An Old-Fashioned Sunday Doubleheader.

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WPCNR ROVING PHOTOGRAPHER . April 11, 2006: Todays’ Photograph of the day brings back the glory of the inner city ballpark, that oasis of green amongst the towers and the nitty gritty and the spires of commerce that lets the city breath. Such a ballpark is the Rutgers-Newark fastpitch softball field site of an old-fashioned Sunday doubleheader in the sunshine yesterday, with downtown Newark as its stage.



We’ve Got  green grass sunshine.  Let’s Play Two — Ernie Banks. Rutgers Scarlet Knights play Rowan College Sunday in a “an old-fashioned Sunday doubleheader.”  Photo, WPCNR Roving Photographer.


We’ve Got Plenty of Room Come on Out.


By Fastpitch Johnny


Give me the old-fashioned Sunday Twin Bill


Left over from the Fifties when baseball mattered not the till.


When Mel and Vin remarked into mikes in their booth redoubt.


“If you’re driving in the area,


We’ve Got Plenty of Room, Come on out!”


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When the Openers match Kings of the Hill


AVirgil Trucks and Allie Reynolds who’d give the big Sunday crowd a thrill.


In  the Nightcap, in long shadows, a rookie like Tiant would debut


Matching a long reliever, El Tiante in one chance for the Tribe’s rotation breakthrough.


 


You got one game per scorecard so you had to buy two with grids too small.


It was two games for the price of one, the only true bargain I ever recall.


Soggy hot dogs for lunch and soggy hot dogs for dinner  was a fans’ banquet


Camaraderie in empty upper decks made an endless day of serendipidous companions you met.


 


As ace matches ace, pitch for pitch  on carpet of green in neat parallel mow,


Sharp shadows creep between mound and home as The Opena’s innings progressed inexorably


Sun bronzes bleacher baskers, while winds chill deck denizens in shadow


Pennants whip-snap with cheer above grandstand. Goose-eggs align on towering scoreboard stately.


 


The “Pock” of stomped drinking cups by bored miscreants punctuate the nightcap’s  languid pace.


Gorging on ball, eating our fill of cracks of the bat, nifty picks, and pitching changes


The fateful shadows of the game, extending, quenching our thirst as we drank in the game’s changing face.


Shadows are long now, starters long gone, the closer tries to nail it down. Another of the game’s challenges.


 


Drinking fill of creamy crisp beer’s head, we chat with neighbor like sages of Homer


Pleased when judgments are confirmed, roaring together on the clutch hit gamer.


Eager to commend and second guess and leap to our feet when a bad call enrages.


Every play is discussed and analyzed, with new found companions newfound friends better than any girl friend.


 


Shadows cover the outfield now, a bowl of sunshine basking the last bleacherites


Laying a patina of dusty gold hue over dark outfield walls


Lighting up wrappers and cups in now vacant bleacher wells


Zhyphers of the past wisk papers and dust devils across outfield sentinels as Nightcap ends and glowing tower lights.


 


A split, a split! Opener’s heartbreaker is forgotten with a mighty collective shout!


Down the ramps to street, talking Jackie’s winning hit. A last look at Elysian Field green,


The game in its cathedral beckons and holds an always-with-you scene,


We’ve Got Plenty of Room, Come on Out



Comisky Park, Chicago, 1975. Photo, WPCNR Sports


 


 

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10 Windsor Terrace Will Not Be Built. Second Council Approved Development Flops

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WPCNR ODD LOTS. April 10, 2006: A spokesperson for Pulte Construction, would-be developers of 71 luxury condominiums at 10 Windsor Place told WPCNR today, the company “is not going to build it.” Windsor Terrace was approved with much fanfare to a development group which included the builders of Clayton Park, which cleared the property (after site plan approval by the Council).The original developers sold the property  to Pulte Homes for $6 Million according to a The Journal News report, and now Pulte is pulling out and selling it again The Journal News reports.


