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 QUILL AND EYESHADE. Interview with Former  White Plains Mayor Alfred Del Vecchio. January 4, 2007: Eliminating the Budget Director in the City of White Plains means “the city will have less control of its money and there’s more room for mischief,” former Mayor Alfred Del Vecchio told WPCNR  last week, discussing why his administration created the position of Budget Director and a Budget Department in his administration (1976-1993).

Mayor Alfred Del Vecchio, October 2005.

Photo, WPCNR News Archive

 The former Mayor notes when he was a councilman, in the early 70s during Mayor Richard Hendey’s administration,  he observed city commissioners had the discretion to spend money as they saw fit,  and not spending tax dollars as allocated. When Del Vecchio  became Mayor in 1976, he moved to correct this and created the Budget Director position to eliminate this “mischief,” after learning of the Budget Director concept at the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

Origins of Budget Director.

The Mayor recalled that when he was a Councilman in the Hendy administration ( the council consisted of 6 Republicans “working together.” He described the councilpersons as six little mayors each working with the city commissioners to prepare the budget.

There was a Finance Department which paid bills and handled the city accounts.

Del Vecchio said each councilman was assigned a commissioner and would work with the Commissioner to prepare that Department budget.   

The former Mayor recalled the incident that showed him how budgets were spent by the Commissioners:

“What happened was each councilperson depending on what his experience was, was assigned a department. Being an engineer, I was assigned Public Works. That’s the way the city was run then. He (Public Works Commissioner) wanted  some extra money one time to convert water meters to be read outside.

            We didn’t have the money, I said we just don’t have the money to do that. He said if I find the money can I have it?  I said you can, but tell me where you’re going to find the money. I had looked at the budget and I didn’t know where he could find money. He  was “finding it” from personnel. I said, how are we going to pay the people if we take this from personnel. He said we have this in the budget. It was taxed for, but we never hired the person. I said whoaaa…you can’t do that (chuckling)  I allowed him to have the money, but as soon as I became Mayor I put a stop to that. Any personnel position that wasn’t filled we took the money away.

               In the late 70s we had a dip in the budget one year. The expenses went way down because we didn’t fund personnel that year.”

Managing your Own Budget 11 months out of the year

Del Vecchio felt this practice was widespread at the time because there was little direct day-to-day supervision of the Departments: “Everyone (The Commissioners) did it (in the early 70s). These are little things the commissioners do. I’m sure that there were lots of them that we never found out about. A Budget Director looks into these things day-in, and day-out.”

The Mayor recalls seeing the danger in this practice when there was only the Finance Department and the Commissioners and very brief Council oversight:

A Bad Mistake

“Don’t forget, as a councilman at the time,  I went over the budget with the Commissioner  (of Public Works) for maybe a couple of weeks, three, four weeks, maybe a month. For the other 48 weeks he was on his own spending his money. The Budget Director does this (going over the budget) 12 months of the year. That’s why it is a bad mistake to do away with the Budget Director, or to allow the Commissioner of Finance to take over the duties in any manner, shape or form of the Budget Director, even temporarily.”

Internal Auditor Not the Answer

When Mr. Del Vecchio was elected Mayor in 1975, assuming office in 1976, he moved to get a handle on the spending process he had observed in his council days:

“When I became Mayor, I wanted better control of the budget, I thought it was needed for the city of White Plains. I had never been involved in politics before, and while I was Chairman of a department at Manhattan College, I had never handled that kind of budget I was expected to handle as Mayor. But I knew I wanted better control and we hit upon the idea of having an internal auditor.”

The Mayor said Councilwoman Joyce Gordon, after observing the Internal Auditor for a few months told him the process wasn’t working:  “I said what will we do. But, at that time I attended the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington, D.C. Somebody there said the way it is done is to have a Budget Director and a Finance Commissioner. I began to learn at that Conference what a Budget Director was supposed to do and what a Finance Commissioner was supposed to do.”

Not the same function.

“When we introduced the Budget Director concept to the Common Council, we explained exactly what was happening. From my thirty years of teaching, whenever we did anything we had both a philosophy for it and we had everything well organized. We said this is what the Budget Director is going to do.

