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 MR. & MRS. & Ms. White Plains Voice. September 11, 2006 UPDATED September 12, 2006: The County Board of Legislators approved a $1.6 Million, 95-year lease of the Grand Avenue post office property, voting 12-5 three times to clear the way for development of a county affordable senior housing project on the Grand Street Post Office Parking Lot, which is opposed by the Administration of the City of White Plains. Bill Ryan, Chair of the Board of Legislators explains:

Bill Ryan. March 2006.

Photo, WPCNR News Archive.

Because so much misinformation has been circulated, I’m asking the WPCNR to publish a letter which I recently sent to White Plains Common Council members along with some answers to commonly asked questions.  These should clarify the County Board’s right to advance and approve this innovative response to a definite housing need in our community.

Unfortunately, opponents of this senior housing have delayed the approval process, but I believe the final result will be well worth the wait.

It’s my hope that after Monday’s vote we can all move forward cooperatively to make this project a great success and a credit to our community.

 Sincerely, Bill Ryan

Chair, Westchester County Board of Legislators  

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WPCNR MAIN STREET JOURNAL. September 11, 2006: WPCNR wrote these thoughts as I was listening to the terrible event that took place this morning five years ago:

Trade Center Demolished Connects Us All. Posted on Tuesday, September 11 @ 11:58:08 EDT by jfbailey In the worst premeditated surprise attack on any nation anywhere, with loss of life in the thousands, the World Trade Center Towers collapsed into rubble Tuesday morning by 10:30 AM and we all realized how connected we are. No novelist has imagined this disaster. It is all too real and horrible. Not since the Hindenburg disaster have I heard radio reporting so emotional. Not since Hiroshima and Nagasaki has there been such loss of life in a single attack. As the attacks mounted every 15 minutes observed one radio reporter, America realized how connected we all are. At least this reporter did. What impressed this reporter, was how connected we all really are here in America. A candidate for office worried about their treasurer’s wife who works in the Trade Center. I worried about my nephew, just starting his new job this summer in lower Manhattan, and I do not know exactly where he works. My brother-in-law called from Miami to see if my wife was all right. (She is.) A friend of mine called to see if my wife was all right, too, then he mentioned what about those children in school who have parents working in those buildings? It was a sobering, angering thought. Sobering because, you knew some of them had to have lost their parents. You just knew that. Our very communicative society was communicating, phonelines were jammed. Everyone thought of loved ones or persons that they knew that perhaps worked down there. Persons watching the horror unfold, broke down in front of their televisions. Breaking down, because of the sense that there was nothing they could do. As I write this at 12 noon today, the end of these maniacal acts (a very appropriate description from one WOR reporter) is not in sight. But, when it does end, and it will, let’s remember how connected we feel to those entombed in the Trade Center rubble. Let’s pull together and work together more, like those brave New York City Firefighters who obviously were trapped in the buildings when they collapsed. The police who obviously have died trying to evacuate the innocents within. I don’t want to hear any more knocks on the NYPD. And please, Hollywood, no made-for-tv movies about this.

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WPCNR MILESTONES. September 10, 2006: The City of White Plains will hold an observance commemorating the victims of the 9-11 terrorist attacks this evening in Liberty Park on Silver Lake at 6 P.M. The public is invited to pay their respects.

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WPCNR MAIN STREET JOURNAL. By John F. Bailey. September 7, 2006: Louis Cappelli, the Super Developer of New Roc City in New Rochelle, City Center of White Plains, Trump Tower at City Center, now developing the Ritz Carlton White Plains, released a statement on the state of security in the White Plains downtown Tuesday evening. Taking with utmost seriousness letters sent WPCNR by persons who felt threatened because of encounters they had with surly young persons in the City Center, Cappelli told WPCNR, “We are all over it.”

