The Divine Mrs. Peabody: Remembering the Lady behind the Diamonds

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WPCNR MILESTONES. By Paul Kawata, Executive Director, National Minority AIDS Council. July 28, 2010:


I usually try to limit my remembrances; however, in yesterday’s New York Times, it was reported that my friend and mentor, Judy Peabody, died. The Divine Mrs. Peabody transformed my life and the lives of all the people she touched.

It’s hard to explain the impact Judy had on my life. When you are  from a hick town (OK kind of hick—Seattle), I didn’t believe that people like Judy existed except on TV shows like Dynasty. Judy was famous for her big hair, her big jewelry and her big heart.

The crazy thing about the early of years in the fight against HIV/AIDS is that it brought together folks who would never have known each other, let alone socialized, let alone become dear friends. Judy was Auntie Mame to me and so many others struggling to fight AIDS. We would travel the world, she showed me Vienna, Stockholm, Montreal and Omaha.




I met Judy at a benefit by the Alvin Alley dance company for Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC). She was a vision in black tulle and lace with beautiful diamonds. I remember telling her how much I liked her necklace. She said it was from Harry. Well being the hick that I was, I asked “Harry?” She responded “Harry Winston of course darling”. She then grabbed by hand, kissed my cheeks and took me under her wings.

Legend has it that we got our first government funding for AIDS research because Judy had lunch with Mrs. Pat Buckley and Mrs. Buckley had lunch with Mrs. Nancy Reagan and Mrs. Reagan put a note on someone’s desk and we got our first $15 million.

Judy would never confirm that story, but this I do know is true. I got my first million dollar grant from the Ford Foundation because of Michael Seltzer and Judy Peabody. Michael did all the leg work with the Ford Foundation, I made the “ask” and Judy closed the deal. She had Franklin Thomas, the then President of the Ford Foundation over for a small dinner party. During dinner, she casually mentioned how much she would appreciate his support of our request. Soon after, we got a million dollars.

We were in Stockholm for the International AIDS Conference and someone had arranged for Judy and me to have dinner with Dr. Robert Windom and his wife. Dr. Windom was then the Assistant Secretary for Health in the senior Bush administration. Judy orchestrated a dinner on a boat that was the favorite of Bill Blass. I know, could you just … At the end of dinner, Dr. Windom says “thank you for the lovely dinner; I would like to help if I can.” I responded by saying “thank you very much” and proceeded to get up from the table. Well Judy shot me the look. At that time, I didn’t understand the language of this world. In my world, that was a simple thank you; but in Judy’s world it was the opening for the ask. So with Judy’s encouragement, I made a pitch to Dr. Windom. Soon after, we received our first government funding.

Beneath the veneer of big hair, designer dresses, and diamonds, Judy was like so many of us, a care giver to hundreds of people with AIDS (PWA). For more then two decades, she facilitated a care givers support group at GMHC that she stared with her beloved Luis. She would come to meetings dressed to the nines. She would let all the guys at client services try on her fur coat, and she would take care of us. Judy was Judy wherever she went, be it with youth gangs in Harlem, PWAs in Chelsea or a black tie dinner at the Met.

We would speak several times a week going over our lists of who was in the hospital, which memorials we could attend, and who was having a benefit that we should support. She was my strength during some of the darkest moments of the AIDS epidemic in New York City in the late 80’s and early 90’s.

Recently I talked about being with my friend Michael Hirsch as he passed. What I didn’t tell you was what I did after they pulled the plug. I went to Judy’s for dinner. She was having a small dinner party for some famous Russian composer, I don’t recall his name. All I remember was sitting at the table in a complete daze. Afterwards, Judy held my hand while I sobbed into her new Oscar de la Renta dress. She stroked my hair, told me she loved me and said that we would be OK. This became our ritual every time someone we loved … died.

Judy got me through more hospital visits, more funerals, and more memorials then I can remember. If you are very very lucky, you get to have a Judy in your life. Someone who will show you worlds that you never knew existed. I love you Judy, I will miss you, and I will never forget what you did for me, the HIV/AIDS community and hundreds of people with AIDS.

