Mayor Delivers Meals to Shut-Ins.

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WPCNR CITY HALL TICKER. From Meals-on-Wheels, White Plains.  March 21, 2007: As part of Mayors for Meals, a national campaign designed to call attention to the importance of Meals-on-Wheels programs in communities throughout the country, White Plains Mayor Joseph Delfino delivered meals today to homebound residents of the city. By participating in Mayors for Meals, the Mayor demonstrated the crucial role Meals-on-Wheels of White Plains and its more than 120 volunteers play by distributing nearly 34,000 meals each year to those who are unable to shop or cook for themselves due to aging, injury or illness.

 

After arriving at White Plains High School at 11:00 AM, the Mayor was  briefed on Meals-on-Wheels of White Plains’ operations by Susanna Sussman, Meals-on-Wheels of White Plains’ Executive Director. The pair then left to deliver meals to eight people on Route One, which includes the Battle Hill and Fisher Hill neighborhoods of White Plains.

 

“Mayor Delfino has been a long-time supporter of Meals-on-Wheels of White Plains,” says Susanna Sussman, Executive Director, Meals-on-Wheels of White Plains. “This is the second year that Mayor Delfino has joined this effort, and we are so pleased to have him on board. His participation in this event helps to draw attention to the vital role that our program plays in White Plains as well as the crucial role of our dedicated corps of volunteers.”

 

 

The Mayors for Meals campaign, led by the Meals on Wheels Association of America, involved more than 600 Mayors across the United States. Meals-on-Wheels of White Plains began delivering meals to homebound residents of White Plains in 1979. Volunteers currently deliver meals to about 75 people each weekday seven routes spanning the city. Meals are also delivered to a smaller number of individuals on Saturdays. For more information about Meals-on-Wheels of White Plains, or to volunteer, please visit  http://www.mowwp.org, e-mail mowwp@yahoo.com, or call 914-946-6878.

 

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WP Gas Prices Escalate to $3 a Gallon in 2 Weeks. Consumer Pro Can’t Stop Rise.

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WPCNR Gasoline Alley. By John F. Bailey. March 20, 2007. UPDATED 3:20 PM EDT: It has been two weeks since Westchester County surveyed White Plains service stations in their monthly gasoline price survey.  On March 6, those prices averaged about $2.73 a gallon. Two weeks later they have ratcheted up  as high as $2.89 a gallon for regular octane, and over $3 for high test. The Department of Consumer Protection has no legal recourse to stop the  seasonal cash grab at the pumps, WPCNR has learned.



Mugging at Gasoline Alley: Gas prices in White Plains are up 10 to 20 cents in two weeks. A spokesman for the American Petroleum Institute attributed part of the increase to a $6 increase per barrel in the cost of crude oil within the last two weeks. Photo, WPCNR News.




As of March 6 in the County Capitol City, the most inexpensive place to fill up was Petro Plaza  at $2.589 for regular at 592 North Broadway Plaza, and the most expensive was Getty at 190 Aqueduct Road at $2.71.9 for regular.


But the pennies per gallon have been going up all over town and county for two weeks.  The WPCNR Mobile Unit payed $2.88 for regular  in White Plains this weekend, at a station which was charging $2.70 a gallon two weeks ago. In contrast prices in eastern Connecticut Monday for regular right off I-95 in Milford – a 45 minute drive east — were $2.55 for regular.


Refinery Fires and summer gas switch



Gary Brown of the Westchester County Department of Consumer Protection said he was afraid there would be more price increases ahead as the spring and summer travel season approached. Just how much prices went up in White Plains and elsewhere will be determined by the April Consumer Protection Department gas survey.


Brown said the  10 to 20 cent rises were due to a combination of two refinery fires on the west coast restricting supply occurring at the same time refineries were transferring to the summer blends of gasoline which have ethanol added  to reduce emissions. He called this an “unfortunate combination of circumstances.” He also said Gulf of Mexico refining capacities were still not at full-strength.


The North County Times in San Diego reported February 28 on its website that a refinery fire at a Chevron facility in Northern California and a Valero Refinery in Texas causedf partial production shutdown last month. Prices in  San Diego are now at $2.81 a gallon — comparable to the White Plains increases we are seeing.  The national average was $2.38 a gallon as of this week.


