t problems located throughout the garage. That’s why we’ve hired Charles Sells engineering firm They’re doing a comprehensive evaluation of both garages, the ramps, the staircases, the supporting beams. Everything there is to look at is being looked at, and we are going to take a look and see what we need to do. I would not want anybody to think that garage is not safe.”

WPCNR asked if the Galleria Garage would have to be reconstructed sometime soon.

Maroni said, “No. Not reconstructed. There are going to be repairs that are needed. Once we get the engineering firm comprehensive report, we’re going to chip away at those major issues (they uncover). Come July 1, we have in the capital program, $1.5 Million for relamping and relighting the entire garage and repainting the entire garage. We’re putting half a million dollars in multi-space meters into it, and we’ll put whatever money we need structurally. The bonds on that garage are paid off. It’s a major asset in the city economy.”

Hits: 0

 

WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL-CHRONICLE-EXAMINER. June 6, 2007: David Maloney, press spokesperson for the Mayor’s Office confirmed today exclusively to WPCNR that the opening of the Ritz-Carlton hotel scheduled for next fall is no longer tied to completed construction of the 24 affordable housing obligations attached to the previous city approval of the Ritz project.

Paul Wood, City Executive Officer,  Explains. In a statement, Paul Wood explained the approved delay in building and opening the affordable housing units until after the Ritz opened.

Maloney confirmed to WPCNR with the single word, “Yes” that  passage of Resolution Item 119 effectively paved the way for the Ritz to open without the affordable housing units being built that are required by that project. A resolution passed late Monday evening granted a one year extension of a site plan for  Cappelli Enterprises subsidiaries to build an 8-story, 42 unit “affordable housing” apartments at 240 Main Street which would satisfy Cappelli responsibility to build 24 units of affordable housing “in connection with the 221 Main (Ritz-Carlton project), and the 17 units Cappelli Enterprises still owes on the City Center project.

Paul Wood, City Executive Officer, explains the sequence of events in this manner: “The 240 Main Street extension request granted this week was necessitated by the Council support of the Pinnacle project.  In effect, the Council agreed to a tolling period in fairness to Cappelli of 9 months while he was forced to stand by while the Pinnacle project continued to try to put their project together.  Competition was not so good in this case because the Pinnacle failed to materialize and the eight story building proposed by Cappelli would have been built and occupied by now had he not been forced to wait.”

Asked why Cappelli Enterprises had not been asked for a bond in the amount of the estimate cost of constructing the entire building, (far more than $1.2 Million), Wood said that was all The Pinnacle had been asked for. However, WPCNR does not recall the amount of the bond The Pinnacle was asked for ever being made public.

A $1.2Million Guarantee

The resolution recognizes that Cappelli Enterprises has posted a $1.2 Million bond the city can “draw on…if LC White Plains LLC does not complete the Affordable Housing Requirement and obtain temporary or permanent certificates of occupancy for such 17 affordable units by August 31, 2008…”

Previously, members of the Common Council had stipulated as a condition of opening that the Ritz-Carlton could not receive Certificates of Occupancy until the affordables owed for that project were opened. This connection with affordable housing was, in effect, muddied when the Common Council was persuaded to allow Cappelli Enterprises to strike a deal with Ginsburg Development Corporation to build the affordable housing units for Cappelli Enterprises on the Ginsburg Pinnacle site on 240 Main Street. Ginsburg, previously expected to build the Pinnacle development, now described  in the resolution passed as having “not fulfilled its obligations and the responsibility reverts back to LC Main, LLC and LC White Plains, LLC” (Cappelli Enterprise operations). 

The resolution quietly passed Monday evening clears the way for a glitch-free opening of the Ritz-plex this fall without any affordable housing units opened.

Hits: 0

WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From County Board of Legislators. June 5, 2007:

 

Legislation Passed

 

Additional Enforcement Power to County’s Human Rights Commission

Expanded penalties include allowing: the imposition of punitive damages up to $10,000 in “willful, wanton or malicious” discrimination cases; the Commission’s Executive Director to impose civil penalties in cases the Director initiates; the assessment of civil penalties between $50,000 and $100,000, payable to the county, for serious cases of housing discrimination; a successful complainant to recover costs of pursuing a discrimination complaint.

 

Plumbing and Electrical Licensing Boards

Clarified: that the county’s Plumbing and Electrical Licensing Boards can continue to assess monetary fines against individuals or entities that violate the county’s licensing laws but the licensing boards have no authority regarding criminal matters other than to refer them to the district attorney’s office.

The legislation also gave the Board of Plumbing Examiners the authority to grant reciprocal licenses to plumbers licensed outside of Westchester. Current law already gives the Electrical Licensing Board the authority to grant reciprocal licenses.

