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 EMPIRE BUIDER. From Cappelli Enterprises (EDITED) February 15, 2006:  Louis R. Cappelli, Kingpin of Cappelli Enterprises of Valhalla, the “Official Developer of the City of White Plains,” having earned the sobriquet of the Super Developer from WPCNR, added to his legend Tuesday, announcing  his second major stake in a neighboring community to White Plains in two weeks. Two weeks ago, Mr. Cappelli announced major development participation in Yonkers, New York.

Louis Cappelli Style: The Super Developer, Louis Cappelli, who always presents his projects in person   demonstrates his 221 Main Street Hotel Project in White Plains in its first configuration of three towers during the approval process of his latest White Plains project, May 18, 2004. Now the Super Developer is proposing a tower for Stamford, Connecticut, with Thomas L. Rich of F.D. Rich Company, Stamford’s leading developer, and the firm behind the Rich Forum. Photo, WPCNR News Archive.

He and Thomas L. Rich of Stamford, CT have applied to the Stamford, Connecticut, Planning and Zoning Boards for the approval of a 37-story high-end luxury condominium tower in the Stamford downtown.  Called Park Tower, the project is being planned for the corner of Washington Boulevard and Broad Street near the University of Connecticut and the Mill River Park.

“Downtown Stamford has emerged as one of the region’s hottest residential real estate markets. With Park Tower, we are bringing to Stamford a new level of elegance in high-end luxury residential living designed to appeal to empty-nesters as well as young professionals,” said Mr. Cappelli.

 

Mr. Cappelli noted that many of today’s homebuyers are looking for high-rise condominiums that combine maintenance-free luxury living with the excitement and sophistication of Manhattan.

 

“Park Tower will offer an elegant and cosmopolitan lifestyle in the heart of downtown Stamford, a city renowned for its fine restaurants, shops and first-class theaters and entertainment,” he said.  “We are very excited about partnering with Tom Rich and the F. D. Rich Company, which has been a driving force in the development of downtown Stamford for more than four decades,” he added. 

Mr. Rich stated that “the Costas Kondylis designed project is not only going to be a spectacular addition to the Stamford skyline but will offer an incredible package of public benefits that will be hugely helpful to the city as it continues on its path to becoming a 24/7 world-class destination.” Photo, Courtesy, Cappelli Enterprises.

Luxury on Long Island Sound

Pending project approvals, Park Tower will begin marketing units this summer in its marketing center conveniently located next door to the project site in a Broad Street retail storefront. Construction of the project will start in the fall of 2006 with a delivery date of 24 months thereafter.

Plans submitted for Park Tower call for a total of 185 residences, which will range in size from one-bedroom units of approximately 1,000 square feet to three bedroom duplex penthouses of 3,500 square feet. They will feature the highest quality finishes, granite countertops, hardwood floors, top-of-line appliances, designer cabinetry and marble bathrooms. Most of the residences at Park Tower will have spectacular views of Long Island Sound and the New York City skyline and all will have spacious terraces.

 

“Park Tower will add 185 homeowners to the downtown core, generate 500 construction jobs a year over the two-year construction period, 15 permanent jobs once completed and add more than $1 million per year in property tax revenue to the city coffers,” Mr. Rich added.

 

Stamford’s successful Inclusionary Zoning Policy, requires 10% of  Park Tower units (19) be affordable to families that earn 50% of the area median income.

 

Super Developer Contributes to Mill River Park Restoration

 

Park Tower will be located across the street from Stamford’s Mill River Park, which is about to undergo a multi-million dollar restoration under the design direction of the Philadelphia-based Olin Partnership. The park restoration will benefit from Park Tower because the project approvals involve a large financial contribution by Mr. Rich and Mr. Cappelli to the Mill River Park improvement project.    

 

Among the services and amenities provided to residents of Park Tower will be a 24-hour concierge/doorman. The entire 7th floor will be devoted to building amenities, which will include a landscaped deck, an indoor swimming pool, a full-service health club, a clubroom, library, billiards and screening rooms and a state-of-the-art security system. On-site parking will be located on five levels at the base of the building. There will also be approximately 3,000 SF of retail space fronting the corner of Washington Boulevard and Broad Street as being a short walk to the Stamford Transportation Center.

