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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Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced today the availability of $105 million in critical arts and cultural funding through the New York State Council on the Arts, including a program to reinvigorate near-term live performances that opens for applications Wednesday. The grants will aid in the arts sector’s multi-year recovery from COVID-19 and spur the revitalization of New York’s creative economy, which fosters $123 billion annually in economic activity and supports more than 500,000 jobs statewide. 

“We must build New York back better than it was before, and part of that process will be strengthening and reinvigorating our state’s creative economy,” Governor Cuomo said. “These grants will pay dividends through the economic activity generated by our creative ecosystem, which will continue to flourish and inspire us as we work together to make New York stronger than ever.”

There will be four rounds of funding, with $20 million already committed to multi-year awards in the first round. Each round is designed to address the most urgent needs of organizations and artists within New York’s nonprofit creative sector. 

• Restart NY: Rapid Live Performance Grants ($10 million): Support will directly address the area of the arts sector hardest hit by COVID-19, and reinvigorate near term, in-person performance opportunities. This funding will prioritize the recovery of New York’s unparalleled performance organizations, venues, artists, and groups. This $10 million opportunity offers both direct support from NYSCA and regrant support through NYSCA’s Partnerships and Statewide Community Regrants program. Grants of $5,000 and $10,000 will be available for eligible performing arts organizations for planned performance programming in 2021. Support provided through the Community Regrants Program, which will focus on reviving performance on a very local level, will be administered by NYSCA partners statewide. The goal of this regrant support is to reach small, local organizations that do not receive direct grants from NYSCA. Round 1 guidelines and portal for direct NYSCA Rapid Live Performance Grants will open on June 16. Application portal will close July 1.  

• Expanded Access to Funding ($15 million): Support will expand NYSCA’s current network of valued regrant partners to reach New York’s vast and diverse community of artists and organizations. Funding will be distributed through NYSCA Partnerships and Statewide Community Regrants. Increased support at the local level will ensure more communities, organizations, and individuals will have access to NYSCA funding. Round 2 guidelines will be posted June 16, 2021. Application portal will open on July 19 and close August 2.

• Organizational and Individual Artist Recovery ($40 million): Support will broaden individual artist assistance and deliver extremely flexible funding for organizations through a streamlined application experience. Grants offered in this round will greatly expand eligibility and encourage new applicants across a wide spectrum of artistic and cultural practices. Priority will be given to applicants that serve historically underrepresented communities. Round 3 guidelines will be posted on June 16. Application portal will open July 19 and close September.

• Capital Funding for the Arts ($20 million): Support will assist organizations in making improvements to address health and safety issues in their spaces and venues among other needs. Any New York State nonprofit arts and culture organization is encouraged to apply. Round 4 guidelines and application portal will open in September. 

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WPCNR POLICE GAZETTE. From the Office of the Westchester County District Attorney. June 12, 2021:

A former federal judge will assist the Westchester District Attorney’s Office (WDAO) in its review of two previous police-involved shootings in Westchester that led to the deaths of county residents Danroy Henry and Kenneth Chamberlain, as well as the subsequent handling of these matters by the WDAO, DA Miriam E. Rocah announced Thursday..

Danroy Henry, Jr., known as DJ, was killed on October 17, 2010 when officers shot at Henry’s moving vehicle. He was 20 years old and a student at Pace University.

Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr., a 68-year-old former U.S. Marine who suffered from mental illness, was shot and killed in his home on November 19, 2011, following a confrontation with White Plains police after they responded to an accidental medical alert. At points during the confrontation, Mr. Chamberlain possessed a knife.

In the months following these two incidents, the Henry and Chamberlain shootings were reviewed by WDAO prosecutors who ultimately presented evidence and witnesses to grand juries, whose role was to determine whether that evidence was sufficient to support the criminal charges that prosecutors presented. In both cases, no indictment was returned by the grand juries and the proceedings were automatically sealed by the court.

The current reviews will be conducted internally by designated Assistant District Attorneys and investigators who have been selected for this task by DA Rocah, with the assistance of a team of pro bono attorneys led by John Gleeson, a Debevoise & Plimpton LLP partner who previously served as a U.S. District Judge in the Eastern District of New York and who was also a federal prosecutor.

The pro bono team includes Debevoise & Plimpton LLP counsel Douglas S. Zolkind, a former federal public corruption prosecutor in the Southern District of New York and associates from the firm. Judge Gleeson and Mr. Zolkind have been sworn in as Special Assistant District Attorneys for purposes of the review.

“For the families of Kenneth Chamberlain and DJ Henry, the pain of their loss has not gone away over the past 10 years, nor have the questions they have about why their loved ones were killed,” DA Rocah said. “The Chamberlain and Henry families and many members of the Westchester community have asked me to review the circumstances of the shootings, the investigation and charging decisions by the DA’s Office, and the grand juries’ decision not to return indictments in either case. Today, I am announcing that I will do exactly that.

“Some may ask, why look backwards? The reason is simple: Today, we have appropriately higher expectations have for scrutiny of police encounters with mentally ill and unarmed people and for prosecutors’ responses to such incidents,” DA Rocah added. “The Henry and Chamberlain families and our community have felt strongly that further independent review is needed to heal the open wounds from these shootings. It is in that spirit that this review will be undertaken.

“I want to be very clear: While I have chosen to conduct this review, I am in no way pre-judging the outcome. At this point, I cannot say whether any further action should be taken,” DA Rocah said. “I can say that further action beyond the review will only be taken if the facts and law warrant it. I will make the final determination on what, if any, additional steps are appropriate.”

