City Hires Hearst Magazines Executive as Director of Information Services

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WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL CHRONICLE-EXAMINER. November 7, 2011:


The Common Council this evening approved on the consent agenda, the appointment of Michael J. Coakley to the position of Director of Information Serices, filling the position that has been vacant since when the Council decided to layoff Mr. Steward for budget considerations. 


Mr. Coakley has been hired at the full-budgeted salary for the position of $130,000, according to Karen Pasquale, Senior Advisor to the Mayor.


Mr. Coakley comes to the City from Hearst Magazines where he has worked from 2008-2011 as Director  Solutions Development and Delivery. From 2004 to 2007 he was Director, IT Operations at Corzen, Inc., and from 2000-2004  he worked with Zagat Survey. He was a software development consultant with Pinnacle Consulting Group from 1998 to 2000. He worked with HIP from 1997-98 and was Assistant Treasurer with Bank of New York from 1991-1997


He earned his M.S Degree in Information Systems from Stevens Institute of Technology in 2004, and received his B.A. from Marist College in 1991. He is a 1987 graduate of Clarkstown North High School.


Mr. Coakley begins his assignment with White Plains next Monday, November 14.


Mayor Roach has not responded to WPCNR queries as to why a position considered not needed during the city budget planning for this 2011-12 year, now apparently is needed again. The city faces an estimated 20% increase in pension contributions, 12% increases in health benefits, and a  nervously declining assessment roll, and a challenge to keep the tax levy from rising more than 2%. This year in a “budget-sensitive year” the city socked White Plains residents with a 4.9% tax increase.


 

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Former Mayor Alfred Del Vecchio Endorses Guerriere for Council

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WPCNR CAMPAIGN 2011. November 7, 2011:


 The Mayor of White Plains from 1976 to 1993 has endorsed a lone Republican candidate running for the White Plains Common Council in Tuesday’s election. The man is Terence Guerriere. Alfred Del Vecchio made the endorsement in a recorded telephone message in which he called Mr. Guerriere, an “independent” voice who “will get White Plains back on track.”


The last time Mr. Del Vecchio endorsed candidates for the council was when he endorsed Robert Stackpole and Robert Levine for the Council four years ago. The telephone message significantly did not endorse any other Republican member of the slate.


Guerriere is running against two incumbent councilpersons, Benjamin Boykin and Milagros Lecuona and Dennis Krolian. Richard Cirulli and Mike Donnelly are the other two Republican candidates for the three seats James Arndt is running a head-to-head race with John Martin to fill the remaining two years of Mayor Tom Roach’s council term.


The Mayor vacated his council seat when he was made Acting Mayor to replace Adam Bradley who resigned is position last February. Roach was elected Mayor in a Special election March 31 to fill the final two years and 9 months of Bradley’s term.


 

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Mets Do Not Need Closer Fences. They Need Pujols,Fielder; Pitchers; New Owners

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WPCNR VIEW FROM THE UPPER DECK. By “Bull” Allen. November 6, 2011:


 


Now for a real issue!


 


 


Just the news Mets fans have been waiting for!


 


The Metropolitans announced they are moving in the fences at Citi Field next season.


 


The euphoria  with which the  fantasizing New York sports press has greeted this announcement last week is laughable.


 


 



Bringing them In! Left Field at Citi Field will be moved in to the new blue dimensions below.


 



 



NEW CITI FIELD LEFT FIELD WILL APPROACH EBBETS FIELD BANDBOX LEFT FIELD, SHOWN IN 1955


 


For the money they are going to spend on the fences, they could sign Albert Pujols for a year or two. Or better yet, sign Pujols and Prince Fielder.


 


That’s whom they need to gain a little credibility!


 


Memo to the Wilpons: Fans want teams that win. They don’t come to see just homeruns.


 


Pujols and the Prince…that’s who I want. Put Pujols on first and  Fielder in left…it’s going to be so short Fielder’s bottom will be against the fence.


