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  CAMPAIGN 2013 News and Comment By John F. Bailey. October 20, 2013:

It’s a match made for success.

Tonight at the Rye Town Hilton, Bill Clinton is being brought in to pass a collection plate for  thousands more in donations from star-struck  Democrats asked  to write $100 to $2,500 checks to bask in Clintonesque charisma and fund a two week medis blitz to return the Democratic Party to power in Westchester County and bring back “values” to governing to Westchester County.

Having Mr. Clinton raise funds for a candidate that is campaigning on “Westchester Values,” which include according to Mr. Bramson’s literature:  standing up for a woman’s right to abortion, and protecting women from harassment at birth control clinics in the county, replenishing cuts to day care, eliminating gun shows,  environmental compliance, attracting business is very ironic to say the least.

If you recall this is the President who lied about an affair in The White House oval office with a young lady his daughter’s age.  He is the President whose ego-driven, legacy-building, self-centered Quixotic pipedream: wanting to be remembered as the man who brought about an Israeli-Palestinian settlement failed to protect American  women and men effectively from terrorism. His watch either eased pressure on Al Queda, if not outright ignored their growing threat.  It could be argued his failure to follow up tightly on al Queda surveillance after the 1993 World Trade Center attack, resulted ultimately in the World Trade Center and Pentagon attack. Bill Clinton, a man of values?

Whether Americans and any politician really cares about values any more is the real question. Bramson talks about it.

Tonight it is fitting that Clinton, a man who has mastered the ability to smooth out and rationalize his record because of an American public’s ability to forgive, now idolize him as much as they idolize  the Kennedys, is raising funds for another smoothie, The Scarecrow.

I call Mr. Bramson The Scarecrow because he is a straw man..

With his Robert Kennedy bangs, earnest, practical rhetoric he convinces men and women old and young that his heart is with them and he will do the right thing. He has glib ability to paint  a rosy picture in flowery reasonable-sounding words of how good it is going to be when Westchester replaces Robert Astorino with him. He is a charmer. He’s got the ladies’ vote. He may get people like me who still dream of  America getting a real leader. But I am troubled by his placing himself above the issues.

He doesn’t want you to stop thinking about tomorrow.

He doesn’t  want you to think about yesterday.

But it could be argued, he ignores today.

He and Clinton  are attempting to turn back the clock to when people loved the Democratic Party unconditionally. When standing for the good was what Democrats were known for

In 2016, Hillary Clinton will campaign on the same Promise Train, and a train it is.

Since we Democrats are for the good, and there never was a bad Democrat, we will govern better and take care of the weak, and distribute the wealth.  You should know instinctively we will be better because we are so good. As long as we are wringing our hands for you in office and in power you will be o.k., because we are so good.

Like a scarecrow in an Iowa cornfield, who stands watch without effort or action,  Noam Bramson delivers  a message to voters that he will make things right  by looking out for their values that he believes Westchester believes in. That is his message.

But as with any Scarecrow, you have to hope he has a plan, and not just form a lot of task forces. Jawbone, and raise taxes because it is the right thing to do.  (Remember you heard this first.)

I have news for you. I loved the fact my County Tax went down $358, because my county tax did not go up. I liked that. I could get used to it.

Bramson is so well off he does not realize that $358 means a lot to people.

Bramson promises to cut taxes by the magic of “consolidating services.”

I hope he has a lot of top hats with rabbits in them.

Consolidating services does not save a lot of money fast. Because it is a slow process.

Yet Mr. Bramson has not pointed to any consolidations of services he made in New Rochelle (where he has been in government since 1995) that have made substantial savings for that city. There must be some.

Please tell us, Noam. Share those money-saving ideas to consolidate. We in the communities in cities and towns across the county await your charismatic inspiration on this.

If he  has consolidated services,it certainly has not saved enough to prevent  his community from raising taxes well above inflation each year.  But “consolidating services” sounds so good. Every politician uses it.

In White Plains, pioneer city of the county, development leader,  we have seen just how much consolidation of services can save.

City councilpersons  tout how they and the school district have managed after a year of discussion to save the school district $75,000 to $100,000 this year. They think this is good.  This is the salary of one new teacher with benefits. What do you think?

