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 ALBANY ROUNDS. From news reports. April 16, 2015:

The New York Times reported this morning that State Senate Majority Leader Republican Dean Skelos and his son, Adam Skelos, according to unnamed sources “with knowledge of the matter.”

The Times reporters William K. Rashbaum, Susanne Craig and Thomas Kaplan are bylined in the front page above-the-fold article.

The article says supeonas have been issued to “several state senators on Long Island,” and that Mr. Skelos’ business dealing are drawing attention. One involves the awarding of a Nassau County contract to a storm water treatment firm, when that firm was not the low bidder.

The Times reports Mr. Skelos nor his son have be accused of any wrongdoing.

Preet Bhararra, the U.S. Attorney who indicted Assemblyman Sheldon Silver, is conducting the inquiry.

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WPCNR DISABILITIES DAILY. From Kerry Delaney, Acting Commissioner of the New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities. April 15, 2015:

WPCNR has obtained a letter from the OPWDD explaining the new funding OPWDD will receive in the new New York State Budget and how it will be used as follows:

Dear Friends and Colleagues:

With the recent enactment of the 2015-2016 State budget, we have some very good news to share about what we will be able to do this year to further our system transformation.

Governor Cuomo’s leadership has ensured that our system will receive a 3.2 percent increase in this year’s budget for services and supports for people with developmental disabilities and I’d like to tell you a little more about how our funding will be used.

The budget provides $124 million to develop needed supports and services. These opportunities range from employment and day services to residential opportunities for people who need 24-hour services.

Four million dollars of this funding will be specifically targeted to helping individuals living at home with caregivers who can no longer support them and need residential supports.

To assist in our ongoing efforts to help individuals move from developmental centers and intermediate care facilities to more integrated homes in the community, the budget commits another $42 million to developing needed community services for these individuals.

OPWDD has also received $177 million from the federal Balancing Incentive Program which will be used to expand the availability of services for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. This funding will allow us to make system-wide improvements to enhance our services and supports in the community. With this money, we are working with providers to support innovative practices ensuring that people can live and work in the community, supporting our system’s transition to managed care, and enhancing the delivery system through the use of technology and data.

Recognizing that access to and availability of transportation is a significant obstacle to ensuring community living, the budget gives OPWDD the resources to examine and recommend improvements to transportation services so that individuals can live in the most integrated settings possible and have access to work and other activities in their communities.

To ensure that you are aware of our transformation progress, OPWDD will issue reports on future housing and service needs, recommendations of the Transformation Panel, Front Door process improvements, review of our residential registration list and efforts to assist individuals in their transition from sheltered workshops.

Finally, the budget also provides resources to support a salary increase for direct care, support, and clinical staff of non-profit agencies which follows on the heels of another increase provided in last year’s budget that went into effect in early 2015.

I thank Governor Cuomo for his leadership and his support of individuals with developmental disabilities, and I look forward to working with you as we continue to transform, restructure, and enhance our service delivery system.

Sincerely, Kerry A. Delaney

Acting Commissioner

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WPCNR PLAYLAND GO-ROUND. By John F. Bailey. April 15, 2015:

Matt Richter, spokesperson for the County Board of Legislators this morning told WPCNR that two county legislature committees, Labor, Parks, Planning and Housing, chaired by Legislator Peter Harckham, and Budget and Appropriations, chaired by Legislator Sheila Marcotte  will be the lead committees evaluating the Playland proposal presented by County Executive Robert P. Astorino yesterday.

Richter said a 90-page piece of legislation was being reviewed by Harckham’s committee in a meeting this morning.

He said no schedule has been set yet for meetings, the agreement with Standard Amusements announced yesterday, that was negotiated privately by the County Executive staff, according to Board of Legislators Chairman Michael Kaplowitz who said he knew nothing about the deal before the news conference.

Asked  why the Standard Amusements deal is different from what Sustainable Playland had proposed that the Board of Legislators was concerned about, leading Sustainable to withdraw its plan, Richter said it was “profoundly different,” saying that the problem the Board had with the Sustainable Playland proposal was that Sustainable needed to sign contracts with operators (one of them was Standard Amusements) to secure financial investment in the park.

Asked if Standard Amusements has provided specific financials on the operation of the park yet, Richter said they had not.

Asked, if the agreement was approved by the County Board when Standard would pay the $2.5 Million upfront money as part of the proposal, Richter said that was not clear yet. Richter said that Standard had an opt-out option that they would evaluate the Playland operation this summer. In October, Standard would decide whether they would stay and operate, and if they chose to not continue, they would pay the County $500,000.

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WPCNR PLAYLAND GO ROUND. By John F. Bailey April 14, 2015;

County Executive Robert P. Astorino announced that last night his administration had signed an agreement with Standard Amusements to run Playland beginning in 2016.

Standard has agreed to invest $25 Million in new rides, restaurants and attractions within 5 years of taking over the park (with Westchester County still retaining ownership). Standard will pay the county $2.5 Million upon signing of the agreement which the Board of Legislators has 60 days to approve. Chair of the Board, Michael Kaplowitz told WPCNR it was the first he had heard of the surprise signing and said the Board would begin its due diligence on the proposal.

In addition, when Standard  would pay the County $300,000 a year the first five years, and when Standard has recouped its investment, it would give the county 7.5% of the profits.

The deal was endorsed by county consultant Dan Biederman of Biederman Redevelopment Ventures, who was the consultant to Sustainable Playland, Mr. Astorino’s first choice of operator of the park, which had also considered Standard Amusements as its operator. The deal is essentially the same with the exception that no permanent field house or fields would be built .

However, the County Executive said there would be “temporary (open air) fields” put in place with artificial turf on the parking lots or other areas during the spring and fall. The City of Rye had vehemently protested the Field House concept, how they will react to this piece of the proposal is not known since the Mayor of Rye was not at the news conference for comment.

More to come.

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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. By John F. Bailey. April 13, 2015 UPDATED 4:05 P.M.:

Superintendent of Schools said on a recording of the White Plains TV People to Be Heard program with John Bailey today that as of 3 P.M. 347 students across grades 3 through 8, representing 11% of an estimated 3,150 students in White Plains elementary and middle schools eligible to take the ELA test today, were held back by parents from taking the test.

(The program in which Mr. Connors discusses the test controversy and the school budget may be seen Thursday evening at 8 PM on WPTV Cablevision Channel 76 in White Plains or Verizon FIOS Channel 45.)

Three parents speaking during the Public Comment  session at the Board of Education meeting last night raised strong concerns that parents should opt out of the English Language Arts Assessments being given district-wide Tuesday morning in Grades 3 through 8.

One parent from George Washington cited there was confusion as to whether children should not go to school if they were opting out which she had heard, and said this was creating an inconvenience for parents.

Interim Superintendent of Schools Timothy Connors said that parents could keep the children home, but if they sent them to school with instructions the children were not to take the assessment test, that the respective schools would supervise the children while other students took the test.

Superintend of Schools Connors in an impassioned speech implored district parents to write letters to the State Education Department calling for change in the way assessments were administered. He said the tests were important, but felt there should be less tests, given every other year. He also sought to dispell fears that the district would lose school aid if less than 95% of students did not take the test. He said he expected that statewide less than 95% of students would take the tests, which could result in New York loss of federal aid dollars.

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