To read more about Mrs. Peabody, please go to http://tinyurl.com/2bmjdb4

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Comptroller Candidate Assails Pension Fund Borrowing Plan

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WPCNR CAMPAIGN 2010. From The Wilson Campaign. July 28, 2010: 


 At a news conference at the Michaelian Buillding today, state comptroller candidate Harry J. Wilson (R) and state senate candidates Bob Cohen (R) and Liam McLaughlin (R) today warned Westchester residents face sharply higher property taxes if a plan of state comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli is put into effect.


 


 


The secretive borrowing scheme, the brainchild of state comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli (D), would allow the state to borrow money from the state pension fund to make constitutionally required payments to that very same fund, with interest.  The plan attempts to hide the massive underperformance of the pension fund, relative to its 8% target return.


 


That underperformance Wilson alleges, will lead to dramatically higher taxes in Westchester County and statewide.  Under New York State law, state and local governments are required to make up any shortfalls in the state pension fund, and that money is typically raised at the local level through property or other tax hikes.


 


“This plan is sheer madness, and the people of New York State need to be told about it,” said Mr. Wilson, a Scarsdale resident and a nationally recognized corporate restructuring expert. “What Mr. DiNapoli is proposing is akin to using a home equity line to make a mortgage payment. It is Albany fiscal gimmickry at its worst, and, as usual, the taxpayers of New York State are being left in the dark by the Albany politicians.”


 


“Westchester County families are struggling with the highest property taxes in America, and this ‘DiNapoli Tax’ is simply unacceptable,” Mr. Cohen said. “This is an election year gimmick that will make Westchester’s property tax crisis even worse.  State Senator Suzi Oppenheimer (D) has said not a single word about this, just as she has passively allowed our property tax load to grow unbearable over the past two and a half decades.”  


 


“Record-high property taxes in Westchester are at an emergency level, yet Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Tom DiNapoli are about to raise them even higher,” Mr. McLaughlin, a C.P.A. and a former Yonkers Council Member, said. “What’s worse, this DiNapoli Tax is coming under the cover of darkness – they don’t want Westchester taxpayers to know they are about to get socked again. Ms. Stewart-Cousins has an obligation to her constituents to stop the DiNapoli Tax.”


 


Mr. Wilson said that, based on the best available information, he estimates that under the DiNapoli scheme:


 


1.       In just the first six years, the State will borrow over $4.5 billion, and local governments will be able to borrow in excess of $6 billion, totaling roughly $11 billion in actual or potential borrowing. Because the most recent version of the plan is an indefinite program, this massive borrowing will only grow in later years;


 


2.      The associated interest expense, assuming the midpoint of the publicly stated range, or 5%, will be in excess of $3 billion for the state and local municipalities combined;


 


3.      Over the next six years, the pension contributions of state and local governments will roughly triple — even assuming heroic but unlikely performance in the markets. For the average New York household, their share of these pension contribution costs will increase from just over $500 per household to over $1,800 per household – a $1,300 DiNapoli tax for every household outside New York City.


 


4.      It has been reported that these scenarios are based on the State Comptroller’s expectation that pension returns going forward will mirror returns from the period after the 1987 market crash. If those reports are correct, based on the current portfolio mix of the pension fund, the Dow Jones Industrial Average would have to hit 80,000 by 2022. If, instead, the Fund is basing its projections on its current, but also overly aggressive, 8% return assumption, then the Dow would have to hit nearly 30,000 by 2022. Both of these return scenarios dramatically exceed recent history and the expectations of professional investors. This enormous disparity highlights how important the Comptroller’s assumptions are to the policy debate, and he should provide transparency so that voters can evaluate exactly what he is proposing.


 


5. Mr. DiNapoli’s sole defense is that his plan is a “smoothing” plan that creates reserve accounts in good times. Yet two facts underscore why this defense is misleading:


 


a)      Under Mr. DiNapoli’s own projections, these reserve accounts don’t come into being for at least 15 years, and possibly much longer;


 


b)      In the only other time in New York State history that such a plan was tried, Alan Hevesi’s “one-time-only” plan also created reserve accounts but borrowed a tiny fraction of the amount available here. Those planned reserve accounts never came into use, yet New Yorkers still owe 60% of the original borrowing and pay nearly $100 million per year to pay off that borrowing. As unsuccessful as the Hevesi plan was, Mr. DiNapoli incredibly is seeking to expand it by 20 times or more – creating the largest Ponzi scheme in New York State history.


