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

Written testimony may also be submitted to:

Ray Pierce

OPWDD

44 Holland Avenue

Albany, NY 12229

Or via email at Raymond.L.Pierce@opwdd.ny.gov

A video presentation of the hearing may be viewed online at www.opwdd.ny.gov following the event.

For general information about the public hearing, please contact OPWDD’s Bureau of Strategic Planning and Performance Measurement:

Phone: (518) 473-9697

Fax: (518) 473-0054

To register for the hearing and to reserve a spot to give testimony, obtain more information or directions to the hearing location, or to arrange for a special accommodation, please call the regional contact person for the hearing location at the telephone number listed below.

Video Conference Locations and Contact Information

Kingston, NY

Taconic DDSO

521 Boices Lane, Kingston, NY 12401

VC Room

Contact: Garry Krom at (845) 877-6821 Ext. 3451

Long Island, NY

Long Island DDSO

415 A Oser Avenue, Hauppauge, NY 11788

Multi-Purpose Conference Room

Contact: Stephanie Chatman at (631) 434-6136

New York City

NYCRO/Metro New York DDSO

75 Morton Street, New York, NY 10014

Activities Center, 1^st Floor

Contact: Lou Mazzella at (212) 229-3601

Rochester

Finger Lakes DDSO/Monroe Developmental Center

620 Westfall Road, Rochester, NY 14620

Room 25 Leaf

Contact: Rebecca Scott at (585) 241-5766

Schenectady

Capital District DDSO

500 Balltown Road, Schenectady, NY 12304

Building 3, Conference Room 2

Contact: Karen Francisco at (518) 370-7429

Syracuse, NY

Central NY DDSO

187 Northern Concourse, North Syracuse, NY 13212

Regional Training Center

Contact: Sandy Smith at (315) 473-6371

Hits: 0

WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL CHRONICLE-EXAMINER. By John F. Bailey January 7, 2012 UPDATED 8:15 P.M.:

This evening in a light agenda, the Common Council nominated and voted John Kirkpatrick to succeed David Buchwald on the Common Council. Mr. Buchwald won election to the New York State Assembly for the 93rd Assembly District. According to the City Charter, the Council nominates a sucessor to any seat left vacant for any reason.

John Kirkpatrick, a member of the Oxman, Tullis, Kirkpatrick and Whyatt law firm, has been observed attending two recent Common Council Special meetings, but not representing any of the issues coming up, however he appeared to be taking notes. Mr. Kirkpatrick told me when I asked him if he was going to be nominated said, “The Council hasn’t voted yet.” 

Members of the Common Council WPCNR has spoken to have indicated that no vote had been taken on who was to succeed Mr. Buchwald on the council and they did not say who was being considered.

Tonight the Council nominated Kirkpatrick and approved him. Mr. Kirkpatrick will have to contend for the former Buchwald seat in the November city elections, where Mayor Roach will run for his first full term as Mayor, Councilwoman Smayda will run if she chooses for a second term, and John Martin will run for a full four year term if he decides to do so.

Sources had told WPCNR as early as a week ago that Mr. Kirkpatrick (far left, above in leather jacket) was going to be nominated tonight.

Two other individuals were possible candidates, WPCNR has learned, but Kirkpatrick was the only man following council events as shown by the photo above of Mr. Kirkpatrick following the action at last Wednesday’s Council Special Session.

Kirkpatrick announced that his firm, Oxman, Tullis, Kirkpatrick & Whyatt would not take any business in the city of White Plains, preventing any conflict of interest on Mr. Kirkpatrick’s part.

Kirkpatrick also announced after assuming his seat in Mr. Buchwald’s former chair, that he would recuse himself in the matter of the Pepe motors item (Item 78, White Plains Cadillac) that was on the agenda, since Pepe was once a client of his.

The Mayor announced comment on the Sunrise Detox Center matter planned for 37 DeKalb Avenue would be accepted up until January 22. In a related matter on the agenda, Sunrise submitted a letter claiming that real estate values had not declined at two other detox sites the company runs in Florida and New Jersey, to rebut DeKalb neighbors’ concerns that their property values would decline with a detox center in the neighborhood.

