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 CAMPAIGN 2005. By John F. Bailey. September 12, 2005: County Legislator Bill Ryan exposed a recent claim by Cass Cibelli, his opponent for the District 5 Legislative Seat, that Ryan has ignored safety and planning for a terrorist attack on the Kensico Dam as being untrue and unfounded and purely political, suggesting that Mr. Cistelli should have checked the facts.

 

Ryan, in response to Cibelli’s charge that a study had not been done, told WPCNR that after 9/11, the county entered into discussions with the FBI and the state of “a number of hard targets” including the Kensico Dam. “We interacted with North Castle, White Plains and the Town of Mount Pleasant, closed the road over the dam, which still remains closed,” Ryan said, and he noted the dam is patrolled by a variety of  security forces, including the County Police, DEP police and State Police.

 

Ryan said that contrary to his opponent’s news release, a study had been conducted on the vulnerability and effects of an attack, at the suggestion of County Legislator Rob Astorino in 2002. The study also analyzed the extent of subsequent flood resulting from a dam malfunction in the first six months of 2003. He said the study was not made public for security reasons.

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WPCNR WATER REPORT. By John F. Bailey. September 10, 2005, Updated 11:42 P.M.E.D.T.: Leakage of raw human sewage from the Harrison sewer on July 18, from a deluge of rain which backed up the sanitary sewers on the northeast shore of Silver Lake has contaminated the lake for five weeks, according to White Plains Commissioner of Public Works, Joseph Nicoletti.  The human sewage bacteria content is just clearing up within the last week, the Commissioner reported to WPCNR Friday afternoon. Presence of E.Coli bacteria in the water trace the pollution directly to human waste.

 

Joseph Nicoletti,

 Commissioner of Public Works,White Plains.

Photo, WPCNR News Archive.

 

Speaking to WPCNR Friday afternoon with permission of The Mayor’s Office, Nicoletti said his department August 30 samples of Silver Lake passed water standards by a comfortable margin, allowing Liberty Park on the lake to be reopened for Sunday’s 9-11 Memorial Ceremonies.

An Undisclosed Volume of Raw Sewage Runoff First Formed Algae in Northeast corner of Silver Lake which is adjacent to a Harrision Sanitary Sewer Line. The presence of the sewage in the lake was not announced to the public by the city, the County Department of Health, or the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Photo,WPCNR News.

 

Nicoletti said two water test results by the White Plains dock taken August 30 on the lake’s West White Plains shore showed water quality at very low bacteria levels, while two test samples taken at the lake “outfall” into the Mamaroneck River  were, Nicoletti said,  “under the threshold,” for  fecal coliform and E.coli levels at which the lake front area would have been closed if it were a swimming beach. These were the first tests, Nicoletti said, in a month that showed the contamination level was declining. 

 

As of August 30, a test analysis performed by the Westchester County Department of Labs and Research, showed  on a sample taken from the North end of the lake, Coliform was reported to be 170 per 100ml, Fecal Coliform and E.Coli bacteria as less than 20 closing levels, (200 to 300 MPN).

 

On  a sample taken from the Silver Lake Dock area, about mid-lake, bacteria contamination was almost the same with Coliform Most Probable Number to be 170, Fecal Coliform contamination to be 20 and E.Coli at 20.

 

Human Waste In the Lake.

 

The test results provided to WPCNR by the city appear to prove the souce of contamination was human waste due to the nature of E. Coli bacteria being found in the Silver Lake test samples taken August 30. Levels were far higher for 5 weeks (1,600 MPN) approaching five times the level at which the lake would have been closed by the County Department of Health if it were a bathing beach.

 

 Coliform is bacteria only found in the intestines of warm-blooded animals, of which human beings are a member, which appears to proove the contamination was raw human sewage. Fecal Coliform is bacteria found in warm blooded animals (including geese), however, E.Coli bacteria is only found in the human intestinal tract.

 

Mr. Nicoletti dismissed the geese droppings as a cause, espoused by the New York State Department of Environmental Protection, because the geese would not contribute to the readings he found, or the tell-tale stench of the Silver Lake contamination. The geese also arrived at the lake only after the contamination had already occurred — according to White Plains Executive Officer Paul Wood.

