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 FEINER REPORT. By Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner. September 28, 2006: A few weeks ago, after the Con Ed power outage, I started a lobbying effort urging Con Ed to conduct a study to determine whether it’s feasible to place lines underground. I am pleased that Con Ed has agreed to conduct the study. This is a very positive step – that will enable ratepayers to determine if it makes sense to be proactive. Some residents of Greenburgh have been out of power 5…6…or 7 times this year alone! Many of the power outages happened because of downed trees. If power lines are placed underground we will reduce the potential for severe power outages –like the outages we experienced in 2006.

If Con Ed can’t place wires on every street – all at once—they should consider placing the wires below ground near schools, hospitals, municipal buildings, nursing homes, major business locations.

I have written to Con Ed and am requesting that Greenburgh be one of the areas that are included in the study.

Hits: 0

WPCNR’S THE FEINER REPORT. By Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner. September 29, 2006: As the Chairman of Con Edison, Kevin Burk, initiated his appearance at a county sponsored hearing on what Con Edison is planning to improve its future responses and reporting and correcting of power outages, Supervisor Feiner has discovered from his constituents that Con Edison has not gotten Greenburgh all cleaned up of wire conditions:

Hits: 0

WPCNR PRESS BOX. September 28, 2006: Burke’s annual Wheelchair Games will take place on Saturday, Sept. 30, on the Burke campus in White Plains.  The Games start at 8:30 a.m. with opening ceremonies and an appearance by Autumn Grant, Miss Wheelchair America.  Field events, slalom and table tennis are held in the morning and track events begin at 1 p.m.

This year we are raffling a 2007 Ford Mustang Convertible.  The drawing takes place immediately after the award ceremonies end (by 5 p.m.).  Only 500 tickets will be sold at $100 each.  (A ticket order form is attached for your convenience.) 

There also will be appearances by Skerry Jones of WZ100 FM radio, Jay Michaels of WFAS FM, and Ronald McDonald.

It promises to be a day of fun and excitement for all. 

Hits: 0

WPCNR POLICE GAZETTE. September 27, 2006: Deputy Commissioner of Public Safety, Daniel Jackson has issued this statement to WPCNR, announcing the police have arrested an individual in the Tuesday afternoon shooting incident in the Winbrook area, in which a series of gunshots was reported approximately 4:30 P.M. The Commissioner issued this statement Wednesday evening to WPCNR:

There were no persons shot in the incident yesterday (Tuesday, September 26).
We have arrested 23 year old Chaz Thomas from Manhattan Ave., White Plains for reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a weapon.  The fight was originally a street encounter between two other subjects.

Thomas and another suspect exchanged gunfire(5-9) rounds. without hitting anyone. (This incident) is not believed to be gang related at this time.

As for police presence in Winbrook, we have always maintained patrols there and will continue to do so. An officer there on an unrelated call called the incident in as it was happening.  We have an ongoing investigation, a number of  community people have come forward with information but we are always looking for more witnesses.

WPCNR notes that persons can contact the White Plains Police with information on this incident, with full confidentiality by contacting 422-6111.

Third Shooting in 4 Months.

The incident is the third shooting episode in the Ferris Avenue-Winbrook area in 4 months, and the fourth violent sequence in 7 months in the Ferris-South Lexington Avenue strip.

Louighy D’Haiti, 26, of Ferris Avenue was shot in the abodomen at 1:15 P.M. in the afternoon  September 11, and survived the attack after being shot and left in the gutter at Richard and Ferris Avenues. That investigation is ongoing and there have been no arrests.

Kevin Chambliss, 33, Captain of the 1993 White Plains High School Championship Football squad, and employee of the White Plains Youth Bureau, was shot and killed May 22 in front of the apartment building in which he lived on Ferris Avenue in broad daylight.

Jermaine Pelletier, a homeless youth, 20, who lived at the Court Street homeless shelter, was stabbed to death March 27, for disrespecting two other youths who were arrested and charged with his murder. Pelletier’s wearing of a red bandana when he encountered his assailants was cited by police as one reason he was stabbed.

Hits: 0

WPCNR THE POWER NEWS. September 27, 2006: County Executive Andy Spano has released the comments he will make at Thursday morning’s scheduled hearing where Kevin Burk, the CEO of Con Edison is expected to testify. Mr. Burk will speak at 11 A.M. Thursday at the Westchester County Center.