“Because the District Attorney’s Office played a central role in the original investigation and presentation to the grand juries, I believe that having Judge Gleeson participate in the review and make recommendations to me is the best way to proceed,” DA Rocah said. “Judge Gleeson’s record as a federal judge has earned him widely-held respect and a reputation for fairness and integrity, which I saw firsthand when I served as a law clerk for him many years ago. I am so pleased that he agreed to take on this important task.”

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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. Special to WPCNR from Berkeley College. (Edited) June 10, 2021:

Berkeley College, a leading provider of career-focused education since 1931, will consolidate its White Plains, NY campus with its New York City campus by the start of the Fall 2021 semester. Berkeley College has been educating students in New York City since 1936 and in Westchester County since 1945. 

Berkeley College is re-envisioning its New York City campus, with facilities in Midtown Manhattan at 3 East 43^rd Street and 12 East 41^st Street. Plans are underway to consolidate all classrooms, offices, and operations into the 41st Street building over the next 12 months.

The White Plains campus is currently running all classes online this semester as it has done the past three semesters and all of their fall classes are listed as online. Continuing students will be offered the option to complete their studies at the New York City campus, online, or at any of Berkeley College’s New Jersey campuses. Alternative arrangements will be made for the handful of students currently in campus housing.

“The challenges brought on by the pandemic and other factors were the impetus for the consolidation of the campus with our New York City campus,” said Michael J. Smith, President of Berkeley College. “We are grateful for the support so many of the governing officials, business leaders and community organizations have shown us over the years,” said Smith. “Berkeley College remains committed to serving the residents and businesses of Westchester County through our New York City campus.”

Smith said throughout the country, declining enrollments and an increasing reliance on changing instructional modalities, including remote and hybrid approaches, have reduced the need for physical classrooms and offices. “One centralized campus in Midtown Manhattan will best position the College to serve our students,” he said.

In addition to transferring students and personnel, the College will be working with federal and state regulators, along with its accrediting agencies, during this transition.

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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. From White Plains City School District Superintendent of Schools, Joseph Ricca. June 8, 2021:

At this morning’s Special White Plains City School District (WPCSD) Reopening Committee Meeting, the Committee approved the following modification of the WPCSD’s Reopening Plan to include the modifications promulgated by the New York State Department of Health (Master Guidance attached), in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control’s recommendations for outdoor mask/facial covering requirements:

• Beginning Thursday, June 10, 2021, while strongly encouraged, masks/facial coverings will no longer be required outdoors on WPCSD grounds for all members of the WPCSD community (children & adults) (this modification covers ALL outdoor activities as described in the NYSDoH guidelines).

This modification does not change any other aspect/requirement of the health/safety standards in the WPCSD Reopening Plan.

The full WPCSD Reopening Committee meeting is available for review here: https://youtu.be/1g6L2X28Rvs

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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. From White Plains Schools Superintendent, Dr. Joseph Ricca. June 7, 2021:

Dr, Joseph Ricca informed the White Plains School District this morning that students should continue to wear masks to school “for now” saying that in a news conference today the Center for Diseas Control was to announce a ruling that because the vast majority of students under age 16 to 12 had not been vaccinated yet, the masks in schools protocol would remain in effect.

AT 1:45 PM, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo issued this statement:

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that school districts can choose to lift the requirement that their students must wear masks outdoors. Guidance on mask use indoors remains in place. This change aligns New York State’s guidance on schools with CDC guidance on summer camps, where even unvaccinated students are not currently required to wear masks outdoors.

“The numbers show that the risk of transmission by children is extremely low, especially in this state, which has an extremely low positivity rate. We spoke with the CDC, and since they’re not going to change their guidance for several weeks in New York State, we’re going to modify the CDC guidance and allow schools to choose no mask outside for children,” Governor Cuomo said. “We’ll leave that up to the local school district and we spoke to the CDC, which has no objection. It’s very important that people understand the logic between these decisions and that they’re rational and based on the science and the data. We have a disconnect right now between the school guidance and the camp guidance, and it’s important to rectify it because if people don’t think the rules are logical, then they’re not going to want to follow the rules.”

On May 24, Governor Cuomo announced that based on the current COVID trajectory, all New York State schools will reopen for full in-person learning for the 2021-2022 school year beginning in September. 

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that school districts can choose to lift the requirement that their students must wear masks outdoors. Guidance on mask use indoors remains in place. This change aligns New York State’s guidance on schools with CDC guidance on summer camps, where even unvaccinated students are not currently required to wear masks outdoors.

“The numbers show that the risk of transmission by children is extremely low, especially in this state, which has an extremely low positivity rate. We spoke with the CDC, and since they’re not going to change their guidance for several weeks in New York State, we’re going to modify the CDC guidance and allow schools to choose no mask outside for children,” Governor Cuomo said.

“We’ll leave that up to the local school district and we spoke to the CDC, which has no objection. It’s very important that people understand the logic between these decisions and that they’re rational and based on the science and the data.

We have a disconnect right now between the school guidance and the camp guidance, and it’s important to rectify it because if people don’t think the rules are logical, then they’re not going to want to follow the rules.”

On May 24, Governor Cuomo announced that based on the current COVID trajectory, all New York State schools will reopen for full in-person learning for the 2021-2022 school year beginning in September.