WHITE PLAINS WESTCHESTER DAILY NEWS SERVICE VISITS SINCE 2000 A.D. 25TH YEARl REPORTING THE NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW News Service Since 2000 A.D. 2026 WILL BE OUR 26TH YEAR OF COVERING WHITE PLAINS NEW YORK USA . John F. Bailey, Editor (914) 997-1607 wpcnr@aol.com Cell: 914-673-4054. News Politics Personalities Neighborhoods Schools Finance Real Estate Commentary Reviews Policy Correspondence Poetry Philosophy Photojournalism Arts. The WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER. TELEVISION: "White Plains Week" News Roundup, 7:30 EDT FRI, 7 EDT MON & the incisive "People to Be Heard" Interview Program 8PM EDT THURS, 7 PM EDT SAT on FIOS CH 45 THROUGHOUT WESTCHESTER AND, ALTICE OPTIMUM WHITE PLAINS CH 1300 Fighting for Truth, Justice and the American Way. TOP 10 VISITORS FROM AROUND THE WORLD :1. USA. 2.BRAZIL3.VIET NAM 4. CHINA 5. JAPAN 6.UK. 7.CANADA. 8.INDIA. 9.AUSTRALIA 10.IRELAND 11.GERMANY 12..ARGENTINA 13.BANGLADESH 14.RUSSIA. 15.NEWZEALAND. 16. FRANCE. 17.MEXICO. 18.UKRAINE. 19.SOUTH AFVRICA. 20. IRAQ.
THE CITY PASSES THE BUDGET AMIDST ANXIETY, ANGUISH AND WORRY.
THE GOVERNOR OPENS UP EVERY REGION BUT NEW YORK CITY.
GOT YOUR SCHOOL BUDGET ABSENTEE BALLOT YET? LOOK FOR IT! “IT’S IN THE MAIL.”
THE GOVERNOR MOVES TO MOTIVATE THE BRONX BROOKLYN AND QUEENS TO WEAR A MASK — CHRIS ROCK AND ROSIE PEREZ COME ON BOARD AND TELL WHY BROOKLYN, THE BRONX & QUEENS ARE INFECTING SO MUCH
WHITE PLAINS WEEK SHOWS THE TWO WINNING WEAR A MASK SPOTS–EXCELSIOR
AND JOHN BAILEY REMINISCES ABOUT MEMORIAL DAYS OF THE PAST
Mayor Bill DeBlasio of New York City right, on conference call with Governor Andrew M. Cuomo telling the Governor of progress on New York City “Metrics” to get in sync to open New York City by Monday, June 8 for Phase Onel
WPCNR FRIDAY GOVERNOR ANDREW M. CUOMO CORONAVIRUS BRIEFING. From the Governor’s Press Office. May 29, 2020:
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that New York City will enter Phase 1 of reopening on June 8 and that five other regions—Central New York, Finger Lakes, Mohawk Valley, North Country and Southern Tier—can enter Phase 2 of reopening today. Phase 2 allows office-based workers, real estate services, in-store retail shopping and some barbershop services to resume. Each industry is subject to specific state guidelines to maximize safety and social distancing. Business guidance for phase two of the state’s reopening plan is available here.
Governor Cuomo also announced the implementation of a new early warning dashboard that aggregates the state’s expansive data collection efforts for New Yorkers, government officials and experts to monitor and review how the virus is being contained on an ongoing basis. It tracks new infections and their severity, hospital capacity by region, and other metrics. The early warning system dashboard was developed in consultation with internationally-known experts who have been advising New York State. The early warning dashboard can be found here.
“Remember that reopening does not mean that we’re going back to the way things were,” Governor Cuomo said. “Life is not about going back. Nobody goes back. We go forward. And it’s going to be different. This is about reopening to a new normal — a safer normal. People will be wearing masks and people will be socially distanced — it’s a new way of interacting, which is what we have to do. Wear a mask, get tested and socially distance.”
Dr. Michael Osterholm, Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said, “As New York State’s first 5 regions have been given the green light to begin to move from phase 1 to phase 2 it is absolutely critical that there is timely data to monitor new infections, hospitalizations, and hospital capacity. New York State’s new early warning dashboard does just that—it will help foster added transparency in the government’s efforts to protect New Yorkers and their families throughout the state.”