        The council in general (in 1976-77) complained about the Internal Auditor. I listened to them but I didn’t  know what to do. The minute I put together this Budget Director (concept) with the help of the people at the U.S. Conference of Mayors, it was a natural. They (the council) accept it, welcomed it  and said Al, this sounds great, let’s go ahead with it.”

WPCNR asked why the Internal Auditor (hired by the Mayor) not able to give the financial oversight the Mayor was looking for at the time. Mayor Del Vecchio said 

“The Internal Auditor was focusing on how the Mayor’s office was interacting with the budget. That was the wrong direction. The Budget Director really is an independent person and should not depend on the Mayor’s office at all. I gave Eileen Earl  (Mayor Del Vecchio’s second Budget Director, Kevin Fish was the first), a free hand. She took care of capital projects, a major, major function. My job was to make sure the Commissioners got their reports to her in on time. They would delay their reports.”

Commissioners Do Not Like Budget Directors.

In an aside, Mayor Del Vecchio related the uneasy relationship that existed between the Commissioners and his Budget Directors (Mr. Fish and Ms. Earl): “Commissioners mind you don’t really like a Budget Director.  She’s not their friend. She watches how they spend money. They were reluctant to tell her exactly what they were doing with the money. We made sure they got the reports in on time. It was all done good naturedly. The council loved it. It was through Eileen Earl that we begun to get the accounting awards. She was the first one to receive it.”

Commenting on those rough and tumble budget years, Del Vecchio summed them up this way:

“There always was a Finance Commissioner who paid the bills, took care of the checking account. He did all the money things. The budget was a free-floating thing. The Commissioners wanted a budget. The Commissioners would come to the Mayor. The Mayor would ask for help from the Council. There was no real structure to how the budget was formed or came about. The budget director was the one who gave it structure.”

Predicts There Will Never Be Another Budget Director.

Del Vecchio predicted the future: “You know as well as I do they are not going to hire a Budget Director. Joe (Delfino) knows politics. He’s been in the game long enough. We’re going to look at it again in the spring. Let me remind you of something, the valet parking. Remember when they said they would reevaluate it in a few months? They still have valet parking. The trick of the game is to delay these things and the people forget about it and you just continue them. He knows that game and he plays it well.”

A Step Backward

WPCNR asked Del Vecchio what will be the effect of eliminating the Budget Director.

“I think it is a step backward,” He said. “I think the city will have less control of the money. There’s more room for mischief. You need tight controls. You’re talking about $150 Million a year. That’s a lot of money and the Budget Director really earns his or her own salary by keeping tight controls. A good Budget Director is indispensable.”

WPCNR asked if the city rationale that eliminating the budget department would save money made sense. Del Vecchio demurred:

“I did read last week that it was a duplication of effort and a burden on the tax payers to have two different departments (Finance and Budget) doing the same job. That is absolutely not true. They do not do the same job. They do absolutely different jobs from different perspectives.

The Difference

“The Finance Commissioner is interested in the investment of the city funds, what kind of fund balance we have. The F.C. works with banks, the investment of city funds. The Finance Commissioner has very little to do with Capital Projects. The question is can one person do both jobs?

           One person should not do both jobs because it gives you the potential for mischief. There’s not enough cross-checks with the budget and we see that in many budgets, including the federal government. These funds have a way of blending in and being spent. No one may really have their hands in the till, but money is wasted without the oversight  (day-to-day) of a separate person – the Budget Director. One person can not have control of $140 Million a year.

             The best way I can explain is that one person has charge of the day-to-day operations of the city (Budget Director), and the other the more futuristic operations of the city (Finance Commissioner), taking this money which is lying around and putting it to good use.”

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WPCNR Common Council-Chronicle Examiner. By John F. Bailey. January 3, 2007, UPDATED 2:30 AM EDT WITH DENNIS POWER SWEARING IN PICTURES: The Common Council voted 5-2 Tuesday evening at the January Common Council meeting to appoint Commissioner of  Finance Gina Cuneo-Harwood to the position of  “temporary” Chief Fiscal Officer “through the budget season.”

