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WHITE PLAINS SHOULD LOOK AHEAD CREATE A NEW SENIOR CENTER (MANY MORE SENIORS TO COME)
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WPCNR THE LETTER TICKER. February 5, 2022:
Let’s plan ahead for a NEW SENIOR CENTER in White Plains
The lease on the current rented Senior Center, in the basement of the Armory on Mitchell Place and S. Broadway, will expire in about 6 to 7 years. The Center was flooded in 2021, became unusable, and required extensive repairs. Senior activities have been held in the White Plains Public Library, and before that outdoor in a park. Activities will resume in the Armory basement in the spring.
White Plains needs a new Senior Center befitting a City that is encouraging the building of many more apartments, more arts, and more restaurants. It needs a center to provide space for seniors to socialize, exercise, eat together, and learn and practice new skills.
What should a new White Plains Senior Center include?
It should have accessibility; enough large rooms, and one with a stage, so that arranging a lunch time holiday party won’t preempt popular morning exercise classes; places for informal socializing; a walking track; a library; space for a meal program with up-to-date equipment; a computer room; a room for nurse consultation in privacy; a safe area for drop-offs and for parking; offices for personnel. What about placing the Senior Center on an entry-level floor in one of the new residences to be built on the Winbrook campus?
… … …
What would you like a new Senior Center to include? Have you visited other Senior Centers?
Send your ideas to:
Mayor Tom Roach tmroachwp@gmail.com
Hon. Justin Brasch braschlaw@aol.com
Hon. Nadine Hunt-Robinson nadine.hunt.robinson@gmail.com
Hon. John Martin jmartin@allnyt.com
Hon. Rich Payne RPayne76@hotmail.com
Hon. Vicki Presser VPresser@aol.com
Hon. Jen Puja pujaforwhiteplains@gmail.com
Many thanks for thinking about this exciting project – A New Senior Center for White Plains.
Renee Cohen
MIKE SPANO MAYOR OF YONKERS EXPLORES PRIMARYING JAMAAL BOWMAN FOR 16TH DISTRICT SEAT IN CONGRESS. TELEPHONE SURVEY PAST WEEK REVEALS MAYOR’S HAND
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WPCNR CAMPAIGN 2022. By John F. Bailey. February 5, 2022:
Your reporter was queried by a telephone survey conducted this week comparing Mike Spano, Mayor of Yonkers with various politicians and political candidates, asking specifically whom I would vote for if Mike Spano were running against incumbent Congressman Jamaal Bowman currently representing New York’s 16th Congressional District..
The Survey asked a series multiple choice questions of how favorable or unfavorable I would be towards Mr. Spano compared to other candidates.
I frankly was shocked to think why this survey was being done at all. Mr. Spano is clearly a possibility to run for the County Executive Office when George Latimer, the present Westchester County Executive leaves office in 2025.
A news release from Black Democrats of Westchester made clear Mr. Spano is running for first-time incumbent Bowman’s seat in this news release commenting on Mayor Spano’s appearance:
The Black Democrats of Westchester issued a news release today giving details, appearing to confirm that Mr. Spano has his cap set on ousting Bowman in a recently gerrymandered district.
The Black Democrats of Westchester issued this statement on Mr. Spano’s dipping his toe into the radio waves:
“Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano was a featured guest on a WVOX Radio program with Phil Reisman and Matt Richter on Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022. On the program, Mayor Spano discussed running for Congress against incumbent Representative Jamaal Bowman.
Mayor Spano said live on air, “They should have arrested him [Bowman] for his no vote on infrastructure. I’m a hardcore moderate in the middle, where most of us are, and end up. But the democratic party over the past two years has been pushed to the left, and the reforms, like bail reform, have gone too far.“
The Black Democrats of Westchester County respects Mayor Spano’s choice to run for Congress but strongly denounces the mayor’s insinuation that Representative Bowman should be placed in jail for how he voted.
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WHITE PLAINS WEEK THE FEBRUARY 4 REPORT ON www.wpcommunitymedia.org in HI DEF; CRYSTAL CLEAR AUDIO; WITH ZIP,ZING AND GINGER
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PLUS NOAM BRAMSON ON LIVING WITH COVID
MAYOR TOM ROACH ON SAFETY OF CITY DATA
AND MORE WITH
FOR 20 YEARS ONCE A WEEK EVERY WEEK-
THE NEWS IN WHITE PLAINS NEW YORK USA
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SCHOOL DISTRICT SEES RISE IN POSITIVES IN FIRST MONTH OF YEAR, BUT DECLINING.