The API Institute Clarifies


The American Petrolium Institute in a news article published today, said the nation’s crude oil inventories fell 3 per cent due to a rise in gasoline demand of 4.5% over last year. The API reports that “scheduled maintenance and preparation for a switch to summer blend fuels pushed capacity utilization to fall to 85.4% — but said gasoline production was at an all-time high for February, 5.2 million barrels a day.


Ron Planting, a spokesperson for the API told WPCNR today that the fires and seasonal maintenance had diminished California capacity to 72%, but said that did not directly affect New York prices. He attributed the cost to two factors: the price of crude oil has moved from $50 to $56 a barrel in the last two weeks, and the cost of additives in the summer gasoline formula.


In January, he said, light crude was $60 a barrel. It declined to $50 in February, and now has gone up to $56 in the last 14 days.


He said that at this time of year gasoline is reformulated to reduce the rate at which it evaporates. To do that, Planting said, you have to take out octane and replace it with another ingredient. 


 He thought at the present trend of oil futures in April that the 10 to 15 cents to the cost per gallon we are seeing was in line with the price trend that coincides with reformulation process that takes place at this time of year. 


He said New York got most of its supply of gasoline, jet fuel, heating oil and diesel fuel via the Colonial pipeline from the Gulf of Mexico.  He said that the API’s most recent survey showed the Gulf supplies were running at 91% of capacity.


Can’t stop the Penny Flow.


Asked how service stations can raise prices on fuel already delivered and in their  storage tanks, based on anticipated prices, Brown said the County Department of Consumer Protection is powerless to step in under normal market conditions that apparently exist at this time.


Brown, speaking to WPCNR Monday said that gasoline prices in New York state are “basically unregulated,” and charges of gas gouging can only be brought under New York State business law if it can be proved that a gasoline station raised prices excessively “during any abnormal disruption of the market,”  meaning catastrophic disruption of the market.


The Attorney General of the State of New York did bring charges against My Service Center, Inc., of New Rochelle in 2005 and won its case in August of 2006,  using Westchester County’s Department of Consumer Protection paperwork and records, proving gas gouging in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Brown said.


The Gas Gouger Law Limits Gouge Reach.


The charges were brought under New York General Business Law 396-R and Executive Law 63 (12). The statute defines “abnormal disruption of the market”  to “mean any change in the market, whether actual or imminently threatened, resulting from stress of weather, convulsion of nature, failure or shortage of electrical power or other source of energy…” 


Gouger Not Required to Return Excessive Profits to State.


The Supreme Court of New York found for the Attorney General directing My Service Center, Inc. to pay the Attorney General’s Office a civil penalty of $2,000 – and the amount of the excess profit it generated by price gouging, Judge Lippman finding that “Without question, Hurricane Katrina created an abnormal disruption of the market as to trigger application of these protective provisions.”


However all the service station had to pay was the $2,000 amount because Judge Lippman  determined the consumers who purchased the “gouged gas” were impossible to locate.


Mr. Brown was asked why prosecute gas gouging if the offending service station was not going to be forced to repay their windfall profit. Brown said the station was also placed under an injunction not to price gouge in the future, and if they did they would be subject to more severe civil penalties.


The case considering it only cost the gas station $2,000 (including costs plus their own legal costs) for the state to prosecute it shows how much gas stations are profiting on every gallon, and this case is based on 2005 prices.


Pennies Per Gallon Profit Margin Is a Lot of Pennies.


Judge Lippman’s decision is instructive in showing just how much gasoline retailers mark up their wholesale gasoline.


Lippman based his decision on the GBL 396 language defining  price gouging as either “that the amount of the excess in price is unconscionably extreme; or that there was an exercise of unfair leverage or from unconscionable mean; or a combination of both factors…”


My Service Center, the court papers note, contended its prices “are only relative to the prices it receives the Exxon distributor, which on average are substantially higher than competing brands of lesser quality.” My Service Center,  said, the papers report, it “normally profits 8-10 cents per gallon but “increased the profit margin based upon the anticipated steady price increase from the supplier during the period leading up to and after Hurricane Katrina.”