Mayor Joseph Delfino made a statement that his administration was continuing to look at the possibility of folding the Budget Department (which no longer is functioning) into the Finance Department, and that the city has been studying that possibility since the Budget Director left. He denied the city has ever suggested the Budget Director/Department should be eliminated, blaming such reports on the media. The Mayor read a statement to the effect that the city was being prudent in keeping the position unfilled and entertaining the feasibility of operating with Budgeting and finance in one department. Video Captures from WPGA-TV, White Plains Government Access-TV by WPCNR News

The issue came up prior to the vote where  the council voted to pay Ms. Cuneo-Harwood  $20,000 additional in salary for the “extra work” she will doing in handling the responsibilities of the departed Budget Director, preparing the 2007-2008 city budget

The city has had no Budget Director since June 2, 2007 when Anne Reasoner abruptly departed employment  that Friday afternoon under circumstances the city has refused to explain. The city denied she was fired. The Deputy Budget Director, Jim Hricay, upon Reasoner’s departure in June was transferred to the Finance Department reporting to Cuneo-Harwood. Last month, Hricay left the city for a position in Stamford.

Malmud, Power Opposed

Councilpersons Rita Malmud and Dennis Power said they were troubled by the creation of the temporary Chief Fiscal Officer position. They were against eliminating the Budget Department function since it served as a check-and-balance on the city finances.

Councilman  Benjamin Boykin demurred, saying he would vote for the Cuneo-Harwood appointment because the extra pay was to compensate her for  wearing both hats as Commissioner of Finance and Budget Director. He said the council would discuss the concept of eliminating the Budget Department in the spring.

Councilman Thomas Roach said he, too, was not in favor of eliminating the Budget Department, but saw this the Cuneo-Harwood “raise” as merely a pay matter.

Councilman Arnold Bernstein said the Corporation Counsel Edward Dunphy had assured him this was legal to do, and that the job needed to be done. Mr. Hockley and the Mayor also strongly supported the proposal.

Mr. Hockley said that in the early 70s the city did not have a separate budget department and that arranged had worked well. He said that it was his responsibility was to save taxpayers’ money and perhaps eliminating the Budget Department was a way to do that, but did not commit firmly to eliminating the Budget Department. He said that the city needed the job to be done and he was voting to compensate Cuneo-Harwood to pay her for the additional responsibility of budget directing.

Council Asks No Questions.

No member of the Common Council asked the Mayor directly whether the city was conducting searches for Budget Director candidates to see who was out there the last six months. No advertisements have been run for the position to WPCNR’s knowledge, as the city has for Building Commissioner (filled temporarily by Damien Amodio).  The city on the surface has made no effort to fill the positions of Budget Director and Depurty Budget Director.

No Common Council member asked the Mayor about hiring a consultant to handle the Budget Director “planning function.”  Ms. Cuneo-Harwood’s responsibility as Commissioner of Finance is managing the city’s cash and paying the city’s bills. The Commissioner of Finance only has budget responsibility for his or her own department and managing the city’s money, and managing returns on city investments and funds. The Budget Director is a policy maker who plans how all the city money is allocated.

Media Blamed for Reporting Budget Department Demise

The Mayor read a statement accusing the media of inventing the story that the city was attempting to kill the Budget Department. He said this resolution was a mechanism to compensate Ms. Cuneo-Harwood only. He also said looking at eliminating the budget department was following a directive of Councilman Benjamin Boykin to look at city spending last April.

“Commissioner Habel (Sue) made some comments tonight in the hearing in relation to Bank Street, where sometimes things are printed in the press and media and it stirs an interest in something without having the facts there.

I think in this case here, the same issue occurred. I want to make sure, I’d like to make a statement because I want to have a clear understanding of what the public knows and the council knows because we’ve had some discussions of this as council members.

Last budget season the council and particular the Budget and Management Committee, when Mr. Boykin took over as chairman, he basically directed the administration to look at ways to reduce expenses and consolidate services.  That was a charge. And he still says it. And he’s right. We should be doing that, not only in this department but in every department in the city.

As you know, our Budget Director left in August of last year (actually June 2, 2006) and we have operated without one since that time. We have provided and continue to provide all the financial and budgetary information in a timely and effective manner. We truly have. We didn’t skip a beat. We didn’t skip a beat.

This administration has never suggested the elimination of the Budget Department I even heard tonight on Citizens to be Heard that we did. We never suggested it.

In the interest of consolidating services which was charged to this administration, by the council and particularly Budget & Management, including citizens of our community, reducing expenses and eliminating duplication, we have looked at and continue to look at the possibility of folding the budget department into the finance department.

