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 MILESTONES. From a WPCNR Correspondent. January 6, 2004: Westchester artist Alton Tobey died Tuesday after a long illness. Tobey was internationally well known for his paintings, and was creator of the “Roots of Westchester” mural at the County Court House in White Plains, as well as a respected teacher and benefactor to many Westchester County non-profit organizations.

Services will be held on Friday, Jan. 7 at 11:30 a.m. at the Zion Memorial Chapel, 785 East Boston Post Road in Mamaroneck, New York.

    Death occurred just a month after a party was held for him at the Sarah Neuman Center in Mamaroneck where he was residing to celebrate his 90th birthday and the launch of a  website about his life showing over 400 of his paintings and his detailed illustrated biography  at www.altontobey.org.



    In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the fund established by the Mamaroneck Artist Guild to nurture and encourage young artists: The Alton S. Tobey Scholarship Fund, c/o Mamaroneck Artist Guild; 2120 Boston Post Road; Larchmont, NY 10538. Make check payable to MAG and notate “Tobey Fund” in the memo section.


    
      Those who wish may leave messages of condolence to the family by email here that will be posted to a special page on his website at a future date.

            Tobey was publicly best known for his murals, which he called “symphonies of painting”. They were the first works for which he achieved national acclaim after graduating and teaching art at Yale University. Today, his murals grace the halls of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC; The MacArthur Memorial in Norfolk, VA., The Intrepid Sea Air Space Museum in New York and dozens of other public buildings throughout the world.


    
           Tobey was a distinguished historian and art educator, and served on numerous non-profit organizations, where he regularly donated his time and talents. He held the office of president in The National Society of Mural Painters, Artist”s Equity of New York and The Mamaroneck Artist”s Guild, and was the recipient of many art awards including the WPA Murals Award, The Edwin Abbey Mural Award, The Lindner Memorial Award; and others from Grumbacher, The Westchester Society and The Westchester Council for The Arts, to name a few.


    
           His dedication to research, science and history spawned a career as an illustrator for LIFE Magazine, 350 paintings for The Golden Books History of the United States, and for paintings in dozens of other books and periodicals. In a May 1976 feature article in American Artist magazine, Tobey”s historical paintings were described as works of “loving accuracy,” and Tobey as an artist of “…insatiable curiosity, diligent investigation, well developed powers of visualization, and consummate craftsmanship.”


    
            Although his historical work recreated thousands of figures from the past; Tobey also did many portraits of his contemporaries. His Brothers United, of John F. and Robert Kennedy; and his Apollo II Astronauts were made into prints and were loved and collected by millions worldwide. On portraits, Tobey said: “In creating a portrait of someone – whether painted, sculpted, drawn or photographed, we must look carefully to catch that particular unique [personal] quality. In fact, we can neglect nothing.” Many of his other works were reproduced in both limited and open editions by Scafa Tournabene, The Franklin Mint, Royal Doulton and other art print and collectibles publishers.


    
            As a Modernist painter, he was a founder of the Curvilinear School of painting based upon the theories of Albert Einstein. He had dozens of one-man exhibitions of his Curvilinears, his Fragments paintings, and his dimensional conceptual works in museums and galleries both locally and internationally. Over 400 of his paintings from every period of the six decades of his work, and a detailed illustrated biography of Tobey are on his website, launched just this past November to celebrate his 90th birthday, at www.altontobey.org.

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WPCNR POLICE GAZETTE. From Inspector Daniel Jackson, Department of Public Safety. January 4, 2005: Last night, Mayor Joseph Delfino cited three firefighters and two police officers for their bravery and expertise in saving the life of Phyllis Waterman at the 23 Old Mamaroneck Road fire of December 7. Here is the text of that commendation:

White Plains Best:  Mayor Joseph Delfino recognizing the Fire Department’s Rescue Unit 88-ers and Police Emergency Services Unit officers, last night: Left to Right, Public Safety Commissioner Dr. Frank Straub, Lieutenanct James Manganello, Sal Bririttieri, William Simmons, Police Officers William Nicholson, and Pietro DeVito. Photo by WPCNR News

The Mayor’s Commendation — January 3, 2005

On December 7, 2004, the White Plains Fire and Police Bureaus responded to an apartment fire at 23 Old Mamaroneck Road. When they arrived, there was one apartment completely engulfed in fire. Our emergency personnel went into action immediately.

The firefighters immediately entered the building and began assisting residents and fighting the fire. The newly formed Rescue 88 was assigned to search for trapped or injured victims of the fire.

While crawling through the smoke-filled stairwell, Lt. James Manganello located an unconscious elderly woman on the landing between the fourth and fifth floor. She had been overcome by the smoke and heat.

Lt. Manganello carried the woman down to the fourth floor and handed the woman to Firefighters Sal Birittieri and William Simmons. The two firefighters carried her down to the courtyard while Lt. Manganello continued to search for more victims.