  

The Partners

 

Mr. Cappelli is President and CEO of Cappelli Enterprises, Inc., a leading real estate development company that has developed more than 10 million square feet of mixed use, retail, waterfront, residential, office building, laboratory and parking facilities. The company’s projects include City Center and the Trump Tower at City Center in White Plains, and New Roc City in New Rochelle. Cappelli Enterprises has already begun construction of Renaissance Square, a hotel and residential complex in downtown White Plains and Trump Plaza, a luxury high-rise condominium tower in downtown New Rochelle. In Stamford, Mr. Cappelli previously built Greyrock Towers and the Ridgeway Shopping Center.

 

Mr. Rich is President and CEO of the F.D. Rich Company. Since 1920, the Stamford-based company has constructed more than 50 million square feet of projects around the country including 15,000 units of housing. The Rich Company is responsible for developing much of downtown Stamford where, as the City’s sole redeveloper since 1960, it has added more than 5.0 million square feet of office, residential, retail and hotel space. 

 

Some of Rich’s projects include the 1 million SF Stamford Town Center Mall, the 1 million SF Stamford Plaza office complex and the city’s two Marriott Hotels. The company is also responsible for bringing Target to its site in downtown Stamford where Target constructed a 200,000 SF retail complex with an attached 550-car parking garage. The company’s most recent addition to downtown is a 115-room Courtyard by Marriott located at the intersection of Broad and Summer Streets.

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WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. By John F. Bailey. February 14, 2006: Dennis Power has joined the staff of County Executive Andy Spano to work on economic development, according to Bill Ryan, Chairman of the Westchester County Board of Legislators. Mr. Ryan told WPCNR today he was among the first to welcome Mr. Power to his new position  when Mr. Power dropped into his office at the Michaelian Building Monday.  According to Legislator Ryan, Power told him he would be working on matters involving economic development, reporting directly to County Executive Spano, and not to Sal Carrera, Director of Economic Development for Westchester.

Dennis Power, new Assistant to the County Executive for Economic Development. Pictured campaigning for Mayor, October, 2005. Photo, WPCNR News Archive.

Donna Greene, Assistant Communications Director for Westchester County’s Department of Communications, confirmed Mr. Power’s apppointment moments ago. His position, Ms. Greene said, was Assistant to the County Executive for Economic Development, and he will be reporting to Sal Carrera, Director of Economic Development. Mr. Power will be paid $75,665 a year, according to Ms. Greene. Ms. Greene added that Mr. Power’s role would be attempting to bring more business and jobs to Westchester County and he would be working closely with, and reporting to Mr. Carrera.

Ryan did not have an opinion on how Power’s new role would mesh with Sal Carrera’s responsibilities as Director of Economic Development for Westchester County, but expressed confidence that Power had done such a good job with the Hudson River Museum as Director of Development for that organization that Power’s talents would be an asset to the county.

Mr. Power reportedly left his Hudson River Museum position to run for Mayor of White Plains last June, and it was speculated by WPCNR that if Mr. Power lost the race (no other Democratic hopeful except Ron Jackson expressed an interest in accepting the Mayoral challenge) he would be given a county job.

 

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WPCNR NEWS AND COMMENT. By John F. Bailey. February 13. 2006: Sunday marked the birthday of Abraham Lincoln, whose Presidential performance during the Civil War (1861-1865) was perhaps the most troubled of any American President. He had to create things as he went, dealing with a complex political issue: slavery, while deciding to fight a war to preserve a divided nation. How did Abraham Lincoln handle pressure and political opportunists? He did not have press agents and spinmasters and talk show hosts critiquing his every move and loading him up with advice. Let’s take a look.

In the days of Lincoln, media coverage was simply print media, however, the amount of reporting on the burning issues of the day was far more detailed than today with dozens of newspapers presenting the chronicles of burning issues. For Lincoln’s presidency was the presidency of the nation’s greatest crisis in its eighty-five year history:

The Civil War.

 It is interesting to note how President Lincoln conducted himself in dealing with America’s interests, its factions, pulling him to free the slaves.