However, based on Westchester County documents and invoices, the court determined that  


 “it is evident respondent (My Service Center) hiked its retail price to maintain its inflated profit margin, i.e., the difference in the price it paid its supplier and the pump price, subsequent to Hurricane Katrina. For example, immediately prior to Katrina, respondent’s per gallon profit margin was 67 cents, an amount, the Court notes, is in excess of its (My Service Center’s) asserted typical 8-10 cengt margin, which margin then jumped to a high of 99 cents a gallon on September 1, 2005. What this translates (ed) to is a retail pump price of $3.45 per gallon for fuel respondent purchased only the day before from its supplier for $2.46 per gallon. On September 7, 2005, the retail price at respondent’s station was $3.62, yielding respondent a per gallon profit of 88 cents based on its supplier’s wholesale price of $2.74 on September 3, 2005. Petitioner (Attorney General) declares that respondent’s assertion that its supplier’s price point justifies its elevated margin rings hollow in the face of these figures. Thus, petitioner categorically asserts that respondent’s price increases in the post-Katrina days run afoul of the GLB’s and Executive Law consumer protection prohibition. The court agrees.”


The court in denying reimbursement of such excessive profits notes there were no invoices or receipts supplied “to calculate the amount of excess profits subject to disgorgement.”


Brown told WPCNR though the county has no power to regulate gas prices, its monitoring of gas prices serves to give consumers a way to find the lowest gas prices. WPNCR did exactly that last night, refueling the Mobile Unit for $2.76 at Shell on North Broadway as opposed to the robber baron who was charging $2.89 a gallon less than a mile away.


Going to the County Department of Consumer Protection gas survey will show you the current price range of stations in White Plains as of March 6.


The gas price survey may be viewed at http://www.westchestergov.com/consumer/

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District: Budget At Contingency Level Now.Hockley Would Offer Sales Tax $$$

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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. By John F. Bailey. March 19, 2007: In the public hearing on the City School District Budget last night, the school district acknowledged that even were the school budget voted down May 16,  the contingency budget enacted would be slightly more than the district is proposing ($173.9M).  Councilman Glen Hockley responding to anguish over the school district dwindling tax receipts, suggested that the city would consider giving the school district a share of the city sales tax receipts in exchange for input on how the school budget is spent.



Public Hearing on the Budget: About 15 citizens attended. Photos, WPCNR News


 


 


The gathering of approximately 20 persons, (including councilmen Glen Hockley and Dennis Power, and council nominee candidates,  Robert Stackpole and Don Hughes), asked questions on salary and benefits, but did not raise the question of what cuts, if any the district had made in administration personnel. 


Superintendent of Schools Timothy Connors began the meeting saying the Board continues to review the budget for last minute cuts (there have been none since last week), but also pointed that the White Plains budget increase (4.82%) is the lowest in the area.



Chart showing White Plains coming in at lowest budget increase in Southern Westchester. Column on right is the commensurate tax rate increase.


Fred Seiler Assistant Superintendent for Business, put up a chart showing  White Plains to be the lowest budget increase among districts in Southern Westchester. When asked for identities of other districts, Seiler said the districts gave the information under condition of anonymity.  A citizen pointed out that though White Plains had the lowest budget to budget increase, it had by far the largest tax rate increase (8.34%), and the other districts had tax increase rates at or below their budget rate increases. Asked why that was, Seiler said it was because assessment rolls in those other districts were rising while the White Plains roll was declining ($6.3 Million this year).


Why City Condos and PILOTS aren’t working.


Robert Stackpole raised the issue of the value of city PILOTS and how low condominium projects are assessed  compared to individual homes.  Stackpole gave the City Center project, The Lofts condominiums, as an example of this, saying that the total property taxes paid by the owners of Lofts condominiums was only $35,000 total for twenty or so units. After the meeting, he cited one example to WPCNR of a person he knew who bought a $750,000 Lofts condominium and whose property tax was only $2,500. (The owner of a $750,000 home, in contrast pays about $10,000 in property taxes.) Bill Pollack, school board member, explained that real property law prohibited condominium project owners from being taxed on the full real estate value of the individual condominium units, in addition to the “revenue” from their building.


 



Mr. Seiler (shown above), supported Stackpole’s interpretation, and agreed that due to the real property law, the assessment of a condominium building is not figured the same way as the value of a rental building, though the building may be owned by an individual, the individual units are purchased and are taxed differently, and not figured into the assessment value of the building.


