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 THE POWER STORY. From Town of Greenburgh Supervisior Paul Feiner. August 20, 2020:

CON ED NOT PREPARED—CON ED, ALTICE, VERIZON DON’T COORDINATE WITH EACH OTHER. 

 Con Ed is not appropriately staffed for the type of storm that hit two weeks ago. As trees must be trimmed trees for safety, they should have had out of state crews in the area earlier. I realize that they are reluctant to do that because anticipated storms don’t always follow predictable paths.

The following is what I think must be done. Please keep in mind, the Town of Greenburgh continually sends complaints to the big three but they are very slow to respond.

Con Ed, Verizon, & Altice need to have a joint agreement or emergency arrangements for the removal and pruning of trees that have the potential to impact their lines.

The way it works now is Con Ed puts out  contracts for tree work  and it then  cuts what impacts its  infrastructure  while  branches that impact the same run of wires right below its wires remains untouched.

The big three need to work together during blue sky days to improve the condition of the existing infrastructure. (The Town has many examples if you need them).

Also, when Con Ed has their blue sky conference with our police dept. representatives from both Verizon and Altice should be required to be there.

The meeting now includes representatives from the Greenburgh Police & DPW, the local fire departments and Con Ed. Verizon and Altice never attend Why??

In Greenburgh, we have taken representatives from all three companies i to view some of their worst case areas in need of repair otherwise in an effort to have tree work done.

It’s time to form a countywide task force to deal with the issue so that the 3 entities do not just point fingers at each other.

All three should be responsible for working together to inspect their entire overhead wire  system.

POLICE CONCERNS

Our Police Headquarters was without power for approximately (7) days.

Multiple roads (35) throughout the Town were impassible and closed with many residents trapped with no egress for emergency vehicles. Con Ed was unable to provide ETA on cut and clear teams, making it difficult for police ns EMS personnel to respond to emergencies.

Liaisons that were provided to our EOC were very helpful but communications directly with Con Ed was not effective. It was frustrating to ascertain accurate information even with the benefit of a liaison with respect to status updates on work to be done, work being performed and when work was completed.

It took several days before any restoration was commenced.

Lack of Con Ed response led to several days of multiple calls to the department regarding status of power, inaccessible roads etc.

** Lack of coordination of effort / Communication shortcomings within Con Ed: Information provided to us showed areas still without power however, power had already been restored

During the height of the storm on August 4th and into the evening hours, more than 40 police department employees were involved in storm related r response, handling more than 375 calls in the first 24 hours.

As a result, $29,159.42 was spent on overtime, responding to, mitigating and recovering from the storm.

SUGGESTED COMMUNICATION AND EDUCATION RECOMMENDATIONS

Areas for improvement are continuing with communications – internally between our “boots on the ground” and the utility “boots” can be improved so those of us in the EOC can make more informed decisions.  I recommend a Con Ed filed crew leader be part of the liaison program so our liaison and  the Public Works Commissioner can have a more direct line to know where a Con Ed crew is, what capabilities the crew has and when they will be working (9 to 5 / overnight) The Town is fortunate that we have a large labor force and can staff work crews overnight as needed.  We did this during the last event with success, enabling our road clearing to continue 24 hours per day.  The best productivity occurs when a Con Ed work crew is attached to a Town crew so we can support each other’s efforts.  Con Ed should work with the municipalities and match crews with municipal crews so they can work together.

Having a GPS ability to Con Ed and out of town work crews so we can all better see where crews are and what the work tasks are will help understanding the operations.  Too many times we hear of municipalities “commandeering” a Con Ed crew.  Not effective, but this shows how the need resides with a crew to be aligned with a municipal crew.

Education – Con Ed should offer to qualified municipalities, training to enable municipal crews to identify live wires and dead wires.  We all treat any wire as live.  The Town is again very fortunate that we have a worker trained and qualified to work around high voltage wires.  This affords the Town of Greenburgh greater flexibility than most other municipalities.  Con Ed should develop a program to offer training to qualified workers in municipalities with the proper equipment a level of safety to work near the wires in emergencies.

Reporting – Continue to improve the communication from filed crews for cleared wires and cleared work sites.

SUGGESTION; GIVE  OUR GOVERNOR EMERGENCY POWERS TO ORDER CREWS FROM OUT OF STATE IN ADVANCE OF STORMS OR TO ORDER PROACTIVE MEASURES – Con Ed  SHOULD PAY COSTS

We have had prolonged outages… And, after every storm the same thing happens–investigations, apologies, recommendations, promises. And then the next storm is followed by power outages and hearings. I think the Legislature should provide the Governor with emergency powers to order crews from out of state in advance of storms and to order proactive measures if Co Ed doesn’t take them. The cost should be assumed by Con Ed for any action the Governor orders.

I’m sick and tired of the blame game. Everyone is. The Governor took control of COVID 19 and he should have the power to handle this. . Another alternative: create a task force that could override Con Ed if you don’t want to give provide the Governor the ability to order appropriate staffing bu these entities. .

CON ED INTENTIONALLY TURNS POWER OFF IN SOME NEIGHBORHOODS TO HELP RESTORE POWER ELSEWHERE – RESIDENTS SHOULD BE NOTIFIED

If Con Ed intentionally turns off power in some neighborhoods to help restore power elsewhere, it   should provide residents with notification as to –what they are doing and an estimate when power will be restored. 

ELDERLY AND DISABLED

Although Con Ed encourages people with significant medical problems to contact  it in advance of a storm, it doesn’t   do anything to expedite service once there are power outages. During the recent storm, I was unsuccessful in persuading Con Ed to expedite service restoration for a resident with brain cancer. A woman called me – her husband is in a hospice bed at home and had no power for almost a week. Another resident depends on oxygen to live. Coned did nothing for any of these residents.

