Conciliatory in Public.Hard Ball at Table.City Rejects Fire Offer.Police Next

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WPCNR THE BARGAINING TABLOID.  By John F. Bailey. May 3, 2010 UPDATE 3 P.M. E.D.T.: The deadline set by the city, according to union sources to respond to the city request for layoffs and givebacks on police and fire contracts to address the city’s alleged $9.5 Million deficit has passed.


 


Joseph Carrier, President of the White Plains Firefighters, told WPCNR the city rejected “a very fair offer” the union made to the city on Friday. Carrier said, “we do recognize the fiscal situation is in, and made a fair offer to save jobs and positions, but it was rejected.”


 


Mr. Carrier told WPCNR he was going to go back to his executive committee and regroup. Mr. Carrier denied the city had given the Firefighters a number of positions (19) to be eliminated. He pointed out though that presently the fire department was down 9 men with 2 to retire. WPCNR notes that if the city wanted to cut the fire department by 19 personnel, they could ride with the 11 vacancies, eliminate eight more positions, to reach the 19 figure, and a reduction to the 152-man level, reportedly originally requested by the city.


 


Mr. Carrier said a reduction to the 150-man level (currently the Work Table calls for 171 positions), would “devastate” the department and take “two rigs” out of service.


 


Another source familiar with the proposal Friday has since confirmed the WPCNR analysis: 


 


“The Administration is proposing 6-8 layoffs from the FD. What they are not telling you is that as of July 2010, the FD will be down 11 personnel due to retirements this past year and no filling of those vacancies. So, in reality, layoffs will be really be 17-19 people because they will not fund those retirement vacancies in this budget year. The FD has not been that low since the mid 70’s.”


 



Earlier today, this same source familiar with the fire department proposal offered the city Friday,  said that Richard Zuckerman, the city negotiator rejected a union proposal that would


 


“give back the amount of money requested by the city in exchange for a tabling of demotions and layoffs so that the Turn Out (of staff reduction) could be properly studied.”


 


The source wrote WPCNR,


 


 “Adamant no from City. They said take the 0% raise, 15% health care contribution, pay back the money requested and still have layoffs.”


 


Meanwhile, Police Ready Proposal


 


 


Meanwhile, Jim Carrier, the President of the White Plains Police Benevolent Association, told WPCNR the police union was readying a proposal for the city which they hoped to deliver in a meeting with the city early this week.


 


WPCNR asked the Police Union leader if he felt the police department could handle the downtown “drinking district” security on the weekends if 20 officers were laid off.  He pointed out the police uniform personnel were already down 8 persons. WPCNR pointed out again that if  12 more officers were eliminated the city would reach its reported goal of 20 police officer reductions.


 


Jim Carrier noted that the police uniform compliment was set at 215 by the city, and wondered why they wanted to reduce that.


 


Last Thursday, Commissioner of Public Safety David Chong would not comment to WPCNR when asked if he felt that if there were a further reduction of uniformed officers, policing of the “downtown drinking district,” as WPCNR has dubbed it would suffer.


 


Chong noted the serious problem of retirements the police and fire bureau face at last Thursday’s meeting. In the Police Bureau, Chong exhibited a chart that showed the police bureau with 9 vacancies, with currently 206 active members, with four of those out on long-term sick/injured leave and one on military leave and 15% of tho 201 remaining actives (25 personnel) eligible to retire, many senior officers. Chong also noted it would take a year and a half to train new officers to replace retirees.


In the Fire Department, Chong reported that department had 9 vacancies., and of the 161 active members, 2 were out long-term, sick/injured, one on military leave, and two are retiring.


 


Former Police Chief Dan Hickey who worked for the department through 2002, said he could not make a judgement on whether the police and fire departments could go back to 2001 levels, saying it depended on the levels of services the city wanted from the departments.  He said he was not familiar enough with the downtown drinking district behavior problems, since he does not go down there in the late evenings on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.

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14 Speak Out on the 2010-11 Budget. No One Likes It.

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WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL CHRONICLE-EXAMINER. May 3, 2010 UPDATED 11:45 P.M.E.D.T.: The Common Council heard 14 persons speak on the 2010-11 City Budget Monday eveningmeet this evening. Four persons spoke in favor of reopening the White Plains Public Library on Saturdays. Marjorie Davies of the League of Women Voters speaking on behalf of the league, urged the city to mitigate the tax increase, support countywide revaluation of real estate properties, and renegotiate union contracts with the police, fire, teamsters and CSEA unions to avoid layoffs and lower wage increases. 


The Presidents of the Police and Fire unions urged the council not to jeopardize citizens and police officers and fire fighters by lowering department strengths.  Joseph Carrier, President of the Firefighters said the council was putting White Plains citizens at risk if they lowered firefighter staffing as has been proposed: “The council has a responsibility to weigh and differentiate between the citizens’ safety needs and the need for budget cuts…Let me state on the record, (these layoffs) have the potential to kill.”_) James Carrier, head of the police union, said he’d be meeting with the city Tuesday morning with a police offer to the Mayor and his staff. The police union head noted how the 12-hour work schedule had cut overtime in half, and cautioned that layoffs would increase the need for overtime, and put his fellow police officers at risk.


