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 THE DUMP NEWS. By John F. Bailey. March 22, 2011. UPDATED MARCH 24, 2011 9:20 P.M.:

John Callahan, City Chief of Staff confirmed to WPCNR, that as reported to WPCNR by the New York Department of  Environmental Conservation, Friday, three White Plains homes are being checked for air quality and possible air contamination from the Gedney landfill.

Wednesday, Mr. Callahan and Commissioner of Public Works Joseph Nicoletti said the number of homes checked for contamination was actually five and they were on Railside Avenue and Commerce Streets. Mr. Nicoletti told WPCNR that the testing results showed negative.

The DEC in a separate communication to WPCNR from Wendy Rosenbach, Regional Citizen Participation Specialist for the DEC, wrote, “The supplemental investigation is ongoing. Indoor air samples were taken from 5 houses along Commerce Street and Railside Avenue in early March 2011; groundwater sampling from additional wells will be done in early April, 2011. A report with the results of this testing is expected in early summer.”

Callahan said two homes were occupied and one had not been sold. Callahan was checking on the location. Callahan said Commissioner of  Public Works Joseph Nicoletti did not believe at this time there was a serious air quality problem. Callahan said testing was still going on, but did not know whether the homes would be tested in warmer weather.

The Chief of Staff also confirmed the city was still “in discussions” with Our Lady of Sorrows on remediating the softball field. Callahan said that field would be fixed this summer. It is currently not supposed to be used by the school. The DEC, last June, reached an agreement with the city to remove contaminated landfill from the field according to an official letter dated June 29. The field was supposed to be fixed this spring, but costs were being negotiated with the school. Callahan on Wednesday told WPCNR the city was not negotiating price because the city was going to pay for the entire DEC-required fix of the field. Commissioner Nicoletti told WPCNR the ash was not a threat, and what was required was to bring the depth of soil above the ash-laden soil to a depth of two feet all about the field. Asked Wednesday,if the school had been told the field was safe by the city, Nicoletti did not answer the question.

Thursday afternoon the Pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows told WPCNR the city had sent him a letter assuring him the baseball field was safe and free of contanimation, and a letter from the city consultant AKRF detailing test results of the field. The DEC has been asked to comment on why the DEC requires the field to be processed at the expense of the city, if the ash is “safe.” Mr. Nicoletti told WPCNR he does not have an estimate of the cost yet.

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WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. By John F. Bailey. March  21, 2011 UPDATED MARCH 23, 2011:

 He also said the Nuclear Energy Institute, the trade organization representing operators of nuclear plants, would be studying nuclear plant earthquake resistance abilities nationally.

In a related development first reported on Westchester County’s  leading public affairs program, WHITE PLAINS WEEK Friday evening, which can be seen at www.whiteplainsweek.com Jerry Nappi, spokesperson for Entergy told WPCNR that the trade association of operators of nuclear plants, the Nuclear Energy Institute would be undertaking a review of current operating plant construction and their structural integrity of their designs  and ability to withstand earthquakes in the range of the one that struck Japan ten days ago causing catastrophic damage to nuclear facilities.

Regarding the position of spent fuel rod pools, the most affected parts of the stricken Japanese nuclear plant on the area of the Japan earthquake ten (now 12 )days ago, Nappi told WPCNR that spent fuel rods at Indian Point were stored underground, encased in concrete lined with a 1/4 inch steel barrier.

Asked how long it would take to close Indian Point, and remove radioactive spent fuel (called for by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo last week), Nappi said he did not have that answer.

Asked if the Indian Point relicensing processes, (one plant expires in 2013, the other 2015), would incorporate its structural ability to resist adequately a 9.0 earthquake, Nappi again could not answer, but the Nuclear Energy Institute study would address that.

Queried on how much it would cost the government, county or federal, to purchase Indian Point, for the purpose of shutting it down,  Nappi did not have a figure. “I don’t see that happening,” he said.

In a news release Monday, The Westchester County Board of Legislators Committees on Environment & Energy and Public Safety announced it would host a series of informational meetings discussing disaster preparedness plans at the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant, in light of the horrific events in Japan.

  Committee Chairmen Legislator Michael B. Kaplowitz  and Legislator Martin Rogowsky have invited officials from Entergy Corporation, the owners of the Indian Point Nuclear Plant, and all interested parties to come before the committee, so that accurate, factual data can be put on the record and made available to the public as soon as possible. 

 Yesterday, Entergy Corp released a statement saying that they will conduct a safety review of its ability to respond to catastrophic events at a New York nuclear power plant. This statement comes following a report that the plant was the most susceptible in the United States to a potential earthquake.

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WPCNR MR. AND MRS. AND MS. WHITE PLAINS POLL. MARCH 10, 2011:

The Superintendent of Schools this week proposed a $184.8 Million School Budget for 2011-12.  Further cuts could be made. Presently, 48 positions are scheduled to be eliminated, including 17 full-time teachers and 6 teaching assistants, with the  balance being cut from civil service positions, according to Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, Jessica O’Donovan last Monday evening. The budget pending further tweaking means a 2.81% tax increas, (about $200 on a typical $650,000 home which would pay $8,600 in property taxes.

In the cuts, Universal Pre-K would be provided by Westchester Family Services, Adult Education provided by BOCES; Summer School limited to Grades 8 to 12, reading intervention programs curtailedand the TSAP program moved to the high school. The personnel cuts have trimmed the number of district employees 15% in three years from 1,197 Full Time Employees to 1,013 Full Time Employees.

Should the district cut the budget more?

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WPCNR THE DUMP NEWS. By John F. Bailey. Special to WPCNR From the Department of Environmental Conservation Press Office. March 18, 2011:

The Department of Environmental Conservation is having an investigation conducted into the quality of air in citizen residences near the city landfill that has been contaminated by TCEs since the mid-1970s.