That is ½ % of  the White Plains $193.4 Million school budget after a year of talking about it.  Bramson says he’s going to bring communities together to consolidate services.  Well I hope the communities are more cooperative than city government and the school district were here in White Plains.  Noam: turf is power. When you give up something you lose control. That is your problem in relying on “consolidation.”

Bramson says he wants to spur economic growth by smart rezoning of areas to develop for business, and assure there are young workers with the educational skills businesses want. He says he doesn’t like doing individual firm deals.

He does not say what areas to rezone; how this will be done; he does not say how he will equip/re-educate/upgrade our workforce. He does not yet say how he will attract young people by providing more affordable housing and again working with communities, talking with the Hud-targeted communities to end peacefully the “scare tactics” of the Astorino administration.  Mr. Bramson is never asked about the needs of  infrastructure  in the 7 HUD target communities to execute affordable housing developments. (Only White Plains Benjamin Boykin candidate for the Distict 5 seat has raised this infrastructure issue.)

This is how the Scarecrow candidate operates. He gets you to think he cares and has grandiose plans that fit our hopes and dreams. But like scarecrows the plans cannot move ahead, because scarecrows can’t move. They are not strong. Remember how Clinton’s health care plan worked out? Clinton was not a strong leader. He just seemed like one when testifying.

Perhaps what is most disturbing about The Scarecrow is his campaign’s numbing inability to justify his New Rochelle tax record and diffuse criticism of that record. Maybe they think he is going to win, and apparently do not need to justify what he did. Charisma, the “good,” the values will save him. So much bad leadership has been elected to power because they say all the right things, like John Lindsay for example.

The  Bramson campaign has been given a free ride by the media, which has not asked why New Ro taxes had to be raised at such a steady rate. What circumstances forced the 109% in tax increases. The campaign denying that this is not true or was justified because all other communities were raising taxes is sophistry. (Using flowery speeches, rhetoric without facts to make a point and achieve power.

Bramson twice in debates said this 109%  is not true and cited the Westchester Fair Campaign Practices Committee (stacked with 9 Democrats in an 11-member committee) as saying Robert Astorino’s criticisms of his tax record were unfair. But does Mr. Bramson defend his tax decisions? No.

Here in White Plains, there was much hand-wringing over raising taxes every year, for thirteen years I have covered the city. They never passed a budget that did not go up. They never cut “essential” services. “Essential” is a big tent.

Bramson does not even bang off the following facts to bolster the reason for New Rochelle tax increases: The increase in pension contributions to the state, the drop in assessments due to tax refunds, the drop in mortgage taxes, the MTA tax, overtime costs during hurricanes, the increase in salary payrolls.

You can’t let someone take you apart on taxes without saying how with your “expertise” you limited the tax increases.

The White Plains City Government and the Common Council and the Board of Education are expert at talking about their being “mindful” of tax impact on taxpayers and the White Plainsians buy it every year.

They are mindful all right. They think about it. That’s what they mean by being “mindful.” Then they dismiss it. Noam might borrow that word “mindful.” White Plainsians swallow it every year.It is an expensive medicine, “mindful.”

The Scarecrow Candidate exaggerates to make a point. A very bad habit.  Exaggeration is fair right?

He is fond of saying that New Rochelle has the lowest tax rate among cities in Westchester.

How does he explain that White Plains for example has a tax rate for 2013 of $191.74 per thousand dollars of assessed valuation. The New Rochelle 2013 tax rate  is $198.50. Not even close.

Mr. Bramson’s campaign could have simply fixed this by saying New Rochelle has the 2^nd lowest tax rate among all cities of Westchester. But, no! They know reporters and editorial boards are too lazy and too politically correct to ask him about this statement. When a reporter does, they ignore it. Because I asked them. If there is some byzantine formula the Bramson Campaign uses to justify this lowest tax rate claim, please explain?

Mr. Bramson wants to restore child day care lost funds. Yet he does not explain what funds he will restore them with. Because this is a moral issue. I guess it does not need exploring. He’ll do it when he gets the job. Money is no object, even if it is yours, if it is the right thing to do.

Mr. Bramson accuses the present administration of borrowing to balance the budget. He does not say where he will get the revenue to balance the budget without borrowing or without taking from fund balance. He is lucky he is heading for a $10 Million surplus in sales tax receipts. Will that cover the restorations and the borrowing? A little enlightenment please? No member of the media has asked that.