Seiler’s point appeared to this reporter to be that the owner of a condominium building pays out far less in property taxes than a rental or an individual homeowner does, and the school district and city do not make up the difference from the individual condominium unit buyers.


PILOTs do not keep pace with Assessment Plunge.


Seiler said the school District lost $6.3 million off the assessment roll this year, and that PILOTS, despite the city’s public statements that PILOTS paid to the city offset the loss in city taxes caused by the drop in assessments, that the PILOT increase to the School District, ($1.6 Million) “never will offset that loss,” ($10.8 Million in tax revenues). ($291.8 Million times the $37 increase in the tax rate).


 


Seiler said he needed to get from the city a breakdown of how many commercial property owners and homeowners paid at lower and higher rates, respectively. Stackpole volunteered to the CitizeNetReporter  walking out to the parking lot, that if the present trends continue, the school district would be looking at a tax rate of  $700 per thousand dollars of assessed valuation, instead of the present $480.80 per thousand in this year’s proposed budget.


City Needs to Share, Resident Says. Hockley Offers Sales Tax Aid


 The discussion of PILOTS lead to the most acrimonious exchange of the evening. A resident, Nina Kimenker was the most vocal critic, saying that the Board of Education had done “a good job” of controlling costs, but that the problem lay with the city for not sharing sales tax receipts with the district.


 Councilman Glen Hockley (defending the city), said the sales tax and city property taxes “all come out of the same pocket.” Kimenker shot back that “when the city can help it does not. You must share taxes.”


Hockley, in a statement that shocked the audience,  made the proposal that he felt the city would be willing to share sales tax with the School District if the city could have “a say” in how the district budget was spent. Mr. Connors headed this conversation off at the pass, saying, “let’s stick to the school budget.”


Earlier, Councilman Hockley said the decline in assessments is partly due to the equalization rate, and suggested the school district higher a grant writer to acquire funding to contribute to running operations. Superintendent Connors pointed out  that grants in general on the federal and state levels are for specific new programs, and cannot be used to fund operating budgets. Nevertheless, Hockley suggested hiring the grant writer on a contingency fee basis. Connors said the district has acquired grants for many of its new academic programs.


Salary Curiosity


It was asked if salary negotiations were figured into the budget, and if they were, what would happen if the settlement called for higher amount than the district had planned for. Connors said the Board would have to make changes or cuts elsewhere to accommodate the settlement. Asked if he felt a settlement with the teachers would be settled before the budget vote (in May), Connors said he was not optimistic. No one raised the question of what the district was working on to make the settlement (for the next three years).  Connors said last week the district was attempting to negotiate on the teachers paying more of their health benefits.


Another resident criticized the district for spending more per student that a much larger district, New Rochelle.  Connors explained this was because New Rochelle had larger class sizes, “our tax base is less,” and our major issue is “loss of revenue.”


At Contingency Levels Now.


The question was asked how much would the budget be cut if it was defeated. Seiler noted that it could rise only by the rate of inflation plus new debt service which would be about 5%, slightly more than the proposed budget increase of 4.82%, plus a 2.3% increase in the tax rate, meaning the tax rate increase would stay the same at 8.34% and no savings to the taxpayer would result from defeating the budget.


Asked if the district was mandated by a contingency budget to cut specific activities such as music, sports or extra curricular activities, Seiler said they were not, that what they would cut was at the discretion of the School District.


The CitizeNetReporter asked Mr. Seiler after the hearing had ended how many personnel had been cut. Seiler said none, saying three new persons had been added and three positions dropped. Connors said this was not right and that he would see I got the actual personnel cuts from Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources, Lenora Boehlert Tuesday.


The beginning of the hearing was taken up with Mr. Seiler pointing out that the district had cut utilities costs by 27%, eliminating $1.1 Million by eliminating overbudgeting for fuel costs which had occurred in the past. He said the debt service had increased 30% ( $1.8 Million) due to the first round of payment on the Capitol Project bonds and salaries 2.6% ($2.4 Million, a total of 95.4 Million of the $173.9 Million budget), and benefits had increased 8.8% ($3 Million, a total of $37.1 Million of the total budget).


The Superintendent held out the possibility of more last minute cuts before the Board votes on adopting the budget March 26.


It should be noted that in the 1990s, the city gave $2 Million in sales tax to the school district, but no strings were attached.