In the Courtyard, Firefighter Birittieri began to administer rescue breathing to the victim, Phyllis Waterman, who had stopped breathing. They were joined by Police Officer William Nicholson, a member of the new Police Emergency Service Unit. Officer  Nicholson is one of 5 trained Emergency Medical Technicians that staff the Police E.S.U. Truck.

The Firefighters and Police Officer were able to get Mrs. Waterman to breathe again on her own. Mrs. Waterman was then taken by ambulance crew to White Plains Hospital for treatment.

While this was happening, on the back side of the building Police Officer Pietro DeVito was helping other residents. When he arrived, he found several people calling for help from a fire escape at the rear of the building. Police Officer DeVito climbed up some trees and the side of the building to get onto the fire escape to help the people to safety. Police Officer DeVito then went to another fire escape where he and several firefighters helped more victims to safety.

It is because of the actions of all of these brave men that Phyllis Waterman and who knows how many others are alive and safe today. Once again, our Fire and Police personnel have made us proud doing a dangerous job.

Mayor Joseph Delfino

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WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL CHRONICLE-EXAMINER. By John F. Bailey. January 4, 2004: The Mayor and Common Council recognized the bravery and proficiency of the three firefighters and two police officers whose expertise and courage saved the life of an elderly woman in the December 7 fire at  the 23 Old Mamaroneck Road apartments,  at last night’s first Common Council meeting.

FIVE FOR THE HALL OF FAME: The 88-ers : Public Safety Commissioner Dr. Frank Straub, far left, and Mayor Joseph Delfino, presented Ceritificates of Excellence to the lifesavers of the 23 Old Mamaroneck Road fire on December 7 last night. Left to right the heroes are: Lieutenant James Manganello, who found an elderly victim overcome by smoke on the fourth and fifth floor, carried her one flight down to Fire Rescue 88 partners, Sal Birittieri, second from left, and William Simmons, third from left who carried her out of the building, down the remaining four flights. The woman was not breathing when carried out and Police Officer William Nicholson, second from right revived her with respiratory aid. Police Officer Pietro DeVito, far right, was commended for climbing trees adjacent to the building to reach a fire escape to aid two victims who were huddled on the fire escape above the fire on the third floor.  Photo by WPCNR News.

 

PRAISES CITY: Lieutenant Manganello of Fire Rescue 88,  taking the microphone shared a letter sent to him by the lady he helped save, which simply said “Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.” He said that was the best gift he could ever receive, and thanked the city for giving the Department of Safety  the equipment to do their job. During the ceremony, the Mayor praised Commissioner of Public Safety, Dr. Frank Straub, for creating the Fire Rescue Unit 88 which has been operational for six months, and involved in two life rescues.  Photo by WPCNR News.

 

 

The city fathers and mother accepted some $630,000 of grants for city agency and programs, agreed to postpone a scheduled public hearing on the Hamilton Condominiums.

 

They urged the Bobker Group, seeking to build two 10 story condominiums on Maple Avenue on opposite corners of Hale Avenue, to hold meetings with the neighbors to discuss ambiences, accesses and appearances of the project. The neighborhood meeting will be held tentatively January 10 at the offices of Cuddy Feder and Worby.

 

The Council also approved a widening of Maple Avenue to three lanes at Hale Avenue to accommodate the two condominiums. It was unclear whether Maple Avenue would be widened to three lanes in both directions, or for what distance.

 

Comprehensive Plan Review Invitation.

Mayor Urges Citizens to Call Him When They Have A Question.

 

In a public hearing on rezoning a block of Minerva Place to light industrial, Robert Myerson, speaking off the subject, urged the Mayor to participate in a public meeting January 13, to discuss a review of the city comprehensive plan, spearheaded by an adhoc committee, the Citizens Plan Committee, which has submitted a 60-page report to frame the discussion. Myerson said “the city should do the planning for the city, not the developers.”

 

Mayor Delfino said that he had wished citizens had contacted him personally before they had prepared the report, saying that he had never been contacted. “No one in the city came to the Mayor (on this matter),” he declared. He said Commissioner of Planning Susan Habel had been working on such a review since last April or May. He noted that the Citizens Plan Committee report he had seen appeared to have a number of errors in it, and wished the committee had contacted him personally, “and we could have helped you with it.”

 

Myerson said that Ms. Habel had told the Citizens Plan Committee she had no time to work on the comprehensive plan review when the committee had discussed a comprehensive plan review with her in the fall, and that was why the committee had begun the work on their report.

 

The Mayor looked directly into the camera (the meeting was televised citywide) and invited all citizens with any concern to call him personally at the Mayor’s office. The Phone Number of the Mayor’s Office is 422-1411.

 

The rezoning of Minerva Place, being executed to facilitate a redesign of the self-storage facility located on the corner of Minerva Place and South Kensico Avenue, passed.

 

 

Bobker Group Condominiums Urged to

Work Design with the Hale Avenue Neighborhood.