SUGGESTION: CON ED SHOULD OFFER RESIDENTS WITH LIFE THREATENING MEDICAL ISSUES GENERATORS AT COST

My suggestion: Con Ed should be required to offer residents with severe medical issues generators at cost- they could install and maintain them. There will always be power outages. This could save lives.

CON ED MAPS OF OUTAGES WERE INACCURATE

Speaking personally, my family had no power for almost a week. The Con Ed map of outages claimed there were only a few outages when more than 150 homes were out.  It also sent incorrect text messages as to restoration dates.

CON ED REFUND POLICY NEEDS TO BE IMPROVED

After an extended outage, there should be automatic credits. Everyone who has no power for more than 48 hours lost food and/or medication.

PAUL FEINER

Greenburgh Town Supervisor

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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. From the White Plains City School District, with supplemental material from WPCNR. August 18, 2020:

Emerly A. Martinez was appointed as the new Principal of White Plains High School on Monday evening, August 17^th, at a Zoom meeting of the White Plains Board of Education, held under the COVID-19 Executive Order 202.55.

Mr. Martinez was the finalist from over 60 candidates in a rigorous search process which included interviews with the Superintendent’s Cabinet and a Principal Search Advisory Committee representing all the constituencies of the school community.  He replaces Ellen Doherty who held the position for eight years.  

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Joseph L. Ricca said, “The district was very pleased with the large pool of talented candidates from which Mr. Martinez rose to the top.  His abilities suit White Plains very well.” 

Board President Rosemarie Eller said she looks forward to “welcoming Mr. Martinez and to working with him in an exciting new chapter for White Plains High School.”

Mr. Martinez will come to White Plains from the Principal position at Cornwall (N.Y.) Central High School in the 2019-20 school year. Prior to that he was Assistant Principal at Fox Lane High School in Bedford and Dean of Students at Ossining, and social studies teacher there for 13 years. school. according to his Cornwell High School biography. He began his educational career teaching High School Social Studies in Ossining. 

• Cornwall Central High School serves 1,105 students in grades 9-12. (White Plains High School had a 2019-20 student count of 2,140.)
• The percentage of students achieving proficiency in math is 98% (which is higher than the New York state average of 52%) for the 2017-18 school year. The percentage of students achieving proficiency in reading/language arts is 98% (which is higher than the New York state average of 52%) for the 2017-18 school year.
• Cornwall Central High School placed in the top 5% of all schools in New York for overall test scores (math proficiency is top 5%, and reading proficiency is top 5%) for the 2017-18 school year.
• The student:teacher ratio of 16:1 is higher than the New York state level of 13:1.
• Minority enrollment is 31% of the student body (majority Hispanic), which is lower than the New York state average of 57%.

He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from Mercy College, a Master’s in Education from Lehman College, a Master’s in Educational Leadership from the College of St. Rose, and anticipates receiving a Doctor of Education Degree in Educational Leadership from Manhattanville College in May of 2021.

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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS From the White Plains City School District. August 17, 2020: 3PM

In order to ive you a better understanding of the district’s reopening plan, we will be hosting a series of three virtual community forums for parents and members of the community to ask questions that may not have been addressed during Dr. Ricca’s community updates during the month of July. Click here for flyer.

Here are the day and times and log-ins for the two remaining Virtual Community Forums: TODAY August 18, 2020—12 noon—1:00pm Login: https://lhric-org.zoom.us/j/98938007829?pwd=bmFpU0QzaGl3c1g3UHBSWUgvaGJYUT09; THURSDAY August 20, 2020—12 noon—1:00pm Login: https://lhric-org.zoom.us/j/98938007829?pwd=bmFpU0QzaGl3c1g3UHBSWUgvaGJYUT09; On Friday, Aug. 7, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that in-person instruction is permitted in all regions of New York state for the start of the 2020-21 school year based on current COVID-19 infection rates, while also outlining new requirements related to school reopening plans.  These requirements include highlighting plans for remote learning, COVID-19 testing, and contact tracing, which are all parts of the district’s reopening plan that was recently submitted to the New York State Education Department (NYSED) and New York State Department of Health (DOH).  Those sections of our plan can be found on the Learning Model section of our reopening plan and the Health and Safety section of our reopening plan.   Over the course of the last several weeks, the district has been working to formulate a plan for reopening school in September. These plans were created based on guidelines from federal and state agencies, as well as feedback from community stakeholders. A copy of our complete reopening plan can be found here.  \Anyone with questions or concerns about the district’s reopening plan can be directed to send their questions to Questions@wpcsd.k12.ny.us.  Additionally, a list of frequently asked questions and answers will be posted on the district’s website in the coming days. Please stay safe, well and # WPProud! Respectfully, Dr. Joseph L. Ricca Superintendent of Schools

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“Con Edison’s performance in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaias was grossly deficient. The Governor, the New York State Public Service Commission, elected officials of both parties at every level and the customers themselves all recognize that failure.

Con Ed was simply not ready- a repeat of March 2018 – to provide the necessary manpower to cut and clear wires and to restore power in a timely fashion.

It cannot be acceptable to take a week or more to fully restore power, and in this case, from a storm that was not of the magnitude of Hurricane Irene or Superstorm Sandy.

This tells us the utility is simply not staffed up to handle storms; it tells us the profitability of the company is based on carrying staff insufficient to handle any significant weather incident.

“Westchester residents have time and again been underserved precisely in the moment when they most need that service. They need and deserve a service provider that outs service to the public ahead of any other consideration.

“Now, it is up to the State to use its regulatory authority to right this wrong, and mandate that the utility provide sufficient manpower and equipment that can, during the next hurricane, bring speedy relief to Westchester residents.”