Mr. Bramson says he will keep taxes in check and abide by the state tax cut, but does not say he will keep the budget where it is. No one asks him.

Mr. Astorino, the incumbent County Executive  in last week’s debate said if Bramson is going to observe the 2% levy cap imposes by Governor Cuomo, that means Bramson is considering a 2% tax increase. Well is he or isn’t he? No one seems to want to make him squirm on that question.

Politicians want you to ignore the past, saying,  “It is not what I did, but what I am going to do.”

Politicians like Mr.Bramson  do not realize that it is not what you say you will do.

It is what you do.

So tonight when you movers and shakers write out the checks take a good listen and a hard look at Noam when you shake his hand and ask him.

The event is closed to the press. So what is said in the Hilton stays in the Hilton.

That’s what they want.

Anonymous tips accepted.

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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. From the Office of Assemblyman David Buchwald. October 17, 2013:

David Buchwald’s office which informed WPCNR of the Commissioner of Education John King’s reversal on his (King’s) decision to restablish the forums to hear parents and stakeholders on the state assessment test issues and Common Core curriculum, attributes the announcement to  WCBS Radio’s Mike Xirinachs who quoted King as saying:

“What we won’t do is have meetings where people are screaming and yelling epithets. That’s just not an appropriate way to have dialogue. What we won’t do is allow meetings to be disrupted and turned into an opportunity to yell and scream and yell epithets. That’s not productive.”

 

 

 

 

 

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WPCNR TAPPAN ZEE BRIDGE NEWS. From the Governor’s Office. October 16, 2013:

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the beginning of formal construction of the New NY Bridge to replace the Tappan Zee with installation of the first permanent piles that will comprise the foundation of the new bridge.

The bridge is scheduled to be completed in just under five years from the start of formal construction making it one of the nation’s largest construction projects to be completed in such a short time.
“This week, we are putting shovels in the ground and starting formal construction on a new bridge to replace the Tappan Zee, the largest infrastructure project New York State has undertaken in decades,” Governor Cuomo said. “After more than a decade of delay, New York State has moved this project forward at a dramatic pace while working with the community, involving the public and protecting the local environment. Once completed, drivers in Rockland, Westchester and surrounding areas will finally have a safer, less congested bridge that will include a walkway for pedestrians and bikers and accommodates future mass transit.”
The first of several highly sophisticated construction cameras has been installed and can be accessed on the project website, NewNYbridge.com, under the ‘Construction Cameras’ icon. The public can stay up-to-date on the progress of the New NY Bridge with views from this construction camera and the interactive archive calendar.
Construction Timeline

· Dredging to prepare for bridge construction is ongoing until November 1, and will also take place during August, September and October, 2014.

· October 2013: Main span permanent pile installation begins

· November 2013: Permanent pile installation begins for approaches

· March 2014: Work begins on approach substructure

· June 2014: Work begins on main span substructure

· September 2014: Work begins for erection of superstructure

· Late 2014 / early 2015: Work begins on cable stay installation

· Late 2016: Complete north span

· December 2016: Relocate westbound traffic to new north span

· February 2017: Relocate existing eastbound traffic to new north span

· February 2017: Start demolition of existing bridge

· Late 2017: Both spans complete

· November 2017: Relocate eastbound traffic from new north span to new south span

· April 2018: Physical completion of project

· July 2018: Final acceptance of project

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WPCNR BACK STAGE. Interview with Jeannie Shubitz, the Lead in WBT’S Kiss Me Kate. October 13, 2013:

Forever to be remembered as the  “Peggy Sawyer” of Westchester Broadway Theatre, Jeannie Shubitz, turned the plot of the famous musical 42^nd Street into  theatre magic for real  two weeks ago when she took over the lead in the Westchester Broadway Theatre production of Kiss Me Kate, on three days of rehearsal.

For those of you who do not know 42^nd Street, in that show the leading lady is injured, and just before opening night, they need a replacement. Peggy Sawyer is a  character who auditioned for the chorus and is about to go back to Allentown, because she didn’t make the show, is playing opposite Jerry Ohrbach the producer (loosely modeled on David Merrick). Sawyer  is asked by Orbach will she take over the lead, and she says “I’ll do it.”