Raising his voice menacingly, the Mayor continued, “as is the case, I want the public to understand this, as is the case iun every municipal government in the county of Westchester, there’s 44,  except for county government, they  (Budget and Finance) are split  there – but the Budget Director belongs to the County Executive which we would never even think about doing here, o.k.? So keep in mind, this isn’t rocket science, every community, 43 (we’re  the 44^th) have consolidations of  budget and management.”

“Budgetary reports and analysis  will always be necessary, will always be an integral part of the financial planning, that will continue, it must continue, it will continue” raising his voice for emphasis he said emphatically, “The fact that we’re operating without a Budget Director is not a result of poor planning. It is a result of prudent and careful planning as we continue to study the issue of possible consolidation and cost-savings.”

“This item (the Cuneo-Harwood pay increase) tonight is not about that. It got intertwined with that. This item is about compensation for an individual who essentially functions as the head of two departments where we continue to study this consolidation possibility. This person (Cuneo-Harwood) has performed admirably, above and beyond, to produce the best financial value this city has seen in the last few years.

“We will produce a budget this year  and it will be a good budget, just as we’ve done the past nine years we will do what we have to do to get the job done. We’ll get the job done. This issue is solely about fairness and equity and it is the right thing to do. It truly is.”

With that the role call vote was taken and Ms. Cuneo-Harwood’s paycheck grew.

What do they really do, anyway?

The Finance Department as defined in the Charter accords the Commissioner of Finance the duty of paying city bills and managing funds for best investment return. The Finance Commissioner is only responsible for their own department.

 The Budget Director is defined as the “check and balance” on the spending of all city departments. He or she is the city  financial planner and decision-maker, and is given absolute budget assigning power by the Charter.

According to the City Charter,  (page 23, Section 68) the Budget Director shall

“review the estimates, altering, revising, increasing or decreasing the items of said estimates (prepared by all department heads), as he shall deem necessary in view of the needs of the various spending agencies and the probable total available revenue of the city. The budget director may call upon the city officers, heads of departments and other spending agencies of the city for information and details of the estimates submitted by them and it shall be the duty of such officers, heads of departments and other spending agencies to furnish such information and details to the budget director. The budget director shall then prepare a proposed budget in the form required by law and he shall transmit this proposed budget in writing to the common council at the state meeting of the common council in April of the current year.”

Background

When Anne Reasoner left the city as Budget Director, WPCNR asked Paul Wood, the City Executive Officer if the Budget Department might be consolidated into the Finance Department, Wood said, “not at this time, but that could be considered a possibility.” About September, WPCNR asked Wood the same question but Wood never responded with a city position on the status of hiring or searching for a new Budget Director.

Though it is true that financial statements are eventually grudgingly, sparingly issued by the city,  media have to cajole, badger, make phone call after phone call to acquire routine figures such as sales tax receipts, and questions about budget items are ignored as long as possible. The statements issued by the city are not handed out willingly with a smile. Sensitive financial information has to be cleared by commissioners  through the Mayor’s office which necessitates follow-up call after followup call, voice mail message after voice mail message, rarely returned.

Prior to the sudden Reasoner departure, in April, 2006,  WPCNR asked Mr. Boykin Chair of  the Budget and Finance Committee concerns about city finances. In an interview with us, Mr. Boykin told WPCNR the Committee was concerned about how the city is being run and managed. Boykin said, “We’ve had a lot of growth, and we need to look at the city again, to see whether we have the right people doing the right things.”

In other action,

* Dennis Power was sworn in for the remaining year in the term of deceased councilman Robert Greer. Congressperson Nita Lowey said Mr. Power understands the responsibility of public service. With County Legislator Bill Ryan and Assemblyman Adam Bradley in the first row, Mr. Power remarked that he had first been approached to run for council by Robert Greer in the late 80s, and said here he was again, returning to the council, again related to Mr. Greer. Power said he hoped in his service that the council would do as Rabbi Lester Bronstein said, opening the Council meeting, to listen to its citizens and make the right decisions.

Dennis Power being sworn in to the last year of Robert Greer’s term on the Council with his son, Joseph holding the Family Bible.