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Board Honors Athletes; Action Committees Formed. Math Reorganization Working

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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. March 19, 2007: .At last week’s Board of Education meeting, Michele Schoenfeld, the Clerk to the Board of Education reports today that the Core Team running the district’s Strategic Planning project had met and provided district objectives now available on the school website, www.wpcsd.k12.ny.us. Connors also said the “Measurement Team” has begun its meetings and that “Action Committees” would be formed last week. Connors again invited community residents to join the Action Committees and to contact him to express their interest.


Ms. Schoenfeld’s Report notes that the district received the first $250,000 from the Cappelli Foundation for the White Plains High School Loucks Field renovation.


On the academic front, Dr. Margaret Dwyer said that because “progress has been excellent” eliminating sixth Grade Basic Math, that consolidation of the math classes would begin in the seventh grade next year. Dwyer said the District will “support this process through differentiated instruction,” installed in the sixth grade in 2006-2007. Dwyer said teachers reported a “positive cultural change,” and the Curriculum Committee agrees with that assessment.


Ninety-six student athletes from seven winter sports “Scholar-Athlete” teams which averaged 90 or better as a team — Ice Hockey, Wrestling, Women’s and Men’s Track, Men’s Swimming and Diving and Women’s Basketball  were recognized as Scholar-Athletes. Local awards were also given to the Cheerleading Squad — also Scholar Athletes — though not recognized as a sport. The Tiger “Growlers” will be recognized a sport next year by Section 1. Athletic Director Nick Panero saluted one student from the Men’s Basketball Team whose average was over 90.


Panero said every sports team from White Plains High School qualified for Sectional Play. Sue Adams, the Women’s Basketball Team Coach, thanked the public for their support of the team as they played into the Class AA State Regional Finals this month.

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Budget Behind: Budget Committee Won’t Review Before Common Council Receives It

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WPCNR CITY HALL CIRCUIT. By John F. Bailey. March 19, 2007: The city Budget and Management Committee will not get to review the city’s new 2007—2008 budget until after the complete budget is submitted to the Common Council in April, Councilman Benjamin Boykin, Chairman of the Committee told WPCNR Friday.



LIGHT WORK LOAD THIS YEAR FOR BUDGET & MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE, shown here meeting at the end of January.  Budget will not be ready for their quills and eyeshades until April.


 


Boykin’s statement confirmed what Mayor Joseph Delfino had told WPCNR Thursday evening when he said preparation of the budget was going right down “to the last minute,” and would be ready “when it’s printed.”



Members of the Committee when they last met in January expressed concern that they wanted to make suggestions and review budget decisions, directions and trends before the proposed budget was presented to the Common Council.


Boykin said  although city Chief Financial Officer Gina Cuneo-Harwood had promised the committee she would have the budget for them to review by March 15, that that was not going to happen and the committee would have no opportunity to make suggestions to the budget until after April 4 when the budget is to be submitted to the Council.  He assured WPCNR the committee would have the opportunity to affect the budget after the document is presented to the Council.


Boykin said part of the delay  was a heart attack suffered by a Finance Department employee and a maternity leave of another department employee had contributed to the budget delay.  The city is operating with only a Deputy Budget Director, recently hired, and there has been no Budget Director since Ann Reasoner, who previously held the post, whose employment was terminated  by the city last June. 


Harwood had told the Finance and  Management Committee in January that she would present a preliminary budget by March 15, however last week Mayor Delfino told WPCNR that the budget would “not be ready until the last minute. It’ll be ready when it’s printed. ”


Boykin said he had attempted to call a meeting of the Budget and Management Committee to discuss the budget prior to the April 4 Common Council meeting, but said that was not going to happen either. Boykin assured WPCNR that even though the budget was printed that the committee would have input and impact on the budget prior to its final approval in late May.


Cuneo-Harwood, was awarded an additional $20,000 by the city early this year in recognition of her additional duties of preparing the budget in view of the city being without a Budget Director.

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Photograph of the Day: St. Patricks’ Day Snow

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WPCNR Photographs of the Day. By The WPCNR Roving Photographer. March 18, 2007: It was stingy. It was  sleety.  It was heavy. It was wet.  It was crusty. It was drifty.  It stopped Air Traffic. It was the St. Patrick’s Day Snow — unfortunately not green. Residents had to bang at it, chip at it, pant over it, and bash at it to get it onto a shovel, then they had to lift the unwieldy ice cubes. Where was global warming when you needed it Friday night? Seldom has 5 inches of snow caused so much inconvenience.  But, it sure was pretty.