 

Councilpersons Rita Malmud and Benjamin Boykin each urged the Bobker Group, seeking to build two 10-story condominums on opposite corners of the Hale Avenue-Maple Avenue intersection (up the Maple Avenue hill from Fortunoff), to hold discussions with the neighborhood on how the projects will present to the residents of Hale, south of Maple Avenue to work out neighbors’ concerns. Boykin urged the Bobker Group to follow the example of The Jefferson (300 Mamaroneck Avenue), which held extensive neighborhood interaction meetings to accommodate their project to neighborhood concerns.

 

 

 Council Cranky on Hale Condos: Rita Malmud, center, disputed Counselor William Null’s interpretation of the 125 foot or six stories ordinance, and Benjamin Boykin, right, urged a meeting of the minds on design with Hale Avenue residents. Photo by WPCNR News.

 

 

Robert Vogel and Libby Hutcheson, two residents of Hale Avenue expressed this was news to them that the condominiums were being proposed for their corner. Hutchenson, after hearing an explanation of the project,  said it appeared to be a project that would help the neighborhood, but the group had to work with the neighbors.   Vogel cited concerns about overflow parking freeloaders clogging the Hale Avenue streets to avoid paying at garages in The Westchester and Fortunoff, and Westchester Pavillion, as well as “cut-through” traffic.

 

Paul Wood, City Executive Officer, asked by WPCNR why the Bobker Group had not been advised to interact with neighbors before the project reached the public hearing stage, said “it had not been the appropriate time,” and that now was that time.

 

 

Null Underfire: Bobker Group spokesman, William Null, listens as Rita Malmud discusses the finer points of the RM-0.35 Zoning District Ordinance. Malmud took issue strenuously with Bobker legal counsel, who said the ordinance gave the group the right to build 6 stories or 125 feet. Null’s interpretation of that ordinance was that as long as the Bobker Group kept within the 125 foot limitation, the number of stories was up to them. The diagrams on the easel showcase the looparound parking entrance to both projects, Maple Avenue being on the left of the diagram.  Photo by WPCNR News

 

 

The architect added that from a selling standpoint the building made more economic sense at the 100 foot height than if he had designed it for 6 stories up to the full 125 foot height, using mezzanines within the apartments.  The model above shows the first two condominiums on the corners of Hale Avenue. The building in the foreground, left is Crowne Plaza Hotel, in foreground right is the White Plains Pavillion. Fortunoff is at upper left, partially hidden by the Crowne Plaza model. Photo by WPCNR News.

 

Bobker’s architect, Christoper Fogarty, said he had designed the two buildings for 10 stories, with set backs on the rear of the building leading up to a maximum height of the b100 feet, because he felt it would minimize the loom of the building over the two-story homes adjacent tothe site. Fogarty said he felt he had to “sculpt the building to solve some of the complexities (terrain, house proximity, increasing grade) of the site.” 

 

 

Eli Bobker, the developer of the two condominiums, stated that the units are designed to serve persons “already living in White Plains, looking to move out of their homes and into these units.” 70 units are planned in the first building, and 57 units in the second condominium, each 10 stories. After his public remarks, Bobker told WPCNR  the units had not been specifically priced out yet, but estimated the units would be 1,400 square foot units, priced at $425-$475 a square foot, (approximately $600,000- $700,000 per average unit).

 

In an impromptu discussion in the rotunda after the Council meeting had adjourned it was tentatively agreed that the Bobker group would meet with the neighborhood next Monday, January 10 at 7:30 P.M. in the Cuddy, Feder & Worby offices, according to William Null, Bobker’s counselor.

 

The Hamilton Moved to February. 

 

The Public Hearing on The Hamilton condominiums on Church and Barker Avenues was not reopened, and instead, adjourned to the February 7 meeting of the Common Council, no reason given.

 

Three of The 88-ers: Fire Chief Richard Lyman, second from left with three of ” his 88 guys:” James Manganello, Sal Birittieri, and William Simmons. Photo by WPCNR News.

 

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WPCNR County Clarion-Ledger. From County Board of Legislators Press Office. December 30, 2004 (EDITED):  On Thursday of last week, Bill Ryan,  Chair of the Westchester Board of Legislators, appointed Jose Alvarado (D-I-WF, Yonkers) to replace the current head of the Parks Committee, a move he said was necessary to protect two key attractions at Playland, the County’s historic amusement park in Rye, and to ensure strong advocacy for Westchester’s recreational facilities and open space.

 

THE DRAGONCOASTER at Playland today. The antique ride, dating from 1929. constructed entirely of wood, needs a paint job to preserve it. The battle over its refurbishment wound up ejecting Rob Astorino, County Legislator from the Parks Committee Coaster Car Chairmanship. Photo by WPCNR News.

