WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER 3,374,995 VISITS IN ONE YEAR—65,000 VISITS A WEEK BY 985,281 VISITORS

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WPCNR PRESS BOX. November 17, 2004: Tuesday evening White Plains High School held its Fall Sports Awards dinner. In a departure from last year’s format, parents and athletes gathered in the foyer of the auditorium for cheese and refreshments, entered the auditorium where Athletic Director Nick Panaro introduced the seniors on the fall sports teams (with exception of the football team, which gets their own dinner), and their parents. After that, the teams broke classrooms for individual team awards and hero sandwiches, salad, pasta and cookies. In previous years teams ate all at once at tables in the gymnasium in a brightly decorated orange-and-black streamer atmosphere. WPCNR asks those who attended which format they like better in today’s new poll.

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WPCNR ROVING PHOTOGRAPHER. November 17, 2004: Today’s POTD is White Plains today as seen from 2,000 feet looking West, showing the Trump Tower at City Center, City Hall, Westchester One and Eastview.

WHITE PLAINS WEST. By the WPCNR Roving Photographer.

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WPCNR MONEY TALKS. November 16, 2004: The New York Times reported today that the Fortunoff family has sold its chain of six stores,  to Trimaran Capital Partners for $280 Million. The Fortunoff family retains a 25% stake in their business. Reports that Peter J. Solomon Company was shopping the properties last fall (released by the Solomon organization), were denied to WPCNR by the Fortunoff organization. A Fortunoff spokesperson at the time said the company was merely seeking capital for expansion. Yesterday they sold control of the company.

In another apparent windfall for a local player, Cappelli Enterprises has sold its stake in the Concord and Grossinger’s hotel properties in the Catskills, according to a report from Reckson Strategic Venture that crossed the Dow Jones NewsWire Monday. Bruce Berg, President of Cappelli Enterprises, declined comment to WPCNR. Louis Cappelli, the Super Developer, philanthropist, and creator of the Renaissance in White Plains, took WPCNR’s call but has not made an official statement on the reported property sale as of Tuesday morning.

An observer doing a rough analysis of the sketchy figures on Fortunoff sales, notes to WPCNR that, according to the Times published report Fortunoff had $445 Million in sales in the year 2000. Our analyst notes that the purchase price of $280 Million is 62% of the total earnings of the company in 2000. Earnings now could be as high as $550Million to $600 Million, considering Fortunoff did not have its White Plains store in 2000, the year the $445 Million figure was quoted by The Times.

Our analyst this this probably means that Fortunoff is carrying a lot of debt considering the purchase price is little more than half the projected revenues of the company. Fortunoff’s investment bankers are reported as saying the sale will be used to finance new stores in Palm Beach and Miami. The Times also reports the anchor Fortunoff store in Westbury earned $160 Million in sales in 2003, meaning its other five stores earn around $300 Million, or $60 Million per store.  It could be the new owner might consider closing some of the satellites.

Cappelli Closes Another Deal?

Meanwhile, Louis Cappelli and his partners in the Concord Hotel and Grossinger’s properties in Sullivan County, have been reported by Dow Jones as having sold their Catskill stake in the two grand old hotels. Mr. Cappelli has not confirmed this to WPCNR.

It appears that when Governor George Pataki closed a deal with the Cayuga Indian Nation, June 11, to build an operate a casino adjacent to Monticello Raceway, that it made Mr. Cappelli’s dream of a $500 Million Resort and Timeshare at the Concord, not as attractive, since it would be competing with a massive casino at Monticello Raceway.  Mr. Cappelli had long dreamed of turning the Concord and Grossinger’s properties into a casino (90 miles from New York City).

 On the other hand, it may be that Empire Resorts, owers of Monticello Raceway, the reported purchasers of the Concord-Grossinger’s property, (which still stand, despite a much ballyhooed start of demolition in October, 2000) see the now reported former Cappelli-Reckson Strategic Venture property as a better site for their casino, since they are already cleared to operate a 1,800 video slot machine quasi-casino at the Raceway. 