 


They should also bring in a big time pitcher to replace Johan Santana who may not be coming back as strong as he was in 2010 when the Mets overpitched him.


 


In a significant factoid not appearing in the glowing articles about the new Citi Field fences  is this: 108 homers  were hit in Citi Field last year, the Mets hit 50 and the Visitors hit 58.  The fences are coming in a good 15%  so who knows how much the opposition will hit next year 150 against the Met pitching staff and the notoriously inept Met bullpen? And the Mets have to hit the homas with baserunners on.


 


Ironically, yours truly, puffing on a White Owl wallop, four years ago complained bitterly that Citi Field touted by the management as an ode to Ebbets Field, could have matched the Ebbets Field contours more accurately and provided more thrills.


 


 


 


Now, three years later, the thrills are going to be there. But because of the overrated Mets lineup, the Mets are the only team that has built a new ballpark and not been successful with it. They are bringing in fences to approximate Ebbets dimensions in left field with almost a right angle fence out from the foul pole in left that should turn a lot more Met pitcher hangers into bangers.


 


How much more will those monsters of the midway, the Cardinals bang in that ballpark? How many will the Atlantas launch (Chipper Jones must be ready to start the season now and play five more years…in Citi Field) – let alone the Milwaukee maulers and Chase Utley, Ryan Howard  and the Phils?


 


It is so easy to throw pies at the Mets management, reminiscent of Horace Stoneham and Clark Griffith, this column is just too easy to write.


 


But I have to do it.


 


Fences don’t win pennants.


 


Players do.


 


Tough, swashbuckling, get-your-uniform-dirty-dive-in-the-dirt-hang-in-there-extend-the-count-come-up-with-the-big-hit players do. Gritty-control-big-stuff-brush-em-back,-put-them-in-the-dirt-go-more-than-5 pitchers do. The Mets are hoping that the bright lights from the minors who gave fans interesting moments in 2010 brightening the gloom of the Gowanus Canal will blossom in 2012.


 


Maybe.


 


But, the Tidewater Kids  were all new to the NL in 2010. In the first swing around the league in 2012,. the scouts will be watching. By June, they’ll have the book on how to pitch to them. The Mets must make some moves, but they won’t because management will not spend money for free agents.


 


Pujols in Flushing, and Fielder in Flushing would fill that place, and they’d hit 50 apiece with the old fences alone. The Mets need to make strong offers to those two and get one.


 


They won’t because the Wilpons are trying to protect their pathetic fortune, whatever is left of it.


 


Sure Pujols could stay in St. Louis. But up in the Bronx empire, you have to know the Yankees are looking at Pujols  and Fielder. Pujols for first, and Fielder for DH. Frightening thought. Where does Tex play? Trade him for a significant pitcher to give the Yankees a solid 2nd pitcher behind C.C. 


 


If the Mets spend a dime for Reyes they are nuts.


 


This is a very selfish, immature player whose proclivity for getting hurt will tie the Mets up for years. It would be far better to invest in Pujols and Fielder. The nomination of Reyes for Great Impact Player of the Year is absurd.  


 


He does not give himself up. He is a very selfish player and basically cost the Mets two pennants for lack of hustle when Randolph was the manager. And he still does not hustle.


 


 The team that signs him will find that out soon enough. Could the Yankees sign Reyes to replace Jeter?  Do they want another A-Rod headache? A player who is all about himself? I do not think so. But the Mets signing Reyes will be a disaster for their work ethic with players coming up.


 


Perhaps the Mets next move will be to introduce a new line of concessions to their concession stand menus lineup.


 


On the fence issue.


 


When I critiqued CitiField three years ago I wrote “there is nothing unique about the new CitiField, and it is no Ebbetts. If anything the fact that the new Citi Field will be deeper makes it worse.” I had no idea how right I was.


 


The deep outfield was very tough on the Metropolitans because they lacked good defensive outfielders who could not cover the real estate out there.