 

At the “outfall,” of Silver Lake into the Mamaroneck River on Lake Street, the August 30 readings of the two samples taken were higher, and closer to the bacteria levels at which the County Department of Health would close the lake if it were a bathing beach.

 

Nudging Threshold at Mamaroneck River Outfall Still.

 

The readings, taken August 30, with results coming back Thursday, September 8, the first location near the Mamaroneck River outfall,  south of the Liberty Park Dock showed the Coliform Most Probable Number to be 1300 per 100ml (five times the level at which it would be closed), the Fecal Coliform’s Most Probable Number of 140 per 100ml (200 being the “closing threshold,” and the E.Coli Most Propable Number, 140 per 100ml (200, the “closing threshold). 

 

The second location near the outfall into the Mamaroneck River off the Liberty Park Dock, was: Coliform, 1100, Fecal Coliform, 230, and E. Coli, 230.  Beaches are closed by the County Health Department at from 200 to 300 bacteria levels, according to the White Plains DPW. Based on these results, Nicoletti has decided it is safe to reopen the area.

 

The “Outfall” of Silver Lake to the Mamaroneck River Monday, Labor Day, six days after the latest samples were taken August 30. Photo by WPCNR News.

 

Nicoletti said the algae would be dying off naturally as the nights got cooler. He said his department had removed some of the algae manually. He said adding fish to the lake would have taken more time in getting permits from the Department of Environmental Conservation than if the contamination was allowed to run its course, which it seems to be doing, he said, based on the latest readings.

 

The Tell-Tale Clue: Ammonia.

 

Mr. Nicoletti said he recognized the unmistakable stench of raw sewage, distinguished by its distinctive ammonia odor, (“I’ve smelled it enough to know it,” Nicoletti said) when it was first reported the day after the apocalyptic one hour cloudburst that drenched White Plains July 18.

 

Nicoletti said White Plains received 2.9 inches of rain in an hour. He is convinced, as the County Department of Health and the New York State Department of Environmental Conversation have told WPCNR,  that the human sewage leakage came from a stormwater runoff from the Harrison sanitary sewer line on the northeast shore. He said that was where the algae blooms first appeared with a week of July 18.

 

Repairs Since Undertaken by Harrison.

 

Nicoletti revealed that Bob Wasp, Commissioner of Public Works, had told Nicoletti that Harrison has since conducted repairs to the manholes and portions of  the Harrison sewer line. Neither the Mayor of Harrison, Steve Malfitano, nor the Harrision Department of Public Works would comment on this situation last week.

 

The Probable Source.

 

Nicoletti attributed the human waste runoff to the Harrison sewer line being filled to capacity very quickly by the July 18 deluge, and under such pressure that raw sanitary sewer water overflowed the manholes and forced its way through bricks lining the sewer. Nicoletti said since the algae bloom first appeared on the Northeast shore and White Plains sanitary sewer lines are south of the lake, the Harrison sewer line was the only logical source. Nicoletti said White Plains sewer lines were tested and found secure.

 

The County Health Department conducted dye tests on the county sewer line, the Harrison sewer line, and the White Plains sewer lines, and they all turned up negative, showing no leakage from the sewer lines (under normal circumstances).  It could not be determined if the County Health Department dye tests were tested under pressure comparable to the pressures exerted on the sewer lines July 18.

 

1600 Levels July 28.

 

. Nevertheless, the samples Mr. Nicoletti’s department took July 28, analyzed by the County Department of Labs, showed e.coli, coliform and fecal coliform levels five times in excess of the level (1,600 Most Probable Number) where a swimming beach is closed. Nicoletti closed the White Plains side of the lake  July 19 after he detected what for him was the unmistakable smell of raw sewage in the lake, that had been reported by residents. The level did not go down until last week (August 30), so the sewage has been contaminating the lake and the Mamaroneck River for approximately six weeks.

 

Remedies. 

 

Nicoletti said he considered putting copper sulphate in the lake to purify the waters, but decided against it, because of the possibility of a fish kill or worse.

 

He said the six week heat wave of consistent high temperatures and very little rain encouraged the algae bloom, which by WPCNR estimate covers about 40% of the lake surface. Nicoletti said the lake contamination levels had existed on a consistent high level, over 1600 Mean Probable Number for about 5 weeks, before their test of August 30, showed acceptable bacteria levels. Only one area of the lake still tests high and that is at the outfall.