 


“‘The DiNapoli Tax’ can be stopped in its tracks if the taxpayers of New York State demand it,” Mr. Wilson continued. “That’s why I am so pleased that Liam McLaughlin and Bob Cohen are here today to alert their constituents to this secretive plan.  Every time Albany kicks the can down the road like this, it makes our taxes go up and our situation grow worse.”


 


Mr. Wilson further said that, “given the lack of transparency provided by the comptroller on key assumptions surrounding this pension borrowing plan, we are limited in our ability to exhaustively analyze it, but based on our best estimates and the best available information, we believe the Comptroller is walking New York State into a fiscal disaster. We first raised this issue well over a month ago, and the Comptroller has yet to come clean with New Yorkers on his assumptions. We await him living up to his responsibilities to taxpayers.


 


“I also challenge Mr. DiNapoli to show us other scenarios his office has run so we can see what happens to the Pension Fund if returns don’t mirror the best span the Fund has had,” Mr. Wilson continued. “For example, what happens if the Fund experiences returns similar to the last 10 years? Where is the responsible analysis, honest accounting and prudent management of our State Pension Fund?  It’s Mr. DiNapoli’s job to do these analyses, but he is either asleep at the switch or hiding the truth about this plan from the public.” 


 


Mr. Wilson said the unelected incumbent state comptroller, who first proposed the controversial Pension borrowing scheme in May 2009, needs to explain this questionable borrowing plan to the public.  Mr. Wilson specifically urged him to make clear exactly:


 


·         How much will be borrowed over the next 6 years, both by the state government and by local governments?;


 


·         How much interest expense will that borrowing cost NY taxpayers?;


 


·         How large will the contribution levels be in future years?, and  


 


·         How much worse will these problems be under more realistic market scenarios?


 

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Duration of Hockley Federal Case Not Unusual. Possibility: a New Election

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WPCNR WHITE PLAINS LAW JOURNAL. By John F. Bailey. July 28,2010:


Matthew Gallagher, the Westchester County Attorney handling the Glen Hockley suit contending Hockley’s civil rights were violated when he was denied the ballot in the city Mayoral election last fall, told WPCNR, that the three months that the Glen Hockley vs. The Westchester Board of Elections case, now being considered by Southern District Federal Court Judge Cathy Seibel  “is not unusual.” Gallagher said he filed his last motion to dismiss April 2.


Gallagher also pointed out that Judge Seibel has virtually unlimited powers to establish a remedy.


Hockley, White Plains voters will recall, sued the Board of  Elections in Westchester County Supreme Court on the contention his civil rights had been violated  when the County Board of Elections of elections removed him from the ballot because Hockley failed to file a “Certificate of Acceptance” form on his own behalf.


Among the remedies Gallagher said that could be imposed would be a new election between Mr. Hockley and the now incumbent Mayor Adam Bradley. Gallagher said the judge had wide. latitude to fashion a remedy, citing the recent federal ruling against the village of Port Chester.




Judge Seibel has a unique and excruciating choice. If she dismisses the Hockley suit, you might say she is upholding the rights of the political bosses and operatives appointed by political parties to continue to be the ultimate gatekeepers.


If she rules in Hockley’s favor, she would be making a precedent-setting decision on the federal level that would have national effects,  sweeping away the many hoops and obstacles to political newcomers access to the ballot, who find themselves blocked from the ballot by paperwork errors.


The local Board of  Elections has shown particularly pickiness towards petitions and efforts of insurgent candidates. It attempted to keep Candyce Corcoran off the ballot for Common Council due a signature error on her petitions.   Corcoran herself found a New York court decision in her favor that the legal staff of the Board of  Elections was not aware of, thus getting her on the ballot.


Mr. Hockley is the latest victim of Board of Elections vigilance and intense examination of detail and paperwork where challenging candidates are concerned.  As a result of the keeping Mr. Hockley off the ballot last November, Adam Bradley ran unopposed.


Ramifications of a new election:


If Judge Seibel were to call for a new election shortly, say a rerun of Adam Bradley vs. Glen Hockley in November of this year, this would raise the spectre of a possible Hockley victory due to the unpopularity of the Mayor that has surfaced from his personal problems which he is working through in the courts. 


However, the judge could conceivably call for a completely new election, opening nominations to all parties to run against Hockley. That type of election would put the Democratic party on the spot, (if Seibel did not order  Bradley be on the ballot), making such an election a completely open process.