 



Eyesore across from Eastview School:  10 Windsor Terrace joins the Hamilton Avenue and Church Street vacant lot (across from the site where Avalon Bay plans to build), as another White Plains lot in limbo. Projects approved for these two sites have been abandoned after Common Council approval. The Church and Hamilton lot has already been sold once, and now there is an uncomfirmed report that the new owner has sold it again. Photo, WPCNR


Ten Windsor Place becomes the second site plan approved by the Common Council in the last three years to stall out. The Hamilton project on Church and Barker has been sold once and now is reported up for sale again. The Journal News report said that Pulte Homes has a buyer for the property, based on a spokesperson’s e-mail to a neighbor in the area, George Curtis.


Keith Eddings, the Journal News reporter, notes in his story today that Pulte is asking the Common Council to approval an extension of the site plan.


A lot with an approved site plan is more valuable and can fetch a higher price on the real estate market.


There is a third site plan that has been approved by the Council and extended three times that is the New York Presbyterian Hospital biotech/proton accelerator project, which is still awaiting a council decision as to whether to extend for a fourth time. Nothing has been done on that project for four years from the time it was approved in 2002. 

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Photograph of the Day: The North Street Gauntlet

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WPCNR Cars Vs. Pedestrians. April 10, 2006: As yours truly was making my way back from dropping off the WPCNR Mobile Unit for repairs today I chanced to cross North Street at Bryant Avenue Southbound on the Trinity Church and Baptist Church side. Walking Southbound across Bryant Avenue (where there is no X-ed out crosswalk and no “Walk, Don’t Walk signal,” for the direction I was going.  I was nearly taken out of circulation permanently by a van who honked me out of his right-of-way and I had to return to the curb, spinning out of the way like a matador.



NO 2 OF WHITE PLAINS MOST DANGEROUS INTERSECTIONS: Cross Walk to Nowhere on North Street & Bryant Avenue. The Cross Walk leading across Bryant Avenue does not connect to a sidewalk for pedestrians (high school students) to proceed southbound down North Street. There is no Cross Walk on the North Side of Bryant, nor crossing Bryant on the East side of Bryant.  Photo by WPCNR News.


I realized that only having two crosswalks at this most busy and contentious intersection was really inviting disaster for the pedestrians. On days when White Plains High School is in session, students use this intersection, which I can tell you is backed up something fierce with impatient cars making lefts and rights to proceed down North Street to the high school. Whether or not the City of White Plains is legal in only supplying two cross walks is not the issue. It’s not safe not having four cross walks.


Here’s why the cross walk across Bryant is on the West side of the instection in the background, but there’s no sidewalk, on the West side where the cross walk is. The Cross Walk does not lead to a sidewalk. The student or pedestrian crossing from Bryant to proceed southbound to the YWCA or the White Plains High School, then must cross North Street again to a sidewalk. Why doesn’t White Plains put in two more crosswalks, in order that cars may be slowed down especially during going-to-school hours?


The Main Street and Court Street intersection is similar. There is only one crosswalk and that’s on the Macy’s Side. Many pedestrians cross illegally at the Renaissance Square corner (where there is no crosswalk or “Walk-Don’t Walk Sign.”  Having only two crosswalks at contentious intersections, legal or not,  is  not safe for pedestrians, and encourages motorists to jump intersections and speed up their drive throughs.

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Stanley Schear. 1928-2006.

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WPCNR MILESTONES. April 10, 2006: A friend passes along this family remembrance of Stanley Schear:



The family of Stanley Schear would like you to know that Stanley, 77, died peacefully at home at the Schear farmhouse in Briarcliff Manor, NY, on Saturday morning, April 8. A team of home hospice nurses and a home health aide worked with the Schear family to keep Stanley comfortable and free of pain. Stanley was diagnosed with esophageal cancer nearly three years ago, and he continued to live his life con gusto and work on behalf of the causes he believed in, despite major surgery and rounds of chemo therapy and radiation treatments.


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Since 2001, Stanley dedicated himself to the low-income elderly residents of Westchester County, New York as the Director of the LIFE Program (Living Independently for the Frail Elderly ) of Family Service of Westchester. For the preceding decade, Stanley directed the Bridge Fund of Westchester, a program that prevents homelessness by making it possible for at-risk individuals and families to stay in their homes and apartments.