 

Asked how much sewage went into the lake, July 18, Nicoletti said, “I don’t know if I can quantify it, but it was a large volume of (contaminated) water, there was a significant amount getting in there.”

 

Nicoletti said the algae was a direct result of the raw sewage contamination. He also said there was “rooted algae” growing up from the lake bottom. He said he had never seen algae contamination to this extent in the lake in the past. No baseline bacteria counts were taken when the city leased the Liberty Park area and the lake from the county in fall 2002.

 

Communication Lines.

 

Nicoletti explained the city would not notify the New York Department of Environmental Protection, that it was the County Health Department’s job to keep DEC in the loop.

 

Asked if the city felt the pond was a West Nile mosquito breeding ground, Nicoletti said he did not think so, because the lake was flowing water. He said the county could test for mosquitos as a precaution, but he was not going to request it.

 

He said he did not see the algae would be a recurring problem next year.

 

The Legal Issue Will Not Go Away. Ryan to Press.

 

 

City Executive Officer Paul Wood denied Thursday that County Legislator Bill Ryan had ever contacted the city on the Silver Lake contamination, and repeated the city contention that the city is not responsible for the water quality of the lake.

 

Westchester County Executive Bill Ryan clarified the County’s legal position Friday to WPCNR, saying White Plains was still responsible for the quality of the lake. Asked if Ryan had reviewed the lease with the Westchester County Attorney, Ryan said, “pretty much – I spoke personally with the county attorney (on the terms of the lease).”

 

Ryan said White Plains peformance on the lake water contamination was still “totally unsatisfactory and I will be following up on this next week with the city.”

 

 

This week the New York Department of Environmental Conservation and the Westchester County Department of Health said they had no idea whether the contamination consisted of human sewage, but attributed the algae bloom to runoff from the sewers. Neither agency expressed knowledge of the nature of the contamination, the E. Coli bacteria, the fecal coliform. The DEC attributed it to geese droppings. However, the geese arrived at the Liberty Park after the contamination of algae had developed, according to the White Plains Department of Public Works.

 

 

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WPCNR CAMPAIGN 2005. From Cass Cibelli Campaign. September 9, 2005:  Cass V. Cibelli, candidate for County Legislator in the fifth district is calling for an in-depth study to be conducting regarding the safety of the Kensico Dam in North White Plains.

 

Cibelli states, “In a post 9/11 world we must expect the unexpected and prepare for the worst.” He continues, “We cannot pretend as if we live in a bubble, there are people who want us dead and who will go to great lengths to make this happen. We must act now to secure our most vulnerable areas from these monsters who wish to cause us maximum harm.”

 

At full capacity the Kensico Reservoir holds 30.6 billion gallons of water. In the event of a terrorist attack that would cause the dam to fail, the reservoir’s supply would flood down on southern Westchester, causing billions of dollars in damages and kill thousands in its path of destruction.

 

In the wake of the flooding seen earlier this month in Louisiana the power and destruction that water can cause has become tragically apparent.

 

“I understand that since 9/11 the Dam has been protected by local police forces. We now need a study to see if this level of security is adequate for the potential risk.”

 

Cibelli feels that Bill Ryan, as chairman of the board, has turned a blind eye to this issue because it requires him to question our leaders; the same leaders who have misled us in the past on many other issues of equal and lesser importance. “To Bill Ryan this is a non-issue; he has received satisfaction in the words of bureaucrats who tell us we are safe. Unfortunately, safe is not always safe enough. A study would tell us what we can do to truly be safe and secure.”

 

Additionally, Cass calls on his neighbors to be vigilant “If you see suspicious behavior you should report it to the police at once. You could save the lives of your friends and family by being an observant citizen.”

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WPCNR WATER REPORT. By John  F. Bailey. September 8, 2005: The Department of Environmental Conservation and the County Department of Health have ignored dangerous bacteria levels contaminating Silver Lake for the last six weeks. Water containing bacteria levels high enough to close a beach has been flowing down into Long Island Sound.  DEC and the County Department of Health attributed the cause to stormwater sewage run off from the July 18 downpour that hit White Plains. Neither agency has  taken a proactive role in locating the source of the bacteria, nor did they alert the public of the dangerous bacteria levels of the contaminated water.

