DOWNTOWN MUSIC PRESENTS 10th ANNIVERSARY CONCERT OF WHITE PLAINS OWN PERFORMERS’ PERFORMERS “THE DOWNTOWN SINFONIETTA” AT GRACE CHURCH NOON ON WEDNESDAY

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WPCNR LIVE AT NOON. From Downtown Music at Grace. May 31, 2016:
The local all-star performers from some of the greatest performing organizations in the world, known as “The Downtown Sinfonietta” will celebrate its 10th Anniversary Wednesday since it was created in 2006 by Timothy Lewis, the founder and Artistic Director of our Downtown Music at Grace concert series.
His vision was to have a resident chamber orchestra in place that would supplement and enhance the very successful Wednesday Noonday Getaway Concerts that began in White Plains in 1988.
Tim approached Vincent Lionti, a frequent viola recitalist at the church, about forming a small orchestra from his colleagues at the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in a similar way that the venerable downtown London church in Trafalgar Square, St. Martin-in-the Fields, had started an ensemble in England. Downtown Sinfonietta’s Inaugural Concert took place on May 11, 2006 in the Grand Banking Room at the Arts Exchange in White Plains.
The program included music by Tchaikovsky, Grieg, Dvorak, Sibelius, Percy Grainger (a longtime White Plains resident) and a World Premiere by the Westchester composer Dalmazio Santini. The Sinfonietta has performed a total of 69 works by 36 different composers in 19 concerts (including today’s concert).
The Sinfonietta has close affiliations and collaborations with the Downtown Music Chorus, the Stecher and Horowitz Piano Foundation, narrator Robert Sherman, and has given two World Premieres. Most of Downtown Sinfonietta’s performances have been recorded by Downtown Music’s master sound engineer and producer, Rocco Bueti.
Downtown Sinfonietta marks the Tenth Anniversary Wednesday by performing (appropriately) Franz Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 10, as well as its first appearance on the Wednesday Noonday Getaway Concert Series.
The Downtown Sinfonietta
Yurika Mok, violin                    Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
Derek Ratzenboeck, violin         New York City Ballet Orchestra
Shenghua (Simon) Hu, violin    Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
Yuko Naito, violin                     St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
Mary Hammann, viola               Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
Chihiro Fukuda, viola               Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
David Heiss, violoncello            Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
David Calhoun, violoncello       Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
David Romano, contrabasso      American Ballet Theatre Orchestra
Hsuan-Fong Chen, oboe            New York Philharmonic
Phillip Rashkin, oboe                Chelsea Symphony Orchestra
Katie Jordan, horn                     Sarasota Orchestra
Jasmine Lavariega, horn            The Juilliard School
Downtown Music at Grace concerts will resume
after Labor Day in September. 

Please look for our twenty-ninth season announcement in August.

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PEOPLE TO BE HEARD’S TOUR OF THE PERCY GRAINGER HOUSE–LATEST HISTORICAL LANDMARK DESIGNATED BY WHITE PLAINS HISTORICAL PRESERVATION COMMISSION MAY BE SEEN ON www.whiteplainsweek.com

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LAST AUGUST, JOHN BAILEY AND PEOPLE TO BE HEARD

SHOWED YOU THE HISTORICAL LEGACY OF

THE PERCY GRAINGER HOUSE 

HOME OF THE WORLD FAMOUS WHITE PLAINS PIANIST AND COMPOSER

PERCY GRAINGER

he lived there for 40 years.

AND NOW THANKS IN PART TO THAT PROGRAM,

THE WHITE PLAINS HISTORICAL PRESERVATION COMMISSION RECOMMENDED TO THE COMMON COUNCIL THIS MONTH THE HOME is RECOMMENDED AS AN HISTORICAL LANDMARK TO BE PRESERVED.

SEE THE REMARKABLE STEP BACK IN TIME THIS HOME–STILL FURNISHED AS PERCY GRAINGER LEFT IT

on

PEOPLE TO BE HEARD

IN A SPECIAL ENCORE PRESENTATION OF

PEOPLE TO BE HEARD

YOU MAY SEE IT AT

www.whiteplainsweek.com

SCROLL DOWN THROUGH THE PEOPLE TO HEARD PROGRAMS AVAILABLE TIL YOU FIND THE PERCY GRAINGER PROGRAM

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County Selling Austin Avenue Sale “Big Box” Store By County to Make Up Portion of Optimistic Sales Tax Projection of 14%

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WPCNR COUNTY CLARION LEDGER. From the Westchester County Department of Communications. May 26, 2016:

Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino announced today that Westchester’s Industrial Development Agency (IDA) unanimously approved the $32 million sale of property on Austin Avenue in Yonkers to Morris Builders, L.P. The County will receive $19 million, with the City of Yonkers receiving the remaining third of the purchase price.