Dr. Samir Bhatt, Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Geostatistics, The Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Imperial College London, said, “It has been a privilege working alongside the New York team and seeing what they have accomplished in such a short time. We still live in an uncertain time, and policy must continue to be informed using as many strands of evidence as possible and this evidence should be there for everyone to see. This COVID dashboard transparently shows to all those living in New York what is happening in their region. As New York begins to move some regions from phase 1 to phase 2, these metrics provide a robust foundation for tracking the disease. First, we check if testing targets are being met. Next, we look at new infections: measured both by new cases and the test positivity ratio. We also look at case severity, which is measured by new hospitalizations. And finally, we monitor hospital capacity. We are carefully looking at these data for the five regions that are ready to move forward and want to see a consistent signal across all metrics. This dashboard gives us a crucial early warning system should the trends shift going forward.”
Dr. Eli Rosenberg, Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at UAlbany, said, “New York State’s new early warning dashboard will be a valuable tool for compiling the essential data we need to combat COVID-19 on all fronts. I’m also excited to see half of New York’s regions work towards reopening safely today as part of Phase 2, which will provide critical income and jobs for retail and real estate workers, among others, who’ve been sidelined by this crisis, as while we continue to closely monitor the indicators critical to maintaining the state’s public health.”
Michael LeVasseur, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Drexel University, said, “During a crisis, transparency is vital. This early warning dashboard is an important tool for policymakers, business owners, and individuals to make data-informed decisions about safety in their communities. It is important for people using this tool to understand that no single metric can determine how safe it is to resume normal activities. As testing increases, more cases will be identified, but the percent of positive tests may decrease. Hospitalization data, however, can tell us the burden of disease in our communities and tracking our hospital capacity provides us with information on our ability to manage future surges. I applaud your team’s efforts to provide these data to the public.”
Dr. Noam Ross, a disease modeler at the non-profit research group EcoHealth Alliance, who has been advising the governor’s coronavirus task force on data analysis, said, “When it comes to any public health emergency, we must follow the data to inform policy decisions, and this early warning dashboard reflects the numbers we must watch every day to understand what is going on in the State.It’s important that the public gets to see the data that drives decision making, and I commend New York State for making this information widely available.”
Finally, the Governor confirmed 1,551 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 368,284 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 368,284 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows:
THERE WILL BE A ZOOMED PUBLIC HEARING MONDAY EVENING ON THE 52 N BROADWAY DEVELOPMENT. PUBLIC NOT ALLOWED TO ATTEND, BUT DEVELOPER IS.
WPCNR THE LETTER TICKER. MAY 29, 2020:
All,
I write to make you aware that our (White Plains) City officials are moving forward with, and will potential close the rezoning hearing for the Good Counsel property/ 52 North Broadway, on Monday, June 1, 2020. We ask for your assistance to contact the City and request this hearing be postponed..
The developer had requested that this hearing be postponed in prior months, for their convenience, to which the City agreed. Yet, when residents of the Stewart/Ross neighborhood and the attorney for 10 Stewart Place made this same request to postpone the hearing for this month we were ignored. Once again, the City bows to the developers.
The developer’s attorney sent a registered letter to residents in surrounding buildings, complete with false information about the project and to notify us of the hearing. I believe they did this so that they can say to the City that we were all notified and “few spoke out”.
The City will hold a Zoom meeting including these developers and the residents get to “call in by phone”. We are in the midst of a pandemic where people are preoccupied to say the least, concerned about their health, their jobs or lack of, and a hearing of this sort is the last thing on their priority list.
The fact that the City feels the need to fast track a massive rezoning of some 16 acres in the midst of a pandemic is not only a disgrace, it is an insult to each and every tax paying citizen in White Plains. This is non essential business that needs to be tabled for the time being.
Any of you who have been fighting overbuilding and rezoning in your own neighborhoods know we need to stop this nonsense where the developers rule what goes on in White Plains. Please, contact City officials and ask them to postpone this hearing.