SILVER LAKE LIBERTY PARK, LABOR DAY. Fence installed by City prevents citizens from approaching the contaminated water. The city awaits lab tests to see if bacteria levels remain high or have gone down. Photo, WPCNR News.

 

 

The City of White Plains fenced off the Liberty Park waterfront of Silver Lake, ending water boat activities for the season at the city’s three-year old water recreation area, according to City Executive Officer Paul Wood,  to protect residents. The city awaits latest lab tests to determine if the bacteria level is still high, and whether it is safe to hold the city’s 9-11 Memorial there Sunday.

The fencing, Wood said, was to prevent citizens from touching or entering the lake which has consistently tested, Wood reports, at a bacteria level in the water of 1,600 MPN for the last six weeks.

 

The bacteria level according to the Westchester County Department of Health and the Department of Public Works would necessitate the closing of the lake to the public if it was used as a bathing beach.  Wood said the park would remain closed to the public until the city deemed it safe. The Mayor, speaking to the City of White Plains, concluding the Common Council meeting Tuesday evening, said that Liberty Park adjacent to the algae fouled lake would be the scene of the city’s September 11 Memorial festival.

 

 

North End of Silver Lake from Harrison side. Labor Day. Photo by WPCNR News.

 

Paul Wood announced the city fencing decision this week, was to keep citizens safe from the polluted waters. Wood said there still is no explanation for the contamination at this time. “We don’t know,” he said. “An odor was detected. We shut the park immediately (July 28) because we didn’t know what it was.”

 

The Department of Environmental Conservation spokesperson, Wendy Rosenbach, told WPCNR last week, that DEC’s Tarrytown water quality office is aware of the lake situation, but this may only be because WPCNR contacted that office first, and they referred WPCNR to Ms. Rosenbach. City Hall spokesperson David Maloney informed White Plains last Friday the city had not informed the DEC of the Silver Lake algae and odor condition.

 

Rosenbach told WPCNR that a person in that DEC Tarrytown office, Lenny attributes the cause to stormwater overflow into the lake and geese droppings.

 

Mr. Wood told WPCNR that the geese arrived at Silver Lake only after the park had been closed to the public for a few weeks. Wood told WPCNR last week the Department of Recreation and Parks was going to spray the Liberty Park area with a goose repellent to discourage the geese from loitering. (In a related development the City of Montclair, New Jersey, has found great success by posting a statute of a coyote in the middle of a town water park, which has lowered the geese population from 98 to 5).

 

West Side of Silver Lake (White Plains side) as seen from the Harrison waterfront Labor Day. Major algae bloom is on the Harrison side of the lake as of Labor Day. The Bloom, looking very similar to Blue-Green Algae, a sometimes toxic bloom, that is “alerted” in the State of Vermont, has been growing since July 18, when a sewage like stench was reported. Photo by WPCNR News.

 

Wood said the sewage-like odor was detected the day after the rain storm of July 18, and Commissioner of Public Works Joseph Nicoletti, conducted tests on the lake, which showed the high bacteria readings. Nicoletti smelling the alleged sewage, immediately closed the park The most recent testing was drawn one week ago and the city apparently still awaits those test results from the County Lab in Grasslands.

 

Asked if the DEC was concerned that the high level bacteria testing water was flowing into Long Island Sound, the DEC spokesperson Rosenbach said it was a small lake (12 acres). Asked if the Department of Environmental Conservation tested other tributaries, including Silver Lake, flowing into the Mamaroneck River for bacteria, and when and what  level of bacteria became an environmental concern, considering the nitrogen problems Long Island Sound is having,  Rosenbach said she would check to find what the DEC procedure was to monitor bacteria levels of streams and lakes flowing into the Mamaroneck Avenue River. The dieoff of lobsters in Long Island Sound, a study, funded by Congresswoman Nita Lowey found runoff of West Nile spray to be a major cause of the lobster dieoff in the Sound.

 

However, an algae bloom as of Monday, Labor Day,  still covered approximately 40% of the lake at the North and South shores and extends approximately 10 to 15 feet out from shore on the Western White Plains shore and a similar distance on the eastern shore in Harrison, and the northern end of the lake.