Before becoming a full-time advocate for affordable housing, Stanley was renowned for twenty-five years as the owner and operator of Jespersen’s Pastry Shop in Scarsdale Village, where his famed chocolate pastry named for Sarah Bernhardt brought joy to countless connoisseurs of fine pastry. 

Stanley was also well known as a community activist who believed that all people deserve the dignity of a roof over their heads, regardless of their race, income, age, or mental health status. An avid defender of the U.S. Bill of Rights, Stanley served on the boards of the Westchester County and New York State Civil Liberties Unions, as well as the Paul Robeson Foundation. Stanley founded and organized the annual Bill of Rights Day Celebration for high school students, which takes place at St. Paul’s Church in Mt. Vernon, the site of the trial of Peter Zenger, which established freedom of the press.

Stanley is survived by Doris Schear, his loving wife and life partner of 58 years, his daughter Rose Anne and sons Stuart and Mitchell, and their families. Stanley leaves behind many friends, admiring colleagues, and fellow activists who believe in the full promise of the American dream for all. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Stanley’s honor to the Sunshine Fund of Family Service of Westchester, which meets critical needs of the county’s low-income frail elderly, so they may live with dignity. Donations to the Sunshine Fund may be sent c/o FSW, One Gateway Plaza, Port Chester, NY, 10573.


A public Memorial Service will take place at the Westchester Society for Ethical Culture in White Plains on Saturday, April 29 at 1 PM. . The family will be receiving guests on Monday April 10 and Tuesday April 11 starting at 5 PM, and on Sunday, April 16 starting at 2 PM at 230 South State Road in Briarcliff Manor, NY. Burial is private.

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The Great Stanley Schear Departs. Activist,Advocate, Created Sarah Bernhardts

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WPCNR RETROSPECTIVES. April 8, 2006: WPCNR was advised today that Stanley Schear, tireless activist and advocate for the homeless, who owned a famous bakery in Scarsdale for many years died today. He created the intriguing confection “Sarah Bernhardts,” the chocolate mousse filled confection covered in melt-in-your-mouth chocoate shell that spread his fame county wide. But, Mr. Schear was better known for his speaking out on behalf of those less fortunate than he. A friend of his passed on this note of respect:


We were very saddened today to hear that our long-time friend, the community activist Stanley Schear, died at his home in Briarcliff Manor.  Stanley had been fighting cancer for some time now, but he did go peacefully in his sleep.  Just to refresh your memory, Stanley was active in the anti-Vietnam movement (where we first met him),a tireless worker for civil liberties and civil rights; and then went on to become a housing advocate, a finder of homes for the homeless and in his final years, a provider of services for senior citizens.  This world, this county and many of us will miss him greatly. Our heartfelt sympathies are with Doris and her close family.

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City, School Tax Combo will cost Owner of Average Home in WP $8,393 in 2006-7

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WPCNR QUILL & EYESHADE.  By John F. Bailey April 8, 2006: First looks at two pages of the 2006-2007 budget by WPCNR indicate the city is running a deficit of  $2,249,069 more than revenues as the Common Council prepares to be briefed by the Mayor’s financialists Monday at 6 P.M. in the Mayor’s Conference Room at City Hall. The projected tax rate for both city and school system mean the owner of the White Plains average home assessed at $15,000, will pay a total of $8,393 in school and city property taxes in budget year 2006-2007.



THE RAW BUDGET. A “Black Market” copy of the budget may be seen on www.whiteplainsonline.com. Photo, WPCNR DocuLab.



On the city side, the $136,580,112 General Fund calls for an 8.7%  property tax increase to augment Sales Tax and other revenues to meet the $136,580,112 in expenditures. This computes a tax rate of $132.64 (up $9.59)  per $1,000 of assessed value, a $144 increase in City Property Taxes for the property owner living in a house assessed at  $15,000. When you add that  $144 to the $1,845 in city tax that owner pays in City Taxes in 2005-2006, and the city tax bill for you, Mr. or Mrs. or Ms. “Average Homeowner”  is going to be $1,989. (I have rounded to the nearest dollar.)