The Democrat City Committee, for example, would be put on the spot. Should they renominate Bradley who might surely lose due to the unpopularlity caused by his recent domestic violence case, say nominating Bill Ryan or Benjamin Boykin, or Dennis Power, instead?


Thomas Roach, the Common Council President is not eligible since he is running for Assembly.


Another possibility would be for Judge Seibel to remove Bradley on an interim basis, in which case Roach would take over as Mayor until the election were held.


WPCNR wants to assure that Mr. Gallagher did not suggest any of these scenarios, his comment was the federal court possesses  “a wide latitude” in devising remedies to correct situations.


In this instance, it is not easy being a judge.


The lawsuit originally was filed without an attorney by Hockley, White Plains resident Martin B. London, and the group Citizens for Glen Hockley. Former Mayor Delfino’s Executive Officer, the late Paul Wood, had planned to testify for Citizens for Glen Hockley, according to court documents.


The suit names Westchester Board of Elections Commissioners Reginald LaFayette and Carolee Sunderland, two of the Board’s employees, Jeannie L. Palazola and Douglas Colety, and White Plains Councilman Dennis Power.


The Judge gave the plaintiffs (Mr. Hockley and Mr. London) an opportunity to amend their original complaint to focus more on issues of interest to the federal court. The amended complaint alleges conspiracy with malicious intent to keep Hockley off the ballot for mayor, to suppress the vote during election day and to try to manipulate the results after election day. It alleges interference with constitutional rights and voting rights.

The lawsuit alleges that New York State election law was used to violate Hockley’s right under the first and fourteenth amendments of the constitution to run as a candidate for election, his right to associate for the advancement of his political beliefs, and his right of political expression as a candidate for Mayor of White Plains.


The lawsuit alleges that the right of voters in White Plains such as plantiff Martin B. London were violated because they lost their right to cast their votes effectively, their right to associate for the advancement of their political beliefs, and their right to political expression.

As you may recall, Hockley’s name was removed from the ballot, and he conducted a write-in campaign. Among other things, the lawsuit alleges that county election officials failed to stock machines with pencils for write-ins, as required by law…..and that poll workers were not properly trained in doing write-in votes and did not help voters with write-ins.

It alleges vote tampering, voting machine tampering, and irregularities and violations of election laws when the votes were counted. There were 45 pages of exhibits, designed to support the allegations.

The lawsuit asks for a jury trial; a finding that the Plantiff’s constitutional rights were violated; a new election; undefined compensatory and punitive damages; and, legal fees and costs.

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You’ll be Voting on Paper This Fall with new Voting Machines

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WPCNR CAMPAIGN 2010. From Westchester County Board of Elections. July 25, 2010 UPDATED July 26, 2010. UPDATED 1:50 P.M. EDT (UPDATED COPY IN ITALICS):


Voters in Westchester County will see new optical scan voting machines at their polling places when they go to vote in the 2010 September Primary Election and November General Election.


City Clerk Ann McPherson confirmed to WPCNR Monday morning that the levered voting machines used for decades will no longer be used in White Plains polling places beginning with the September primaries. The optical scanners will be used in the congressional elections in November.


McPherson said the city has just received instrucitonal materials from Westchester County, and is devising a plan to educate White Plains citizens on the use of the machines, but that it has not been finalized yet.



These machines will replace the old lever machines, which will no longer be used in elections conducted by the Westchester County Board of Elections.


The White Plains Election poll worker who told us of this switch to the optical scanner describes the process this way:


I am a poll worker.  We have received training on the new machine.  Some of us, myself included, were also trained on the “Plan B” machine.  They may look the same superficially, but their operations are entirely different.  With the  ImageCast system the voter will be given a ballot and directed to a kiosk to mark it like an S.A.T. test and then take it over to the machine and feed it in. 


The scanner will verify that the ballot has been marked correctly (by which I DON’T mean that you have voted for the correct candidates), and then drop the ballot into a locked box. (It also tallies your votes.)  If the machine detects and error it can return the ballot, at which point you go back to the sign-in table and get a fresh one, but three strikes and you’re out.


Voting on the ImageCast is easy:



  • • Upon arrival at the polling place, the voter will check in with the Election Inspectors at the proper election district and sign his/her name in the poll roster book, as usual.


  • Next, the voter will be given a paper ballot and a privacy folder and will be directed to a voting booth that will provide the voter with a private location within which he/she can mark the ballot with a marking pen that is provided.