No dollar amount was reported, and the report of the sale was aired on WCBS Radio. Mr. Cappelli, partnering with Reckson Strategic Venture, of Uniondale, N.Y., purchased Grossingers for $6 Million, and the Concord for $10.6 Million in 1998.

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WPCNR WHITE PLAINS VOICE. November 15, 2004: It was reported today that the auction for the St. Agnes Hospital property will be held by the New York State Dormitory Authority on December 14, 2004 at the Westchester County Courthouse in White Plains. A reader writes in support of the Italian Hospital Society plan for that property: (See Friday’s Story)

Dear Mr. Bailey,

Your coverage of the Italian Hospital Society’s initiative to use – purchase the St. Agnes property as a humantarian facilty for the aged and to rescue the now threatened Children’s Physical Rehabilitation Center is perhaps the best spoken plan to date.  Hopefully this cause will not fall on deaf ears and blinded political leaders.

The vision of Dr. Migone and the use of the St. Agnes property to serve the people of Westchester County is a vision and a dream we all share with the Italian Hospital Society.  A dream and a vision that will serve all of mankind through out New York State, not just Westchester County, if not the entire country: making the most effective positive use of the now defunct St. Agnes Property.  

White Plains, having only one local medical faciltiity to serve the public need (the White Plains Hospital) right now, leaves our public welfare in a precarious and dangerous situation in terms of caring for the ill and providing the necessary medical needs for all.

Dr, Migone’s project is one in which affordable care will be provided in many years to come serving our city, state and public welfare with the public interest as a priority! Affordable medical care for the ill and needy as the paramount humantarian objective bringing back the re-opening of the St. Agnes property to once again service the public as it was initially intended to do, help people and those in need.

The worst possible use of the St. Agnes property would be to remove it as a medical facilty and convert it into the use of private residents and homes. Profit being the motivating incentive to serve the needs of a few rather then the needs of all!

In my opinion the sale of the St. Agnes property by the Dormitory Authority who currently owns the property and apparently is placing it on the auction bid to the highest bidder is an embarrassment to the public interest, need  and integrity of the Dormitory Authority.  Converting a not for profit institutional property into a private profit entity disregarding the public need as a solution to resolve a debt is a most unfortuante solution.

It is my hope that our elected officals on all levels local and state will closely scrutinize this mistake of selling off the St. Agnes property. Work collectively and examine the plans and  initiative of the Italian Hospital Society, save the St. Agnes property and support this plan which is the best to date.  A win win situation with a postive out come and a bright future for the aging ill and children in need.

Westchester County and the City of White Plains finally has an opportunity to rescue the St. Agnes property and retain it for its true value and purpose, to serve us the people and those in need, especially our aging and the care of disabled children in need.

I encourage everyone to support this effort and ask our elected officials to support this wonderful much needed facilty and dream of the Italian Hospital Society.

Thank you Dr. Mignone for your great vision and concerns for humanity!

Carl Albanese
White Plains resident

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WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From Westchester County Department of Communications. (EDITED) November 15, 2004: There will be no increase in the Westchester County property tax levy for next year, under a proposed $1.47 billion spending plan for 2005 unveiled today by County Executive Andy Spano. The budget calls for no new taxes but provides for $17.5 Million increase in new increased Medicaid costs (for a total of $238 Million in 2005).

            “This is a fiscally sound budget that holds the line on property taxes and maintains all existing county services,” said Spano. “With this budget, we also hold the line on bus fares and make no cuts to our non-profit social service and cultural agencies that are so important to the quality of life in Westchester.

            He added, “While the 2005 Medicaid increase is not as high as this year’s, it is still a whopping $17.5 million increase. If  the state had passed legislation (which was supported by counties throughout New York) to cap the increase at the 2004 level,  we could have reduced taxes by three percent. And if we were getting our fair share of state transit aid, similar to other counties, to help pay for our Bee-Line bus system, there could have been an additional tax reduction.”