 

Brian Murphy of the City of White Plains Department of Public Works meeting with Paul Wood and WPCNR by phone said told WPCNR Tuesday, August 30, that the latest DPW tests of the water quality, performed by the City Department of Public Works, showed a Mean Probable Number of 1,600 bacteria content, which he said is seven times greater than the level (200-300 MPN)  at which the Department of Health would close a beach to swimmers.  For reference, the toxicity of the waters flooding New Orleans today are 10 times the level considered unsafe, so this was very contaminated water in Silver Lake.

 

South End of Silver Lake, Labor Day. Photo by WPCNR News.

 

Murphy said another test was conducted Tuesday, August 30 and results were expected to be in from the county Department of Labs within 48 hours. But as of Wednesday, September 7,  those results apparently were not in yet, because City Hall did not have any new news on the Silver Lake water condition after the Common Council meeting Tuesday night.

 

Murphy said the level of bacteria has remained constant at 1,600 since the testing began, meaning the lake waters which flow into the Mamaroneck River and travel eventually to Long Island Sound, could conceivably be much higher. Murphy explained the Department of Labs scale only goes to 1,600. The PH level of the lake, The Mayor’s Office said was 7.9 which they explained was slightly alkaline. (As acidity of the lake increases, the PH reading descends, with 1 being very high acidity which kills all fish.)

 

Thomasine Mastrantone, a spokesperson for the County Department of Health said the department, as a matter of policy did not monitor and was not concerned about bacteria levels or algal levels in bodies of water that were not public beaches.

 

Ms Mastrantone said the Department conducted daily dye tests over the last month and “there was no evidence of any sewage in the water now. The algae that is naturally occurring is a normal thing that happens at any water source. We’ve been (dye) testing since mid-July. We believe it was caused by overflow of rainwater. Sewage overflowed from the manhole (on the Harrison side).” She said she was not sure whether the sewage was of human origin, “I don’t know if they tested what kind of stuff came out. There is no evidence of any sewage in the water right now (Tuesday, August 30.)”

 

She attributed the algae bloom to the heavy rains and storm water overflow of July 18. She did not have the identity of the kind of algae it was.

 

The Westchester County Department of Environmental Facilities spokesperson Anthony Zabrinski, said that the department did not monitor Westchester lakes unless the contamination involved sewage. Asked what could have caused the algae bloom, Zabrinkski said he did not know, and did not know whether the heavy rains had contributed to acidic build-up in the water.

 

No Benchmark.

 

Brian Murphy of the White Plains DPW, speaking to WPCNR, last week, said that there was no baseline measurement ever taken of lake water quality when the city took over the lake in 2002. The readings taken after the algal blooms appeared, (along with a pungent raw eggs sewagelike stink) were the first water quality readings ever taken by the DPW on Silver Lake). The readings showed the lake was contaminated within a week after July 18. Murphy confirmed that when the city took possession of the park  they never tested the water.

 

Labor Day Afternoon. Flow into Mamaroneck River all but slowed to a trickle and WPCNR detected an odor. Photo by WPCNR News.

 

The algae has been growing and expanding on the lake surface for five weeks, unreported to the residents of White Plains by the city, and unreported to the public by Westchester County. The condition was first brought to the attention of the White Plains Department of Public Works by a person calling the DPW after the rain storm who noticed the sewage like smell. Wood said Commissioner Joseph Nicoletti immediately recommended closing the park on the White Plains side.

 

A White Plains Police source said the park was closed due to a possible sewage leak from the Harrison side. The Mayor of Harrison, Steve Malfitano has not returned a WPCNR call for comment to clear up what Harrison found on their side of the lake.

 

Ryan Calls City Response Unsatisfactory.

 

Legislator Bill Ryan got involved in early August. Ryan, the County Legislator, informed us he first learned of the closing the first week in August from a call from a constituent.

 

Ryan, did not have an explanation to WPCNR why the population of the City of White Plains was not informed officially of the closing, and why the County Department of Health did not announce it. Ryan said the fencing “was an unsatisfactory response to an unsanitary condition. It’s not in compliance.”

 

The cryptic closing signs erected by the city are often ignored. On Labor Day, two gentlemen wanted to fish at the park, and two mothers wanted to picnic, but WPCNR which was there observing the lake condition to take these photographs, informed the two would be recreationers of the reason for the park being closed. This did not deter two joggers from running into the park while WPCNR was having a conversation with the fishermen and the two mothers.