When Lincoln was running for the Presidency in 1860 at the Republican Convention in riproaring Chicago, he was up against James Seward, a powerful New York politician. However, the western states at the time were highly distrustful of the New York political machine. Lincoln won over support by taking a position of what was good for the nation as a whole.

Taking a Position and Working To it

Lincoln first gave notice of his potential for the Presidency when he impressed Horace Greeley, influential editor of the New York Tribune with a fiery speech at the Cooper Union in February, 1860, delivering a sharp criticism of the South, hard on the heels of South Carolina’s secession from the Union. The speech included these words,

You say you will not abide the election of a Republican President. In that supposed event, you say, you will destroy the Union; and then, you say, the great crime of having destroyed it will be upon us! (The northern states) That is cool. A highwayman holds a pistol to my ear, and mutters through his teeth, “Stand and deliver, or I shall kill you, and then you will be a murderer!”

Greeley printed the speech in his Tribune the next day, scooping the other New York papers, by simply asking Lincoln for a copy of the speech. The subsequent printing in the popular Trib, sent Mr. Lincoln on his way. As William Harlan Hale’s biography of Mr. Greeley (Horace Greeley: Voice of the People)describes the scene at “The original Trib’s” offices, as remembered by Amos Cummings, a young proofreader:

Amos Cummings, then a young proofreader, remembered the lanky westerner appearing over his shoulder amid the noise of the pressroom late at midnight, drawing up a chair, adjusting his spectacles, and in the glare of the gaslight reading each galley (of the Cooper Union speech) with scrupulous care and then rechecking his corrections, oblivious to his surroundings.

A Comeback President

Lincoln had been a highly successful politician from Illinois in the 1830s and 1840s. He was three times elected to the state legislature, and The Kunhardts’ The American Presidency reports he was “a recognized expert at forming collations…he learned how to keep secrets, how to trade favors, how to use the press to his advantage. And he cultivated his relationship with the party hierarchy.”

Graff’s book writes that Lincoln was described as “ruthless,” that he “handled men remotely like pieces on a chessboard.” Humor and frankness were character traits.

Lincoln was elected a congressman, only to serve just one term.

Lincoln had been practicing corporate law privately and had lost interest in politics by 1854, until the repeal of The Missouri Compromise, which had restricted slavery to the southern states. Lincoln felt stirred to come back. He spoke out against the spread of slavery, running for the senate in 1858 against William Douglas, unsuccessfully.

Saving the Union His Mantra

As the furor over slavery and the South’s threats to secede grew, a crisis of spirit and purpose in this nation which makes today’s concerns about terrorism as a threat to America, pale in comparison, Lincoln realized that the Union was the larger issue. He expressed this in response to Horace Greeley, editor of the New York Tribune, an influential figure at the Republican (Whig) Convention in Chicago in 1860. Greeley was the kingmaker at the 1860 Chicago convention who eventually swung the western states for Lincoln, giving the man from Illinois the nomination on the third ballot over William Seward, the candidate of the Thurlow Weed “New York Machine.”

Greeley then tried to influence the President-Elect to free the slaves. (Lincoln was being lobbied by the still-powerful Weed-Seward faction to compromise with the southern states on the issue of slavery).

Standing Tall Against Pressure.

Lincoln refused to free the slaves as one of the first acts of his presidency, standing firm to hold the union together, when he announced his attention not to do so, on his way to Washington after being elected. His words in this time of international tension, are worth remembering as America considers starting a war for the first time. Lincoln said:

I have often inquired of myself what great principle or idea it was that kept this Confederacy (the Union, he means), so long together. It was not the mere matter of separation of the colonies from the motherland, but that sentiment in the Declaration of Independence which gave liberty not alone to the single people of this country, but hope to all the world, for all future time. It was that which gave promise that in due time the weights would be lifted from the shoulders of all men, and that all should have an equal chance.

Seeing the Big Picture.

After Fort Sumter was fired upon, Lincoln was pressured harder to free the slaves. Still, Lincoln held firm. Mr. Greeley published a blistering open letter to the President, he called “The Letter of Twenty Millions,” meaning his readers (slightly exaggerated)in The New York Tribune. Greeley’s letter took the President to task for not freeing the slaves now that the Civil War was on, writing, “all attempts to put down the rebellion and at the same time uphold its inciting cause are preposterous and futile.”