“This agreement is an example of how county assets can be unlocked to create benefits for our residents and businesses,” Astorino said. “The $19 million in new revenue will help mitigate an anticipated budget shortfall, shore up funding for non-profits, and allow for the hire of three new police officers.”

The Austin Avenue sale comes at a time when the county is facing a potential $17 million budget deficit after the first quarter of 2016, due mostly to sales taxes not meeting projections. The $15 million payment due to the County in June will go a long way toward erasing that gap.

(Editor’s Note:) In the first quarter of 2015, Westchester County earned $159,728,064 according to the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. In this week’s 2016 April report from the Department of Taxation and Finance, Westchester County Sales Tax Receipts for January, February and March of 2016 are reported as $162,324,303, 1.6% more than the January, February and March of 2015. In order for the county to be down $17 Million in projected sales taxes the county would have had to budget a 14% increase in sales taxes for the first quarter. If the present pace continues, the county deficit may be continuing on a pace to grow an additional $50 Million deficit due to the optimistic 14% growth rate the County Executive and County Legislature apparently hoped the economic activity would grow.)

The parties to the deal are Westchester County, the Westchester County IDA, the City of Yonkers, the City of Yonkers IDA, and Morris Builders, L.P.

“I want to thank Mayor Spano, Morris Builders, our IDA and all the parties for completing this sale,” Astorino said. “Complex deals like this are never easy, but because everyone was open to working together we were able to find common ground and reach an agreement that will help pay for government services and create jobs.”

The Austin Avenue sale is another example of the County leveraging its assets to promote economic growth. Morris Builders plans to build a 175,000 square foot department store, creating 560 permanent full-time jobs in addition to construction jobs.

Upon closing, Morris Builders will pay $15 million to Westchester County and $10 million to the City of Yonkers. The County will receive an additional $3 million when Yonkers issues a building permit for a big box retail store on the property, and $1 million more when the store opens. On Wednesday, the City of Yonkers Industrial Development Agency approved the terms of a settlement surrounding the property clearing the way for this deal.

Under the terms of the agreement, Morris Builders also receives an option to purchase an adjacent 9 acres from the County between Sprain Road and the New York State Thruway.

Additionally, the City of Yonkers will receive up to 11 acres of land from the County to establish the New Hogan Park.

The deal now goes to the Westchester County Board of Legislators for approval.

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Westchester County Association on The Coming Suburban Renaissance

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WPCNR COUNTY LINES. From the Westchester County Association. May 25, 2016:

As millennials and businesses are priced out of New York City, data point to a fascinating trend: The suburbs are rising again! The shift has begun, but a possible stampede could occur in the next five years.
Consider this: NYC is growing by 1,200 people a week, and will soon run out of housing. The implications for Westchester are tremendous.
To get ready, the WCA has formed three task forces to create broadband county-wide, attainable housing, and innovation districts. Bill Cuddy Chairman of the BLUEPRINT for Smart Growth, is overseeing it all. We convened our first meeting of the taskforces last week. It was standing room only!!

 

Want to Win the Talent War? Try Coffee.
Last week’s Business Intel Breakfast about attracting, retaining, and developing today’s workforce had many surprises. But one of the biggest was that millennials spend more on coffee and food than anything else.
They also value collaborative working spaces, transparency, and bosses who value them. And if millennials (and others) feel their expectations aren’t being met, 22% will leave the company within 45 days of being hired.
But what do employers need?
Employees with people skills or EQ, let alone the ability to pay attention to ROI. “Soft skills are becoming increasingly more important in today’s workplace.  Employers feel they can train on the hard skills if a candidate has the requisite soft skills,” said Robin Freedman, Division Director, Robert Half Management Resources

 
Assemblywoman Amy Paulin dropped by the WCA’s BLUEPRINT for Advocacy meeting last week for a far-ranging discussion about all-things Albany.
Paulin went into detail about the new power regime in the Senate and Assembly and her participation in the “Suburban Caucus,” a group of elected officials representing the region’s suburbs banding together to get things done. Paulin also discussed her new role as Energy Committee Chair, initiatives to reduce pollution, and her desire to keep open Indian Point Energy Center in Westchester.