 


A lot of “gapers” coughed up by the Met pitchers were yielded by the slow footed New York outfielders and this particularly hurt Met relievers and starters who seemingly never could pitch out of jams in the clutch, or worse created them with their walks.


 


Now the shorter fences should turn the Mets “Elephant  outfielders” into gold glovers. This will help if the opposition does not out-homer ratio the Mets.


 


How short are the fences? From left field over to right center they are approaching old Ebbetts Field dimensions! 


 


However do the Mets have pitchers like Newcombe, Podres, Roe, Maglie, Roebuck  who can make a big pitch and live within those friendly confines? That’s the big gamble.


 


The Mets are bringing in the left field fence  to 358 feet in straightaway left…almost a right angle out from the foul pole which stands 335 down the left field line….with the straightaway left poke-out now 13 feet shallower from the prvious 379 feet.. That’s a lot. The pull hitters will have a field day.


 


From the new Citi Field  straightaway left 358 mark (just  7 feet deeper than the Ebbets  Field straightaway depth of 351 feet), the new fence moves to  385 feet in left center.  The new 385 mark meets the former wall right at the end of the decks…considerably farther to the right with about  25 to 20 more feet of homer territory from the left field foul line to the 385 mark.


 


From the 385 mark the new blue fence will cover in to a straightaway center depth not specified, then over to a right center fence distance of 398 feet. Is straightaway center also 398 feet? If so that is only 5 feet more than the old Ebbets Field center field depth (393). Blasts over the Ebbets center field fence were very common.


 


Are the Mets creating a Ebbets Field left field here? It’s very close!


 


Swinging the new fence over to right field, the Modell’s area is brought in to 375. This distance is not comparable to the Ebbets Field right field that was 352 feet.  This means that the right center fence will taper from 398 into 375, how much more homer territory this adds is not indicated by the Met diagrams.


 


Needless to say this is going to overcompensate and Citi Field is going to turn into a bandbox. May the Mets hit more than the opposition!


 


The Pittsburgh Pirates tried a similar venture moving in the left field fence of Forbes Field when they acquired Hank Greenberg.in 1948. They moved fences in from 406 feet in left center to 376 feet, and move the foul pole in left in from 365 feet to 335. Greenberg and Kiner were the leaguer’s best one-two punch, but the Pirates still finished last, while drawing 1.5 Million fans to see the homers.


 


When Detroit moved Comerica Park fences in after it opened homerun output doubled, it was not an equal percentage.


 


No lead will be safe with the pathetic Mets bullpen and the starting pitching will be challenged.


 


They should hire a known spitball artist to train the Met pitchers to throw an out pitch once in a while.

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Lecuona Furnishes E-Mail Request for Exec Session on Parking Commissioner

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WPCNR FOR THE RECORD. Special to WPCNR. November 3, 2011:


Councilwoman Milagros Lecuona who has confirmed to WPCNR exclusively that a consensus of members of the Common Council were of the persuasion that  former Commissioner of Parking, Recreation & Parks Albert Moroni should be dismissed after learning of Moroni’s accident with a city vehicle October 24 from the Mayor, (12 days after Moroni’s accident took place), furnished a copy of her e-mailed request to the Mayor and the city Chief of Staff for an Executive Session on the Moroni matter that was to have taken place October 26.


The letter, shown below, shows Ms. Lecuona asked for an Executive Session to discuss the incident and rules on the  use of city vehicles. Ms. Lecuona explained to WPCNR in the previous article about her concern that she had not been told of the incident by the Mayor’s office had prompted her to write the e-mail to Mayor Roach, his Chief of Staff and all six other councilperons, having learned of it from White Plains citizens at a public event on Sunday, October 23 (11 days after the incident).


Ms. Lecuona told WPCNR in a statement Wednesday afternoon,


“As you are very well aware, Mr. Moroni submitted his resignation to the Mayor before the common council had to take any actions on this matter at the work session (scheduled for Wednesday evening, October 26).”


