Restore Funds for the Disabled, Abinanti Calls on the Governor

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WPCNR ALBANY ROUNDS. From Assemblyman Tom Abinanti’s Press Office. March 6, 2013:


New York State Assembly member Tom Abinanti today called for restoration of $311 million to the state budget for the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) which was eliminated in the proposed Executive Budget.



“These cuts will hurt very vulnerable people who have no alternatives,” said the Westchester Assemblyman. “We must not endanger the health and safety of people with disabilities to pay for the tax cuts we gave to wealthy New Yorkers or to pay for past mistakes by New York bureaucrats who may have taken more federal reimbursements than New York was entitled to.”



The proposed Executive Budget reduces the actual 2012-13 budget for OPWDD by more than 7% and imposes an actual 6% rate cut on non-profit service providers. This follows some 9% – $350 million in rate cuts over the past several years.



The original Executive Budget proposed cutting $71 million from OPWDD’s 2012-13 $4.36 billion budget. The Governor’s thirty day amendments proposed an additional $240 million cut.



“OPWDD has been woefully underfunded,” said Abinanti. “There are waiting lists for community housing, shortages of day programs, underpaid and undertrained service providers, and constant reports of abuse and neglect.”



“New York should not have a budget that will make intolerable conditions worse,” said Abinanti.

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Council Ponders Procedure to Terminate Subsidized Leases IF HUD Pulls Funds

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WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL CHRONICLE-EXAMINER. By John F. Bailey. March 4, 2013:


The cutting of Section 8 HUD rent subsidies has not happened yet. But the Common Council is prepared if it comes to pass.


The Common Council prepared for the worst tonight:  possible cutting of Housing and Urban Development partial funding of Section 8 housing rentals  running at approximately $5 Million, (under the new sequestration legislation signed by  President Obama last Friday).


They  opened and closed a public hearing (where no one came up to speak), then tabled the resolution that would establish a procedure spelling out criteria defining which tenants of Section 8 subsidized housing would have their leases vacated first in the event HUD cut part or all of their rental subsidy and the rent could not be paid.


Councilman Benjamin Boykin told WPCNR the resolution was going to be tabled because the city does not know if HUD  is going to cut its subsidy to the city. Mayor Thomas Roach told WPCNR he hoped to know more tomorrow.


The city prepared for a possible loss of HUD Funds by putting forward legislation establishing what types of Section VIII tenants would be the first to lose their Section 8 vouchers entitling them to subsidized apartments. Section 8 tenants consist of  families and individuals meeting certain income levels qualifying them for apartments landlords are willing to rent with the government paying a portion of the rent and the renter paying the balance.


According to the 2012-13 City of White Plains Annual Action Plan on the city website, counts 646 units of its 846 Assisted Living apartments, as subsidized units. A total of 400 Section 8 vouchers are awarded the city in the current year, however the city is limited by the government to using only 372 of them. This would mean at least 372 voucher holders who may represent a head of a household stand to be be affected if the $5,000,000 aid for public housing is cutback by the government.


Councilman Benjamin Boykin and Mr. Callahan credited new Commissioner of Planning Elizabeth Chetney for discovering White Plains did not have a procedure for determining which tenants the city would remove first from Section 8 apartments if and this is a big if, HUD withdrew its funding for the government’s share of tenants’ rent.


Callahan said that the city realized that with no assurance HUD sudsidies would not be cut, the city needed a policy to determine what families would go, should HUD cut off a portion or all of its subsidy to White Plains.  He said Ms. Chetney drafted a termination plan in case HUD funds paying the share of rent that renters do not pay were cut back or ended altogether.


Callahan said that the resolution was ready to be passed by the council if HUD cut its subsidies to White Plains. He said many other cities and towns did not have procedures in place either.


Asked if the city could supplement giving tenants time to relocate if the housing subsidy disappeared, Callahan said there was no money to do that. Asked if the Sales Tax Stabilization (collected to replenish city fund balance) might be available, he again said no.


According to the White Plains City website, “the City makes a monthly payment to the landlord on behalf of the eligible tenant which constitutes the difference between the tenant’s payment (30% of income) and the maximum rent allowable set by the federal government for the apartment size offered by the landlord.”