 

Next, Ryan recalls, he heard a report that a truck had dumped some raw sewage intothe lake. This prompted him, Ryan said, to call White Plains August 15, and he was told Commissioner Nicoletti was out of town, and the Mayor’s office said they would get back to Mr. Ryan. Ryan said they never did. On August 16, Ryan said he was referred to Brian Murphy, Deputy Commissioner of Public Works.

‘

The next day, August 17, Ryan said he called the Harrison Department of Public Works, and said that Harrison’s Commissioner of Public Works, Bob Wasp, who informed him the algae bloom was brought to Wasp’s attention after the rains of July 18. Wasp told Ryan that after dye tests were done showing no sewage was present in the water, he, Wasp decided to keep his Harrison side of Silver Lake open to the public.

 

After WPCNR reported exclusively on the closing of Silver Lake last week, Wood informed CNR that White Plains sewer lines were sound and not leaking.

 

The County Public Health Department told WPCNR last week they found no evidence of raw sewage in the water, that the Health department saw no reason to close the lake, and the County Health Department did not know the bacteria content of the water. The spokesperson said the Department of Health concluded the algal bloom was caused by overflow from stormwater drains from the Harrison side of the lake.

 

Remediation Methods Available

 

Mr. Wood said the city brought in a consultant, Raul Cardenas for advice on how to eliminate the algae blooms. Brian Murphy of the White Plains DPW said last week that the city was thinking of irradicating the bloom with copper sulphate, a common remedy, but Cardenas, also said the city risked a fish kill. So, Wood said the city decided to fence the park instead. Murphy also said Dr. Cardenas did not identify the type of algal bloom.

 

WPCNR contacted Wendy Rosenbach, spokesperson for the New York State Department of  Environmental Conservation in New Paltz and asked if the city had consulted with DEC on the algae. Rosenbach said the DEC was aware of the Silver Lake situation. She said they had not.

 

Asked what remedies for the algae were available to the City of White Plains, Rosenbach stated remedies for the algae, in addition to the copper sulphate method,  included stocking the lake with grass carp, a bottom feeding vegetarian fish that is sterile and will not reproduce that eats algae and plants.

 

For Silver Lake, a 12 acre lake you would need, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Inland Fisheries Division, five 10-12 inch grass carp per acre if the water body has 50% or less plant coverage on the bottom, or 60 fish; and 10 per acre (120 fish) if the plant coverage is greater than 50%.  Rosenbach said the city would have to receive a permit from the NYDEC to stock the carp to remove the algae.

 

Another solution Rosenbach said was to use booms to scoop out the allergy.  To prevent algae from forming, Rosenbach suggested the city install aerators,  (fountains)  on the surface of the Lake, similar to those found in golf course water hazards that would roil the surface of the water.

 

Ryan not happy with City Response.

 

Ryan contended in last week’s story that it was the city’s responsibility to clean up the algae in the water since that was part of the lease. Wood denied the city was responsible.

 

A copy of the lease between Westchester County and the City of White Plains was given to WPCNR by Mr. Ryan, who pointed to the following passage, as his evidence that the city by the terms of the lease is responsible for the water quality of the lake. The passage Ryan cites is on page 3 of the lease and reads:

 

“To the extent that Tenant shall make any improvements to or conduct activities on the Demised Premises that are consistent with the aforementioned standard, it shall also take all reasonable measures to protect the water quality of the Lake and other sensitive environmental features of the Demised Premises and the adjacent Silver Lake Park, including, but not limited to wetlands, streams, sleep slopes or rock outcroppings.”

 

The lease also states on page 6, the county “will not provide any improvements, services or utilities to the Demised Premises. To the extent that Tenant undertakes to construct any improvements or to utilize any services or utilities on the Demised Premises not consistent with the standards set forth in section”2” above, the same shall be at the sole cost and expense of the Tenant.

 

And the lease further requires the City of White Plains to “comply with all statutes, ordinances, rules, orders, regulations, codes and requirements of the Federal, State County and municipal governments and of all their departments and bureaus applicable to the Demised Premises or the conduct of any activities permitted under this lease upon the Demised Premises, including, but not limited to State and County public health laws, codes, rules, regulations, and applicable  environmental laws, rules and regulations, including, but not limited to, the State Environmental Quality Review Act.”

 

DEC monitors Silver Lake-Mamaroneck River Connection on a Spot Basis.