Congressperson Nita Lowey was eloquent in her praise of Mr. Power’s understanding and committment to Public Service. Ms. Lowey also mentioned she would be working in Washington D.C. to eliminate the minimum alternative tax and to bring the troops home from Iraq.

County Legislator Bill Ryan, and Assemblyman Adam Bradley shared the Dennis Power Moment. Power, later in the Council Meeting, asked Mr. Bradley to spearhead the continuance of the 2% sales tax for White Plains through the new New York State legislature.

* The Council approved the RPW project refurbishing the entrance to 1133 Westchester Avenue.

* The hearing on the creation of legislation to accommodate the North Street Community on North Street was adjourned to February.

Bank Street Parking Lot Legislation to Allow “Residential” Hearing Opened

The hearing on legislation permitting  the Bank Street commuter parking lot in the Urban Renewal area to include residential housing was opened. The Commissioner of Planning Susan Habel explained this was not a zoning change, blaming the media for leaving this impression. (WPCNR in previewing this meeting, referred to this as a zoning change, and WPCNR regrets the error.)

Nonetheless the legislation reclassifying the parking lot  is a change of use of the land because, as Habel explained,  zoning in that area already allows residential, but that the land being urban renewal land does not at the present time. In order to make the land a possibility for residential use, this Common Council had to change the law. The hearing was kept open until February, at which time the “legislation” would be available to the council would be available.

Habel said some plan(s) were being examined by the city at this time and no decision had been made. 

This was puzzling.

Two weeks ago, Executive Officer Paul Wood stated to The Journal News  reporter Keith Eddings that the city was not putting the parking lot land up for bid, and that it was looking to sell the land to LCOR to build two residential apartments  with some 400 apartments, limited to 23 stories each in height. Wood said the plan being considered  would have LCOR pay the city $16.5 Million for the parking lot (which Habel said had 200 self-park spots and 70 more stacked parking slots), and the city would pay LCOR $5 Million to provide 300 parking spaces within their apartment/retail complex to replace the commuter spaces. 

What was interesting was when the Mayor asked if there was any comment on the proposal, no citizen stepped to the podium.

No Councilperson opened their mouth either.

The Mayor even asked the Council if they had any questions. The Council did not ask any questions or even bring up the Paul Wood exclusive to The Journal News.  Perhaps the Common Council members did not read The Journal News, watch White Plains Week or read on this website of that story.

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WPCNR AT WEST CAPITOL PARK At The State Capitol. By John F. Bailey. January 1, 2007:  Governor Eliot Spitzer, addressing thousands filling the West Capitol Park at the first ever public inaugural in New York State, said his two “overarching objectives” would be “transforming government so that it is ethical and wise as all of New York,” and to rebuild the state economy “so it is ready to compete on the global stage in the next century.”

Governor Eliot Spitzer Delivering his Inaugural Address on the steps of the State Capitol New Year’s Day.  Andrew Cuomo, Attorney General is fourth from the left. Mrs. Spitzer and the Governor’s three daughters are at the right. Photos, WCPNR News

The Governor set priorities in opportunity, education, and health care reform with a hint at property tax reform with no specifics. He said “our purpose is not merely reform merely for the sake of reform, but to restore fairness and create opportunity and redefine the very fabric of our community.” He gave notice to politicians sitting before him that their partisan politics of the past will not do.

Governor Eliot Spitzer assumed command of New York State from Governor George Pataki. Thousands fanned out across West Capitol Park in front of New York’s Capitol Monday, despite heavy rains in morning and threatening raw skies. They saw a ceremony worthy of the Kings of England.

The extravaganza included fanfares, musical codas and dramatic transitions  at the introduction of Governor Spitzer and his family;  prior to his taking the oath of office and after his oath of office, with rounds of artillery and rifle fire rumbling in the distance, evoking  the feel of the 1812 Overture as the orchestra played majestic theme.

Mr. Spitzer (seen on one of two giant videoscreens) set Opportunity, Education, Health Care Priorities and challenged politics of past.

“Some may feel anxiety over changes that seek to make businesses more competitive, but all will benefit from an Innovation Economy that attracts young people and new businesses in every part of New York,” he said.

“Some may express skepticism over a school system that demands more accountability from students, teachers and parents, but all will benefit from an education that rewards excellence and gives every child the best possible chance in life.