Ms. Lecuona told WPCNR in her interview with John Bailey last night that she had no idea Mr. Moroni had resigned until she read it in the media Wednesday, The Mayor’s office had not informed her of the Moroni resignation, she said.


Whether or not the Mayor’s office informed the 5 other councilpersons is not known, as details about that wild Monday on the Moroni matter have not been thoroughly explained except by Ms. Lecuona.


Councilman David Buchwald,  confirmed to WPCNR the Mayor had called him asking him his opinion on Moroni’s behavior (in the past, not related to the automobile accident), and Buchwald to WPCNR he was of the opinion Moroni should be dismissed.


Councilpersons Smayda and Boykin have not responded to WPCNR queries about the incident and John Martin and Dennis Power acknowledged being told of the incident the Monday, October 24. Power said he had no comment on anything past being told of the incident or his feelings on whether Moroni should depart, and Martin acknowledged the Mayor contacted him to explain the accident, but denied the council was of the opinion Moroni should leave.


The letter from Lecuona (with e-mail addresses deleted to protect the innocent) reads:


From: Milagros Lecuona
Date: Mon, Oct 24, 2011 at 2:19 PM
Subject: item for work session
To: John Callahan , Thomas Roach
Cc: Beth Smayda , Ben Boykin , David Buchwald , Dennis J Power t>, “Martin, John”


Please add on Wednesday agenda for the council work session the following items:

1. Take home city cars policy
2. Incident with a commissioner driving a city car

let me know if item 2 needs to be discussed in executive session.

Thanks
Milagros

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Con Ed Addressing final 10,000 Electricless.

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WPCNR THE POWER NEWS. From Consolidated Edison Media Relations. (EDITED) November 3, 2011:


Con Edison as of 6 P.M. Wednesday evening, had restored almost 120,000 customers, and has over 2,000 company, contractor, and mutual aid utility workers dealing with the remaining outages, all in Westchester, affecting 10,000 customers.


A total of 4,160 are without power as of 10 A.M. this morning, including 115 in White Plains.


Crews have addressed larger outages and are moving on to smaller groups of customers and individuals. Some of these restoration efforts are more complex and time consuming due to extensive debris clearing. The goal remains to make progress as quickly as possible without compromising public or worker safety, which remains the priority.


The contractor and mutual aid crews are from upstate New York and Long Island, as well as from Tennessee, the Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania.


As of 10:15 A.M. this morning, Con Edison reports the hardest-hit communities remain Yonkers (591), Cortlandt(319), Greenburgh(230), New Castle (826), North Castle(1,485), Mount Pleasant (763) and Yorktown (715).


The Con Ed Power Outage Scoreboard November 3, 2011:


Ardsley  30 (DOWN 66 in 24 hours)

Bedford  229 (DOWN 300)

Briarcliff Manor  105 (Down 253)

Bronxville  39 (DOWN 124)

Buchanan 1

Cortlandt 319(down1,233)

Croton 168 (Down 594)

Dobbs Ferry  3 (Down 97)

Eastchester  205 (Down 893)

Elmsford  23 (No Change in 24 Hours)

Greenburgh 230 (Down 715)

Harrison 33 (down 91)

Hastings 31 (Down 126)

Irvington 13 (Down 79)

Larchmont 2 (Down 1)

Mamaroneck  186(Down 65)

Mount Kisco 69 (Down 271)

Mount Pleasant 763 (down 697)

Mount Vernon 92 (Down 347)

New Castle 826 (Down 1,105)

New Rochelle 71 (Down 644)

North Castle 1,485

Ossining 206

Peekskill 63

The Pelhams 54 (Down 78)

Pleasantville 119 (Down 601)

Port Chester 34

Rye Brook 232

Rye City 29 (Down 42)

Scarsdale 119 (down 247)

Sleepy Hollow 40 (Down 92)

Tarrytown 123 (down 91)

Tuckahoe  32 (down 3)

White Plains 115 (down 100)

Yonkers 591 1,938 (Down 1,347)

Yorktown 715 (DOWN 684))

 

 

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Moroni Told to Resign Or He Would Be Dismissed: Lecuona

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WPCNR City Hall Circuit. By John F. Bailey. November 2, 2011:


 


Tonight,Councilperson Milagros Lecuona told WPCNR she  pressed the Mayor on Commissioner Albert Moroni’s failure to report his accident October 12 when he was cut off by a truck which did not stop, causing him to drive his city car over a curb in Valley Cottage.