The move ousted Robert Astorino from the Chairmanship of the committee, whom Ryan characterized as delaying important Playland legislation for the refurbishment of the park. Here is the text of Ryan’s official statement on the matter issued at the close of last week.

  

.”

“Jose Alvarado has a commitment to parks and open space,” Ryan said.  “I know that under his leadership the Parks Committee will provide the critical, constructive oversight and timely decision-making that our taxpayers expect. I anticipate an extremely proactive parks agenda emerging from the Committee early next year

The move, which takes effect immediately, strips freshman County Legislator Rob Astorino of his Parks chairmanship, although he remains a member of the committee.

 

Sad Dragon: The intricate lattice construction of the rollercoaster is peeling, and requires a repainting, refurbishing. The peeling can be seen on the wooden supports in center of picture. Photo by WPCNR News.

 

Ryan said that Astorino was bottling up measures to provide needed maintenance of the 75-year-old Dragon Coaster, one of Playland’s most popular and valuable attractions, and necessary structural repairs to the park’s historic Boathouse.  The Dragon Coaster was referred to the Parks Committee last March and the Boathouse last August.

 

The Lagoon of Romance: Playland’s quaint Boathouse today where patrons rent paddle boats and embark on boatrides about Playland’s private lagoon,  will also be refurbished as part of the $3.8 Million expenditure. Photo by WPCNR News.

 

Ryan said that Playland is currently at a critical juncture, with a new Master Plan to guide its future well underway.

 

“The firm that’s preparing the Master Plan recommended that the work be done on the Dragon Coaster and the Boat House immediately to prevent further deterioration.  They further cited a concern for visitor safety and the need to preserve the park’s historic value,” Ryan said.

 

Dock and Storage Alcoves that Support the Boathouse, as seen today. Photo by WPCNR News

 

Ryan noted that the County’s Historic Preservation Advisory Committee has warned that the Boathouse’s structural decay “will lead to the building’s collapse without immediate attention.”

 

“The Boathouse provides access to the paddle boats that are enjoyed by seniors and by adults who are visiting Playland with their kids,” Ryan said.  “It’s a critical part of the Park, but without the rehabilitation work, it’s going to crumble.”

 

The Boathouse from the Landward side. Photo by WPCNR News.

 

Speaking of the Dragon Coaster, Ryan said, “besides being the park’s signature ride, the Dragon Coaster is literally the symbol of Playland,  It draws people to the Park.  It is a major attraction that contributes significantly to the park’s revenue and attendance.  During the past seven years a total of 1.5 million people have ridden the Dragon Coaster, producing $4.5 million in revenue.  Generations of people have grown up riding this Coaster.  Becoming old enough and tall enough to ride the Dragon Coaster is a rite of passage for a child.” 

 

One of the Original Thrill Rides: The legendary Dragon Coaster. Photo by WPCNR News

 

Ryan continued, “without the refurbishing, inspection crews are going to have to spend more time on daily maintenance, which of course translates into more expense. And there may be times where the ride just won’t be able to open because the daily repairs can’t be finished quickly enough. Rob Astorino would let his own political agenda inconvenience park patrons, escalate costs, thwart the will of his committee and deny Legislators their right to decide issues through their votes. This approach does not serve the public interest and I won’t tolerate it from any of my committee chairs.”

 

Ryan said that on November 22, when the full Board was set to vote on the Playland items, Astorino blocked the vote because, as he publicly stated, the Administration refused to give him a private briefing on the Parks Department budget.

 

“He couldn’t attend the Budget Committee’s briefing on parks because of his job, so he wanted things bent to accommodate him,” Ryan said. “But what he was asking violated legislative practice. And when this was explained to him, he just didn’t care. He acted out of anger and stopped the vote because he couldn’t get his way.”

  

“This is not an action I’ve taken lightly,” Ryan said.  “Personally I like Rob Astorino and had hoped that we could come to some accord on Playland.  Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.  I’ve spoken to him throughout the year, asking  that he fulfill his responsibility as Committee Chair to let the Board discuss and vote on the Playland measures.  But he’s resisted doing this.  After he blocked the vote, I asked him to convene a Parks Committee meeting and report the items out again, but he did not. Two weeks later I wrote Legislator Astorino making the same request.  I had three subsequent conversations with him. I told him I wanted to keep him as Parks Chairman and appealed to him to let the vote occur. I also explained that putting his own personal preferences ahead of the full Board’s right and duty to decide matters would force me to remove him as Chairman.  He said he understood the consequences of not allowing the Playland items out for a vote, but that he didn’t share my philosophy and wasn’t going to cooperate.”

 

“Legislator Astorino is standing in the way of good government,” Ryan said.  “We had some important proposals sent to us by a County department and ultimately recommended by the Parks Committee, but he has chosen to ignore his colleagues and to micro-manage and second guess the experts and his own committee members.”

 

Ryan said that Astorino’s removal in no way represents a weakening of the bipartisan Board leadership structure “which I’ve made a determined effort to put into place.” 

