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.

Hits: 0

WPCNR QUILL & EYESHADE. From the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. May 17, 2013:

White Plains Sales Tax Colllections were down 3% in April from the amount collected last year according to state Department of Taxation and Finance figures reported to WPCNR this week.

Two months ago, in March, receipts were $10,000 shorty of March 2012 receipts, and gave the impression an upturn in retail activity was beginning after the sales tax receipts had declined at a 2% pace for four straight months.

The city has earned $41.6 Million in sales taxes through April, 2% off last year’s collections.

Westchester County,in contrast is up 4% through the first four months of 2013, about $6 Million ahead.

If the city equals the sales tax receipts it collected in May and June last year ($8.1 MILLION for the 2 months) the city will gross $49.8 MILLION about $1.1 to $1.2 MILLION less than it collected in 2011-12-producing a 2% decline.

 If May and June are softer, the city transfer of $5 Million to the Fund Balance Stability Fund with which they used to cover salary and labor raises for 2012-13, and plan to do so in the 2013-14 and beyond, this may present a problem.

The city has been extracting money from the Fund Balance Stability Fund to cover city wage increases.

In a related development, Moody’s after reviewing the city budget announced  they have removed the Negative Outlook they have given White Plains bonds in their credit ratings, according to City Council President Beth Smayda. Smayda said the removal was based the city policy of not bonding for tax certiorari refunds and restoring the fund balance by devoting a portion of sales tax receipts each year to the stability fund.

Hits: 0

WPCNR PLAYLAND NEWS. From the Westchester County Board of Legislators (Edited and incorporating WPCNR on the scene observations and interviews). May 16, 2013:

Several Democratic caucus members of the Westchester County Board of Legislators (BOL) called today on County Executive Rob Astorino to hand over the keys for the North Bathhouse at Playland to Westchester Children’s Museum officials so work can begin immediately and allow the much-awaited attraction to open by 2014.

“This wonderful museum will help transform Playland into a year-round destination,” said Legislator Judy Myers (D-Larchmont), chair of the BOL Budget & Appropriations Committee, at a press conference here at Playland. “The Westchester Children’s Museum is ready to move in to bathhouse and start all of the necessary work. It’s time for the Astorino Administration to follow the law—unshackle the Museum and let them begin building, bring in jobs, and bring in revenue!”

At the recent fundraising gala held last Friday for the Westchester Children’s Museum in White Plains, Astorino remarked that he was finally ready to fully back the effort for the new museum, after nearly four years of withholding his public support, but that he still feels work on the museum should wait until Sustainable Playland, Inc. (SPI) takes over management of the park in the fall. The BOL will have to approve any changes at Playland.

County Legislator MaryJane Shimsky, speaking at the news conference today at the Bathhouse said that Mr Astorino said that the keys would be turned over “as soon as the Board of Legislators approves Sustainable Playland.” Sustainable Playland is Mr. Astorino’s choice to redevelop the Playland amusement park. Approval of the Sustainable Playland proposal is now undergoing review along with three other proposals by the Board of Legislators.

Shimsky said “it is time to stop holding this museum hostage. This is a classic case hostage situation.”

The Westchester County Department of Communications was asked whether Sustainable Playland had to be approved to release the keys to the museum was true by WPCNR, and this statement from Ned McCormack the Director Communications was issued to WPCNR in response:

“This is the same group of obstructionists Democrats on the board who turned off the lights and set off alarms when they walked out of the budget negotiations, complained when the tremendous damage to Playland’s boardwalk from Hurricans Sandy was repaired on time and on budget for the season’s opening(last Saturday), and are now trying to create controversy that does not exist.

This group (the Democratic legislators) has been operating in its own parallel universe of hyper-partisan attacks for so long, they seem to have forgotten what partnership, progress and the best interests of county residents look like.

“The county, Sustainable Playland and the Children’s Museum are all working together to secure the best possible future for the park and their individual endeavors. We had a conversation Wednesday with Museum representatives that involved creating signage, programming and continuing access. The vision, plan and partnership in place will position Playland and the Children’s Museum for success in the future.”