Winds of up to 30 Miles Per pelted fine sleet bee-bees against windows all Friday night and piled up drifts on eves and porches. The below freezing temperatures caused the sleet to turn to ice, locking cars into parking spaces and creating the heaviest 5 inches of snow this reporter has ever lifted off blacktop.



Residents had their cardiologists on standby as White Plainsians chipped away, extricating cars immobilized in the frozen white tundra. Photos by a WPCNR Roving Photographer

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The White Plains St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

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WPCNR MAMARONECK AVENUE AMBLER. March 18, 2007: White Plains celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with a parade in balmier temperatures last weekend with several thousand persons viewing the festivities. Here, thanks to photographer Stephen Morton and Parade Chair, John Martin are some views of this classic parade:



The White Plains Police Color Guard followed by Bob Hyland (in green sash), Parade Grand Marshall and Parade Chair, John Martin. All Photos by Steve Morton



Mayor Joseph Delfino and Common Council (walking).



Girls Basketball Team from OLS, WPHS


 


 



The Bump Robinson Slater Center Drum Corps


 



The Plainsmen Hockey Team



One of the Many Bands



The Reviewing Stand at City Hall



Parade Grand Marshall Bob Hyland and Parade Chair John Martin — Thank you for sending these shots to WPCNR.

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Assembly Passes Education Bill that Shortchanges Westchester.

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WPCNR STATEHOUSE STANDARD. From Assemblyman Adam  T. Bradley’s Office. March 15, 2007: Assemblyman Adam Bradley (D-White Plains) announced he voted against A.4303-B and A.4307-B, the two education budget bills that the Assembly passed on Monday, because they failed to provide sufficient funds to Westchester schools.  Bradley explained that while he supports the more transparent and simplified school aid formula, his schools are getting shortchanged.  Under the new formula, counties are classified under Regional Indexes based on cost-of-living factors.
  “I have serious reservations about the Governor’s and Assembly’s education proposals,” said Assemblyman Bradley.  “The school aid formula in each budget plan shortchanged Westchester schools and as a result, will further burden local property taxpayers.”

 


In the governor’s education proposal, accepted by the Assembly, Westchester is grouped with the following counties: Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan and Ulster.  The cost-of-living in these counties is much lower than the cost-of-living in Westchester County.  Bradley is advocating for Westchester to be included in the more comparable cost-of-living group with New York City and Long Island.  Placing Westchester in this group will accurately reflect the education costs of the county and ensure that districts in the future receive more state funds.  All but one school district in Westchester is in the hold harmless category, which limits the amount of aid they receive.  “I am afraid that without the correct cost-of-living factor, all our districts will remain in this category for many years to come, severely limiting their ability to receive the state funding they deserve,” said Bradley.


 


“Westchester loses under this classification and our schools will receive less aid than they are entitled to,” continued Bradley.  “Losing vital state aid will have a negative impact on local property taxpayers.  I will fight during joint budget conference committees to reclassify Westchester County and to make sure our schools receive the funding they need.”


 


 


-30-


 

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GREASE is the Mighty WBT Pick Hit of the Week!

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WPCNR’S AT THE HOP Review of GREASE by Johnny Angel. March 15, 2007: GREASE is America’s My Fair Lady! Just as My Fair Lady is so-so British  GREASE is as American as a cheeseburger with lettuce and tomato, Heinz 57 and French Fried Potato. Whether you’re 25 or 65 grab your old leather jackets, you ex- Flaming Dukes, Pink Ladies and Burger Palace Boys, the greaser gang is back hanging out at the WBT Drive-IN and the Burger Palace.



Sandy (Melissa Larsen) and Danny (Kasey Marino) are All Choked Up in the fabulous finale of GREASE — rocking again on the Mighty WBT in uptown Elmsford, “The Big E.” All Photos, Courtesy, Westchester Broadway Theatre by John Vecchiolla



Westchester Broadway Theatre’s new production of Grease  is the  most entertaining, energetic and fun production the mighty WBT  (Number 1 in theatre with a bullet coming to you from the heart of the BIG E – uptown Elmsford) has staged in the last year.