That’s the situation Ms. Shubitz faced 3 weeks ago in mid-September when WBT’s director, James Brennan contacted her and asked her “to do it.”

Ms. Shubitz  said, “I’ll do it!” too!

After last Wednesday’s matinee of Kiss Me, Kate at WBT, The CitizeNetReporter  talked with Ms. Shubitz about her miracle on stage

WPCNR: When did it begin?

Jeannie: “I got the call around the 16^th or 17^th of September and they told me at that point I was going to be going on September 29, and my put-in would be on the 28^th, put-in  meaning a rehearsal where we all get together and I get to run it from the stage with costumes and all that. That was late that night (16^th). Then a couple of days later I came up here and saw the show for the first time. Then after that I was able to rehearse with the stage manager(Victor Lukas) who gave me all the blocking

“Blocking is the precise movement and positioning of actors in all the scenes of the show. I came here and stayed after the show and went over all the blocking with him. It was quite the process, it was very very quick but everybody in the cast was really wonderful, and very present for me and very available to help me to learn the show as quickly as possible.

WPCNR:You were familiar with the show, right?

Jeannie: I had seen Kiss Me Kate before, I had not done it before.

WPCNR: How were you on that first night  you went on?

Jeannie: It felt a little like being shot out of a cannon. It was a little scary. You almost can’t stop to think about it. You just go through it and trust that the work you’ve done is going to serve you and follow your actors you’re sharing the stage with who are wonderfully supportive and they’ll help you out  if you go up on a line or not in the right place on stage. You don’t think about it. Then you get to the end of the line and complete exhaustion sets in.

You  kind of look back on what you did and think Oh God I can’t believe I just did that whole show, I don’t remember it at all (laughs).

WPCNR: Did you study your lines overnight?

Jeannie: I spent pretty much every day  once I got the blocking. Until I got the script, I spent all my time listening to the music and learning that. Once I got the script I spent all my time working on the script.

Once I got the blocking, I spent hours in my living room,  just walking the blocking, setting the stage trying to learn that for myself. There were days I spent a solid 12 hours working on the show.

Probably not a whole lot more than that because you kind of reach critical mass . Your brain can only hold so much. You just  get to that point  where you  kind of need to take a break, and walk and  do something else, then I’ll come back to this a half hour later and run my show again.

WPCNR: What was the connection that the Director  James Brennan thought of you, just like the 42^nd Street  script?

Jeannie: I had actually auditioned for them  in the city when they were holding the initial auditions for the show.

I auditioned, went through the callback process (a second audition for a part) and they knew me from that, and I and the director, James Brennan had worked together before.

They could not get me ready fast enough and get my costumes ready so the show had to be covered for three days.

It’s been an adventure. Never a dull moment here.

WPCNR: What was the toughest process of the show you had to master?

Jeannie: The most difficult thing, it was kind of a toss-up between the  fight choreography, so getting all of that, making sure that everything is safe and controlled, while still creating a believable fight (Critic note: Ms. Shubitz is very believable! Just ask Mr. Michals, her male lead in the show) , so all the hits, and the lifts, and the carries and the kicks, making sure those look real, while still being safe for the actors

WPCNR: Have you ever acted fight scenes on stage before?

Jeannie: No, I haven’t. This is my first. It’s really fun!

WPCNR: You’re not a kick boxer as a hobby?

Jeannie (laughing): I’m not. I’m not. I go to the gym. That’s all I do.

WPCNR: Where to from here?

Jeannie: That’s a good question. Back to the auditioning process and all of that. Nothing specific lined up on the docket. A couple of things kind of off in the distance next spring. Until then just  back to the (audition) grind.

WPCNR: Where do you want to go in show business?

Jeannie: Goodness. Like every single one of us  here: getting that crown jewel :the Broadway contract or production contract would be brilliant. If someone else offered that to me, I sure wouldn’t say no.

WPCNR: Was there any thought that you wouldn’t take the Kate Role here?

Jeannie: No. When they called me for it, it’s a role I haven’t done before that I’ve wanted to do for awhile, so I decided really quick.

WPCNR: This is 42^nd Street!

Jeannie: It is.  It is. A similar thing.It’s been a wonderful experience and a lot of fun. Once all that initial first couple of shows got out of the way

WPCNR: Talk about your leading man (William Michals , below with Ms. Shubitz ), he was a big help?