  • Finally, the voter will go to the voting machine and feed the ballot into the scanner, which reads the votes and drops the ballot into a secure metal box.

In addition to the optical scan voting machines, every polling place will be equipped with a Ballot Marking Device (BMD) voting machine. This machine gives those individuals who are unable to physically mark their ballots the opportunity to vote at the polling place. An Election Inspector will activate the BMD for the voter and audio/visual instructions will then guide the voter through the process.

Instructional Forums Schedule
Demonstrations and hands-on instructional forums will be provided by the Westchester County Board of Elections in the following towns:

White Plains
Westchester County Center
Thursday, Sept. 9, 7 – 9 p.m
Sunday, Oct. 3 1 – 3 p.m.


Bedford
Fox Lane High School
Thursday, July 29, 7 – 9 p.m.


You can read and print the flyer for additional information.


If you cannot attend one of these forums, you can:


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WPCNR KEEPS YOU IN THE KNOW ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER.

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WPCNR DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATIONS. July 25,2010:


WPCNR readers can follow the dashing CitizeNetReporter and the stories he is working on now, by following “WPCNR”  on twitter.com. WPCNR is also on facebook where we keep posting our latest findings as we find them. Check us out!


WPCNR will be commenting in our quick-draw style on matters that come to our attention. From traffic, to umpires, to scandals, dropped balls, bungled policies, and more. The WPCNR news keeps on coming on Twitter and Facebook.


WPCNR — the Top 40 News format!

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Council Requests Survey of Fire Safety on Buildings. Other Issues

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WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL CHRONICLE-EXAMINER. By John F. Bailey. July 23, 2010:


 


The Common Council led by strong pressure from Councilpersons Beth Smayda, Milagros Lecuona and David Buchwald, extracted a promise from City Chief of Staff John Callahan to direct Buildings Commissioner Damien Amadio to survey buildings in the downtown to identify possibly unsafe buildings demonstrating the same conditions that led to the disasterous Bengal Tiger fire two weeks ago. Callahan also said possible code upgrades would be looked at.


 


Mr. Callahan informed the CitizeNetReporter the investigation into the cause of the July 7 Bengal Tiger fire had begun, but he had no time frame of when it was expected to be completed.


 


 



Amadio contrary to what he told the CitizeNetReporter two weeks ago,(where he said there were a number of buildings with similar pre modern code construction), said he was not aware of a great number of buildings similar to the Bengal Tiger construction, and said it was the city policy not to demand a building upgrade to sprinklers and fire alarms, but only to recommend it.


 


 Councilperson Lecouna and Smayda urged Amadio to execute a survey to identify possibly substandard buildings that presented possible threats to patrons, especially those containing restaurants. John Callahan, city Chief of Staff, said the city would undertake such a survey. Councilman David Buchwald asked Callahan and Amadio to examine would it would take to amend city code to require sprinklers and other such safety devices through the state code process.


 


Councilman Tom Roach said he was concerned basing safety standards solely on a use basis, because he did not feel the city had that right. 


 


Councilperson Lecouna expressed that a city Fire Marshall could simply refuse to give approval for a use or a renovation that he (the Fire Marshall) felt was unsafe, recalling a building she was involved in representing in Hastings, where exactly that happened. Such a conscientious official she said “could make a difference.”


 


Amadio said the Fire Bureau and the Building Department are very conscientious about conditions and buildings and consistently attempting to upgrade standards when they see shortcomings. (Except, perhaps in the case of the Bengal Tiger building which burned out of control for 11 hours two weeks ago in a building “grandfathered in,” having a common cockloft (roof attic area) and not having sprinklers in the Bengal Tiger where the fire started from unknown origins. )  John Callahan, City Chief of Staff told WPCNR the investigation into the cause of the Bengal Tiger disaster where no one was hurt, but 7 businesses were burned out, has begun, but there is no telling when the investigation will be completed yet.


 


In other council matters Thursday evening, attended by Mayor Bradley, Tom Roach, Beth Smayda, and Milagros Lecouna, with Benjamin Boykin and Dennis Power not in attendance…the following  developments are of note:


 


Church & Barket Rehab Facility


 


****** William Nicholson, CEO of The Congress Companies said the company was in the process of acquiring the Church Street and Barker property and was apply for HUD funding for a 6-story Rehabilation facility on the site across from the Avalon Bay apartments. A new double entry drive design was shown. Susan Habel said the project would be insured by Capmark, the entity insuring the Kensington assisgted living project going up on Lexington Avenue and Maple.