 

Health and Dental Care for Westchester, Putnam and Rockland Residents with HIV/AIDS

Using a federal grant of $273,940, the County Board authorized that the county contract with Westchester Medical Center to provide primary and oral health care services for Westchester, Putnam and Rockland residents with HIV/AIDS for the period from March 1, 2007 through Feb. 29, 2008.

 

Yorktown Community Center Lease

County Board approved 5-year lease (no cost to county) for space in the Yorktown Community Center to be used as a satellite office for Department of Senior Programs and Services. 

 

Amendment to the County Pay Plan

The County Board approved an amendment to the County Pay Plan proposed by the County Executive that deleted and added certain titles and changed compensation for several positions. The total cost of the amendment is $105,471, funds already included in departments’ 2007 budget. 

 

Mortgage Tax Receipts

County Board approved the semi-annual distribution to cities, towns and villages of mortgage taxes that amounted to over $35 million for the period from October 1, 2006 through March 31, 2007.

 

Bond Acts Approved

• $3.1 million to upgrade the central heating plant at the Valhalla campus (Public Works)


• $500,000 to replace obsolete computer equipment (Dept of Information Technology)


• $1.2 million to upgrade desktop and laptop computers  (Dept of Information Technology)

Resolutions Passed

 

Indian Point License Renewal (16-0)

Entergy Corporation’s license to operate Indian Point 2 and 3 expire in 2013 and 2015, respectively. Entergy Corporation has asked the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to renew its license to operate the plants for another twenty years. The County Board’s resolution supports federal legislation (HR 2162-Nuclear Power Licensing Act of 2007) that would mandate that the criteria for a license renewal be the same as that required for a new plant.

 

Board of Legislators Staffing (16-0)

The resolution passed affirmed that as a legislative body, all BOL staff fall within the unclassified service category of the NYS Civil Service Law; deleted some staff titles; added titles that reflected current positions; adjusted salary levels for some titles; and, directed that the relevant county departments immediately effectuate the changes called for in the resolution.

 

Appointments approved to Westchester County Advisory Boards:

 

Women’s Advisory Board

×                       Judith Schwartz (White Plains) reappointed

 

Refuse Disposal District #1 Advisory Board

×                       Peter Ligouri (Greenburgh) reappointed as a town representative

×                       Rocco Circosta (Ossining) reappointed

×                       James W. Finch, Jr. (Mount Vernon) reappointed

 

Human Rights Commission

×                       Paul Ryan (Buchanan) reappointed

 

Fire Advisory Board

×                       David P. Klaus (Yorktown) reappointed

 

Hispanic Advisory Board

×                       Robin A. Bikkal (White Plains), reappointed as a member and chair

×                       Fernando Serratto (Ossining)

 

Domestic Violence Council

×                       Patricia Brimais (Chestnut Ridge)

×                       James Hoffnagle (Hastings-on-Hudson), as a representative from the County Probation Department

 

Citizen’s Consumer Advisory Council

×                       Paul Ryan (Ardsley), as Retail Food Merchant Representative

 

African American Advisory Board

×                       Claudett J. Stothart (White Plains)

 

 

For additional background information on any of the above items, please contact Betsy DeSoye at (914) 995-3277.

Hits: 0

WPCNR PHOTO OF THE DAY. By the WPCNR Roving Photographter. June 5, 2007: As indicated by rather obscure signage last week, the Longview Avenue and Maple Avenue municipal parking lot which serves the Dickstein Center and White Plains Hospital Center closed Monday, signaling the beginning of constructing a 5-story, 657-space parking facility to serve the Kensington Senior Assisted Living project and White Plains Hospital Center, about to begin construction on Maple Avenue and Cromwell Place.

Commissioner of Parking Albert Moroni said, “Our plan from the start was for those folks who have permits to park in the Chester Maple garage. We reconfigured some of the spots in Chester Maple and took away some of the meter spaces and created more permit spots. The only other options for daily commuter types is The Galleria-Lexington West Garage. (4 long blocks away), On any given day, there are 800 spaces available.”

Longview Maple Municipal Lot yesterday.

Photo by the WPCNR Roving Photographer.

 

Hits: 0

WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL CHRONICLE-EXAMINER. By John F. Bailey. June 5, 2007 UPDATED 1:45 AM WITH CAPPELLI STATEMENT ADDED: The Common Council unanimously indicated they were not in favor of granting Louis Cappelli Exclusive rights to develop the Train Station area for a hotel and three office buildings. After three hours and fifteen minutes, and the council indicating they would vote down the Exclusivity Agreement the Super Developer had spent an hour explaining the advantages to the city of such an agreement, Mr. Cappelli asked the council not to take a formal vote. He said he wanted “to withdraw and go silently into the night,” and said he realized the project, Station Square, was “not right.”  The council, under the leadership of Rita Malmud agreed to withdraw the resolution and not take a formal vote.  Mr. Cappelli stopped just short of saying, he was withdrawing the project altogether.