Here are the County Executives’ remarks: 

Thank you for this opportunity to speak to you about the recent major power outages in Con Edison’s service territory in Westchester County.

I am here to advocate for the thousands of Westchester residents and businesses who lost power – many on several occasions – over the past few months.  These major interruptions in service, each lasting several days and in some cases a week, were more than just an inconvenience.  Many families and businesses lost hundreds of dollars in spoiled food and were displaced from their homes as well.  Today, I am asking on their behalf, for the Con Ed system to change. Simply placing blame does not accomplish anything. Change is the remedy we need.  We need solutions to Con Edison’s service delivery problems and Con Ed’s communication problems, and those solutions need to be identified and implemented immediately.

On September 5, I wrote to Governor Pataki to request an independent performance assessment of Con Edison’s preparedness and response to the three major storms that hit Westchester this summer, especially Tropical Storm Ernesto.  As you know, Ernesto caused widespread damage throughout the Con Edison service territory, affecting over 90,000 residential and business customers in Westchester County alone.  On September 12, I reiterated my request for an independent audit in a letter to Public Service Commission Chairman William Flynn. 

Specifically, I requested that the audit include an assessment of 1) How Con Edison’s infrastructure,  specifically in Westchester, compares to that of other utilities that have overhead wiring and poles when it comes to redundancy and strength,  2) The “best practices” utilized by utilities throughout the nation a) to prevent weather-related power outages, b) to restore power in a more timely manner and c) whether Con Edison is  incorporating any of them  into their own operating and management systems, and 3) The “best practices” used by utilities to communicate with customers before, during and after power outages, and once again, which, if any, of these practices are being used by Con Edison.
                                                                        

Additionally, as part of the scope of work, I requested 1) that provisions be made for the consultant to meet directly with me and my staff in order to learn first hand what the County experienced during the extensive outage, and 2) that the consultant conduct a public meeting in Westchester to listen to the concerns of our residents as they pertain to Con Ed’s emergency preparedness, response and restoration of power.

While I am aware that an independent assessment will be performed, I have not yet received a response from Chairman Flynn, and I ask these honorable committees to assist us in seeing that our requests are addressed.

Let me say again, I am looking for a culture of change at Con Edison and the Public Service Commission.  This new mindset must also be supported at the highest levels of state government.  Let me cite just one example.  In this testimony, I have referred to the need to improve customer communications by examining the “best practices” of other utilities throughout the nation. 

I have learned that both Florida Power and Light and Georgia Power have in place comprehensive customer service systems that have done much to ease the stress and anxiety associated with a power failure.  This largely automated system walks customers through the process of reporting an outage in a customer-friendly and easy to follow manner.  After reporting an outage to the automated system, the customer immediately learns if their problem is part of a larger area outage and if so, learns the extent and cause of the problem and is given an estimated time of restoration. All in one phone call.  This is followed by another message stating that the customer will receive follow up calls periodically to advise them of the progress of the work order.  It then confirms the customer’s phone number.  Finally, the system calls the customer with updates when the work crew arrives at the site and to advise that power has been restored.  It also gives the customer an opportunity to speak to a representative if his or her power has not in fact been restored. 

I see no reason why Con Ed’s customer relations/communications system cannot be changed to a system that is being used in Atlanta, Georgia or Broward County, Florida by two totally different utilities. It should be the first change they make.

This is just one example of the kinds of practices that I believe Con Edison and the PSC should be implementing here in New York. This is not rocket science—it is simply modern technology.  I am sure, that with minimal effort, other “best practices” could be found which address emergency response planning and preparation, redundancy in infrastructure, refund processes and practices, resource allocation, etc.

Similarly, I would like to understand why when the Long Island Power Authority experienced more extensive outages on Long Island during the same Labor Day Weekend storm that hit Westchester, that utility managed to restore their customers in approximately 24 hours. Again, what practices is LIPA using in emergency response preparation that Con Ed is not?

The major interruptions in power service experienced by Con Edison customers this year have made the need for change abundantly clear.  I am hopeful that this hearing will help us down that path.

Thank you, again for this opportunity to address these honorable committees.