UPTON BELL– INTERVIEWED ON REOPENING THE NFL TONIGHT AT 8— GM OF BALTIMORE COLTS; GM OF NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS, SON OF FIRST COMMISSIONER OF THE NFL, BERT BELL TALKING THE ISSUES OF REOPENING PRO SPORTS IN NY TONIGHT AT 8 ON WHITE PLAINS TV FIOS CH.45 AND CABLEVISION IN WP CH. 76 & ANYTIME ON WWW.WPCOMMUNITYMEDIA.ORGAT
ROSIE PEREZ AND CHRIS ROCK TALK ABOUT WEARING A MASK ON THE SIDEWALKS OF NEW YORK
WPCNR THURSDAY GOVERNOR ANDREW M. CUOMO CORONAVIRUS BRIEFING. By John F. Bailey. May 28, 2020:
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo introduced a new Executive Order this morning, giving business owners the right to bar customers not wearing a mask to enter their stores.
He also introduced Chris Rock and Rosie Perez, two well-known entertainers from Brooklyn asked by the Governor to volunteer to help spread the message to wear masks everywhere in the city, and particularly in the hard hit communities in Brooklyn, The Bronx and Queens where new coronavirus infections are double the rate of the rest of New York City boroughs.
Mr. Rock, in the news conference said he estimated only about 40% of persons he has noticed to be wearing a mask.
Ms. Perez speaking the ‘Q & A” in the press conference that disputes arise in street retail stories between patrons telling an unmasked person they should bwe wearing a mask. She welcomed the governor’s new executive order giving storekeepers the right to bar patrons not wearing a mask as they attempt to enter the store.
The Governor said: “Facts
today are looking good,” citing the lowest number of new infections (163) since
the coronavirus started to spread.
Asked whether New York City with daily death rate from the virus running at 74 a day would have a higher threshold for opening than other regions, the governor said “New York City will have the same metrics as all other regions in the state.”
The governor said he would attempt to avoid layoffs in any cuts to the state budget, but he will not make cuts until he sees how much aid congress eventually provides to New York funding relief. He said he doubted it would be all that the state needs,.
WPCNR REOPENER REPORT. From the New York State Department of Labor. May 27, 2020:
The April 2020 unemployment rate for the Hudson Valley Region is 14.2 percent.
That is up from 4.0 percent in March 2020 and up from 3.3 percent in April 2019. In April 2020, there were 156,200 unemployed in the region, up from 45,600 in March 2020 and up from 37,100 in April 2019.
Year-over-year in April 2020, labor force decreased by 37,900 or 3.3 percent, to 1,096,800. The region’s April 2020 unemployment rate of 14.2 percent is the highest (regardless of month) in the history of the current series (dating back to 1990).
The Hudson Valley Region’s April 2020 unemployment rate at 14.2 percent is ranked third among the 10 Labor Market Regions in New York State, trailing only the Capital Region (12.9 percent), and the Southern Tier Region (13.9 percent).
Capital Region 12.9 percent
Southern Tier Region 13.9 percent
Hudson Valley Region 14.2 percent
Mohawk Valley Region 14.5 percent
New York City Region 14.6 percent
Finger Lakes Region 14.9 percent
North Country 15.3 percent
Central New York 16.0 percent
Long Island Region 16.0 percent
Western New York Region 18.6 percent
In April 2020, the highest unemployment rate within the region (15.6 percent) was recorded in Orange County.
Orange County15.6percent
Ulster County 14.6 percent
Westchester County 14.1 percent
Putnam County 14.1 percent
Dutchess County 14.1 percent
Rockland County 13.4 percent
Sullivan County 13.1 percent
Jobs data for May 2020 will be released on Thursday, June 18 and the labor force data will be released on Tuesday, June 23.
I am deeply saddened by the passing of Larry Kramer, a great New Yorker who helped galvanize the nation’s response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
At a time when the federal government sat paralyzed in denial of a disease that was ravaging an entire generation of LGBTQ people, Larry Kramer was fearless, uncompromising, relentless and loud — characteristics that ruffled feathers but that forced a response to a public health crisis.
He was “one of the men who fought the war” – the epitome, in the midst of a different plague, of New York Tough. He demanded action, and countless people are alive today because of his work, and the work of so many others who refused to accept indifference.