            “I promise to continue to lobby the state for changes to offset the costs of these programs for Westchester’s property tax payers,” Spano said.

            Westchester County property taxes comprise 16-20 percent of a property owner’s tax bill. The remainder of the tax is levied by school districts, local governments and special districts, such as sewer, water, solid waste and fire. Every $5 million in levy spending is equal to approximately 1 percent on the county tax bill. This year there is no increase in the levy and therefore no tax increase.

            “This budget, along with earlier budgets that I submitted during my first term, further demonstrates that it is state mandates, not county spending, that has caused county property taxes to rise,” Spano said. “More important than reforming the dysfunctional process by which Albany operates is to reform Albany’s practice of  having local property taxpayers pay for state-mandated programs.”

FISCAL PRESSURES CONTINUE

• The cost to the county of state and federally mandated programs continues to soar.  Of this, the greatest increase — $17.5 million — will be in Medicaid. Medicaid will cost Westchester  taxpayers $238 million in 2005. Budgeted Medicaid expenditures have increased 73 percent – or $100.7 million —  since 1998.

• Other mandated programs include Social Service accounts, which will be up $5.4 million, and  Services for Children with Disabilities, which will be up $3.5 million.

• Bee-line bus costs are up $9.2 million over 2004. In contrast, state transportation aid  is the same as it was in 1998. Despite this, the county is not raising bus fares or cutting bus service.

STREAMLINING OF GOVERNMENT CONTINUES

• Spano’s budget would  abolish 37 vacant positions, bringing to 437 – or almost 9 percent of the workforce — the total number of positions abolished over the last seven years since Spano took office.  The reductions for 2005 will save an additional  $2,738,000  The cumulative  savings from these cuts since 1998 are $32.7 million. This takes into account an increase of 52 positions in Public Safety and Emergency Services as a result of September 11, as well as 4 new positions in Human Rights and 8 in Solid Waste.    

• Overtime has been reduced further for the Department of Correction. For next year, the saving will be an additional $4 million, on top of the $6.2 million in savings implemented in previous years. This has been accomplished with the closing of the women’s jail and the creation of a new women’s unit as well as the a reduction of the number of correction officers who are on paid disability leave.

• Westchester will save $3.8 million of what would have otherwise been a $9 million increase in the cost of health insurance for employees, thanks to new union contracts negotiated by the county.
  
  


• The county outsourced the employment services for Social Service to the Yonkers Chamber of Commerce, at a savings of $1 million, while providing better services to our customers.

• Dental clinics in the Department of Health that provided services to children have been closed, with services provided elsewhere. This has saved $264,000.

• Westchester will save $212,000 because it implemented a credit card bail system at the jail, which has reduced by 1,325 the collective number of days prisoners are kept in custody.

•  Administrative costs continue to be reduced, to $5.8 million for next year.  In 1999, $14.3 million was spent on these costs, associated with such departments as Budget, Human Resources, Finance, Information Technology, Law, Planning.

• The size of the county’s motor pool is further decreased by 20 vehicles, for a savings of $250,000 in addition to the previous reduction of 17, for a total savings of $465,000.

• The budget continues  various policies that have been implemented over the last 7 years to eliminate duplication of services, to cut back on travel expenses and to implement new technologies that make government more efficient.

REVENUES

• The county tax levy – the actual amount the county takes in in property taxes – will remain at $479.3 million.

• New revenues enacted earlier this year (the increases in the sales tax,  auto use tax and mortgage tax) will add $15.9 million in revenue. Sales tax revenue for 2005 is projected at $330 million for next year.

• State and federal government aid amounts to $378.9 million, or 27 .2 percent of all revenues for 2005. This is down from 30.3 percent 1998.

•  Due to the improved financial condition of the Westchester Medical Center, the budget includes  the $10 million in revenue for services supplied by the county and paid for by the hospital. This revenue had been deferred for the past two years.