“Some may feel threatened by health care reforms, but all will benefit from a system that finally puts patients first at a cost that all families can afford.”

“Some public officials may not want to face stricter ethics rules and more competitive elections, but all citizens will win when we finally get a government that puts the people’s interests, openness and integrity first.”

The Governor, speaking coatless in 48 degree raw, damp conditions, delivered a  20-minute address promising to “change the ethics of Albany and end the politics of cynicism and division in our state…”. He said, “What we now need more than ever is a politics that binds us together, a politics that looks to the future, a politics that asks not what is in it for me, but always what is in it for us (the people).”

Pataki Years The Rip Van Winkle Years

With former Governor George Pataki sitting 20 feet away Governor Spitzer likened the state of the last ten years to Rip Van Winkle,  having “slept through much of the last decade while the rest of the world passed us by,” Spitizer said.

The Governor pointed out this “standing still” was evident in the “burdensome property taxes, health care we can’t afford; in the jobs that have disappeared (from upstate cities), and schools that keep failing our children; in a government that works for those who hold office – not those who put them there… Today is the day when all of that changes – when we stop standing still and start moving forward. ”

Exhorts politicians to work as  One New York

The Governor called for “One New York…through a politics that operates on the principle that we rise or fall as one people and one state. We will succeed not because we point fingers or refuse to budge, but because we compromise enough to find principled consensus, and because we listen enough to find wise solutions.”

A Commentary on Politics As We Knew Them: The Governor  was hard on officeholders’ previous efforts, speaking to the citizens of New York directly about the performance of the New York legislature seated before him: “While I wish I could tell you that change will be easy – I don’t believe you elected me to do what’s easy.”

“Easy is spending your tax dollars without consequence or sacrifice. Easy is saying yes to supporters and no to opponents. Easy is looking the other way while costs rise, debts mount and families lose ground. Easy is what we’ve had, but easy is not where we need to go.”

He quoted Teddy Roosevelt: “It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage that we can move to better things.”

He evoked the memory of DeWitt Clinton (for his building the Erie Canal) as an example of New York State enterprise of the past. He bade the state look back to the reformers of Theodore Roosevelt’s term as governor and their zeal for reform and follow Franklin Roosevelt’s call to be “bold, and to recognize that people demand action now.”

Lawmakers Must Take A New Responsibility.

Spitzer said legislators “who work in the great building behind me must hear and heed the serious responsibility that public service demands and rise to this moment and show the public in words and in deeds that we understand that our responsibility that public service demands and rise to this moment and show the public in words and deeds that we understand that our responsibility is to the people of New York.”

Crowd fills the West Capitol Park. Alfred E. Smith Building is to the left.

He challenged the lawmakers to change their ways: “The reform we seek is substantial in size and historic in scope (no specifics mentioned). It will require a new brand of politics – a break from the days when progress was measured by partisan points scored or the opponents defeated. No longer can we afford merely to tinker at the margins of the status quo or play the politics of pitting one group against another. We must replace delay and diversion with energy and purpose in the halls of the capital.”

Spitzer closed with warm thoughts about New York diversity, observing he is the grandson of  an immigrant. “Today’s immigrants enrich our state with their vitality and vision, in the same way as the immigrants of the last century.”

Spitzer finished strong with a little Churchill, a little Kennedy, and a reference to another Governor of New York who became President – “No matter how great the challenge – no matter how impossible the odds – our destiny will never be a path to follow, but always a trail to blaze.”

He gave the citizens and the legislators before him a mission:

“As New York’s former Governor Theodore Roosevelt once remarked, there can be no progress without first entering the arena. My fellow New Yorkers: join me in that arena…Lend your sweat, your toil and your passion to the effort of building One New York of which we can all be proud. My fellow New Yorkers. Our moment is here.”

“Day One is Now.”

“Together Let’s build that One New York. Let’s walk toward that better day.”

The citizens and dignitaries rose applauding in hope.

After the ceremony, Celebrate New York, a series of events to entertain the public, and to celebrate the arts of the state took place at The Egg Theatre, and throughout the Concourse beneath the Executive Plaza.  The multitudes enjoyed the wares of fabulous New York State food creators. This reporter dined on the famous biker-created “Dinosaur Bar-B-Q” (based in Syracuse) and enjoyed Saranac Root Beer.