 


Insight from Habel on Substandard Housing analysis


 


******Commissioner Susan Habel explained that the new 2010-2014 Consolidated Plan identifying neighborhoods where substandard housing existed in over 50% of the homes was an effort to justify and retain  HUD Community Development Funds ($985,000) for addressing rehabilation of  1 to 2 family homes that had fallen into disrepair externally and to upgrade the neighborhoods by offering low cost loans of from 1% to 7% depending on income.


 


City Community Development Fund Loans are made on the following scale: elderly, a deferred lien, paid off on sale of the property; Moderate income, 1 to 5% interest;  absentee owner, 4 to 7% interest, Habel reported.


 


Her explanation put a more positive face on the blunt assessment that first surfaced at the Urban Renewal Agency introduction of the Consolidated Plan that 50% of  housing in Eastview, Carhart, Battle Hill,  Ferris Avenue, Fisher Hill and lower Highlands were substandard and blighted. Habel said about 300 homes were identified as having 4 areas of concern and that letters had gone out to those identified, notifying the owners of their eligibility for community development funds.


 


Quarterly Budget Monitoring


 


*******Mayor Bradley announced that the budget situation would be reported quarterly with the next snapshot of the budget coming in early October. The councilpersons in attendance agreed with that.


 


Lecouna: Cappelli Sales Office Should Come Down


 


*******Councilperson Milagros Lecouna expressed concern that the Cappelli Enterprises sales building, which was intended to come down after the sales of the Ritz Carlton condominiums and turned into open space had not come down yet. Chief of Staff Callahan said the city would explore this with Cappelli Enerprises. David Buchwald noted concern about the open space on the AT & T property on Main Street, across Martin Luther King Boulevard from the New York Power Authority. Callahan said he would explore that.


 


Status of Open Space Fund


 


*******Mr. Callahan reported that presently there is $130,000 in the Open Space Acquisition Fund which is funded by profits from Starbucks. The city receives $44,000  net of the $88,000 Starbucks pays to the city, with the other $44,000 going to pay the debt service on the Starbucks building which the city built on Renaissance Plaza. Callahan said Starbucks is not obligated to pay the city more until it passes $1.2 Million in revenues, which it has not met yet.


 


Comprehensive Plan Pre Planning Committee Being Selected


 


*******Mayor Adam Bradley said he would be forming a Comprehensive Plan Committee of 18 persons from the city, the administration and other interested parties to determine the process by which the city Comprehensive Plan would be reevaluated. He said he would have that list in October. The Common Council by a revision of the Charter made in 2006 would have the final say on who serves on that Committee. The process by which the Comprehensive Plan is to be redeveloped is due by January 2011.


 


New City Website Feature will Show Council Meetings Live in September


 


********John Callahan announced and demonstrated to the media the new city website process by which Common Council meetings, and other meetings if covered by Public Access Television  will be viewed live on the city website. The prototype was demonstrated to press in attendance and is quite impressive, with the ability to go directly to discussion and common council proceedings related to specific agenda items. Callahan said the system would be live after September 1. He said it costs the city $200 a month, and the program cost $3,700.


 


No City Policy to Regulate Business Hours


 


The Council was informed that it was the city policy not to dictate hours establishments could do business.


 


Press Policy


 


John Callahan confirmed the city press policy that media should contact Mr. Callahan at city hall first to pose a query and he would direct the media person to the appropriate Commissioner or city employee if Callahan could not answer the question.


 


Trolleys Being Purchased


 


In an ancillary discussion related to the Winbrook-Post Road Task Force, Commissioner of Planning alluded to the trolley shuttle (promoted by Councilman Benjamin Boykin). Asked about the status of the trolleys, Chief of Staff Callahan said two energy-friendly trolley-buses were on order at a total cost of $250,000 in federal grants. There was no date given when the routes were to be determined or the buses to arrive.