On behalf of the family of New York, my thoughts are with Larry’s loved ones today, especially his husband David. We will miss him, and we will remember him.
WPCNR WEDNESDAY GOVERNOR ANDREW M. CUOMO CORONAVIRUS BRIEFING. By John F. Bailey. May 27, 2020:
President Donald Trump, meeting with Governor Andrew Cuomo
this morning in Washington, listened to the Governor’s case for starting major
infrastructure projects to bring jobs back to New York sooner rather than
later.
Governor Cuomo said he and the President “had a good discussion” about building new railroad tunnels across the Hudson River that link AMTRAK to the Northeast, to replace tunnels now in dilapidated condition. He said the President was aggressive about getting these projects done on time.
The two also discussed expediting Washington environmental approval of the Second Avenue Subway extension to 125th Street, Manhattan, that has already been approved by New York State awaits Washington Department of Transportation approval. Governor Cuomo said President Trump listened to the proposals and said he would discuss the two projects with “his people,” and he and governor would “talk next week.”
The Governor said the other projects the Governor had
mentioned yesterday, an Airtran to Laguardia Airport; speeding construction of
LaGuardia Airport and building a new Penn Station (“Empire Station”) were not
discussed. T
The governor focused on the positive, saying he thought the President wanted to see the economy recover and believed in the projects: “He’s a builder, he’s a developer. He gets it. It’s been his career. ”
Mr. Cuomo ended the “Question & Answer” part of the briefing, saying “ It was about what we could do to supercharge the opening and getting up and running and we need jobs now more than ever. When is there a better moment to do it (infrastructure), at least building these we have something we can leave our children.”
The governor strongly pleaded with the U.S. Senate to give the states that have suffered the most in the coronavirus pandemic, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, California, Delaware the funds needed to get them back contributing to the U.S. economy.
He predicted that there will be no recovery if the U.S. Senate does not want to send aid to relieve the deficits the states face:
“There cannot be any national recovery if states and local governments are not funded, because those states contribute 1/3 of the nation’s Gross National Product. State and local spending is essential to the health of the economy. Act accordingly. This partisanship is toxic for the country. You represent the United States. Can’t there be one moment of good government? Over partisan politics? Politics 365 days a year is poison. It is not red and blue, it is red, white and blue.”
Finally, the Governor confirmed 1,129 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 364,965 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 364,965 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows (MIDHUDSON COUNTIES IN BOLD FACE. THE GOVERNOR ALSO CONFIRMED YESTERDAY THERE ARE 170 CASES OF PEDIATRIC MULTISYSTEM INFLAMMATORY SYNDROME (AFFECTED CHILDREN 1 TO 25, WHO HAVE HAD CORONAVIRUS AND ANTIBODIES IN THE STATE, CONTINUING TO RISE BY 10 CASES A DAY.:
BIG PLANS AHEAD: GOVERNOR CUOMO OFF TO SEE THE PRESIDENT TOMORROW TO DISCUSS BRINGING NEW YORK BACK WITH ACCELERATED INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS
WPCNR TUESDAY GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO CORONAVIRUS BRIEFING.By John F. Bailey. May 26, 2020:
Today was Opening Day.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced Westchester County and the rest of the Midhudson region is starting Phase 1 of Reopening. (Details on the reopening are provided in the story below from County Legislator Benjamin Boykin.)
He said New York City still has too many infections in poor
neighborhoods rising and not enough tracers signed on yet to open.
He said New York City would be concentrating on getting the
high rate of infections in the poor minority districts of New York in Brooklyn,
Queens and the Bronx by zip code, and meeting the number of tracers needed for
New York City to follow and get the new
infections (occurring at rates up to double the infection rates in the rest of
the city). There was no target date of when NYC could expect to do that. Long
Island is expected to open tomorrow.
The Governor said he has been in touch with County
Executives across the state allowed to reopen, to watch their infection rates and when they
see numbers of corona virus infections rise steadily to “jump on it.”
Moving ahead the Governor said he wanted to accelerate major projects now under way that by acceleration would create 8,000 jobs. The projects are the Empire Station complex at old Penn Station, speed completion of LaGuardia Airport, build an Airtrain to LaGuardia; construct an extension of the new 2nd Avenue Subway to 125th Street; refurbish the AMTRAK TUNNELS under Manhattan.