The DEC reported this new phase of their investigation of city dump pollution today exclusively to WPCNR. The investigation of residential air quality adjacent to the dump has not been completed yet, and no information has been issued on how many homes are being sampled, and for how long and what seasons they will be tested further. WPCNR awaits more details from the DEC.

The information was disclosed in an update to WPCNR on where the clean-up of the dump stands after six years of the DEC negotiations with the city.

The DEC also reports a major six-month “capping” plan will begin in the White Plains Gedney Landfill under DEC supervision in July,and continue into 2012,  according to Wendy Rosenbach, spokesperson for the New York State Department of Conservation which this week was to have toured the landfill with White Plains officials.

The city closure plan though still has not met DEC expectations and further “tweaks” to the plan are required to be resubmitted to the DEC next month, according to Ms. Rosenbach’s latest update issued exclusively to WPCNR Friday afternoon.

Ms. Rosenbach said that White Plains will hold a public information meeting on the constuction to be conducted on the dump.

The Mayor’s Office has declined to confirm to WPCNR despite daily requests that a “walk-through” inspection of the dump reported by the top DEC facilities management official, scheduled this week took place and the results  of it,or whether it took place at all.

This is the first the DEC has reported inquiries into the dump’s pollution affects into the air at populated area around the city dump,though residents and users of city ball fields have smelled nauseous fumes coming from the dump for decades.

According to Ms. Rosenbach on Monday, Martin Brand of the DEC was to tour the dump with city officials this week. John Callahan, city Chief of Staff, did not know of such a meeting when contacted Monday. According to Rosenbach, the DEC update on the dump situation will see cleanup and capping beginning in July.

Previously, on a plan that was unacceptable to the DEC in the fall, Commissioner of Public Works Joseph Nicoletti estimated the cost of clean-up and cap to be between $8 Million and $10 Million. Nicoletti submitted a revised plan in February. This week’s walk-through was to discuss that plan apparently. Nicoletti was supposed to discuss his and the city consultant’s revised plan with the DEC this week. Rosenbach of the DEC estimates six months of clean-up and capping will begin in July.

Apparently, according to Ms. Rosenbach’s statement which follows, the plan still needs work. The city has already authorized over $1 Million in fees to a consultant to prepare the closure plans. H

Here is the DEC statement from Ms. Rosenbach today:

“Below is information I received from Solid Waste staff here in the regional office re: the Gedney Way Landfill (including background information):

The facility is a 52.4 acre complex located at 87 Gedney Way, in the City of White Plains. The site was used for the disposal of incinerator ash from a municipal waste incinerator from approximately 1948. The site is operated by the Department of Public Works and is currently used for the composting of yard and leaf wastes, collection of recyclables, and storage of DPW equipment and material.

Pursuant to a June 19, 2007 DEC Consent Order, White Plains was directed to investigate the environmental conditions at the site and close the landfill under Part 360 (DEC Solid Waste regulations). Two phases of investigation were conducted in 2007 and 2008, and a supplemental off-site investigation was initiated in November 2010.

These investigations have included groundwater and surface water sampling, soil gas sampling, and an indoor air investigation of several residences located near the landfill. Results on the latest investigation are pending.

Regarding closure, a preliminary (conceptual) closure plan was approved in June 2010 by DEC.

The plan includes the capping of the landfill with a synthetic cap in some areas and soil covers in others areas.

A Design Plan, including detailed plans and specifications, was submitted to DEC regional staff on February 15, 2011.

This plan is under review.

Additional submissions and revisions, leading to a final closure plan, are expected in April 2011.

 The tentative schedule is for DEC approval in May or June 2011.

DEC anticipates the project will go to construction in July or August 2011.

 White Plains plans to hold a public information meeting to announce and describe the construction activities. While DEC expects significant areas to be capped this summer, construction is likely to go until early 2012 for all aspects of the project. 

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WPCNR WHITE PLAINS LAW JOURNAL By John F. Bailey and Peter Katz. March 17, 2011:

Judge Susan Capeci, sentenced former White Plains Mayor Adam Bradley to probation on all counts this morning on Mr. Bradley’s December 9 convictions for attempted assault, contempt, and three charges of harassment involving his wife. Mr. Bradley will also be subject to an order of protection prohibiting him from seeing his wife, Fumiko Bradley for five years, subject to modification for custody and visitation purposes.

Mr. Bradley must also undergo any treatments deemed appropriate and follow all provisions of his probation. Mr. Bradley will not go to jail. He will be required to pay fines for each conviction.

The charges other than the contempt of court conviction were given a one-year conditional discharge, which means that if Bradley does every thing he is supposed to, those convictions will be discharged after a year.

During today’s court session, the clerk of the court outlined the appeal procedure. The attorney representing Bradley today, Fred Shapiro, told WPCNR that now that they know the sentence, they can finish drafting their appeal and plan to file it within thirty days.

When Judge Capeci asked Bradley whether he had a statement before she passed sentence, Bradley said, “No thank you, your Honor.”

The prosecutors had asked the judge to send Bradley to jail. Prosecutor Audrey Stone said Bradley has shown a lack of remorse and contempt for the criminal justice system. Prosecutor Amy Puerto read a letter from Fumiko Bradley (who was not in court) in which she said that she learned that women who are suffering in abusive relationships can receive justice throughher experience with this case..

 When asked for reaction to today’s sentencing, Bradley told WPCNR that it would be best for him not to say anything. After the sentencing Bradley was surrounded by family and well-wishers.

The prosecutors when asked by WPCNR whether they were satisfied with the outcome, even though the judge did not accept their recommendation of jail time, declined to comment.