The tax rate bumping up against 9% is caused in part by the hemorrhaging of assessables that spiraled down to $296,154,564 for 2006-2007 down from $302,256,199 in 2005-2006. The city has to make up far less than the school district. The ratio between school district and city tax dollar is $4 for every $1.


When School and City Taxes Mingle…


Combine the rather modest  $144 City Tax increase with the $500 increase called for by the new School District Adopted Budget released Monday.  That same average total city-school tax bill for for $15,000 property will goes up $644 for that $15,000-assessed house. 


The homeowner of the $15,000 home pays $1,989 in City Tax as the present City Budget goes into surgery, and $6,404 in School Property Taxes for a total of $8,393 in taxes.


Budget Director Outlook


Anne Reasoner writing in the 2006-2007 begins with this analysis of the city in transition:


“if the City had not planned as well as it has for the future, the following facts hold true here: The assessment reductions on older buildings would still have happened, since the Equalization Rate substantially affects valuation and the increase of residential properties are part of the mix. The increased sales taxes would not have been there to help restrain property taxes. Additional revenues from PILOTS vs. equivalent property taxes would not have been generated. The sizable mortgage tax revenues realized by the City would have been substantially less, not to mention parking revenues from increased visitors and White Plains would very likely have continued to be a City in decline with a deteriorating downtown, instead of the vibrant, award-winning place it has become, attracting new (on balance higher earning and younger residents and visitors to live, work, and play.


Ms. Reasoner’s predictions are mixed:  Revenues from Sales Tax will eventually level off. To that end, it is imperative for the City to review fee structures in all departments to make sure they are kept up to date. Ms. Reasoner, in addition calls for consolidations and to be wary of duplication of services between departments.


Sales Tax Flat at this time. Waiting for Wal Mart


Sales Tax in the 06-07 budget is estimated as $42,550,000 absolutely deadeven with 2005-2006. The city is crossing its fingers that Wal-Mart due to open this month will get the sales tax nudging.  The money collected in sales tax after six months of 2005-2006 was sitting on $21,184,041. Unless Wal Mart comes through big time in May June bringing in a million, without impacting Target and other mall stores, the city will not have that little something extra. But, that is not to say the Wal Mart Windfall will not save the day.


Meanwhile, salaries are projected at $69 million, up 4.2%,(from $66,216,965)  benefits $32.4 Million up 6-1/2% (from $30,424,197) and Debt Service at $8.9 Million in 2006-2007.


The unforeseen windfalls of 2006-2007 could bring visions and realities of  mortgage taxes, new assessment valuations, higher parking collections, and land sales to turn a surplus. But, this should all come clear as the budget talks begin Monday evening.


One thing Ms. Reasoner notes is that the revenue budget is bolstered to the tune of $1,483,365 in deferred (amortized) pension payments for the police and fire pensions, for the third year straight. This technique actually produced the 2004-2005 surplus the city announced prior to the election, when $2,350,000 was teamed with the  mortgage tax windfall of approximately $4,000,000.


Cash coming in over the transom from mortgage taxes in combination with the pension amortization was the 2004-2005 magic bullet that created the “surplus” OF $1,451,437 in 2004-2005.


 



Combined Budgets Show City Operating at a loss going into budget deliberations. Photo, WPCNR DocuLab.


The “Paper Chaser” Puts 2006-2007 Budget Online


The “paper chaser,” Don Hughes has posted the elusive City of White Plains 2006-2007 Proposed Budget on his “just the documents, ma’am” website where he publishes the documents the city of White Plains could publish if it wished to on its own website, but does not.