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Winbrook Revitalization a Long Way Off. Application for HUD funds Next June. Pla

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WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL CHRONICLE-EXAMINER. By John F. Bailey. July 23, 2010:


 


Mack Carter, Executive Director of the White Plains Housing Authority,  painted a picture of a Winbrook Revitalization Project to five members of the Common Council that would be a product of the desires of  the citizens in adjacent neighborhoods after a community planning involvement process that he envisioned beginning this fall.


 


As part of this process, he said, community groups, residents of Winbrook and “stakeholders” from the business community around the city’s aging World War II vintage housing project would, in a series of meetings articulate their vision of the Winbrook of the future. Carter told the council a “feasibility study” was now being conducted by the designated, contracted developer combination of Jonathan Rose Associates and Avalon Bay, first reported by WPCNR three months ago.


 


 


 


 


 Susan F. Habel, Commissioner of Planning outlined a plan she asked the council to approve at their August  where the council would apply for a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Challenge Grant. To qualify the city has to put up $1,000,000 for a possibility of getting a $5 Million grant from HUD.


 


The Council would commit $150,000 city cash and $200,000 in city services in contemplation of winning a Housing and Urban Development grant that could be as much as $6,000,000 towards the community involvement process.


 


Habel told the council the city had gotten a the Housing Authority to commit an additional $200,000 in inkind services, $150,000 dedicated to land acquisition from the affordable housing fund, and  gotten an academic-related institute, the Michaelian Institute of  Pace University to offer planning advice and the Regional Planning Association to participate for a seed “stake” of $1 Million, which HUD would match with possibly as much as $5,000,000 for the planning process. This would possibly be awarded by  HUD in October, Habel said.


 


The council is being asked to approve this commitment for the grant  at their August meeting in order for the city to apply for the grant that would help fund the Winbrook, Post Road, Lexington Avenue planning process that would follow the “Feasibilty Study.


 


Carter reported to the Common Council that the White Plains Housing Authority had signed a development contract in June  with Jonathan Rose Associates and Avalon Bay, (a development reported two months ago by  WPCNR). Jonathan Rose Associates and Avalon Bay, Carter told the Council  are currently devising and funding a “feasibility study” to come up with what is possible to be built on the Windbrook site, the ratios of affordable housing and market rate housing in each new replacement Winbrook building, as well as mixed use development. The feasibility study is expected to be completed by October, Carter said, and Ms. Habel said the feasibility study will be a spring board for community participation and the Task Force that will be expected to give input in the fall.


 


Asked by  Councilman David Buchwald about funding for the project, Carter acknowledged that because it took longer than expected to select the developers (Jonathan Rose and Avalon Bay), that the Housing Authority had been unable to file for funding from HUD by June of this year, when filing was due. He said they expected to be ready for file for HUD financing for the project in June of  2011. WPCNR notes that one year ago, when the Common Council approved the Winbrook rezoning project without a clear cut concept of what was being proposed, the reason for approving it was precisely for the Housing Authority to apply for HUD funds by this year.


 


Mr, Carter stated that no residents of Winbrook are expected to be moved out, that all occupants of the present 450 units would be moved into new units built one new building at a time. The project, he said would take about 10 years.  Councilperson Milagros Lecouna worried about the ration of the 15 story buildings of market rate income units to the affordable units for the Winbrook residents. Bill Null, the lawyer for the Housing Authority it would be about 90 Winbrook rerserved units to 160 for market rate units in the 185-250 unit buildings expected to be built. Lecouna wanted to know where those units would be located in the buildings. Null said this was one of the key components being tackled by the “feasibility study.”


 


Carter said it was premature really to be talking to the council as the feasibility study had not been executed yet. He assured the council  the Task Force that would draw out community input from stakeholders, residents, neighbors, and businesses along Post Road and Lexington Avenue would play a key role in devising the final design and components of the development. “This is not a hidden process. We want to be very transparent. It’s an open process.”

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Photograph of the Day: Bengal Tiger site Cleared? Cause soon?

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WPCNR PHOTOGRAPH OF THE DAY. By the WPCNR ROVING PHOTOGRAPHER. July 22, 2010 UPDATED JULY 23, 2010.


It has been two weeks since fire raged for 11 hours, gutting the Bengal Tiger, and 7 other businesses on East Post Road. The site appears to be mostly cleared. John Callahan, City Chief of Staff confirmed to WPCNR Thursday evening that investigation into the cause of the fire had begun with no date set as to when the findings would be made public. (Explosions had been heard by firemen fighting the fire, during the course of the blaze, and smoke was seen before the incident was officially reported.)  Here is how the site looks today:



 

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Mayor Trial May Begin Late October. D.A. Will Not Disclose Number of Witnesses.