Louis Cappelli at 12:15 AM this morning, contritely asking the council to not vote, that he wished to withdraw his proposal for an exclusivity agreement after the Council unanimously indicated they would not grant the Exclusvity Agreement with Ms. Malmud even saying “White Plains is not ready for this project.”  The Super Developer delivered a 55 minute presentation promising $3 Million in studies and analysis to help the city decide what can be built on the train station site.  He pointed to the money (approximately $200 Million) a similar Exclusivity Agreement he has with the City of Yonkers has brought to that city. The council heard 26 speakers, with residents of Battle Hill decidedly for the project, and about 13 against the Exclusivity Agreement. Mr. Cappelli at this point in the evening asked to “withdraw quietly into the night”.

Cappelli said he respected all the comments of the 26 persons who spoke. Councilman Arnold Bernstein, Councilman Glenn Hockley, Council President Malmud, and Councilman Benjamin Boykin all said they had received the most e-mail from citizens on the Station Square project of any issue they had ever encountered, most of it against the concept of granting Mr. Cappelli exclusivity rights.

Mayor Delfino grumpily told the council he wished they had indicated they were not happy with the project when it was first shown to them six weeks ago.

North Street Community Waits Some More.

In other action, the council continued again the North Street Community hearing because certain documents were not completed, and that all information had to be in to inform the neighbors, moving the hearing to the July meeting. It was unusual since North Street Community, it was widely believed expected to have approval this evening.

Dump fine Sketchy.

The city also approved complying to a Order of Consent with the Department of Environmental Conservation regarding the longstanding toxic contamination of the City dump, without explaining the terms of the consent order, but the Mayor did say the city has an outstanding relationship with the DEC. The city according to sketchy backup material has to pay $2,000 of an undisclosed amount the DEC proposes as a fine. That amount was not made public by the city even though asked by WPCNR what the total amount was. According to the backup material,  “the Order on Consent maintains that certain pollutants were discovered at the site during the course of investigations, and that further investigation is required to fully define and delineate the horizontal and vertical extent of contamination, and assesses a civil penalty requiring the City now to pay Two thousand dollars, suspending the remainder pending compliance with the proposed Order on Consent, ” with no further explanation.

The Cappelli Statement follows:

Rita Malmud, President of the Common Council, in her statement said Mr. Cappelli had focused her attention on an area of the city she had not thought of before, but said that the comments she received from residents on the issue indicated that the residents of the city wanted their “suburban-city,” remain more “suburban,” than “city.” Malmud said she wanted the council to focus on their own personal visions of the city, saying,

“I would like to see what strategies or policies or plannings the seven members of our White Plains government can discuss for an attractive inviting prosperous suburban environment in our city as inevitable change creeps or ushes towards us. White Plains is not ready now to sign off on any legislation commiting us to what is a longterm, expensive and expansive new direction.We need to think more before we act.”

After this from Ms. Malmud,  followed by Councilmen Boykin, Hockley and Bernstein also voicing their opposition, Mr. Cappelli asked to speak. The Mayor granted him the floor and Mr. Cappelli all but withdrew his Station Square proposal, saying,

“First of all, I’d like to address my comments to the people in the audience and the people on camera. If it’s one thing I’ve learned through ten years of development it’s to listen. I absolutely have learned how to listen.To wit, being so fortunate to have some success in some of these cities, the last thing I want to be is the cause of devisiveness. The last thing I want to do is to come forth with a proposal that causes people to have a controversy, because it just doesn’t make sense any more. We’ve worked very hard, everybody here, the council and everybody in the City of White Plains. We’ve worked very very hard to do what we think is good for White Plains, the City Center and the Ritz-Carlton.

I’ve also learned how also to read the tea leaves, and at the end of the day I would really prefer to go silently into the night and preserve my otherwise perfect record with the City of White Plains.

I appreciate every comment that I’ve heard from everybody here. I obviously wasn’t that good a salesman. I do believe everything I said. I do have tremendous passion for what’s happening in the city, in fact, I’m moving my headquarters here. I do respect highly everything I’ve heard from everybody here. And this suggestion, this proposal we have is obviously not right. It’s clearly not right. While there’s been many many pro speakers tonight, here that have been for this, and appreciate all that, and I appreciate all the people who are not for it. I respectfully, to Councilman Malmud, would like to withdraw and go silently into the night the resolution that you have on the floor to vote.

At the end of the day, I’ve heard everybody’s comments. I don’t need the formality of the vote, to know that this proposal while well thought about and passionate on our part is also equally passionate on your part. My preference would be to withdraw this resolution, not come back and ask for it in a different fashion. Simply let the process take its course.”

He seemed to leave the door open to the possibilities of tweaking the project with this reference:

“If something we’ve done here have caused focus to be on this train station project and has caused you to be able to figure out if there’s another way to do this, or if you want to do it at all, then the money that we spent was well spent. It will be my pleasure to have spent it in the furtherance of the City of White Plains.”