 

“I made sure that every Republican Legislator chairs at least one Board Committee with the exception of the Minority Leader who declined the offer,” Ryan said.  “We may differ on issues, but we all respect how the Legislature operates.  That’s what I find so disappointing about Mr. Astorino’s decision to create gridlock.  I think people are fed up with stalling the public good for political gain.”

 

The Spiffy-Good as-New Playland Casino Today: The county’s refurbishment of the Playland Ice Casino at the South end of the Park over last summer on the Boardwalk where the movies Big  and Sweet and Lowdown were filmed, has made the old ice rink a brighter and more welcoming environment attracting more ice-skaters and hockey teams, including the Skyliners, New York City’s synchronized skating team. Photo by WPCNR News.

 

 “Playland is a National Historic Landmark and a National Register Site,” Ryan said. “The Park has tremendous historic and emotional significance for the people of Westchester.  I don’t intend to see that diminished in any way during my tenure as Board Chair. I also want to see Westchester’s magnificent parks and open space holdings get the full attention they deserve from our Board and the key to that is a well-functioning, concerned Parks Committee with a clear focus and direction.  That’s what will now be in place.”

 

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WPCNR PHANTOM OF CITY HALL. News Analysis and Commentary  By John F. Bailey. December 31, 2004: The last 364 days showed the way White Plains is going in the next ten years: the downtown turned around on the basis of record sales tax pace created by the economic energizing from the City Center project. That project alone delivered the city out of $5 Million budget deficit in the nick of time June 30, with a $9.2 Million fourth quarter of 03-04.

 

Common Council decisions confirmed the predictions of this reporter that the city zoning code is all but dead within the core of the city. The new zoning is subject to the whim and desires of property owners.

 

City financial management took a pre-election year tack granting pay increases twice the inflation rate and setting the stage for 5% increase demands by the balance of the city unions when they come up for contract next year.

 

Meanwhile a projected sales tax collection of $40-$45 Million for the year 04-05 (ending in June), based on First Quarter results alone (and not counting the Christmas season ) is a good omen for all you bond rating agencies out there. We know who you are.

In the Money.

 

With the city sitting on $38 Million in budgeted sales tax for 04-05, the snowballing avalanche of sales tax dollars should allow the city to replenish its fund balance, if they choose to do so. That precarious fund balance now sits on $1 Million unearmarked cash, with $4 Million attributed costs.

 

If you figure the Christmas season did 25% more in sales tax last December with the City Center not as fully occupied as it is today, the city  should rake in $3 Million more in sales tax in October, November December. Should the critical October-November-December quarter do better than I expect say — $14 Million than you could conceivably hit $45 Million and up in sales tax collections for the year.  I think $50 Million is way optimistic considering that Third and Fourth Quarter collections traditionally match first quarter receipts.

 

That being said, the city can count on $10 Million to $15 Million sales tax in the second quarter ending tonight at midnight, followed by an additional $10.2 Million in each of the next two quarters giving the city a total of about  $45 Million in sales tax for the year 04-05.

 

How Will the Delfino 6 Use it?

 

It will be up to the Common Council to distribute this windfall: To replenish the fund balance or not to replenish the fund balance, that is the question.

 

The prediction here is that the council, it being an election year, and Mayor Delfino in a reelection campaign, (the word is the Mayor is running again), will lay huge raises on the police and fire unions matching the largesse they lavished on the Civil Service Employees Union( three years of 4% raises), leaving $5 Million for fund balance first aid.

 

Anything over the $10.2 Million mark in sales tax revenues in the third and fourth quarters is just gravy on the city’s mashed potatoes.

 

Taxes on sales of Cappelli-Trump Condominiums could add more to the covers.

 

Meanwhile, how has this been achieved?

 

Council Created “The Site Plan in Progress Approval.”

 

The year 2004 showed that the city no longer controls what is built within the downtown. The city can approve, but it cannot refuse, thanks to a new policy WPCNR dubs “The Site Plan In Progress Approval.”

 

This “policy” was created  by granting concession after concession, design change after design change, to Super Developer Louis Cappelli.

 

This “policy” was produced out of a zoning test tube in the laboratory of a mad planning scientist, deep within the confines of City Hall, who changed the city downtown zoning in September of 2003,  to allow “transfer of development rights.”  

 

By passing this TOD ordinance, the Council was told they were creating new options to develop the down. Boy, did they ever!

 

I just happen to have some development rights.

 

Strangely, Louis Cappelli was the first to take advantage of the Transfer of Development Rights option in his presentation of the 221 Main Project. The Council accommodated Mr. Cappelli, allowing him to transfer square footage not used in the City Center to the 221 Main project. They allowed him to add a health club to the top floor of the parking garage at City Center. They allowed him to change design of the south City Center tower after Donald Trump partnered with him. They allowed him to lop a floor off the City Center.