WBT’s cover of the  original 1971 stage monster hit guarantees Allan Freed, the malt shop, the record hop, leather jackets, pompadours ducktails and pony tails  and deejays in plaid jackets will be forever cool– and the new WBT production of 2-1/2 hours of  hits just keep on coming.  The book is so spare and fast-moving with the New Yawk accents and wise guys and gals you’ll recognize. The songs get your feet moving, the  hand-jive choreography, and signature slouch of 1958 teenage boys – are masterfully brought back by choreographer  Kathy Meyer  on the WBT Boards. The hard-working gang on stage has their doo-wops and rama-lama-ding-dongs so right, it’s the coolest.


From  the inspired set of an old 50s year book pictures to turning the WBT into a high school gymnasium to the Greased Lightning hotrod on stage, GREASE takes you back in time.


Even Cole Porter’s musicals have a few clinker songs in them , but in GREASE there are no flipsides, every number is a hit from the opening scene at the Reunion of Rydell High’s Class of 1959, when Miss Lynch (Karen Murphy), Patty  (Allison Couture) and Eugene (Aaron Young) sing the Alma Mater – you are going to dig this show, man.



 Faster than a Little Deuce Coup, Danny Zuko  played with hunch-shouldered wise guy cool by Kasey Marino and the Ms. Goody Two Shoes, Melissa Larsen as Sandy launch into their great duet of the show, the signature song of GREASE – Summer Nights –  the pair nail this duet and you don’t want this instant replay to ever end. Here, Danny, (Kasey Marino), is trying to give Sandy (Melissa Larsen) his ring at the drive-in. Marino’s hilarious attempts to put his “night moves” on Sandy stir many memories with knowing laughter.


Ms. Larsen is crinoline crisp as the innocent  Sandy Dumbrowski  — managing to look and act 16and Mr. Marino works the New Yawk wise guy hood persona – like, ya know, really cool.  (The Fonz – of Happy Days – was modeled on the Zuco character). Though actors an actresses who play the Sandy and Danny parts have to go up against the charisma and electricity of Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta from the GREASE movie – Marino and Larsen just have the timing, the hesitation, and the awkwardness of teen attraction just right.


On and on through the very short evening every number surprises and delights and brings out laughs naturally – never a clunker line.


If you have not seen GREASE – I’ll lay it on you. New innocent girl Sandy meets wise guy hood Zuco during the summer and they have a romance.  They meet that fall in school and hood doesn’t want to admit to his pals he’s stuck on her. The girls in school, The Pink Ladies, lead by  wise-cracking Rizzo, played by Jacqueline Colmer, alternately make fun of Sandy, and Rizzo is jealous of Danny’s digging her. It’s high school!


The anxieties of this teen romance serve as a vehicle to recreate the high school experience of the  baby boomer 1950s, when your biggest worry as a teenage girl was being popular and deciding between college, beauty school or Katherine Gibbs (a secretarial school), and going all the way,  as a boy whether you were a athlete, a hood, or a nerd, and whether you could get a girl to go all the way,  and, oh, yeah the disk jockeys on the radio were your friend and took dedications and actually talked to you. So simple then.  GREASE brings it all back.


Picks to Click


Director Richard Roland has assembled a set of wonderful meshed players who bring Rydell High back to life with their over-the-top energy and Bronx accents.


The trio of would-be rock and roll singers, of Doody (Geoffrey Goldberg),  and the Burger Place Boys falsetto with the best of the Cleftones  on Those Magic Changes. They return in Act Two for the ode to the Rock N Roll Party Queen.  Liz O’Donnell as Marty, the boy-crazy vamp, who flips out a wallet of pictures of her boyfriends at a recreation of a 50s slumber part in Act One, brings out the laughs with her Freddie My Love ballad.


A real hot rod comes on stage for the uptempo, Greased Lightning  recalling those days of auto shop.  Will Ray as Kenicke – Zuco’s rival —  brings off this driving number.


The first act comes to a close with a hilarious duet between Roger  (Nathan Scherich) and Jan (Tory Ross)  about the joys of mooning (over each other). Colmer as Rizzo then has her big mocking  number, I’m Sandra Dee, making fun of Sandy  And if you do not know who Sandra Dee is – you don’t need to know– to enjoy this show. The music and good nature of GREASE just wins you over like a scratchy old record.