 


She  confirmed to WPCNR she first learned of the Moroni incident on Sunday October 23, attending an event from persons at the event. Later in the day, she told WPCNR she encountered Mayor Tom Roach at another function  who acknowledged to her that Moroni had had an accident but it was “under investigation because there was no (police) record.”  


 


Lecuona said she called the Mayor’s Office on Monday for an explanation of the incident and was told the Mayor was in a meeting. She then wrote an e-mail, which she promised to furnish to WPCNR.


 


Her e-mail was sent to the Mayor, City Chief of Staff John Callahan, and the rest of the Common Council. It  asked the Moroni matter be added to the agenda in  an Executive Session at the scheduled October 26 Work Session one week ago.


 


Lecuona said that she then received a phone call from the Mayor who explained to her there was no record of the incident.


 


Lecuona told WPCNR she was troubled that Mr. Moroni did not call the police when the incident happened.  “I am a person who has an event involving DWI in my past. The first thing I would want to do (if I had an accident)  is  call the police to have them confirm I was not under the influence of any alcohol. If you ran into an accident, you would want to get it clear  you would call the police, especially so when you are driving a car belonging to the city.”


 


Lecuona said she could not speak for all the councilpersons, but she thought the Mayor called all the councilspersons.  She told WPCNR the Mayor “got responses (to the incident).”


 


Councilman David Buchwald  told WPCNR Tuesday afternoon that the Mayor had called him Monday afternoon, the 24th and “He asked me about what I thought about Mr. Moroni’s behavior (not about the accident).” Asked specifically if the Mayor asked Buchwald  if he Buchwald thought Moroni should be dismissed, Buchwald said no, the Mayor had not.


 


Buchwald said when asked about Mr. Maroni’s behavior that “I came to the belief that it would be better for White Plains to have someone else in that position.”


 


Councilman Dennis Power told WPCNR Tuesday afternoon November 1 (yesterday)that the Mayor had called Mr. Power that Monday afternoon October 24 and told him about the Moroni accident. Power declined to comment on whether the Mayor had asked him about Moroni’s behavior, whether Power felt Moroni should be dismissed.


 


Councilman John Martin told WPCNR the Mayor had called him Monday and told him about the accident but had not asked him about Moroni’s behavior or his opinion on whether Moroni should be relieved of his duties. Asked if the Common Council had agreed Moroni should be let go by the city, Martin said “No.”


 


Councilperson Beth Smayda and Council President Benjamin Boykin have not responded to WPCNR questions about the events of Monday October 24 which Lecouna says lead to Mr. Moroni’s resignation on Tuesday October 25.


 


WPCNR asked Ms. Lecuona this evening if the council sentiment after the Mayor’s phone calls was that Mr. Moroni should leave because of the incident, she answered, “Definitely.”


 


Her second communication with the Mayor that Monday, she said  “The Mayor told me that Mr. Moroni would be asked for his resignation, and if he did not tender his resignation, he would be dismissed.”


 


Mr. Moroni’s resignation was announced Tuesday, October 25 (the next day) by the Mayor’s office without fanfare, (after being first reported by WPCNR),saying Moroni had resigned in a statement that read:


 


“The Mayor accepted Commissioner Moroni’s resignation yesterday (October 24). The resignation will officially take effect in 30 days. He will not be in the office during the time.”


 


On Wednesday, October 26  Gannett’s Richard Liebson interviewed Moroni, and reported based on his interview with Moroni that, the Commissioner said he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and that was behind his resignation, and it had nothing to do with the accident incident.