 

To make a long story short, the Council has invented “the Site Plan In Progress Approval” allowing major changes in the nature of approved projects and glomming them through as minor site plan amendments. Not that this is  wrong mind you.

 

But, this policy has set precedents that future developers will be quick to point out.

 

An example of what White Plains can expect in 2005 and 2006 is about to unfold. Martin Ginsburg, no amateur, is going to come in with a redesign of his Pinnacle project. WPCNR’s prediction is that Mr. Ginsburg will not only ask for 40 stories for his Pinnacle, but, if I were him, I’d ask for 50 stories and see what the Council does with it.

 

Martin Ginsburg to Approach the Council

 

Mr. Cappelli shrewdly offered everybody’s favorite “feel-good” issue, building “affordable housing” as something he would do, in return for allowing him to pump his 221 Main Cappelli Hotel Condoplex to 400 feet (40 stories). Cappelli also took the opportunity to say he was no longer seriously pursuing the agreement he had apparently reached with Mr. Ginsburg to allow Mr. Ginsburg to build The Pinnacle to 28 stories.

 

Mr. C. wants the Pinnacle tower scaled down. Well, Mr. Ginsburg, noting the Cappelli hotel 40-story shuffle, has his architects working again, redesigning the Pinnacle so he does not have to use the Corner Nook-Deli-Bookstore property Cappelli owns.

 

What do you want to bet Mr. Ginsburg goes to 40 stories, maybe 50 stories? I would. The Council has no legal leg to stand on if they grant Cappelli 40 stories in two buildings (going from 34 stories and three buildings), and refuse Mr. Ginsburg 40 stories  (or 50).  What is so sad about this is that the council has done this consistently for the forces of Cappelli – on the City Center and, now it is happening again on the Hotel Condoplex .

 

It is this reporter’s opinion that this dispensation after dispensation record with one developer, means that the city can face projects from developers that come in as one kind of  project and change dramatically after they are approved. I already see this in a condo request over on Maple Avenue.

 

How can the Council stop it after the concessions they have eagerly, without question, granted Mr. Cappelli? It is not just that Mr. Cappelli is charming. He is also smart. He changes things to his advantage as he goes. And council goes right along.

 

Will the Cappelli factor eventually come back to haunt the council in all its dealings with developers in the future? The first test is with Martin Ginsburg, coming up.

 

The Comprehensive Plan Review Myth.

 

Another major issue that will be a new campaign issue is the future plan for development of the city. A Citizens Plan Committee raised this issue in the last month. They say it is time to rethink and review the city Comprehensive Plan of 1997. However, how can the city plan when a major project – the Cappelli Hotel-Condoplex has not even been built yet? Can we say the traffic will be terrible “on spec?” Can we say, no development let’s stop?

 

How can the city plan when traffic is already routinely jammed coming into and going out of the city between the hours of 5 and 7 PM? Shall it arbitrarily created new development zones away from the downtown, plan new entries to the city…widening them like on Route 22, Mamaroneck Avenue? And at the increasingly congested eastern gateway? Shall we institute satellite parking lots (Al Moroni, please note new revenue op!)

 

Well that’s what handling new traffic is all about. To think that persons who do not deal with these issues professionally can begin to think about what the new White Plains will be and will need based on what they want to preserve poses an interesting question.

 

Who decides?

 

Who will adapt the new Comprehensive Plan? Will it be voted on? Who will sweet talk the Common Council over to their vision? Meanwhile developers, architects from all around are rubbing their hands together thinking about how to get their piece of White Plains.

 

On a recent White Plains Week show, Robert Stackpole, Robert Levine, and Mike Graessle, spokespersons for the “CPC-3” said they were not for a moratorium on building, that they just wanted to get the comprehensive plan review moving with a citywide meeting January 13.

 

 

Well, the city has gone on “scramble” and is furiously lashing together a Comprehensive Plan Review which Commissioner of Planning Susan Habel has said she has been working on since June, but is awaiting reports from various department heads. She told WPCNR she has about 60 pages written.

 

Whatever vision Ms. Habel creates and submits – we bet it will be out by the January 13 citywide meeting – will call for redevelopment up Mamaroneck Avenue involving the Silverman property; it will call for a renaissance on the West Side along Lexington Avenue and West Post Road, at the very least. 

 

West Side Changes

 

But this is going to mean considerable upheaval : To redevelop the West Side, the Planning Department and Executive Officer Paul Wood say will consist of gradations of new town house housing appealing to moderate affordable and upper class housing, as well as refurbishment of the retail along South Lexington Avenue to “turn Winbrook to the street , to activate Lexington Avenue, ” in Wood’s words to us.

 

Get rid of Open Arms and Coachman.

 

The city will have to get the county to get rid of the Open Arms Shelter on Post Road and certainly get rid of the subsidized housing in the Coachman Hotel, which are inconveniently located between Mamaroneck Avenue and the soon-to-be-tonified West Side.