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Last Ditch Attempt to Stop the Cuomo-nian Disabled Funding Takeaway

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WPCNR ALBANY ROUNDS. From a WPCNR Correspondent. March 4, 2013:


Chairmpersons of the State Senate and State Legislatures mental health committees are circulationg petitions among New York Legislators to gather support for restoring the 6%, $120 Million cut that Governor Andrew Cuomo is trying to take away from the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities funding. The cut would force millions of cuts in personnel, among other possible curtailments in direct services to disabled individuals.


This letter was released to WPCNR today urging persons who support continued funding for disabled persons care by the state to contact their legislators to show support for telling the governor disabled funding needs to be restored:



Both houses of the State Legislature are in the process of finalizing the respective one-house budget bills. As you are aware, NYSACRA and the developmental disabilities associations are working to restore the proposed 6% across the board cut to all not-for-profit agencies.

The Chairs of the Assembly and Senate Mental Health/Developmental Disabilities Committees (Senator David Carlucci and Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther) are circulating a “sign-on” letter throughout the respective memberships of the Senate and Assembly requesting their legislative colleagues to endorse (sign-on) to the letter requesting restoration of the proposed cut to the voluntary not-for-profits. Individual State Senators are being asked to sign-on to Chairman Carlucci’s letter and individual State Assemblymembers are being asked to sign-on to Chairwoman Gunther’s letter. The letters, from the Chairs, will be delivered to the respective leadership in both houses.

I am asking you to contact your Senator and Assemblymember, today, to ask your Legislators to sign-on to Chairman Carlucci’s letter and Chairwoman Gunther’s letter seeking full restoration of the cut to the developmental disabilities not-for-profit providers. If you are not a NY resident, your loved one is. Please use your loved one’s address to identify his/her legislators.

We understand the Chairs will begin circulating the letters today therefore please contact your Legislators in their Albany Offices this afternoon, if possible.


Please refer to the Assembly (www.assembly.state.ny.us) and Senate websites (www.nysenate.gov) to obtain the Albany Office telephone number for your Assemblymember and Senator. You may also contact the Assembly Operator at 518-455-4100 and Senate Operator at 518-455-2800 and ask to be transferred to your Legislator’s Office.

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Woman Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud, Mail Fraud.

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WPCNR FBI REPORT. From the Federal Bureau of Investigation. March 2, 2013:




Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that Alicia Holmes pled guilty yesterday to a three-count indictment, charging Holmes with devising and operating a scheme to defraud individuals and entities of hundreds of thousands of dollars in accommodations, goods, services, and money.


 Holmes pled guilty to one count of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud, and one count of providing a false address in furtherance of fraud Friday in White Plains federal court before U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Karas, who set a sentencing date for June 24, 2013.


According to the allegations in the indictment filed in White Plains federal court:


From at least in or about April 2007 through in or about May 2011, Holmes made false and fraudulent representations to hotel managers and staff, real estate brokers, property builders, home owners, and school administrators, among others, through e-mails, telephone calls, and letters, including statements that:



  • she owned and/or was in the process of purchasing certain high-end properties, including homes valued between approximately $6,255,000 and $17,000,000;
  • she had assets of great value that she would gain access to in as soon as a few days;
  • she required financial assistance from the victims until she was in possession of those assets; and
  • once she was in possession of her purported assets, she would use those assets to purchase certain high-end properties from some of the victims or to pay money that she owed to the victims.

Holmes did not have or reasonably expect to have access to assets of great value, did not own any high-end properties, and knew that her representations were false at the time she made them.


* * *


Holmes, 49, is eligible for enhanced penalties at sentencing because she continued her offense while on pretrial release. She faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 65 years, fines of up to $250,000 or twice the gross pecuniary gain or loss resulting from the offense, restitution to victims, and forfeiture of the proceeds of her offenses.


Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.


This case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ilan Graff, Lee Renzin, and Anna M. Skotko are in charge of the criminal prosecution.


If you think you may have been a victim in this case or have additional information, please call Postal Inspector Patricia Thornton at 914-993-1930.

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Building Dept Sinks Carhart Sunrise Detox Project

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WPCNR NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH. EXCLUSIVE! Special to WPCNR from the Carhart Neighborhood Association. March 1, 2013:





The Common Council will not take up the Sunrise Detox Center application for  a Special Permit to run a detox center at 37 DeKalb Avenue.


 


The Carhart Association announced today:


 


According to White Plains Commissioner of Building Damon Amadio’s letter dated February 27, 2013, “Based upon the additional information obtained from the Applicant and the NYS OASAS definitions, the proposed Sunrise facility will not meet the definition of Community Residence.”