 

WPCNR asked Ms. Rosenbach of the DEc if the DEC was concerned that such high bacteria content was flowing out of Silver Lake into the Mamaroneck River to Long Island Sound for at least a month, July 18 through August 31. Rosenback said the DEC has a schedule of basin monitoring determined by its Albany office, but said the DEC Tarrytown office had not taken any action on the White Plains finding of high bacteria account in the water.

 

This is interesting, because the DEC is required to make sure limits on contaminants are not execeeded according to their news release announcing a program to renew Long Island Sound in 2001:

 

The DEC has set standards of dissolved oxygen in the waters of Long Island Sound which is effected by nitrogen and phosphate levels as well as sewage entering the Sound. According to a DEC press release of February 8, 2001, the DEC “has completed its Total Maximum Daily Load analysis to achieve water quality standards for dissolved oxygen in Long Island Sound. The TMDL assessment will ensure that releases of nitrogen into Long Island Sound from sources in New York and Connectuct will not result in violations of dissolved oxygen standards in the Sound.”

 

The release reports, “New York and Connecticut have determined that water quality in Long Island Sound is impaired due to low levels of dissolved oxygen, a condition known as hypoxia. Sufficent levels of dissolved oxygen in water are a basic requirement for marine life, and hypoxia can have sever negative impacts on fish and other marine organisms. Nitrogen releases from land-based sources such as sewage treatment facilitiers and agricultural operations, or atmospheric deposition from combustion of fossil fuels, can result in decreased levels of dissolved oxygen in a receiving water body.”

 

Forgotten Promise? Press Release Announcing DEC readiness to monitor county waterways leading to  Long Island Sound. Photo by WPCNR News.

 

The most interesting part of the February 2001 press releases states that “The Federal Clean Water Act requires states to identify water bodies that do not meet water quality standards. States must then develop assessments of how much of a given pollutant the affect water body can safely receive and absorb, and then identify and implement measures to ensure such limits are not exceeded.”

 

According to the Department of Health of the County spokesperson Mary Landrigan speaking to WPCNR yesterday, the Department of Health does not regularly monitor tributaries along the Mamaroneck River, or any other water body in the county for water quality sampling water quality. The previous spokesperson had told WPCNR that the Department of Health is only concerned with water quality at bathing beaches and ponds where swimming is permitted.

 

The February 2001 release states the “DEC is actively involved in local watershed efforts, conducting important monitoring and assessment activities, modifying permits and limiting the discharge of pollutants into the Sound, all of which are having a positive impact on the health of the Sound.”

 

WPCNR will be contacting DEC in Albany to see how often they swing by Silver Lake to monitor the Mamaroneck River inflow there, and other tributaries.

 

In the case of Silver Lake the high level bacteria content  has been dismissed by the DEC and the Department of Health as not of their concern, and they have not taken remedial steps to prevent or remediate the release of the bacteria for six weeks from July 18 through the end of last week.

 

 

The City of White Plains has been the only official entity concerned about the alleged sewage problem. The source has not been positively identified and the remediation has been to let the lake work the pollution out.

 

The city as of this time awaits confirmation that bacteria levels have declined to manageable levels, according to City Hall as of Tuesday. No word yet as to whether the park will be ready for the celebration on Sunday.

 

Not a West Nile Hazard says county.

 

 

In another matter, last week the County Department of Health announced mosquito batches collected in Mount Vernon, Yonkers and New Rochelle have tested positive for West Nile Virus. Informed of this by WPCNR, and asked about Silver Lake being a breeding ground in its present state,  Legislator Bill Ryan had Gary Kriss, his press officer for the Board of Legislators check with the Department of Health to see if the algae infested Silver Lake posed a West Nile breeding ground hazard and whether the county has checked that lake.

 

Kriss said the County Department of Health informed him that West Nile mosquitos generally thrive in urban environment where there is standing water, and that Silver Lake is not tested for mosquitos infected with West Nile virus because it is open flowing water and not likely for mosquitos who carry West Nile to breed there, though this is breeding season.

 

Mary Landrigan, spokesperson for the Department of Health said that if White Plains wanted to have Silver Lake tested for West Nile-infected mosquitos they could call the county at 813-5000.

 

A biologist dismissed this explanation of the Department of Health, saying mosquitos do not have preferences for small standing water puddles as opposed to open lakes and marshes.