A public hearing was scheduled to air the city plan to make White Plains commercial property owners (with the exception of co-ops) eligible for loans for energy saving improvements to their property at attractive rates from the state.

Hits: 0

WPCNR MILESTONES. From the Westchester County Department of  Communications. January 4, 2012:

Andrew O’Rourke, County Executive of Westchester County  from 1983 to 1998 has died.

County Executive Robert P. Astorino issued this statement today:

“Andy O’Rourke left his mark on our county and will be remembered by those who knew him for so many things.

· The Westchester County Center would not be here today if he had not initiated and championed its complete rehabilitation.

· The Westchester County Airport might still have a Quonset hut for a terminal if not for him.

· And our county’s North and South County Trailways would probably not exist.

These are just a few of the many things he accomplished as county executive.

On a personal note, he appointed me to the county Board of Ethics in 1995. I was a volunteer in his campaigns for county executive and governor. After my election but before I took office, we had dinner, as I sought his advice and insight. Since then, I have often turned to him for his wise counsel and historic perspective.

As his illness progressed, I visited him, most recently a few weeks ago.

Those who knew him will remember him for his extraordinary wit and charm as well as his compassion for all.

These are traits that served him well through his long career as a Yonkers councilman, a county legislator, county executive and then a judge.

I offer my condolences to his family and friends and ask that we all keep Andy in our prayers.

I have directed that all flags at county property be flown at half-staff in his memory.

Hits: 0

WPCNR NEWS & COMMENT. By John F. Bailey. December 30, 2012:

Well,  fasten your seatbelts, as Bob Murphy used to say.

Here we go in free fall, for the city, its school district, and Westchester County have already gone over the fiscal cliff.

Like congress a few years ago, they built this cliff themselves.

The city, the city school district, and Westchester County have lost control of their destiny. Not knowing the meaning of the word cut, all three have put themselves in vulnerable financial positions at a time when help is not on the way. We are not talking  disaster aid, either.

It makes no difference whether our incompetent representatives in Washington come to a compromise or not within the next 24 hours.

Here is what the city and the school district, and the county have to look forward to in 2013 and what the White Plains resident can look forward to if the city does not execute responsibly:

·         A dwindling tax base. Westchester County has informed the city of White Plains they can expect a 6.07% cut in their share of county taxes in 2016. This has been prematurely ballyhooed by some media as a tax cut. But, this “tax cut” will only come true if  the White Plains assessment roll stays the same. If the roll declines  for the fifth straight year, or the  $2.6 Million the roll declined this year, there will not be a 6% tax cut in your county tax bill. There will be a 5% increase in your city tax rate to cover the county tax.

·         Soft Sales Tax Revenues. The city is now off 4.5% in sales tax revenues, and crossing its fingers they hit $5 Million in sales tax receipts in December to hold the shortfall where it is. If December figures are off, the city will have to make up that difference with more tax increase piled on top of that 5%. The revenues are not looking pretty at the halfway point of the city’s fiscal year.

·         Financial Crisis in the School District. The crisis will be triggered if the above ominous trend in the assessment roll comes true. There is no reason to suspect that the assessment roll will stay at this year’s level with more certiorari settlements with businesses and homeowners to come. The School District will have to raise their tax rate in addition to the city tax rate increase to catch up with the

·         The Assessment Crisis Continues. The city government is the least affected by the assessment roll. But, the school district will be devastated again. Another assessment roll will aggravate a budget that faces at least a 7% increase in school taxes because of the pension increases the school district is facing, a  1.1% increase in debt service from its new $48 Million bond, and  the 2.5% step increases the district  was  not expecting to have to pay in 2012-13—brought on by the teacher association rejection of an expected contract settlement.

The district still has to negotiate that contract or face fact-finding, arbitration and worse,in face of a rising inflation rate. To avoid around a 8% tax increase  they  may be faced with  taking  savings by laying off some full-time teachers or teaching assistants, who will be the newest teachers hired. It is not a pretty picture.

Failure to cut the school budget this year in 2012-13  (raising your tax 3.01% because they could), is forcing the district into a pretty hefty school tax increase in 2013-14.