 

 

Louis Cappelli, The Super Developer, told WPCNR in an interview Tuesday evening he will mingle  in the crowds himself in the 9 PM to 1 AM hour to observe the  night crowd atmosphere inside the Center and at the Renaissance Plaza Fountain at Main and Mamaroneck Avenues. Louis Cappelli is shown on a May walking tour  on the Church Street side of the Ritz-Carlton White Plains hotel and condominiums he is building at 221 Main Street.  Photo, WPCNR News Archive.

 

He said White Plains Police have never confirmed any gang presence in the City Center vicinity, as reported by letters to WPCNR and by observers confirming to this reporter youths hanging together and wearing subtle clothing markings.  Mr. Cappelli stated in the three years of the City Center operation, there has not been an incident.

 

 

WPCNR asked Mr. Cappelli his reaction to the letter of one reader, BrendaL, which prompted several more letters confirming similar observations,  

 

Mr. Cappelli: I think that cities that are growing, I think crowds gather, I think that with the fountain and  hot summer nights that’s when the crowds really gather. I’m thinking that 3 millon have probably been through City Center the last two years. It’s been a pleasurable and enjoyable experience for 99.9% of them. I think some instances, maybe something like that could occur.

 

We certainly are going to look into it. We have security cameras that have filmed 24 hours a day in all of these areas (in the City Center), and none of them have shown this situation. We looked at the cameras Friday night and Sunday night, between 9 P.M. and 1 A.M. and nothing has shown. But, that doesn’t mean anything. We’re just going to make sure that everybody feels safe and comfortable, and we’re just going to get more vigilant to make sure everybody’s feeling good (about City Center).”

 

WPCNR: Are you going to increase the number of your security personnel?

 

Louis Cappelli: Probably. In the summertime, especially outside and all around a lot of people gather. It’s a gathering place for couples, families. Kids will be kids. We just have to control the kids. There certainly are tremendous amounts of families going to the movie theatre. Three of my executives live in City Center in condos in Trump Tower, and they were at the movies Friday  7 o’clock, Saturday at the 11 o’clock and Sunday, and they haven’t really had a bad experience. But we’re certainly going to be vigilant on this. (Regarding what security cameras show), I’m knocking on my head right now,  there’s been no event of any nature in two and a half years.

 

Mr. Cappelli observed the cooperation between City Center and the city, saying

 

 “We have good security. White Plains is providing good security, the police department’s great, and if there’s a hint here and there that we’ve certainly read about in this letter. We’ve been open since October, 2004, in two years, and this is the first letter you received.”

 

Rules Suggested.

 

 WPCNR:  The atmosphere described in the letter(s)  appears to be a recent development.

 

 Louis Cappelli: “I think that with more places to go, there’s more reasons to come to the downtown and I think that we have to stay vigilant that we’re a growing city, and we have to be cognizant of that. We’re encouraging people to come to the downtown and you can’t tell kids you can’t come.  But we have to be vigilant to make sure that there’s rules for them. Rules for how they treat people, how courteous they are. A 13 year old to a 19 year old is a 13-year-old to a 19-year-old. Hopefully supervised, but we have to make sure they know there are rules.”

 

WPCNR: Is there anyone in your organization persons can contact to help you with incidents that occur.

 

Louis Cappelli: That’s what I’m trying to figure out. My people are going through all the tapes four 4 or 5 days we keep from 9 to 1 A.M. to see if this (the complaints) has any substance. Nevertheless, regardless of the fact  we want to continue to make sure the experience of the restaurants, the shopping, the movies at City Center is a good, comfortable, safe experience, and that includes the downtown as we’re growing

 

Police Assure Cappelli There are no gang presences

Unruly young persons

 

WPCNR: To your knowledge then there has been no notice of quasi gang presence as described  by some of the letter writers.

 

Louis Cappelli: Absolutely not.  I stay three to four nights a week in Trump Tower and I haven’t experienced that. But we will certainly be vigilant.

 

WPCNR: What about say, groups of unruly young people?