 


Mr. Moroni did not respond to efforts of WPCNR through Parking Department officials to get his side of the story, but our lines are open.


 


The extent of damage to the city vehicle and a picture of the damage  has also not been discussed or produced by the city and The Mayor’s Office has not responded to WPCNR’s questions as whether the Mayor made the phone calls to councilpersons and what he asked them or the intent of the conversations or whether he gathered a consensus opinion that Moroni should depart.


 


WPCNR requested a statement from the Mayor’s office on the reports of the Monday October 23 events, but it has not responded.


 


 


 

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More Progress on Hooking Up White Plains…135 still Powerless

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WPCNR CITY CIRCUIT. From Karen Pasquale, Senior Advisor to the Mayor. November 2, 2011 3:15 P.M. E.D.T.:


Although significant progress has been made, Con Edison advises us that 135 “accounts” out of over 23,000 in the City remain out of service.

 

Any residents in need of assistance should contact the Mayor’s office at (914) 422-1411.

 

We remain in continuing contact with Con Edison, however, due to the widespread nature of the storm damage and the severe impact up-county, restoration efforts may continue to be delayed, particularly to “single home outages.”

 

Dry ice is available through Con Edison at the following locations from 1:00 PM – 7:00 PM today or until supplies are depleted:

 

–  The Midway Shopping Center, 955 Central Park Avenue,  Yonkers/Scarsdale border

 

–   IBM/Town Park, 205 Business Park Drive, Armonk

 

–   BJ’s, 3303 Crompound Road, Yorktown Heights

 

 

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Update on White Plains Power Conditions

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WPCNR THE POWER NEWS. November 2,2011  UPDATED 9 A.M.:


The number of White Plainsians without power has been cut to 219 overnight. Westchester residents still unconnected to Con Edison is down to 14,860 as of 9 A.M. of 348,198 Con Ed customers.


Con Edison released this update as of Tuesday, 8:40 A.M.



It should be noted that more powerouts are still being reported and figures have gone up in some locations.


The Con Edison Power Restoration ScoreBoard

Number Power Outages as of 9 A.M.November 2

 

Ardsley  96

Bedford  515 (Up 75)

Briarcliff Manor 358 (Down 1,000)

Bronxville  163

Buchanan 4

Cortlandt 1,552 (down 700)

Croton 763 (Down 400)

Dobbs Ferry  106 (Down 100)

Eastchester  1,098 (Down 200)

Elmsford  23 (Down 100)

Greenburgh 945 (Down 1,679)

Harrison 124 (down 20)

Hastings 157 (Down 200)

Irvington 92 (Down 230)

Larchmont 3

Mamaroneck  251 (Down 500)

Mount Kisco 340 (Down 120)

Mount Pleasant 1,454 (down 700)

Mount Vernon 439 (Down 400)

New Castle 1,931 (Down 1,000)

New Rochelle 715 (Down 800)

North Castle 1,996 (Down 273)

The Pelhams 132 (Down 400)

Pleasantville 720 (Down 436)

Port Chester 34

Rye Brook 232(Down 157)

Rye City 71 (Down 50)

Scarsdale 366 (down 634)

Sleepy Hollow 132

Tarrytown 214 (down 74)

Tuckahoe  35 (down 16)

White Plains 219 (down 100)

Yonkers 1,938 (Down 1,260

Yorktown 1,599 (Up)

 

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THE Restoration Continues — 781 WP Residents Powerless.

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WPCNR THE POWER NEWS.From Consolidated Edison Media Relations (Edited and Annotated by WPCNR). UPDATED October 31,2011 10:45 P.M.:


 


As of 10:30 P.M, 44,662 County customers represent 12% of Con Ed’s customers remain without power. After the storm ended Saturday evening, 22% of  county customers were reported without power (77,000). It should be noted though that more customers were reporting outages through Sunday.