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WPCNR WHITE PLAINS LAW JOURNAL. By John F. Bailey.  July 22, 2010:


 


The trial of Mayor Adam Bradley of White Plains on 9 domestic violence related charges involving alleged actions against his wife may begin in late October with jury selection, Judge Susan M. Capeci  allowed today in a “readiness for trial conference.”


 



 


Westchester County Courthouse.


 


The Mayor in his dark blue suit gray shirt, dark tie appeared with his attorney, Luis Penichet approximately 10:13 A.M. in New York State Supreme Court this morning, after three previous cases of domestic violence involving violations of orders of protection were heard, one of whom was in handcuffs, who plead guilty.


 


The Judge called the prosecutor from the District Attorney’s Special Investigations Unit, Audrey Stone and Mr. Penichet to the bench for a conference, during which time, Mr. Penichet’s cellphone went off three times, which the Judge ignored. (Cellphones are supposed to be turned off in the courtroom, it should be noted.)


 


The Judge after a 40 second dissertation by Penochet and a brief comment by Stone, informed the courtroom that the case would next return to court September 23 at 9:30 A.M. for a pre-trial conference, with jury selection set to begin “during the October Jury term,” on October 20,21, and 22. The judge noted that she was presiding over another trial in the same approximate time frame, and the progress of that trial might affect when the Bradley case came to trial.


 


Audrey Stone, for the District Attorney’s Office, said the D.A.’s office was ready to go to trial with their case.


 


Asked how many witnesses the District Attorney would be calling, D.A. spokesperson, Tracy Everson, covering for Lucian Chalfen), told WPCNR the D.A. would not disclose the number of witnesses they would be calling. Ms. Everson also told WPCNR the D.A.’s office and Mr. Bradley’s legal counsel have been participating in an “open discovery” process.


 


Everson in a statement to WPCNR said:  “As to who might testify at trial, with who the potential witness would be, we are going to try our case in the courts and not in the media, so that’s when you will find out who will be called to testify at trial. The discovery material has been an open file discovery case, which means the defense was allowed to permitted  to review any and all documentation and evidence, the prosecution and the people hold.”


 


The District Attorney’s key witness in the case is Mr. Bradley’s mother-in-law, Kane Machinaga, who is presently in Japan. Ms. Machinaga assured the District attorney last month she would return for any trial date to give testimony. The district attorney’s office did not depose her on video tape in June, which had been considered at the time.


 


The Mayor faces charges of alleged assault in the 3rd degree, harrassment,violations stemmping from an alleged tea-throwing incident on January 11 of this year, in addition to assault in the third degree and three other counts regarding a alleged incident February 28 when the Mayor was charged for allegedly slamming his wife’s finger in a door.


 


The charges of withness tampering, 4th degree, Harrassment 2nd Degree and Contempt in the 2nd degree are a result of the Mayor’s alleged violating the order of protection against him five times.


 

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12-INCH WATER MAIN BREAKS AT KING BOULEVARD & MARTINE. AT 5 A.M.

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WPCNR CITY HALL CIRCUIT. FROM THE MAYOR’S OFFICE. JULY 22, 2010 UPDATED 2:30 P.M. E.D.T.:


 City Chief of Staff John Callahan reported that a 12-inch water main under Martin Luther King Boulevard at  the East corner of MLK and Martine Avenue failed this morning at approximately 4:50 A.M.



The Break at 8:30 A.M. Thursday morning.


One million gallons of water lost. Water has now been turned off. Excavation began about 7 A.M.. Traffic is down to two lanes North bound on Martin Luther King Boulevard and is expected to continue that way for 3 days, Commissioner of Public Works Joseph Nicoletti said today.



Nicoletti told WPCNR the water main break was detected at the pump station appoximately 4 A.M. (The station is manned 24 hours a day.)Police were notified and looked for evidence of the water break and discovered the water gushing in the early morning hours.


Nicoletti said no water service was lost (only two hydrants being affected). He added that the city has replacement pipe, noting that the main that broke was a 1969-vintage pipe.


It is the second water main break in three months within a block. A Bank Street and Main Street main fractured recently putting Bank Street down to two lanes for 4 days. 

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