 

 That has to be done in order to gentrify that West Post Road neighborhood. It is high time the County developed wholesome subsidized housing and homeless shelters in communities that have plenty of space for it: like Bedford, Pound Ridge, Yorktown, Chappaqua, instead of housing them in essentially office buildings and in the backs of church sepulchers.

 

The city will have to strike a dialogue with the owners of those establishments along South Lexington Avenue and West Post Road, up to Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. Perhaps give incredible incentives to reinvigorate their store fronts – or perhaps buy them out altogether.

 

Where’s the thought? Where’s the Performance?

 

This is just a wild thought – but since the comprehensive plan is now being reviewed and perhaps put out by Ms. Habel as we even write this piece – where are the thoughts for the downtown from the citizens of White Plains and the downtown property owners? The comprehensive plan, as the CPC-3 have pointed out has been activated faster than expected.

 

But how much input does Mr. and Ms. White Plains, and Mr. and Ms. White Plains Landlord really want to put into any comprehensive plan? What do they really care? As long as their taxes stay down and their children pass the State Assessments? And get into good schools?

 

Other than open space advocates and environmental issue types, for two decades property owners in White Plains downtown have allowed their properties to sink into less and less desirable properties. Gone are Wallachs, The Sound Room, the Pipe and Bowl, Esy’s, Florsheim, Touch of Gold, Schrafts, Emily Shaw’s,  Little shops I remember.

 

Landlord Vision Sadly Lacking.

 

 Where was the vision of landlords then? 

 

Well the Delfino Administration has made some alliances with at least one developer who has pumped, at least for one year, substantial cash back into the downtown as well as customers, and has plans to bring in a similar project that will be on line deep into 2006. He (Louis Cappelli) has delivered, but what he presents and what White Plains ends up with is usually quite different, but somewhat better than originally proposed.

 

Is that good? Is it bad, this “Site Plan In Progress Approval Policy” the Common Council has invented and endorsed? The numbers say it is working today.

 

City of Masks

 

But, it has always been thus in White Plains. This is a city that reinvents its look every 50 years or so. Many cities I have visited around the eastern seaboard: Lowell, Massachusetts, Providence, Rhode Island, Roanoke, Virginia, Charlotte, North Carolina,  New Haven, Connecticut; Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, still look like they used to decades ago. Those cities have changed, but they retain their industrial character and tradition.

 

However, the day of the local shop is ending. Now we all flock to the name stores that are everywhere: Dunkin Donuts. Target, Walmart, Best Buy, Coconuts, Old Navy, Claire’s, McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Subway, Applebees, Cracker Barrel. And, they are everywhere. The local place scares us.

 

White Plains has never cared much for the past. The White Plains of 100 years ago cannot be found in the way the City White Plains looked in the 1950s, and now the White Plains of the 1950s is disappearing. This is a city that puts on a new mask every fifty years or so. It is a city that has as much American Revolution history as Boston or Plymouth, but has failed to capitalize on its history. There is not one paying historical site park in White Plains. Our heritage, despite the efforts of historians to preserve it remains mostly in Renoda Hoffman’s books. From Train Stations to Courthouses, except for an occasional Bar Building façade, we tear our past down.

 

 

Meanwhile – No progress on New York Presbyterian Hospital Park– Or Proton Accelerator

 

While the New York Presbyterian Hospital continues to remain mum and say nothing about their proton accelerator project for the third straight year in 2005, no progress has been made on the much-ballyhooed Delfino-Pardis agreement to try and put together a central park for White Plains. The question of what the hospital is going to do on the approved proton accelerator site continues to be a mystery. Look for them to turn over a shovel of dirt to generate another site plan renewal in September.

 

Since the Hospital has not even appointed a Director of Proton Therapy to oversee construction, and did not send any representatives to the international meeting of proton therapy scientists and suppliers in October at Indiana University, this reporter assumes the Hospital is either going to lease the facility to a firm like Hitachi who will build and run the center, or perhaps sell the property in some way. They are not moving ahead very fast in building that facility. They are not orchestrating the publicity for their proton accelerator in a forthcoming manner.

 

The issue to look for is the hospital request to rezone the property on the north end of the New York Presbyterian Hospital property as commercial, allowing further development of the property. The trade off will be a park for White Plains, is WPCNR’s prediction.

 

City Run a 55-Acre Park?With What Money?

 

That raises a real money issue for White Plains. They will need at least millions of dollars a year to maintain a 55 acre park and get it in shape for ballfields, and parking. The first thing the city has to do if this park is a real serious possibility is do a feasibility study and swing a deal with the county or New York State to run it. White Plains simply cannot pay for it.

 

I would say the Delfino Administration will announce a park just about next September or October in time to assure Mr. Delfino’s reelection, (after commercial rezoning is approved). Remember, unless Delfino secures the park before election, his opponent for Mayor will bang him on that issue. (Can’t you hear the slogans now, “commercial sellout to the hospital,” “paving over the last open space in White Plains,”).