 


Locally in White Plains, at 10:30 P.M. 781 of 23,854 Con Ed White Plains customers are without power.


 


Karen Pasquale of the Mayor’s Office reports as of 3:30 P.M.:


 


“DPW has largely addressed those roadway blockages that did not involve downed wires. The focus at this point is on approximately a dozen locations throughout the City where DPW crews are working with ConEd crews to clear blocked or partially blocked roadways where downed wires are also involved. The City has about 60 employees actively working on storm clean-up. The Mayor has been in contact with Con Ed throughout.”


 


Around the county, at 10:45 P.M., Yonkers (5,414 are powerless and rising); Cortlandt (4,420), Greenburgh (3,396),New Castle (3,375 without power, about a third the population served), North Castle(3,082, ¾ of Con Ed customers there), Mount Vernon(2,147) and Yorktown (2,341) are the most affected. Progress has been made substantially in the Castles, Greenburgh, Cortlandt and Yorktown


 





THE CON ED POWER SCOREBOARD 10:30 P.M.


 


Ardsley 229


Bedford 573


Briarcliff Manor 1,567


Bronxville 165


Buchanan 27


Cortlandt 4,420


Croton 1,145


Dobbs Ferry 311


Eastchester 1,441


Elmsford 166


Greenburgh 3,396


Harrison 388


Hastings 489


Irvington 826


Larchmont 13


Mamaroneck 865


Mount Kisco 1,939


Mount Pleasant 2,990


Mount Vernon 2,147


New Castle 3,375


North Castle 3,082


New Rochelle 1,588


Pelham 718


Ossining 1,833


Peekskill 776


Pleasantville 1,055


Port Chester 66


Rye Brook 443


Rye City 209


Scarsdale 2,015


Sleepy Hollow 542


Tarrytown 730


Tuckahoe 230


White Plains 781


Yonkers 5,414,341


Yorktown 2


 

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County Executive Assesses Storm Damage

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WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From the Westchester County Department of Communications. October 30, 2011:


Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino today began assessing damage from the unseasonable snowstorm that hit Westchester County yesterday, as the cleanup effort got underway.


This morning the county executive has been in communication with the county’s municipalities to determine what resources are needed to assist in the storm’s cleanup. At this stage, the situation remains precarious, and Astorino advised the public to use caution as we dry out. He urged residents not to go near downed power lines or overexert themselves shoveling the heavy, wet snow.


“We’re working in systematic stages to get the county back to normal as quickly as possible,” said Astorino. “In order to restore power, trees and other debris needs to be cleared so the streets can be plowed, and then once the roads are clear, crews can begin working on the lines. The good news is that it’s a warm day and we’re not fighting the elements. I urge everyone to use caution and common sense when digging out.”


Across the county, approximately 70,000 ConEd and 29,800 NYSEG customers are currently without power. The county has been in contact with both utilities and has been assured that they are working rapidly to make restorations. As of noon Sunday, there have been no official estimates on when restorations would be completed. Astorino advised residents to report any outages or downed lines to their respective company. The top priority has been to restore electricity to two nursing homes in the Purdy’s section of North Salem. Approximately 600 residents in the Waterview and Salem Hills facilities are without power.


There are numerous issues on the roadways due to downed trees and icy conditions. Part of the Bronx River Parkway is closed in both directions from the Sprain Brook Parkway to Scarsdale Road, in addition to closures at Crane Road and the northbound lanes south of Elm Street. The Hutchinson River Parkway is partially closed on the ramp to the Cross County Parkway westbound. The Beeline buses and Paratransit systems are operating on or close to schedule, with scattered detours.


For residents without power, the following shelters have been opened:


·        Bedford at the Bedford Community Center


·        Yorktown: Copper Beach Middle School


·        Croton: Heating Comfort Station is open in the Municipal Building, 1 Van Wyck Street, Croton


For more information, residents may also call 2-1-1 for non-emergencies and can check the county’s website www.westchestergov.com for periodic updates.


 

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