**********************

Citizens of New York  were welcomed into the 1867 State House, the magnificent edifice housing the State Assembly and Senate, and were given tours of the chambers.Citizens are seen entering the Assembly Chambers on tour Monday after the Inauguration.

Citizens toured the Senate Chamber (seen from the spectator balcony).

 Andrew Cuomo, sworn in as Attorney General lingered for forty-five minutes with citizens in the state house lobby outside the Attorney General Office. Mr. Spitzer did not meet with the press after the Inauguration Ceremonies. After Attorney General Cuomo departed the lobby of the Capitol, New Yorkers amused themselves by having their pictures taken behind the Attorney General News Conference podium shown above.

Citizens were awed by the sepulchre-like beauty of the magnificent central stone staircases in the State Capitol.

***********

Mr. Cuomo’s father, Mario Cuomo, former New York Governor was seated with the rest of the new Attorney General’s family in the front row on the Inauguration Dais. Andrew Cuomo received the oath of office from Chief Justice Judith Kaye of the New York State Court of Appeals, and he waved to the crowd enthusiastically as their cheers washed over him.

Ms. Kaye administered the oath of office to Lieutenant Governor David Patterson, and finally the stage was set for Mr. Spitizer’s historic moment.

The affair began with a procession of dignitaries emerging from the State Capitol announced by Alfred E. Smith the IV.

Mr. Smith called the Inauguration to order and introduced a procession of dignitaries who emerged from the steps of the Capitol: The Native Tribes of New York State, The Board of Regents, the members of the New York State Assembly and Senate,  representatives of the Mayors of New York State, the New York State Congressional Delegation, Senator Charles Schumer (Senator Hillary Clinton did not attend the Inauguration), and  former Governor George Pataki and First Lady Libby Pataki, Lieutenant Governor David Patterson and his wife, Andrew Cuomo and his three children and his father, former Governor Mario Cuomo and his wife, Matilda Cuomo, followed by a three minute pause before Governor Spitzer was introduced with his wife Silda Wall Spitzer and their three daughters.

Mr. Smith, the great grandson of New York Governor Alfred E. Smith, remembered that Alfred E. Smith was described as using his voice as a trumpet that he would use in defense of the less fortunate, saying “Today we’ll hear that trumpet again.”

They did.

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WPCNR MAIN & MAMARONECK. January 1, 2007: White Plains attracted a happy crowd of all ages and diversity New Year’s eve to a raucous street-animatingNew Year’s Eve celebration crowned by a rouser of a fireworks display at midnight as the White Plains Ball descended into Renaissance Square. The 40 degree evening attracted large lines at local bars and restaurants and citizens young and old dancing to music in the streets, and was still partying strong at 1 AM, according to witnesses when Times Square in Manhattan was left with nothing but litter.

Renaissance Square in White Plains 12:10 A.M., January 1, 2007! Happy New Year! News 12Video Capture by WPCNR News

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WPCNR PULSE. From White Plains Hospital Center. December 30, 2006 UPDATED 8:30 PM EST: Citizens holding Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield health care coverage will be accepted  at White Plains Hospital Center, Lawrence Hospital (Bronxville), Northern Westchester Hospital (Mount Kisco) and Phelps Memorial Hospital (Sleepy Hollow) Monday, ending their fears their Empire health coverage may not be accepted due to contract expiration.  Stellaris Hospital Network announced early Saturday afternoon they have reached agreement with Empire effective January 1.

In a statement, the Stellaris Network said, “We are pleased that the successful outcome (of Empire negotiations) is one which is in the best interest of all concerned. We thank you for your continued support and recognition of the value of Stellaris Hospitals to the citizens of Westchester that we take pride in serving.”

In a news release this evening, Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield stated:

“We are pleased to have reached this agreement and we will continue to work closely with SHN to support their ongoing mission to provide important services to our members and to the Westchester community,” said Mark Wagar, President, Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield.

“This agreement will provide Empire’s members with continued access to Westchester’s preeminent network of community hospitals. We look forward to our ongoing relationship with Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield,” said Arthur A. Nizza, President and CEO of Stellaris. 

No action is required by Empire members to continue services at any Stellaris Hospital Network hospital facility. Empire members who have additional questions should contact their member service representative at the number on their ID card.