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 COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From the Westchester County Bord of Legislators. (Edited) October 2, 2018:

 Workers in Westchester County who don’t get sick days off at work will soon be entitled to earn sick time on their jobs, thanks to a measure passed Monday night by the County Board of Legislators.

Under the measure, workers can earn one hour of sick time for every 30 hours worked, up to 40 hours per year.

Under the newly passed measure, sick time will be paid at businesses with five or more employees, but may be unpaid as smaller businesses.  Sick time may be taken for a workers’ own illness or to care for an ill family member. There are different thresholds for domestic workers who will earn a minimum of one hour of sick time for every seven days worked, in addition to the one day of rest provided for under state law.

There is also a procedure in the law for filing a complaint with the County’s Department of Consumer Protection.

The law doesn’t limit the amount of sick time an employer may offer employees, but will cover the more than one-third of workers in Westchester who currently lack any paid sick time, and who may face retribution on their jobs if they take time off for illness.

At a press event Monday afternoon, ahead of the evening vote, Sarah Leberstein, senior staff attorney and workplace justice coordinator for Make the Road New York, told the story of one woman who came to the group:

“[She] wasn’t allowed to take time off from her job at a dry cleaning business in Tarrytown either to go to pre-natal appointments when she was pregnant or medical appointments for any of her own kids and if she missed even a couple hours of work to go see a doctor, the owner of the business refused to pay her for the entire day of work,” Leberstein said.

The bill’s chief sponsor, Legislator Catherine Borgia (D – Briarcliff Manor, Cortlandt, Croton-on-Hudson, Ossining, Peekskill) said, “By passing this legislation we say loudly and proudly to workers everywhere in Westchester County: your health, your well-being, matters. The protections we’re enshrining into law today are good for public health, good for business, and essential to worker safety and dignity.”

Chairman of the Board Ben Boykin (D – White Plains, Harrison, Scarsdale) said, “Providing workers with earned sick time is important for human dignity and public health, but it’s also good for businesses. Research shows that when employees come to work sick or distracted by illnesses at home, their productivity drops off the table. And, of course, when workers come to work sick, there’s a good likelihood that other workers will become sick, exponentially increasing the cost in human and financial terms.”

Under the newly passed measure, sick time will be paid at businesses with five or more employees, but may be unpaid as smaller businesses.  Sick time may be taken for a workers’ own illness or to care for an ill family member. There are different thresholds for domestic workers who will earn a minimum of one hour of sick time for every seven days worked, in addition to the one day of rest provided for under state law.  There is also a procedure in the law for filing a complaint with the County’s Department of Consumer Protection.

The measure now goes to County Executive George Latimer for his signature.

Watch the press event here: https://bit.ly/2zKittJ

See vote here: https://bit.ly/2NWgpr6

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WPCNR WORK SHIFT. Special to WPCNR from the Service Employees International Union 32bj September 29, 2918 UPDATED 6:25 PM E.D.T.:

Strike Averted as Tentative Contract Agreement Reached for Residential Building Workers in the Hudson Valley

Frank Soults, spokesman for the SEIU 32BJ told WPCNR in a statement:

“The vote to ratify the new contract is at 5 PM on Thursday, October 4.

The package includes a pay increase of about 11% over the four years of the contract, with a continuation of the current health plan, pension contributions, and other benefits, and no arbitrary staff cuts. 

We settled because we reached an agreement that provides the benefits, wages and job protections that allows 1,400 superintendents, porters and other workers to continue providing the quality service that building residents depend on and deserve. “

A tentative labor agreement  was reached this evening between the Building & Realty Institute of Westchester & the Mid-Hudson Valley (BRI) and 32BJ SEIU, the union representing 1,400 residential building workers — superintendents, porters, handy-people and others —across  Westchester and Rockland counties.

The agreement averts a strike that could have taken place as early as October 1.

“The BRI is pleased that the negotiations have resulted in an agreement that works for the property owners and managers and continues our commitment to providing good jobs for the building maintenance staff,”  said Matt Persanis, Labor counsel and lead negotiator for the BRI.  “The agreement allows us to focus on providing the best service possible to apartment tenants, co-op shareholders, condo owners and tens of thousands of building residents in the Hudson Valley.”

“We’re happy to have reached an agreement for the 1,400 workers who clean, fix, and maintain 500 properties in the Hudson Valley,” said Lenore Friedlaender, Assistant to the President of 32BJ SEIU. “This agreement protects the healthcare and other benefits, and it will provide a fair pay increase, as well as maintain staffing levels at buildings.  It means workers can continue providing excellent service day in and day out at properties where 100,000 local residents live.”

The tentative agreement is scheduled to be ratified in the October 4 vote.

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WPCNR WHITE PLAINS LAW JOURNAL. By John F Bailey. September 27, 2018:

The Judge Joan Lefkowitz decision in August denying neighbors of the former Ridgeway Country Club, now eyed as a new campus for the French American School of New has been appealed to the New York State Appellate Court.