President Lincoln responded with an open letter which Greeley published in The Tribune. President Lincoln’s letter is instructive as to how a President moves in crisis, when a nation is ripped apart to calm and state his position. He begins with a conciliatory tone, calming Greeley’s bombast:

…If there be perceptible in it (Greeley’s letter) an impatient and dictatorial tone, I waive it in deference to an old friend whose heart I have always supposed to be right.

As to the policy I “seem to be pursuing,” as you say, I have not meant to leave any one in doubt. I would save the Union. I would save it in the shortest way under the Constitution.

The sooner the national authority can be restored the nearer the Union will be – the Union as it was.

If there be those who would not save the Union unless they could at the same time save slavery, I do not agree with them.

If there be those who would not save the Union unless they could at the same time destroy slavery, I do not agree with them.

If I could save the Union without freeing any slaves, I would do it – if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it – and if I could do it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that.

What I do about slavery and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save this Union, and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would help to save the Union.

I shall do less whenever I shall believe what I am doing hurts the cause, and I shall do more whenever I believe doing more will help the cause.

I shall try to correct errors when shown to be errors, and I shall adopt new views so fast as they shall appear to be new views.

I have here stated my purpose according to my views of official duty, and I intend no modification of my oft-expressed personal wish that all men everywhere could be free, Yours

A. Lincoln

Wearied by War

Horace Greeley described the toll the Civil War had taken on Mr. Lincoln, seeing him in person shortly beforeGeneral Lee surrendered. Greeley wrote:

Lincoln’s face had nothing in it of the sunny, gladsome countenance he first brought from Illinois. It is now a face haggard with care and seamed with thought and trouble…tempest-tossed and weatherbeaten, as if he were some tough old mariner who had for years been beating up against the wind and tide, unable to make his port or find safe anchorage…The sunset of life was plainly looking out of his kindly eyes.”

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WPCNR WEATHER SCOOP. By John F. Bailey. February 12, 2006 UPDATED 9:07 P.M. E.S.T.: An all-business snowfall, punctuated by a violent thunder and lightning flash between 7 AM and 8 AM and 30 to 40 mile per hour winds last night paralyzed White Plains this morning, with drifting snow with fall amounts varying from 17 on the East Side of White Plains to  24 inches in the Highlands, has ended as dusk falls.  The National Weather Service reports this is the heaviest snowfall ever in New York City at an official 26.9 inches in Central Park.

12 Inches of snow on top hedges, 16 inches of snow in open yards on East Side of White Plains as of 11 A.M. Photo, WPCNR SnowCam.

 THE NICOLETTI MEN Clearing Havilands Lane as of 11 A.M. E.S.T. White Plains Police reported city navigable as noon. The “N-Squad” was grooming and cleaning the side streets from noon to 5 P.M.  Photo, WPCNR SnowCAM

As of 11:15 A.M., the intrepid City of White Plains Department of Public Works fleet had cleared the vital roads into and out of the city and was working on the side streets and arteries of the neighborhoods.  As of  11:15 A.M., White Plains police were reporting portions of Post Road and Quarropas were not completely passable and Old Mamaroneck Road to Edgemont were not.  Mamaroneck Avenue had two lanes open in front of CVS and the Asian grocery across from Mobil and White Plains Sunoco was open for business.  The snow continued to fall, having begun at approximately 6 P.M Saturday evening, but not falling with business-like intensity until 11 P.M.

17 Inches of Snow had fallen in open areas. Winds caused drifts. What was your total? Photo, WPCNR SnowCAM

Snow amounts were substantially higher south of White Plains. The National Weather Service reported Sunday evening that the snowfall in Central Park in New York City was 26.9 inches, the heaviest snowfall in New York City since records began being kept in 1869. The heaviest snowfall ever recorded in New York previously was the Blizzard of 47, December 26-27 when 26.4 inches fell.

WPCNR Readers are encouraged to e-mail reports of snow conditions around White Plains to WPCNR@aol.com reporting on snowfall conditions and snow stories around town.