Mr. Hughes, as a service to Mr. and Mrs. and Ms. White Plains publishes them for aficionados of the obsure but impactful ordinances, relations and decisions that alter and illuminate and complicate our time. All the sections of the brand-new $25 a copy  budget may be viewed at http://www.whiteplainsonline.com/WPOL_listing.rsp?_p_Operation=Ordinance&_p_Path=bd/2007/0.ProposedBudget/ 

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Adam Bradley Wrap Up on the Budget. Now It’s Up to Gov

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WPCNR’S ADAM IN ALBANY. By Assemblyman Adam T. Bradley, 89th Assembly District. April 7, 2006: Meeting in open conference committees, the Legislature once again reached a bipartisan budget agreement that invests in education and provides significant tax relief to Westchester residents.   As Legislators we have a continuing obligation to stand up for the best interests of the citizens we represent. The Legislature’s bipartisan budget passed on-time accomplishes this goal.

 


 


Enhancing Education


 


The Legislature’s bi-partisan budget agreement makes the necessary investments to create smaller class sizes, keep school buildings up-to-date, and delivers property tax savings for Westchester residents.  In total, schools in the 89th Assembly District will receive over $40.2 million in aid –  an increase of $2.7 million over last year.


 


In addition, the Legislature restored cuts and provided additional funding to various worthwhile programs including BOCES, Teacher Centers, Teacher Mentor Intern, Employment Preparation Education and Special Education.  The final budget agreement also provides:


·        An increase of funds to the universal pre-kindergarten program; for schools in the 89th Assembly District that means $737,000


·        Over $8.7 million to schools in the 89th Assembly District for capital projects through the newly created Expanding our Children’s Education and Learning (EXCEL) program


·        An additional $2.8 million for the state Comptroller’s office for school audits – to make sure schools spend tax dollars wisely


·        The Westchester Public Library System with $2.7 million – an increase of $203,407 over the governor’s proposal.


 


Tax Relief for Westchester Families


 


I fought for property tax rebates that will average $532 for Westchester homeowners who receive Basic STAR. For Enhanced STAR recipients, the average Westchester senior can expect a rebate of $822.  We also added a cost of living adjustment for Enhanced STAR that will save eligible Westchester senior homeowners an additional $373.  These enhancements are part of a broad package of tax cut savings for Westchester families, including:


·        The Empire State Child Tax Credit – a maximum credit of $330 for each child ages 4 to 17 within certain incomes


·        Eliminating the state sales tax on clothing and shoes under $110 – saving Westchester shoppers about $38 million a year


·        Reducing the marriage tax penalty – saving married couples $41 million annually when fully phased in


·        Tax credits for Nation Guard Members


 


The Legislature’s budget agreement invests in Westchester schools and responsibly mitigates local property taxes.  I will continue working in the Assembly to make sure our schools have the resources they need while protecting our overburdened property taxpayers.  I urge the governor to join that philosophy by ratifying our budget.


 

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Police Top Brass & New Neighborhood Commanders Talk Reorganization CNA Tues

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WPCNR SOUTH END TIMES. From Council of Neighborhood Associations. April 7, 2006: Commissioner of Public Safety Dr. Frank Straub and an entourage of police top brass will be the guests of the Council of Neighborhood Associations Tuesday, April 11 at 7:45 P.M. Commissioner Straub will introduce his three new “Precinct Commanders” to the neighborhoods and explain how the neighborhood and the police can work more closely together in a joint effort to make White Plains a safer city.  The meeting is at 5 Homeside Lane, Education House.


 



The New White Plains Police Big Three at CNA Tuesday: Public Safety Commissioner Frank Straub, center is flanked by First Deputy Commissioner Charles Jennings, left, and new Deputy Commissioner Daniel Jackson, right. They will be joined by Police Chief William Bradley, newly appointed Assistant Police Chief Anne FitzSimmons, and new “Precinct Commanders, Lieutenant Kevin Christopher Commander of the North Area, Lietenant Elizabeth Seit, Commander for the South Area of the City and Police Sergeant Wade Hardy for Captain Paul Lundin who will be in charge of the Central Business District. The White Plains police officials will describe how the new Area Command will be implemented to the neighborhoods. Photo of Wednesday news conference by WPCNR News.