City Scramble for Development. WPCNR has learned that two new projects will soon be presented to the Common Council. There is one for the former Sholz Buick property at the intersection of South Lexington and Post Road. The other is a project for one of the office parks on Westchester Avenue, the first under the new mixed use ordinance approved to stop the bleeding property values of office park owners east on Westchester Avenue. 

You can bet that any project will be approved by the city to get the assessment roll into recovery in about three years – maybe. The last three years development in the city has stood still. Now finally it may be moving, but it’s not going to keep up with the inexorable march of the certiorari refunds. Business owners are already coming back for second rounds of refunds thanks to the poor economy.

FASNY Approval. I would think that no matter how much the South End of town protests against The French American School of New York project on the defunct Ridgeway Country Club, that the city will have to approve it.

They need the development public relations that approval of this project will generate. If the Council rejects it, if you were a developer would you  purchase a large tract in White Plains and go through what the city is putting FASNY through? If the Recreation District Ordinance affecting golf courses is not tweaked by the Planning Department and not resubmitted, that would be an indication to this reporter that the roadblocks put up by the Common Council in response to this proposal are in the process of coming down.

Detox Center Approval. This will be interesting. This is another project that should produce revenues for the city coffers. I’d expect it to be approved, despite the very reasonable objections to it by the neighborhood.

Labor Contracts.  The city has problems with the police and fire unions and binding arbitration is going to solve those. The city should cross their fingers that inflation does not glide over 3% otherwise they have big problems. With dwindling sales tax revenues, the fund balance cushion will be hard-pressed to meet a 3%-3% dictated settlement, then the city has to negotiate again on the 2013-14 year. What a mess.

Winbrook Limbo .  Ground has not been broken on the first building of the Winbrook  rebirth project so much lauded just 4 years ago. It’s been funded (at least the first floor of the first building).  Had the city managed this whole project better, something might be happening now. Instead the project, its residents, are in limbo, waiting on HUD and Washington for funding.  The huge parcel is in limbo, locked into a never-never-land project. Hopefully the masterminds in city hall and the Housing Authority have a blockbuster announcement to make that billions are on the way. That would be welcome.

Development of Downtown with Vision. The next two years the Roach administration needs to show some initiative in developing the Metro-North Plaza and work in tandem with the County and the state so they do not screw it up and take 10 years to do it.

They don’t have to even touch the station, just fix the bus station, the parking, and the plaza where traffic is a mess every rush hour. (The Traffic Commission has been alerted to this by this website and my television show  a number of times, and do nothing to straighten out the perpetual traffic jam during rush hours in the city. Hopefully the new Planning Commissioner can put a magic touch on this blighted transit hub – if only the envisioned Bus Rapid Transit system does not screw development potential up. The Roach administration has to be pro-active with the transit nuts on the Tappan Zee task force and not let White Plains downtown be sacrificed on the altar of rapid transit.

The administration is concentrating on marching development of housing and alternative uses out Westchester Avenue but the inner downtown has to be massaged it has stalled out like Providence, Rhode Island. Perhaps the new Commissioner of Planning  and BID can pull together the mishmash of the downtown as it now exists and get some districts going—financial-entertainment-park/rec. The downtown thanks to the downtown drinking district is holding its own but losing lustre – the new Planning Commissioner faces a growth problem that is the challenge of her career.

  Comprehensive Plan to the Rescue — Or an invitation to procrastination. I expect the city will raise the possibility of reviewing the Comprehensive Plan again. But, this should not be an excuse to delay doing things.

When a city stops building and developing, it begins to whither economically. The last two Democratic Administrations sandwiched around the Delfino administration were marked by ennui and slow, if any growth and a fixation on affordable housing as opposed to vibrant projects that make the city grow.

The Roach administration needs to change that mindset.

Hits: 0

WPCNR POLICE GAZETTE. December 28, 2012:

 The Mobil Station at 174 Westchester Avenue was held up at 5 A.M. Thursday morning by three men, one armed with a handgun, according to The Journal News.

 The attendent handed over money and lottery tickets. White Plains Police Detectives are asking anyone with information on the robbery to call 914-422-6200 oe 914-422-6223. Identities will be kept confidential.