 

Millions for backyard preservation.

 

The use of some $3 million to acquire portions of the Greenway for open space is another policy that has to be seriously reconsidered. Unless those areas are going to be “parked-up” with trails, parking areas, and programs that promote them, this is essentially a backyard preservation program for Hillair Circle. The city has to use millions more wisely than this in the coming year.

 

Meanwhile, the St. Agnes Development is interesting.

 

What will the new mystery owners of the St. Agnes Hospital Property do with it? That is the question of the month. Housing at that corner will be a real stretch on traffic. Commercially developing the property? It has to be rezoned. Opening a new hospital, that is out of the question because the medical equipment worth millions has been auctioned off to liquidators for a fraction of its value.  That will be another thorny Common Council issue.

 

 

Consolidation of Power in the Mayor’s Office.

 

What 2004 proved was the inability of the Common Council to lead, and showed that Mayor Joseph Delfino has created a bastion of power in the Mayor’s office by controlling the agenda, co-opting issues and presenting paths the Council cannot say no to, even when they should. The CSEA 4% settlements over the next three years are example of where the Council should have raised some eyebrows.  Nobody gets 4% raises these days in the real world.

 

 The Council just gets out of the way. They do not ask the right questions, and can be easily swayed to approving virtually anything if it makes them appear to be on the politically correct side of an issue.

 

The School Budget Never Stops.

 

Meanwhile in the white mansion on Homeside Lane, on the south side of town, the City School District continues to spend money as if it is falling in the streets.

 

The citizens are proud of the school district, but this budget is out of control. It will automatically go up 6% every year automatically. And nobody ever thinks about like cutting a department or trimming the administration. The district performs well, no doubt, and we love the school district, but this district spends $144 Million, soon-to-be $160 Million plus to run nine buildings. Admittedly it is mostly in salaries and benefits (approximately 70%), and crosses its fingers that there are no children coming into the district.

 

The preliminary, minimum increase in the school budget for 2004-05 is $12 Million, which will put the 05-06 budget at the $156 Million mark. WPCNR predicts it will complete at about $158 million, stopping short of the hard-to-swallow $160 Million level.  

 

The $156 Million figure is the level set before the School District adds improvements to school buildings, budgets new requests from departments, and adds new programs for the performance gap. This figure also does not take into account the School District feelers for expansion of the Middle Schools alluded to by Superintendent of Schools, Timothy Connors at the beginning of this month.

 

The City Budget is approximately $114 Million. The School Budget this year is $144 Million. This means the city spends about $5 Million a week to run the city and educate its children.

 

Other Issues,

 

The White Plains Performing Arts Center says they broke even in the first year, but this was mainly due to a substantial contribution to close the budget gap. The theater cost $1.1 Million to run in 04-05. It also lost its full-time Executive Director. Jeffrey Rosentock, who continues pro bono. Mr. Stimac, its Producing Director says he is looking for a full-time Executive Director.

 

 Will the city sever its relationship with Tony Stimac, or continue him into year three of his contract? A lot is riding on how the theatre Spring productions draw.

 

Meanwhile, the theatre still has no on-street identity at the City Center. Though publicity and community outreach of the WPPAC, as well as programming can be open for criticism, there is no excuse for the theatre not having its own marquee on Mamaroneck Avenue and Main Street, and a box office presence on the street. You have to know the theatre is there.

 

This was a poorly conceived theatre design by the city, allowing the theatre to be on the top floor of the City Center instead of on the street level is a huge mistake, and time has proven that.

 

The Public Safety Communications Issues.

 

The efficiency of the Department of Public Safety has been gratifying, saving lives at 23 Old Mamaroneck Road, providing a police presence in the downtown, and lowering crime, and enforcing traffic laws more efficiently.

 

 However communication to the public during an emergency does not exist. The city does not notify radio stations. The city does not provide information to citizens (and not just reporters),  during an emergency. It has no apparatus to do that. No policy. If you’re lucky the police desk will inform you what’s going on.

 

What the Public Safety Department and City Hall have to come together on is how to communicate with the public in an emergency.

 

 Citizens simply cannot get information from the police department on an unfolding event while it is happening. This needs to be addressed. Admittedly the Police Department and Fire Departments have to take care of the emergency first, however, there is no excuse for the Mayor’s Office not being ready to update citizens on a developing situation and telling citizens what areas of the city to avoid.

 

It is amateurish emergency event public communication, at the present time.

 

If there is ever a real serious event in the downtown, the city will dearly wish it had a hotline for citizens wired into the Mayor’s office where recorded messages can replay traffic, procedure advisories, etc. It will dearly wish it had a way to alert citizens to stay out of the downtown or avoid an area. It will dearly wish it had an automatic call procedure to reach citizens in an area of the city or all the city for that matter.

 

What new masks will White Plains don in 2005? Fasten your seatbelt.