 



This has been a primary contention of the Carhart opposition for many months in addition to safety concerns that such a facility is likely to bring to this quiet residential community.


 



“If the Applicant wishes to pursue the Application a variance or appeal of this determination is required”, continues Mr. Amadio.


 



The above is echoed by John Callahan, Corporation Counsel for the city of White Plains, in his letter of February 28th, which further states, “At this time, the Common Council may not take further action on this application.”

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Assembly Speaker Silver In Favor of Restoring $120 Million Cut to Disabled..

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WPCNR ALBANY ROUNDS. EXCLUSIVE By John F. Bailey. February 28, 2013: 


A source close to the action surrounding Governor Andrew Cuomo’s proposed $120 Million cut in funds for the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities, has updated WPCNR on the furor the Governor’s proposal has caused among legislators.


 According to this source, in touch with his lobbying representatives in the state capitol:


“The Assembly Speaker (Sheldon Silver)  has come out in support of restoring the  (OPWDD) cuts, which is very positive news.



There were legislative hearings yesterday (WEDNESDAY) and I understand the legislators were very angry about the cuts.



It  (THE CUTS) would affect any program that is funded by Medicaid through OPWDD. I believe services for people under 21 are funded through the State Education Dept. and local school districts, so they would not be affected.”

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Sequester Effects on County, City Being Researched by County at least

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WPCNR QUILL AND EYESHADE. By John F. Bailey. February 28, 2013 UPDATED 4:10 P.M. E.S.T.:


At the beginning of the week, WPCNR News asked Westchester County and the City of White Plains if they had any idea of how day-to-day government operations and funding would be effected by the budget cuts set to be put into motion by national compliance with the Sequester legislation set to take effect at midnight.


The City of White Plains has so far ignored WPCNR’s question, not even issuing a statement.


Westchester County spokesperson Donna Greene today issued this statement exclusively to WPCNR:



“We are currently assessing on a department by department basis the way the sequester could affect programs run by Westchester County government. It is too early to know specifically what might happen — or when any impact would be felt, as any budget cuts would not come all at once on March 1.”

 

On the matter of the Governor’s proposed 6% cut to Office for People With Developmental Disabilities, Ms. Greene said the County did not have the resources to refurbish whatever cuts are eventually agreed upon, in any:

 


I spoke to Commissioner Grant Mitchell about this.  As you can guess, the county government does not (regrettably) have the funds to — in your words — take up the slack if these cuts go through. The county government itself does not receive that much money from OPDD, so we are not as impacted as the non profits are.


 


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Former NYC Commish Bratton Urges Collaboration for Optimum School Safety

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            WPCNR POLICE GAZETTE. From Westchester County Department of Communications. February 27, 2013:


 


Educators and police from throughout Westchester County were urged Wednesday by former New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton to make collaboration an integral piece of their efforts to keep schools and communities safe from violence.


             The event was part of the Safer Communities initiative launched by County Executive Robert P. Astorino in the aftermath of the Newton, Conn. tragedy. Astorino invited police and school officials from every jurisdiction in Westchester, including public, private and parochial schools.


            About 300 people attended the School Safety Symposium, held at Purchase College.


             “The stark reality is that senseless acts of violence can never be completely eliminated,” Astorino said. “But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. It’s a complicated issue – we all know that. There are public safety concerns, mental health issues and all sorts of societal influences at work.”


            Bratton, the keynote speaker, said three elements were critical to making schools safer:


·         Partnership – Parents, teachers, police, fire and other first responders need to work together.


·         Problem-solving – This starts with understanding the problem and working to fix it.


·         Prevention – With most problems there are warning signals. Communities need to be on the lookout for them and then address them



 


              The Safer Communities initiative brings together resources inside and outside county government to protect schools and communities from acts of senseless violence. It is a combination of practical, ready-to-go programs that combat violence by drawing on the expertise of the county departments of Public Safety, Health and Community Mental Health in collaboration with local police chiefs, educators, clergy, civic leaders and elected officials. The goals are to educate the public about available services and programs, enhance those capabilities and evaluate progress on an ongoing and long-term basis.


            On April 9, the second part of the initiative will take place, when the departments of Health and Community Mental Health  hold a “Community Violence Prevention Forum” at the County Center. The county is working with the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the program, whose emphasis will be to address violence as a public health issue that affects all of our communities.