Bill Haley, Treasurer for the Children’s Museum said the group if given the keys, could have the museum open in 14 to 18 months. He said the group had raised $8 Million and had $2.5 Million on hand having spent $5.5 Million on administration and architectural plans for the space. He said the group needed to raise approximately $6 Million more.

Mark Oxman, a member of the Museum Board, told WPCNR, that not being handed over the keys to the building had had “a chilling effect on fund-raising activities.”

Jeanne Fogel, of the Museum Board told WPCNR potential donors had said that as soon as the museum received possession of the North Bathhouse, those angels would be forthcoming with donations. Ms. Fogel said there were grants the museum was expectant of receiving based on the turnover. The Friday fund-raiser in White Plains where Mr. Astorino appeared raised approximately $200,000.

Legislator Bill Ryan noted that the BOL unanimously approved and signed a ten-year lease agreement with officials from the Children’s Museum last October. Under the terms of the lease, the museum will occupy about half, or approximately 21,390 square feet, of the former men’s bathhouse on the Playland boardwalk and spend $6,441,300 in interior and exterior renovations in exchange for a yearly rent of one dollar ($1). The museum also plans to spend another $3 million for a wide range of exhibits.

“Frankly, the Children’s Museum should have already been in there and nearing completion of its renovations,” said Ryan. “There is overwhelming support from the public for this museum. It is beyond comprehension why the Administration would stall a popular project that has the added benefits of creating new jobs and adding year-round revenues to the County’s coffers.”

The bathhouse was constructed in 1928, but use of its north and south wings has been discontinued for many years because of decreased patron demand. Under the lease agreement, the Westchester Children’s Museum will be responsible for making capital improvements to the building, all of which will be subject to approval of the Westchester Department of County Parks, Recreation and Conservation, along with the Department of Public Works because of the Playland’s National Historic Landmark designation.

“The Board of Legislators has been behind the Westchester Children’s Museum from its inception because it stands as a superb example of public-private partnerships that can help shrink government spending,” said Legislator Catherine Borgia (D-Ossining), chair of the BOL Government Operations Committee. “I’m hopeful that County Executive Astorino will have a change of heart and allow work to begin on the museum right away.”

Borgia reminded those present at the press conference that the Westchester Children’s Museum has two years to open its doors—once it receives keys to the bathhouse—or the lease is nullified.

According to its website, the Westchester Children’s Museum will be “a vibrant, interactive learning space providing children, families and school groups the opportunity to nurture curiosity, enhance knowledge and ignite imagination through creative hands-on exploration.”

“It’s time for the County Executive to stop delaying these investments in the Children’s Museum, which will result in hundreds of much-needed construction jobs,” said Legislator MaryJane Shimsky (D-Hastings-on-Hudson). “The County spent nearly eight million of dollars on fixing the exterior of the bathhouse to ready it for re-use. That time has come. Give them the keys.”

Hits: 0

WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. By John F. Bailey. May 8, 2013:

Timothy Connors, former Superintendent of Schools for the city of White Plains from 2002 to 2009, signed an interim contract with the district Tuesday to serve for one year as Interim Superintendent while the district searches for a new one.

Mr. Connors will be paid $258,000 for the year, with 30 days of paid vacation; a $500 a month car allowance and $100 per month “to defray the cost of his use of his personal Smartphone in the performance of his job duties. Connors salary is $31,000 more than what the Board is paying Dr. Christopher Clouet, the present superintendent leaving the district to become Superintendent of the Union Free School District of the Tarrytowns.

Previously the White Plains School Board had elected not to renegotiate Dr. Clouet’s contract in view of the Tarrytown offer since Clouet was under contract to White Plains for two more years.

The money the district authorized Monday evening to bring back Mr. Connors is $5,000 more than what the Tarrytowns will be paying Dr. Clouet in the first year of Dr. Clouet’s new contract ($253,000). Mr. Connors also earns a $39,000 pension from New York State from his White Plains retirement which meets approximately what Mr. Connors was earning in the district in 2009 ($297,000).

Connors is the highest paid public official in White Plains by over $100,000.

The new Interim Superintendent’s contract is for one year, and the school board must advise him six months before July 1, 2014 if they want to renew is contract for another year, but the contract does not automatically extend if he is not notified by the district.