 

Louis Cappelli: That doesn’t make a gang. That’s a different ball game. You’re asking me if  it’s possible  that there may unruly teens in the area, I’d answer yes, maybe. We supervise that. We’ve been open down in New Rochelle (New Roc City-a popular youth mecca) since September 1997 and we’re going to be there nine years. Never an incident in nine years.

 

I think the same thing holds true here. I’ve read the letter. I’m going to get into it, certainly with the city and my people, and we’re going to make sure that certainly in the area of the City Center and the Renaissance Fountain that the unruly hommes, that I’m not afraid to use that terminology, that there may be some unruly teens, I believe that’s possible and we’re going to go down and sort of harness the energy of these unruly teens and try to figure a way to supervise that situation.

 

(Cappelli  enlisted the public’s help and suggested that persons should call his offices at 769-6500 to advise his staff confidentially of situations they encounter in the future, or, WPCNR would suggest, the City Center office on the premises at the time of any situations they believe should be reported.)

 

WPCNR: Does National Amusements in the City Center have a loitering policy?

 

Louis Cappelli: They’re doing $12 Million a year in that theatre. I will clearly ask them that question. It’s funny, John, you have 3 to 4 Million people a year go through some place and somebody, two or three or four people have a bad sense. We’re all going to react to it. But it’s certainly not, I don’t think,  symptomatic of any place that’s unsafe. It’s symptomatic of a bit of unsupervised teens in the summertime. I think that’s all it’s about.

 

WPCNR: Have you talked to the Commissioner of Public Safety (Frank Straub) about this? (Dr. Straub and the Mayor of White Plains have not responded to WPCNR requests for their analysis of the real downtown situation)

 

Louis Cappelli: I haven’t. Bruce (Berg, Vice President of Cappelli Enterprises) talked to him today. I’m going to call Wednedsay because we’re all taking this very seriously, and go through it with them. The City of White Plains certainly is a good safe city. We care. You care. Everybody cares.”

 

Cappelli said he was going to meet with his security firm explore solutions, new techniques and rules and possible new policies in reaction to the public’s concerns.

 

Cappelli Enterprises released the following statement to the public Tuesday evening

 

 Statement from Cappelli Enterprises Concerning Security At City Center and in the Downtown Area of White Plains.

 

As the owners of City Center and developers of several major real estate projects in downtown White Plains, we are always concerned about the safety and security of our shoppers, residents and visitors.

 

As is the case with any major retail and entertainment center, security for our guests is a priority. We main a professional and significant security presence at City Center and we take the responsibility for the safety of our gurests very seriously. We will continue to take all necessary steps to assure that the thousands of visitors who come to enjoy the stores, restaurants, movies and entertainment offered at City Center feel safe and secure.

 

In the summertime, the number of people, especially young people that come to downtown and to City Center in particular increases dramatically. Therefore, we have added additional security inside our building to control the crowds.

 

With regard to public safety on the streets outside City Center, we work very closely with the White Plains Police Department, the Business Improvement District and City of White Plains officials to review current safety procedures and to implement appropriate measures to ensure that the streets are welcoming and secure for visitors.

 

Over the last several years downtown White Plains has enjoyed a dramatic increase in new and inviting activities and attractions, and there is much more to come. We are proud to have played a significant role in revitalizing the downtown area, and we will continue to actively work with the officials and the community as a whole to keep White Plains moving forward in a positive direction.

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WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL-CHRONICLE EXAMINER. September 6, 2006: The Common Council and Mayor Joseph Delfino conducted the monthly council meeting last night, voting to close the zoning portion of the public hearing on the North Street Community senior citizen development, agreeing to take it up again December 4, but not before Councilperson Rita Malmud chided the city for giving the council a 47-page document on zoning changes just prior to the meeting.

(More)

The Council was assured by the Corporation Counsel Edward Dunphy that the present zoning proposal was “not worth the paper it was printed on,” and that eventual new zoning the council would “craft”  would be noticed for a public hearing once the council had discussed the 47-pages of “recommendations,” and come up with how it wants to address zoning to fit the North Street Community project.