                        

 

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The Residences at Jefferson Places Claim they are Half Sold Out.

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WPCNR SOUTHEND TIMES. From The Residences at Jefferson Place. (Edited) April 6, 2006: Sales at The Residences at Jefferson Place, the new moderately priced luxury condominium complex in downtown White Plains, has sold half of its 281 homes in the five months since the complex opened,  More than 70 residences are now occupied, and move-ins continue on a steady basis.

 


 


“People in the current real estate market have become far more price-point sensitive,” said Scott Zwilling, asset manager for the project’s developer JPI Northeast, one of the nation’s largest luxury residential developers. ”There is a tremendous demand for reasonably priced housing that also offers an extensive amenities package and luxury touches, and we designed this project with that in mind. With prices ranging from the low $300,000s to the mid $600,000s, we offer an extremely competitive product.”


 


All Roads Lead to White Plains


 


The Residences at Jefferson Place has attracted a wide range of buyers. Although many are, as expected, from the White Plains area, the development is also drawing a significant number of buyers from New York City and Long Island. “Buyers are being forced to drive to Orange and Dutchess counties to find prices in our range,” Zwilling said, “but then they can’t find the level of luxury and quality that we offer, and obviously they won’t enjoy the convenience of White Plains.”


 


The complex is drawing empty nesters who want to cash out equity in their homes for retirement, as well as young couples who are simply priced out of the New York City market. An unusual trend surfacing at The Residences Jefferson Place straddles the generational gap.


 


 “We have seen parents buying units for their children and children buying units for their parents,” said Zwilling. 


 


While all types of residences have been selling well, there has been a shift in demand.


 


 “We expected that the one-bedroom units would draw intense initial interest because of their very favorable pricing, and they have,” said Zwilling. ”Now interest in the two-bedroom residences has picked up, and we expect that demand will continue to grow as people compare what we have to offer with what is available elsewhere in the area for much more money.” Prices for two-bedroom units start in the high $400,000 range.



 

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Budget Mystery Solved.Libe Misplaced It City Admits.

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WPCNR QUILL & EYESHADE. By John F. Bailey. April 6, 2006:  Mr. and Mrs. and Ms. White Plains can feel a little safer tonight. Thanks to unrelenting investigative reporting by yours truly in the face of an onslaught of city denials, threat of lawsuit, and charges of “unsubtantiated allegations”among other hurtful invective hurled from city officials from their citadel on the second floor of City Hall, the 2nd copy of The City of White Plains 2006-2007 Proposed Budget has been located.


 


The Reference Desk reports as of 2:40 P.M. they have the green and white book, the size of a tombstone and just as heavy has been located by the crack White Plains Library Staff and is available for viewing with no time limit by Mr. and Mrs. and Ms. White Plains. But you can’t take it out of the Library. 


A member of the City of White Plains Budget Department confirmed the book had been delivered Tuesday morning, but had been misplaced and was missing. The Budget Department member contacted WPCNR this afternoon and explained that “the budget book was delivered Tuesday morning and was inadvertently left in an Administrative Section (of the library).”


However, for two and a half days the library staff did not know they had the budget book when it was requested. They told reader Don Hughes and another interested citizen, it had not been delivered.


 WPCNR by its Pulitzer Prize winning pursuit of “The Case of the Missing Budget Book”  is pleased to bring a second copy of the Budget Book into service for interested citizens to peruse. The other Budget Book is for viewing only at the City Clerk’s office.


If you wish a personal copy, it will cost you $25, according to Executive Officer Paul Wood who announced the “Pay for the Budget Book” policy — the first time the city has ever charged for the book this week. However books are not expected to be available until the end of next week. No explanation has been given for the budget book shortage.


The mysterious misplacement of an important book by a library joins White Plains folklore taking its place with the “Case of the Missing Mayor Alfred Del Vecchio Portrait” last year which went missing for a week, only to be found under a stairwell in the city rotunda, said to be for “cleaning,” and the infamous “Case of the Nicoletti Memo” that revealed the city Main Street sewer coverup, that never made its way to the Common Council.

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