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WPCNR Quill & Eyeshade. Commentary By John F. Bailey. February 9, 2006: The Annual Budget Committee which works with the School District on developing the 2005-2006 budget met for the first time Wednesday evening and got sobering news that the school budget is escalating on a pace to reach $200 Million in two years based on current trends. 

 

The Annual Budget Committee Being Welcomed by Superintendent of Schools Timothy Connors (right) Wednesday evening at 5 Homeside Lane. The Committee met with disturbingnews of a deteriorating school budget conditions. Photo, WPCNR News.

Donna McLaughlin, President of the White Plains Board of Education opened the meeting saying this was going to be a difficult year.

Let me assure you,  it’s going to be a difficult 15 years, Mr. and Mrs. and Ms. White Plains.

 As the evening progressed a palpable creeping dread began to descend on the room as spectres of a financial apocalypse were reported by Superintendent of Schools Timothy Connors and  Assistant Superintendent for Business, Terrance Schruers.

 Some members of the Annual Budget Committee caviled at the salary portion of the budget, ( salaries comprise over a third,  $4.4 Million) of the 8% year to year budget increase presented for 2006-2007 of $12.7 Million). They complained the school district policy of keeping elementary classes to about 20 youngsters should be reexamined by expanding class size, and trimming teachers. Mr. Connors noted one of the goals the district has always been committed to was to keep classes no more than 20, because that was, in educational practices, the best learning environment (small classes).

 

Third Certiorari Borrowing in 12 months Announced.

 

The ABC Committee was dismayed to learn from Assistant Superintendent of Business, Terrance Schruers  the district plans authorization of another $8 Million 5 year bond.   The Board of Education will authorize it in June as expectation of  paying additional certioraris for the 2006-07 year now being budgeted. This third certiorari bond issue if authorized and activated, would bring the amount borrowed for certiorari repayments to $24 million in 12 months.

 

Timothy Connors, the Superintendent of Schools assured the audience that White Plains was not the only district the certiorari ghost was haunting. Connors said it was happening upstate with more devastating impact than in White Plains. Terrance Schruers, the financial mastermind of the district, explained the problem as being one of having the same equalization rate for commerical properties ad residential. He said there is an effort in Albany to correct that. However, as first reported in WPCNR weeks ago, Assemblyman Adam Bradley reported that his bill to do this has been sent back and is currently being rethought because the Senate would not pass it.

 

Assessments a Mystery.

 

Schruers said the assessment figure on which the school tax levy is resourced, is not due from the city until March 1 by law and the Assessor’s office is still working on the total assessment roll.

 

Schruers said the Assessor has not given the district even an estimate of the total assessment roll as it looks today.

 

 

Terrance Schruers, Assistant Superintendent for Business addressing the ABC Committee. Photo, WPCNR News.

 

The assessment roll could be up, the business office reported Thursday because, more assessments,( it has been told to the district by the Assessor) have been added to the rolls. How much has been added to the roll is key, since millions have been taken off the roll. It could be down considering the drop in assessments due to the certiorari refunds in 2005-2006.

 

The Secret Tax Rate

 

Schruers said the tax rate the district will have to charge cannot be determined. If the assessments are down from the 2005-2006  $304 Million, a tax rate increase will be in order. WPCNR has learned from the business office some “PILOTS” have ended and gone back on the tax rolls so the district is hopeful the tax roll will hold. Cross your fingers.

 

Union contracts expire June 2007.

 

The Committee also learned Wednesday night that for 2007-2008, the school budget will be impacted by having to pay new contracts with the White Plains Teachers Union, the Civil Service Employees Association and the Administrators and Supervisors Association. All three contracts expire at the end of 2006-07, and will be renegotiated for 2007-2008.

 

In addition, Schruers noted that the Transportation contract also expires the end of 2007, which he also expects to increase dramatically.

 

The 4% Target. Negotiations With Unions Open next year.

 

The three school district unions will strive to match the 4% hikes the City of White Plains granted the police, the fire, and the Civil Service Employees during election year 2005 in their most recent contract settlements.