 

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PARSONS BRINKERHOFF QUESTION OF THE WEEK ON THE TRANSIT CENTER. ANSWER IT at www.wptransitdistrict.com

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WPCNR QUO VADIS? From the City of White Plains transit website. May 23, 2016:

Parsons Brinkerhoff, the international consultants and development analysts have issued another survey question they would like the public to answer online at www.wptransitdistrict.com

What one improvement would you make to parking at the station?  (choose one)
Information technology to tell people the lot is full
 
Better signage to the lots
 
Easier access in and out of parking
 
More parking
 
Less parking
 
Electric car plug ins

 

 

 

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PARKING BEEFS? TRANSIT CENTER QUESTIONS?WONDER WHEN RED LIGHT CAMERAS WILL COME TO WP? ASK THE PARKING AND TRAFFIC COMMISSIONERS JUNE 14 AT CNA.

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WPCNR BUMPER TO BUMBER. From the White Plains Council of Neighborhood Associations. May 23, 2016:

Per popular request, the CNA has  invited Parking & Traffic Commissioner John Larson and Deputy Commissioner/City Transportation/Engineer Thomas Soyk to bring the neighborhoods up to date on what is happening in their departments.  
The meeting is open to the public — bring your friends and neighbors — and will start promptly at 7:30 pm. 
The WPCNA June Meeting will be held on Tuesday, JUNE 14, 2016 at 7:30 pm at Education House, 5 Homeside Lane, White Plains, NY. 
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SUNDAY IS JOHN VORPERIAN DAY IN WESTCHESTER COUNTY

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John Vorperian of White Plains (left) was presented with a Proclamation this week from White Plains-Scarsdale County Legislator, Benjamin Boykin declaring today, Sunday, May 22, “John Vorperian Day” in Westchester County.

The honor is in recognition of Mr. Vorperian, a Westchester County Attorney specializing in child support issues in Family Court for 27 years, with his being chosen the winner of the first “Front Line Professional of the Year” by the Eastern Regional Interstate Child Support Association in Myrtle Beach last week.
Mr. Vorperian is interviewed this on the White Plains Television program PEOPLE TO BE HEARD on the key issues affecting child support today in Westchester County. You may see that interview at

www.whiteplainsweek..com

or on You Tube at 

https://youtu.be/uGTdxtVe8ME

or

www.wpcommunitymedia.org

 

 

 

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Rose Reiken, Class of 2016 White Plains High Senior Wins $7,500 Grand Prize Scholarship from Financial Service Centers of New York in Pretigeous New York City Competition

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Rose Reiken, Class of 2016, White Plains High School addressing the Marriott Hotel Financial Service Centers of New York Scholarship Awards after being awarded the William Siegel Memorial Scholarship Award of $7,500 and a laptop computer at the Financial Service Centers of New York 20th Annual Scholarship Awards May 10. In March, Ms. Reiken was also awarded a $20,000 Coca Cola Scholarship. Photo Roberto Soler, Courtesy Financial Service Centers of New York

WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS.From the Financial Service Centers of New York. May 20, 2016:

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Ms. Reiken with her mom,Abby Reiken, right, holding up her Grand Prize Check.Rose competed in a field of approximately 50 students from Westchester County and New York City’s five boroughs

Rose Reiken, a senior student at White Plains High School, has won a $7,500 Grand Prize in the 2016 Financial Service Centers of New York Scholarship Awards Program.  She specifically received the highest honor, the William Siegel Memorial Scholarship Award.

The Financial Service Centers of New York  presented its 20th Annual Scholarship Awards to seven students from the New York City Metropolitan Area and Westchester County on May 10.
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 Photo,Roberto Solar, Courtesy of the Financial Services Center of New York

Scholarship Winners: (L-R) Sara Taha (Fort Hamilton High School, Staten Island), Zahra Aboul-Hassan (High School of fashion Industries,Manhattan), Rose Reiken (White Plains High School, White Plains – William Siegel Memorial Scholarship Award – Grand Prize), State Assemblyman Michael Blake (Dist. 79th, Bronx), Jerson Mejia-Castro (High School of Computers and Technology, Bronx – Gene Schott Memorial Scholarship Award – Grand Prize), Rahat Hossan (Jamaica Gateway to the Sciences, Queens), and Julianne Sanscartier (Harrison High School, Harrison).  Photo by Roberto Soler

The students received over $40,000 in scholarship money and prizes, the highest annual amount ever granted by the FSCNY/MoneyGram Scholarship Program.  State Assembly Member Michael Blake (District 79th, Bronx), a former FSCNY Scholarship recipient who has forged a nationally-renowned career in public service, delivered an inspirational speech during the Awards Luncheon held on Tuesday, May 10th, at the Brooklyn Marriott, during FSCNY’s 24th Annual Conference and Exposition.

 

 

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