Jeannie: He was a lot of fun. He really was. He was very supportive and very patient in the learning process. I was learning my choreography and all of that. Our energies are very well matched on staged.

I was very fortunate that I did get to work with the director for a couple of days. That was a huge help . It has been a really fun thing to build. The challenge was a little bit intimidating, stepping into an existing show. But everybody has been wonderful and I am having such a good time with it now and I’m really starting to feel much more comfortable in the role and really be able to play with it, and William Michals is able to play with it.  So there’s always this back and forth crackle going on.

WPCNR: How did you work things out with the orchestra on such short notice, given your voice is deeper than your predecessor’s?

Jeannie: I think actually it was pretty seamless. I was a little bit concerned, but the first time I worked with the full band  was my first night on in the show. I didn’t know what to expect. I had worked with Leo (Carusone) the Musical Director and we had  gone through the score a couple of times together, so I knew what to expect of him and he knew what I was going to do,  so we had already  created a good working relationship. The orchestra here is fantastic. The band is really wonderful, and Leo is really very sensitive . This afternoon (Wednesday’s matinee performance), I did something that was a little bit of a change, and he stepped right in and followed me. I was endlessly grateful.

WPCNR: What’s your back story? Always wanted to go into show business?

JEANNIE: I’ve always loved performing.  I wasn’t quite sure where it would lead me. I kind of left myself open, usually it ends up being  some place more interesting and better than I thought it would be. I’ve always loved performing and started taking piano when I was five. Even after my recitals I would be so jazzed after performing in front of a live audience that I started doing theatre and choir concerts and things like that.

WPCNR: What was your first role ever?

Jeannie: It was in a church Christmas pageant, The Littlest Elf. It was the lead and I was very excited. (Laughs)

WPCNR: First professional role?

JEANNIE:In the musical theatre realm: Magnolia  Hawkes ( in Showboat, Editor’s Note: also The Lead). It was a very pivotal show for me. At the time  I was pursuing the more classical end of things and I wasn’t  entirely sure how I felt about it and I wasn’t committed to classical singing and opera and everything and I did my first musical, Showboat, and I was sold.

That was it.  It was a hundred percent, oh this is where I  am supposed to be is doing musical theatre as opposed to classical music.

Incidentally, I met some of my nearest and dearest friends there, and I also met my husband in that show. (Laughs)  I will carry it (Showboat) with me always.

Ms. Shubitz is from Tucson Arizona. She did her undergraduate work at the University of Arizona, and Masters at Arizona State. Right at the end of the Masters,  she was cast in Showboat and moved to New York City.

WPCNR: Do you like New York?

Jeannie: I love it.  I love it. My husband and I moved back to Arizona for a period of time, thinking we were ready to move back. But it just didn’t take. We figured nope, we’ve given it (Arizona) a fair shot and we sold the house and moved back here.

Ms. Shubitz stepped on stage and did it. She’s running through November 3 as Lily Vanessi and Kate behind the footlights.  The CitizeNetReporter recommends you check her out now because with heart and talent like hers, her name will be on a big marquee before she can say “I’ll do it!”

Need I say the box office is at 914-592-2222 or go to www.BroadwayTheatre.com

Tell them John Bailey sent you.

And Casting Directors,  she does leads.

If I can speak for Cole Porter, the composer of Kiss Me, Kate, if Cole saw her last week, he’d say, “You’re the top!”

 

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WPCNR CAMPAIGN 2013. October 12:

The charisma of President Bill Clinton is being brought in by the Bramson campaign for County Executive Monday night October 21.

Bramson who has not fared well in  fundraisers around White Plains compared to County Executive Incumbent, Robert P. Astorino, announced the special event to his list of supporters Friday evening.

This is a big ticket: Individuals are being asked to pay $100 a person. If you want a picture with President Clinton, you have to pay $2,500 to $10,000.

The event is at the Rye Town Hilton Monday evening, October 21.

The Rye Town Hilton  had to be closed  twice in April of this year due to a highly contagious norovirus traced to the kitchen by the County Department of Health that sickened several hundred persons at two different events within a month.. The unpleasantness was originally not reported by the County Department of Health, until a second outbreak necessitated a closing of the hotel for several days.