 

WPCNR also notes that one of the fears cited by health officials about the New Orleans flood waters (very similar to a lake) is that they are a breeding ground for West Nile virus. It should also be noted that when the county first sprayed for West Nile mosquitos,  they sprayed virtually every water body in the county, which was determined to have caused the lobster dieoff and resulted in a $120 Million settlement.

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WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL CHRONICLE-EXAMINER. By John F. Bailey. September 7, 2005: At the monthly Common Council meeting Tuesday night, the Council approved without comment the payment of $1.4 Million to the city by The Jefferson at 300 Mamaroneck Avenue as the method by which JPI, builders of the 281-unit luxury condo-townhouse complex would meet their affordable housing obligation. Originally intended as a rental, The Jefferson is about to offer their units and town houses as condominiums.

 

Very quietly, city assessibles continued to decline.

 

The council simultaneously approved $131, 801.70 in tax certiorari  settlements for a pair of elderly condominiums, resulting in $500,000 plus in certiorari paybacks by the city school district further pressuring the School District budget for 2006-07, now in preparation. WPCNR is awaiting the School District figures on exactly how much the latest certiorari hit will be on the district.

After an impassioned plea from affordable housing advocate Rose Noonan, not to approve the payment in lieu of, the Council voted 7-0, rebuffing her request. No Councilperson commented on their decision or indicated whether this was now the standard city policy that condominium complexes could pay a one time fee. With two Condoplexes awaiting public hearings next month (having been continued to October), this is a key issue.

 The $1.4 Million JPI payment to escape offering affordable units from their inventory, was calculated from a fee schedule assessing a fee for each of five two-bedroom units, and eleven one-bedroom units adopted by the Common Council August 1, 2005.

 

Two More Condos Follow Bay Hills Condo Lead.

 

Crystal Towers Condominiums at 20 Old Mamaroneck Road and Heritage Towers Condominium on 15 Stewart Place are the latest city condos,  to join the march of assessed properties that have come to the Delfino Administration for tax relief and reassessment that have been settled by the city without a court fight.

 

Bay Hills Condominiums in the posh Southend received a $215, 691.25 total certiorari last month, costing the school district an estimated $862,765 in certioraris.  For every tax dollar the city gives back, the City School District has to pay back four.

 

Crystal Towers, according to the paperwork submitted with the Common Council agenda, but not disclosed in the Common Council official agenda, received a tax refund of $71,549.31 cumulative for the tax years 1999-00, 2000-01, 2001-02, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06. The assessment of the property has been lowered from a high of $487,800 to the new assessment value of $325,000 a decline of $162,800.

 

Heritage Towers at 15 Stewart Place will receive a $60,252.39 tax certiorari covering the years 1998-99, 1999-00, 2000-01, 2001-02, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06. The assessment of that complex has declined from $1,129,410 in 1998-99 to its present assessment of $925,000. The total decline in assessment is $204,410.

 

The Council also approved bonding of $680,000 for the purpose of buying heavy duty rolling stock for the Department of Public Works.

 

Scope on St. Agnes Property Closed.

 

The Public Scoping Hearing on the 390-unit St Agnes North Street Community senior condominium complex was closed.

 

The public has 10 days to submit written comment to the Planning Depart, 255 Main Street White Plains, NY. The hearing saw the repeat of Wyndham Close concerns about traffic, storm water runoff, size of the complex, and raised again the issue of what the rezoning precedent requested by North Street Community would mean for the development of the rest of the New York Presbyterian Hospital property adjacent to the the former St.Agnes property.

 

C.J. Follini, the principal of North Shore Community told WPCNR exclusively that the group was not talking or considering partnering with New York Presbyterian Hospital to run the complex for them. Follini said they did not have the experience or expertise of administering a senior care facility, and were not in the mix. He said he was considering six possible partners in the project. He said he would talk to New York Presbyterian Hospital “as neighbors” but was not considering them as a possible working partner.

 

Marc Pollitzer of the North Street Association warned the Common Council not to spot zone and to stick with their zoning for the hospital property, warning they would not be able to defend granting other specific zoning changes to another developer,  if they crafted a special zone for the North Street Community, as is being requested by the developer.

 

Next in the process is the Common Council acceptance of the scoping document.