Rocking at the High School Hop.


 


Act Two recaptures the high school dance as it used to be when the versatile set  of George Puello and Steven Loftus, transforms into  Moonlight In the Tropics with paper palm trees and WAXX dee jay Vince Fontaine as master of ceremonies with formals and teen boys in suits and sneakers (so typical of the time). Shakin at the High School Hop by all the dancers  makes you – as a person who lived in this era – really nostalgic. Those dances were such fun!


The hop is highlighted by the lecherous Murray the K/Allan Freed disk jockey character, from WAXX, (The Big 15),  Vince Fontaine played by Rob Sheridan whose kicking the standup microphone bit is reminiscent of Allan and Murray at the Brooklyn Fox rock and roll shows. He introduces one of the main men of this show 


 



Todd DuBail  in gold lame suit as Teen Angel, plays the Dwayne Eddy/Elvis/Conway Twitty type rock star, Johnny Casino who comes back later as Teen Angel to sing Beauty School Dropout. Mr. Dubail’s grunts, gyrations and guitar slinging are the end. He even sounds like Elvis, and all you 50s chicks out there will love the curl on his forehead, too.


 


The stage production of GREASE is not like the movie. Though the characters are the same, the supporting characters have larger roles and the Rizzo-Danny romance is not as prominent.  There is some reference to teen pregnancy  and gang rumbles. But little violence.


One of the strengths of the stage production, and this one in particular is that though the characters are stereotypes – (you will recognize them all) – they all have stories to tell.


Home Room at Rydell High begins nightly at 6:30 with dinner in the mighty WBT in Big E-Uptown Elmsford through May 26. For tickets information go to www.broadwaytheatre.com. Or call 592-2222. Did I mention that you can have a genuine cheeseburger and fries for dinner or the usual excellent prime ribs, fish, eggplant parmigiana before the show?


The show rolls on with never a lull and is never dull. Is Rizzo really knocked up? Will Sandy and Danny get together again? Will Danny choose Patty the Cheerleader over Sandy? Will Eugene win Patty? Will the Flaming Dukes show up for a rumble. Like your high school, GREASE has terrific storylines that all get tied up and Rydell High – your high school lives once more .

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Forward Ho! County Mounted Debut. To Patrol Parks, Playland, Commuter Lots

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WPCNR COUNTY POLICE GAZETTE. By John F. Bailey. March 14, 2007: County Executive Andrew Spano and County Commissioner of Public Safety Thomas Belfiore introduced the county’s first mounted police unit today at the unit headquarters at Muscoot Farm. The horse and their new officers demonstrated crowd control formations for the gathered media.



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Here they come! Ranger, Mohawk, Zeus and Hudson — “The Four Mesquiters,” left to right Sean Lonergan in the saddle on Ranger, Angela Caporale riding Mohawk, Officer Fabian Yearwood on Zeus and Officer Keith McCartney astride Hudson riding into town this morning in their on duty debut.


 


The four Horse Officers and their trusty steeds give the county and extra measure of proven crowd control abilities as well as the ability to get faster into areas  of parks  and campuses where patrol cars, bikes, and officers on foot cannot go. Commissioner Belfiore said the horses could be deployed anywhere in the county within 30 minutes. A custom $25,000 horse van will be available for the mounted four within about a month Captain Stasaitis said.


Commissioner Belfiore said the horses were purchased and tacked up with all equipment for a total of $35,000. He said each cost $9,000, and that they eac cost about  $1,500 a year to feed. The police also purchased a $5,000 horse trailer to start the program.  Belfiore said that a $50,000 grant from former State Senator Nicholas Spano helped seed the new department.


Officer Gary Rodetis, a Nassau County mounted police officer with 13 years experience helped train the four new County “Mounted Police.” Rodetis said horse units make the police job of crowd control much easier. “One horse can do the job of 9 Police officers.” Belfiore also noted that the vantage point of the mounted officer allows them to analyze and deal developing crowd situations faster. The officers astride the 4 Law Horses demonstrated crowd clearing techniques and escort formations.


The four horses and officers were trained by Nassau County Police at no charge to the county, who were given awards by the county and posed with their graduates.

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