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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. By John F. Bailey. February 2, 2022:
A cross section of school district positives recorded since September seems to indicate that positive tests for covid among students is up from last year’s levels.
In the White Plains City School District of 1,874 students, teachers, and staff, 1,683 have tested positive since the return to in-school instruction in September. That is 21.4 %.
Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Joseph Ricca, asked if this was due to increased testing of students issued this statement:
“Thankfully, our numbers of positive cases are rapidly decreasing. We experienced the surge following the holiday recess. However, since about Wednesday last week, we are moving in the right direction. I do think that the added availability of testing helped us to identify cases as well.”
A WPCNR random sampling of neighboring districts in central Westchester and to the south and north show percentages of positives among students, teachers and staff to date from the beginning of school in September by enrollment.
POSITIVES PCT STUDENTS,TEACHERS TREND
STAFF LAST 7 DAYS
IN DISTRICT 1/26-FEB 1
WHITE PLAINS 1,683 21.4% 1,874 UP 29
GREENBURGH 324 15% 2,066 UP 13
HARRISON: 740 17% 4,301 UP 48
SCARSDALE: 887 15.7% 5,648 UP 61
VALHALLA 179 11% 1,609 UP 7
NEW ROCHELLE 1,032 9% 11,766 UP 67
YONKERS 1,779 6.1% 29,220 UP 90
MT.VERNON 1,841 22% 8,316 UP 9
EASTCHESTER 490 13.5% 3,626 UP 16
PORT CHESTER/RYE 623 12% 5,215 UP 27
PEEKSKILL 420 10% 4,186 UP 10
YORKTOWN 707 18% 3,951 UP 42
PLEASANTVILLE 322 23% 1,351 UP 5
CHAPPAQUA 306 7.3% 4,166 UP 8
CORTLANDT 146 6.5% 2,238 0
Data from the New York State School Positives website
The first two weeks of February will be key to controlling new cases of covid going into the Valentines Day socializing Feb. 12-13,14 followed by the winter recess week of February 18 through 27 (in White Plains). The relative low positives from January 26 to Feb. 1st with these towns would indicate that students spreading the coronavirus the first two weeks of February may be low.
In March, schools return to the only month month with 4 straight weeks with no holiday weekends which may elevate the number of positives resulting from Valentines Day and the winter recess that lasts 10 days. The week-long winter recess may have the effect of spreading the covid virus.
Adults and students should be wary of spreading or putting themselves in possible situations where they may contact the virus.
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RESEARCHERS: BY 2030, NEW YORK COULD BE SHORT 39,000 NURSES. SENATOR GILLEBRAND ADVOCATES $55 BILLION “HEALTH FORCE” IN EVERY COMMUNITY.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — TOMORROW, Wednesday, February 2nd at 1:30 PM:
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand will hold a video press conference to call for $55 billion to be included in President Biden’s budget request to establish and replicate a Health Force in every community.
Over the last decade, the nation’s public health workforce lost nearly 40,000 jobs, while state and local budgets were slashed by 16% and 18%, respectively.
Members of the inaugural NYC Public Health Corps (PHC), New York City’s new local Health Force, carry out initiatives that target a broad spectrum of public health needs—from helping people get vaccinated to counseling residents about diabetes and depression. The NYC Public Health Corps received $35 million to help establish the inaugural Health Force based on Gillibrand’s efforts during passage of the American Rescue Plan.
Senator Gillibrand is encouraging local governments across New York State to form similar health corps that would benefit from this federal funding and strengthen community health by empowering a knowledgeable workforce that has the trust of local residents, as workers are often from the same neighborhood they serve.
Senator Gillibrand introduced the Health Force, Resilience Force, and Jobs to Fight COVID-19 Act, a public health jobs program to help the nation recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, and successfully negotiated its inclusion in the American Rescue Plan.
The American Rescue Plan included $3 billion for a new public health workforce based on Gillibrand’s Health Force legislation to expand the nation’s public health jobs and infrastructure and aid the country’s vaccine distribution campaign.