Hits: 0

WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. MAY 7, 2013:

Michele Schoenfeld, Clerk to the Board of Education told WPCNR this morning that the Board of Education approved a contract with former Superintendent of Schools Timothy Connors ( who served as Superintendent 2002-2009), to serve as Interim Superintendent beginning July 1, while the district searched for a new superintendent.

Terms of the contract will not be disclosed until Mr. Connors signs the contract, Ms. Schoenfeld said, which is expected to happen tomorrow.

Ms. Schoenfeld also reported that  John Orcutt was hired as an Assistant Principal at White Plains High School.

She said that no members of the community filed petitions to run for the two positions open on the school board, so Charles Norris and Sheryl Brady, incumbents whose terms are up are running for reelection unopposed.

Hits: 0

1925-2013

WPCNR MILESTONES.  May 4, 2013:

John Taddei, the man whose natural instinct for solutions contributed to the  Columbia Broadcasting System technical growth in television’s golden age of the 1950s and 1960s died this week in White Plains. The White Plains resident was 88 years old.

Mr. Taddei spent his professional career contributing to television innovations that are used to this day. After he retired in the mid-1980s, the City of White Plains chose him to be Chairman of the White Plains Public Access Cable station.

Taddei, working with Executive Director Fred Strauss, and Edward Wolf,and Gary Stukes supervised the design of the White Plains Public Television studios at 4 Martine Avenue in the Four Seasons Apartment complex in White Plains  when it moved from the White Plains Library.  

The compact studio design  with its capacity to televise meetings from the White Plains City Hall became a national model for other communities across the country building community access television operations.

The reason the studio was effective, an acquaintance familiar with the creation of the studio said, was  Mr. Taddei gave the committee responsible for designing the new studios access to CBS studios in New York. Taddei arranged for them to tour the CBS Broadcast center and see first-hand how to set up the studio, where they could save money, and bypass “the learning curve.” Taddei, the acquaintance said was revered at CBS, where he knew William S. Paley personally.

Thanks to Taddei’s entrée to CBS,  representatives from White Plains television were treated with respect and  received expertise on creating their studio, seeing how a premier television network studio was designed and run,  that led to the creation of a studio that has served White Plains thirty years from the analog to the digital age.

According to a retrospective of his life distributed at his wake last week Mr. Taddei died in White Plains Hospital on April 26. He was born in Manhattan to Paulo and Rosa (Gherardi) Taddei. The family later moved to Brooklyn where Mr. Taddei attended public school.

The lure of boy-scouting took him out of the city for the first time and inspired him to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout. He served as assistant scout master at the Ten Mile River Boy Scouts of America Camp in New York’s Catskill Mountains on the Delaware River.

He was a member of the St. Finbar’s CYO basketball team and a tennis player. He met his future wife, Anna Zaharek on the tennis court. They wed in 1952 and later made White Plains their home.

Mr. Taddei  commuted to CBS in New York, where he was employed as a television broadcast technician until his retirement in 1986. His expertise led to his being named Chairman of the White Plains Public Access Cable station at the critical time when the present state-of-the-art studio (in the Four Seasons Condominium complex was being designed and equipped.

His love of classical music led to his devising a method to digitize rare pre-war selenophone recordings of Toscanini-conducted performances for the New York Public Library Branch at Lincoln Center.

A man of deep faith, he was very active in various organizations in his parish, Our Lady of Sorrows, and is remembered as the “go-to” person for microphones and television equipment for liturgical and school use.

He was an avid ham radio operator and in his last years relied on his network of ham radio friends to keep him connected.

His wife Anna predeceased him in 2007.

John is survived by his sister Mary (Lucian) DeBonis of Sag Harbor, NY; his children: Joanne Taddei of Cranston, Rhode Island; John (Patricia) Taddei of Somers, NY; Marianne (George) Wisker of Tolland, Connecticut; Robert (Mary) Taddei  of Doylestown, Pennsylvania; grandsons John Patrick, Christopher, Nicholas and Benjamin Taddei and many nieces and nephews. He was cared for by his devoted home health aides CeCe and Mariama.

He was laid to rest in Gate of Heaven Cemetary.