 

In the last round of contract negotiations with the teachers, civil service and administrators, the school district granted 3.5% raises across all “steps.” The teachers union gave back some health benefits, but they cannot be expected to be as forgiving again.

 

However a  4% increase,  as Mr. Schruers pointed out Wednesday evening, actually works out to about a 5.5% increase in salaries due to the automatic step raises built into the contracts. For example this year’s 3.5% increase translates, according to the preliminary budget, translates to a 4.92% year-to-year increase due to the 3.5% impact on the step levels of the contracts. WPCNR points out Mr. Schruers did not talk at all about the possible teacher, CSEA and Administrators contract demand possibilities, and only referred to the 2006-2007 salary impacts.

 

Adding it Up.

 

But let us look into the very clear crystal ball and use the much maligned algorithmic formulas.

 

Should the District give all the unions a 4% raise next year, this will increase total salaries 5.62%  in the district in 2007-2008. The Preliminary Budget Salary figure for 2006-07 of  $93,601,445, (the budget now being hammered out)  will rise 5.62%. This will mean salaries alone in 2007-08 will close in on $100 Million ($98,601,445).

 

The certioraris of 2006-2007 waiting in the wings, (if the district draws down the expected $8 Million bond will including the payments on certiorari bonds already borrowed for this year), will raise the 2007-2008 debt service to $7,874,63 (up 26%)

 

Take into account the additional $1.5 million in debt servce that the School Capital Project plan will add in 2007-2008.

 

 Assume that Transportation will go up at this year’s rate (7%) translating into a $537,100 increase.

 

Add to this the Fringe Benefit increase at this year’s rate and that adds another $4,110,000 in 2007-2008, and if Utilities move forward at this year’s rate (31%) you have a total rough budget increase in 2007-2008 of  $21 Million.

 

 

Add that figure to the 2006-2007 budget  of $167.4 Million and you come up with a 2007-2008 school budget of  $188 Million

 

Three Years From Now: $200,000,000

 

If the district holds at the 8% increase in 2008-2009, and WPCNR is being very optimistic here by assuming bare bones budgets the next two years,  the budget for 2008-2009 will be roughly $202 Million dollars.  It may be more likely to hit $210 Million in two years because of the capital project bond ( the cap project bond adds $1.5  Million in additional debt service in 2008-2009) steps in salaries, possible more certioraris, utility increases, transportation increases and more.

 

Kvetching was made about transportation costs, special education and tuition costs escalation but those are minor increases compared to the big four of Salaries, Fringe Benefits, Certioraris and Utilities. Minor.  I remember when Mr. Connors suggested creating White Plains own Special Education school for approximately $5 Million three years ago, on the reasoning it could be a revenue center for the district as well as a money saver, rather than paying for outside services like BOCES and private schools to handle Special Education students. The ABC rejected that plan. It looks like Mr. Connors was prescient. If White Plains had that program today, we would have other revenue coming in. We do not.

 

The unknown and really scary factor in the mix is whether assessment erosion will stop this year and begin to go up. If it does not, that rough figure of $210 Million in 2008-2009 using the simple 8% algorithum  is going to be higher. The tax levy is likely to hit double digits consistently.  That is what the trends reinforced and introduced Wednesday evening indicate to this reporter.

 

How the 2008-2009 School Budget Reaches $200 Million.

(Projection by WPCNR which is solely responsible for its content:)

 

2007-2008 Budget

 

Salary Increases (5.62%):      $5,260,401

Certiorari Debt Service:         $7,874,634

Capital  Project Bond:            $1,526,500

Transportation (7% ):                $537,100

Fringe Benefits: (12%)          $4,110,000

Utilities: (31% increase)        $1,257,114

 

Total Projected Increase over 2006-07 Budget:  $20,565,749

 

Layer onto 2006-07 Budget:                                $167,417,488

 

Projected 2007-2008 Budget                                 $187,983,237

 

Assumed present rate of 8% increase:                     $15,038,659

 

Projected 2008-2009 School Budget                      $203,021,896.

 

 

 

The evening ended with comments from all the ABC members in the room and interested guests. Perhaps the best comment was summed up by Bill Pollak saying we are all committed to the best education for all our children. The audience was clearly somber and thoughtful as they trudged out into cold reality.