The head of the Wyndham Close Association (immediately South of the proposed project),  said he objected to reading in The Journal News how the city had suggested cutting 18 units from the North Street project which he had not been told about.

He said that was way too small a cut in density, saying it should be much more. Rosemarie Hicks, speaking against the project said the council never met a development they did not like, and warned the cumulative effect of all the projects could be devastating for the city.

The council, after being assured by Mr. Dunphy that further discussion of the present zoning plan suggested was meaningless, voted 6-1 to close the zoning hearing, pending their creating a new zoning solution to hear before the public in December. Ms. Malmud put Mr. Dunphy and the city on notice that she wanted plenty of time to review the final bond agreements for the project prior to approval.

After the vote, the Planning Commissioner, Susan Habel, addressed the 18 unit reduction proposal report published in the paper in response to the Wyndham Close President’s criticism: “There’s obviously misinformation out there. The statements in the newspaper…a statement was made that a communication refers to reducing it by 18 units. The Planning Department looks at a number of options in it the communication over a range and has to have analyses done of  these different options for the Common Council. There are no firm or specific recommendations that are made. There are recommendations that are made based on sets of assumptions which you may or may not accept.” 

The Mayor said smiling,  “Sometimes talking to a reporter, being kind and fair you talk about a million things and he makes a story out of it. That’s what happened in this case and it’s to be avoided in the future.”

B-2 Zoning Change Nixed.

Then the council  surprised Ms. Hicks, closing the public hearing and  voted against zoning the 586 North Broadway property owned by VBJR Realty, which would have moved the balance of the owner’s property into the B-2 Zoning District, making the property more attractive. Councilpersons Malmud, Roach and Boykin strongly endorsing the view  that the city had to protect against encroachment of commerical interests on the close in neighborhoods, and not change zoning to benefit owners at the expense of the quality of life of city residents. The Council voted unanimously to kill the proposal, and recommended the owner seek a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals.

In the final public hearings of the night, the council approved the undertaking of the Urban Renewal Demonstration Project to build 52 rental units for households earning 60% to 50% of median income ($80,000) at  260 Main Street to build  affordable housing as part of the  171-unit The Pinnacle condominium  development  across the street from City Hall. The Council also approved designating 260 Main Associates RC (the Ginsburg Development Corporation concern created for this project), as the “qualified and eligible sponsor” of the 52 rental units. The developers’ lawyers noted upon questioning by Councilman Benjamin Boykin and Dennis Power that they expected to break ground on the Pinnacle project by beginning demolotion by the end of September. Willimam Null revealed on questioning by Power that they are seeking a Westchester County grant from the Westchester County Department of Planning to replace the grant rejected by the county two weeks ago.  The council was again assured publicly by the City Planning Commissioner that the project would be guaranteed to remain affordable housing for 40 years.

Dump Work Bonds to be Issued for $1M

The major item on the consent agenda consisted of the city approving bonding for $1,050,000 for “improvements” to the City Dump, as described in the agenda. However, the “improvements” consist of installing a concrete barrier under the composting fill to prevent leaching of toxic waters into the water supply and removal of trees and wooden refuse. The city is being required to execute the change to the composting pile to remove an ongoing violation of New York State Department of Environmental Conservation regulations that the DEC has known about for thirty years, that the city has ignored complying with until this year.

A spokesperson for the DEC, Wendy Rosenbach, told WPCNR Tuesday that the compost pile could be reestablished on another portion of the dump property, but that the dump could no longer be used as a landfill and had to be closed. Rosenbach was asked whether the City would also be required to remediate and remove the TriChloralEthane (TCE) contamination the DEC has found on the site, that the city has allowed to remain for 30 years.

Rosenbach said she would check into whether the remediation issue involving the TCE had been resolved. She said the city may be allowed to simply “cap” the landfill and not dispose of any more TCE’s, but to her knowledge, she could not say as of yesterday whether the city would he required to remediate the TCE (for possibly more expense) before executing the construction of a new DEC-compliant compost.