            Wednesday’s session was organized by George N. Longworth, the commissioner of the county’s Department of Public Safety, and the Westchester County Chiefs of Police Association. It was designed to provide educators with practical guidance on how to make schools safer and enhance coordination between law enforcement and school districts.


            In addition to Bratton, the former chief of police in Los Angeles, there were presentations by a variety of school security experts as well as a panel discussion. These included the following:


·         An Overview of School-based Violence in America – Charles H. Boklan, U.S. Secret Service (Retired)


·         Practical Emergency Preparedness for Schools – Matthew A. Miraglia, a noted school security expert


·         Police Response to Dynamic Incidents in Schools – Chief Inspector John Hodges, Westchester County Department of Public Safety.


            The  panel discussion focused on the dynamics among law enforcement, school officials and parents during a crisis and bridging gaps between strategies that look good on paper and real-time decision making in actual situations. The panelists were: Astorino; Louis Wool, Superintendent of Schools, Harrison Central School District, and president of the Lower Hudson Council of School Superintendents; Kelly Chiarella, region director, Westchester-East Putnam PTA; Isabel Burk, coordinator of school safety, Southern Westchester BOCES; Special Agent Maryann Goldman, FBI; and Detective Martin Greenberg, Mount Pleasant Police Department.

            School officials interested in having similar sessions conducted in their districts should contact their local police department or the Department of Public Safety at 864-7858.            

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Buchwald Gives Update on Future of the 6% Cut in NYS Services to Disabled

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WPCNR  ALBANY ROUNDS. February 27, 2013:


WPCNR checked in with David Buchwald, NYS Assemblyman for the 93rd Assembly District (Representing White Plains North to Pound Ridge) on the possibilities of the 6%, $120 Million cut to the Office of People With  Developmental Disabilities. I asked him Is the assembly going to go along with this, whether he supported the legislation, and if there was going to be an effort to preserve the key components of day treatment and group homes, and more significantly, the growth of new group homes.



Assemblyman David Buchwald


Assemblyman Buchwald answered in a statement last night:



“I obviously cannot speak for the entire Assembly. This change in funding for the Office of People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) is part of the Governor’s 30-day amendments to his proposed budget. It will still be about two weeks before the Assembly passes its one-house budget bill. At that point, the Assembly, the Senate and the Governor’s office will negotiate a final state budget. I have heard from a number of constituents concerned with the impact of such a significant cut, so I hope that progress can be made as the budget is put together over the next few weeks.”



 

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Keep Playland Like It Is!

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WPCNR LETTER TICKER


February 25, 2013


KEEP PLAYLAND LIKE IT IS SAY 600


Mr. Bailey,

 



I am writing to you to ask if you to help bring awareness and exposure to an electronic petition to keep Playland its current size and not shrink the amusement park or remove rides.




http://www.change.org/petitions/save-playland-amusement-park



I am part of a group petitioning the Westchester County Government to reconsider their chosen operator for Playland Amusement Park in Rye, New York.


The currently-selected future Playland operator (Sustainable Playland, “SPI”) would demolish half the amusement area (which likely would further decrease attendance/revenue with devastating results for the remainder of the amusements). Rye-based SPI’s plan will eliminate 30% of the rides and 50% of the amusement park footprint, in favor of green space and a “great lawn”.


Two other contenders Standard Amusements and Central Amusements International are experienced, successful amusement park operators which would restore, improve and maintain the historic amusement park as such.


The experienced operators already have the funds available to make their proposed improvements, while SPI has no experience running amusement parks and has raised only a negligible portion of the funds it has promised the county. Furthermore, Playland is sandwiched directly between a wildlife sanctuary on one side and a waterfront town park on the other. Rye area residents do not need more waterfront open space that other municipalities are not going to use at the expense of all county residents’ historic 85-year old amusement park.


We are finding that many Westchester residents are either unaware of the drastic changes and destruction SPI plans for the amusement park; completely unaware of the changing situation with Playland or do not support SPI but are unaware of the other options on the table. Playland belongs to all residents of the county, not just the Sound Shore Communities.


 



This petition was not started by an organization, but a loose group of people representing all parts of Westchester that came together in an internet facebook group called “Save Rye Playland”. It was started last Thursday 2/25 and has over 600 hundreds signatures thus far, half of which are Westchester residents.


 



Further information and verification of the facts mentioned above can be found within the presentations at http://westchesterlegislators.com/committees.html?id=2029


I hope you consider helping us by bringing attention to our cause.Thank you.


Sincerely,


Keith Iorio

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