The appeal was filed Wednesday, and the plaintiffs have six months to perfect the appeal. This may delay movement on the French American School of New York project for possibly a year, considering when the Appellate Court takes up the appeal.

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On Pace for $30 Million Surplus Over Sales Tax Revenue from last year.

“Deficit” requiring  Astorino Airport lease deal already wiped out in cash surplus. White Plains has soft August. WP Hopeful for September.

WPCNR QUILL & EYESHADE. From the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Reporting by John F. Bailey September 26, 2018:

New York State reports Westchester County continues on a record breaking pace in its economy over 7 months, earning $354,759,043 through August of 2018 compared to $335,973,431 through August of 2017.

Despite a 1% decline in August sales tax receipts for the county from $42.6 Million last year to $42.1 Million this year, the county maintained its close-to  6% pace average monthly growth for the year.

To date, the county has seen sales tax receipts increase 5.6% over the first 7 months this year, delivering an $18.8 Million increase in sales tax dollars over this time last year.

This surplus makes up just about half of the $37 Million predicted by the county auditors that was needed to close the budget gap in 2018.

Should the county continue that 5.6%  a month expansion, it will achieve an additional $10,614,221 in sales receipts that will deliver $200,153,888 in sales tax bonanza bringing in a record $555 Million in sales  tax dollars through December.

The deficit bemoaned by the county legislators and the county financial experts last spring will be substantially met with this lovely cash.

The County Executive George Latimer in his WVOX radio appearance Tuesday morning said that if the trend continued the county would be more optimistic about the deficit, but warned that the growth rate may not continue (as it has for the last 7 months), or could fade. Latimer said the county has attempted to save money in other ways.

He said they have reduced electricity costs; has moved to “get more from” Arbnb hosts in the county by subjecting them to the hotel occupancy tax; also, he saved $4 Million with the new Liberty Lines contract.

He was more optimistic on the radio that the county could keep any property tax increase to under the 2% tax cap, so did not rule out a tax increase, but his remark on the ability to keep it under the tax cap holds out optimism that a major increase in taxes is no longer necessary.

White Plains Laments

In the City of White Plains, August was not a good month in sales taxes.

Whereas the county did see a $401,000 decline in sales taxes from August of 2017 (a 1% decline), White Plains suffered a $812,859 dollar decline from August, 2017 of  17.3%.  July was an unusual big time month “handle” in sales taxes with the city getting 7.1% more in sales tax receipts $4,163,747 compared to $3888,289 last July.

Now in August it declines precipitously. What is disappointing is July was the first month White Plains had exceeded the county growth rate in sales tax (6%)all year.

This performance may improve in September  numbers. But with two months gone in the White Plains fiscal year 2018-19, the city has collected $537,401 less than they did in July and August last summer.

That is an overall decline of 6.3% 12% below the Westchester County overall growth rate for the first 7 months

The city can receive some comfort from the caveat the Department of Taxation and Finance attaches to its monthly reports that month to month results should be looked at considering the third month results of each quarter. So perhaps White Plains will have a whopper result when the September figures hit October 19.

Cross your fingers.

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WPCNR REALTY REALITY From the Hudson Valley Gateway Realtors Association. September 25, 2018:

The Hudson Gateway Multiple Listing Service (HGMLS) and the Multiple Listing Service of Long Island, Inc. (MLSLI) have merged to form the New York MLS, LLC.

A spokesperson for the Hudson Gateway Realtors Association told WPCNR, the new realty services combination would empower both organizations, allowing persons who say live on Long Island who wanted to move to Westchester would have access to seasoned agents (in the HGAR area) familiar with the Westchester market, and the other way around for Westchester residents desiring to move to Long Island.

The new MLS will consist of approximately 40,000 real estate professionals, serving Nassau, Suffolk, Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Bronx, and Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan and Orange Counties.

Discussions began in June 2017 between leaders of the Long Island Board of Realtors®, Inc. (LIBOR) and the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors® (HGAR) on the possibility of consolidating the aforementioned and respectively owned MLSs to form one regional MLS.

Joseph Mottola, CEO of LIBOR/MLSLI says, “The expansion of geographic boundaries will create greater opportunities for members by providing access to a larger audience of real estate professionals for consumers alike.”

A benefit of the new MLS will be the seamless flow of data for Brokers and Agents within the New York Metro area.

Richard Haggerty, CEO of HGAR and President and Chief Strategic Growth Officer of the new MLS says, “The launch of the new MLS is an exciting move in the right direction to uniting area real estate professionals, by creating the only MLS members will need.”

Jim Speer, the Sr. Vice President of Operations for MLSLI for over 30 years, will serve as Chief Executive Officer for the new MLS.  Speer says, “With the alliance of two successful MLSs, members gain entry to a vast selection of integrated technology tools and resources which will better serve their buyers and sellers.”

The combined strengths of MLSLI and HGMLS will enhance the local real estate market by providing the best service for the Real Estate professionals and the customers they serve.

The yet-to-be-named new regional MLS is expected to be fully operational sometime in 2019.