The Governor’s Daughter, Michaelia Kennedy Cuomo introduced the winning Public Service Commericals for the state “Wear a Mask Campaign.” Ms. Kennedy Cuomo said 186, 117 people voted in the contest among 5 productions. Governor Cuomo said the top two spots split 96,000 votes between them and were separated by only 500 votes, so he made an “Executive Order” to run both “Wear the Mask” spots alternately in the upcoming public service campaign
In the Question and Answer session, the Governor was asked
if he would consider borrowing to finance the state budget deficit. The
Governor said the state had to be “fiscally responsible…we don’t want to create
more debt than the state can repay it—now
we’re in a downward spiral. Decisions call for hard choices
He said the subways would continue to cleaned every night because
the Center for Disease Control did say the coronavirus could not be caught from
hard surfaces, only that hard surfaces were not the primary source of
infection. (Air droplets are.)
Asked about enforcement of wearing a mask on public transportation, the governor appeared to indicate there were no penalties or enforcement measures at this time planned. He recommended “polite, curious” reminders to persons not wearing a mask, to wear one.
On the matter of the
budget deficit the state faces, the Governor said he wanted the federal
government to own this issue. “Tell me what the Federal Government does, and I
will tell you what the New York State budget is. Congress has to deliver. Federal government
it’s your turn to deliver.”
WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From Chairman of the County Board of Legislators, Benjamin Boykin. May 26, 2020:
New York’s Mid-Hudson Region — which includes Westchester, Rockland, Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Sullivan, and Ulster Counties — has met Governor Andrew Cuomo’s criteria to begin Phase 1 re-opening.Re-opening refers to non-essential businesses and business activities.
Essential businesses and business activities that are open will remain open.Businesses that are seeking to re-open must develop a written Safety Plan outlining how its workplace will prevent the spread of COVID-19.
This plan does not need to be submitted to a state agency for approval but must be retained on the premises of the business and must be made available to the New York State Department of Health (DOH) or local health or safety authorities in the event of an inspection.
Detailed industry-by-industry specifics, summary guidelines for how to reopen and business safety plan templates are available online from New York State at https://forward.ny.gov/industries-reopening-phase.Here is a breakdown of industries that are eligible to re-open in Phase 1:Construction
Building Equipment Contractors
Building Finishing Contractors
Foundation, Structure, and Building Exterior Contractors
Highway, Street and Bridge Construction
Land Subdivision
Nonresidential Building Construction
Residential Building Construction
Non-Food Related Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting
Animal Production
Crop Production
Support Activities for Animal Production
Support Activities for Crop Production
Support Activities for Forestry
Retail – (Limited to curbside or in-store pickup or drop off)
Clothing Stores
Direct Selling Establishments
Electronics and Appliance Stores
Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses
Furniture and Home Furnishing Stores
Florists
General Merchandise Stores
Health and Personal Care Stores
Jewelry, Luggage, and Leather Goods Stores
Lawn and Garden Equipment and Supplies Stores
Office Supplies, Stationery, and Gift Stores
Used Merchandise Stores
Shoe Stores
Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument and Book Stores
Other Miscellaneous Store Retailers
Manufacturing
Apparel Manufacturing
Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing
Electric Lighting Equipment Manufacturing
Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing
Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing
Leather and Allied Product Manufacturing
Machinery Manufacturing
Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing
Paper Manufacturing
Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing
Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing
Printing and Related Support Activities
Textile Mills
Textile Product Mills
Wood Product Manufacturing
Other Miscellaneous Manufacturing
Wholesale Trade
Apparel, Piece Goods, and Notions Merchant Wholesalers
Chemical and Allied Products Merchant Wholesalers
Furniture and Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers
Household Appliances and Electrical and Electronic Goods Merchant Wholesalers
Machinery, Equipment, and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
Metal and Mineral (except Petroleum) Merchant Wholesalers
Paper and Paper Product Merchant Wholesalers
Professional and Commercial Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
Wholesale Electronic Markets and Agents and Brokers