Former Councilman Glen Hockley chided Tom Roach, Benjamin Boykin, Dennis Power and Milagros Lecouna and Mayor Adam Bradley for not supporting the 1/4% sales tax increase three years and two years previously, blaming them for the present budget “crisis.” 


Rosemarie Hicks, noted that White Plains single family homeowners, if property taxes are not held down, will face continued lowering real estate values and higher taxes making White Plains less competitive. Nick Wolf, the realtor,encouraged passing the tax increase since it amount to about $1 a day for the average homeowner.


Councilmembers Roach and Boykin, stood up to one speaker and defended themselves from attacks on them for approving previous Delfino Administration budgets the last 9 years, claiming they cut Mayor Jospeh Delfino’s budget this year.


Carl Albanese, challenged the Common Council to remediate the city’s Gedney landfill and to be forthcoming on how much that was eventually going to cost the city. He also urged that when times got better in the city that tax reduction in the city property tax be considered, Lyn Huber, noted that the high cost of benefits for each city employee which he placed as $34,000 was “ridiculous,” urging all city employees be subject to paying a portion of their health benefits.


At the meeting tonight, the Council approved $285,092 in certiorari refunds, $48,528 refunded to Verizon for tax years 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, plus an assessment reduction of $215,000 for Verizon, and a $166,229,06 refund to 11 Lake Street Associates for tax years 2003 through 2010, and an assessment reduction of $180,800. The total assessment roll reduction which had already been deducted from the 2010 tax roll from the 10 properties receiving certiorari refunds this evening is $285,272.59.


The eight other properties are Harding Avenue Associates, $12,575, assessment reduction ($5,614.24 cert refund); Gisondi Family LP,291 Central Avenue, $2,462.67 cert; Gisondi Family LP, 287 Central Avenue, $8,150 assessment reduction, $3,638.65 refund; Gisondi Family LP, 285 Central Avenue, $24,250 assessment reduction, $10,826.66 cert refund; Gisondi Family LP,295 Battle Avenue,$24,000 assessment reduction, $10,431.18 cert refund; Harding Avenue Associates LLC, 30 Dekalb Avenue, $2,600 assessment reduction,$1,160.80 cert refund; Tiffany Towers,Ltd., 56 Doyer Avenue, $38,500 assessment reduction,$22,539.15 cert refund,and 451 Broadway Realty, 172 South Broadway, $22,000 assessment reduction, $13,661.48 certiorari refund.


In the next two weeks, the Council will hold their final sessions on the budget as follows:


COMMON COUNCIL AGENDA
REVISED
SPECIAL MEETING
MAY 10, 2010
6:00 P.M.


DISCUSSION:


 


5.       Proposed Tax Budget 2010 – 2011 – Expenditure Overview – Department of Planning and Slater Center, and recommendations of Budget and Management Advisory Committee.


COMMON COUNCIL AGENDA
SPECIAL MEETING
MAY 13, 2010
6:00 P.M.


DISCUSSION:


6.       Proposed Tax Budget 2010 – 2011 – Decision Night.


COMMON COUNCIL AGENDA
SPECIAL MEETING
MAY 24, 2010
7:30 P.M.


DISCUSSION:


7.       Proposed Tax Budget 2010 – 2011 – Adoption.





COMMON COUNCIL AGENDA
REVISED
SPECIAL MEETING
MAY 10, 2010
6:00 P.M.


DISCUSSION:


 


5.       Proposed Tax Budget 2010 – 2011 – Expenditure Overview – Department of Planning and Slater Center, and recommendations of Budget and Management Advisory Committee.







COMMON COUNCIL AGENDA
SPECIAL MEETING
MAY 13, 2010
6:00 P.M.


DISCUSSION:


6.       Proposed Tax Budget 2010 – 2011 – Decision Night.




 




COMMON COUNCIL AGENDA
SPECIAL MEETING
MAY 24, 2010
7:30 P.M.


DISCUSSION:


7.       Proposed Tax Budget 2010 – 2011 – Adoption.

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Hot Police/Fire, Rec & Parks/ Library Budget Reviews Rebroadcast Sunday at 11 P.

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WPCNR PUBLIC ACCESS TELEVISION NEWS. May 1, 2010:  The previous Monday April 26th 2010 Mayor Adam Bradley Proposed Budget Hearings where the Department of Public Safety, the Department of Recreation and Parks and The Library  appeared before the Common Council will be rebroadcast on White Plains Cable Access Channel 76 and FIOS Channel 45 Sunday Night at 11PM prior to the Monday May 3, 2010 City Council Public hearing on the Proposed City Budget.


 


The meeting is instructive  for citizens who wish to hear Commissioner of Public Safety David Chong’s analysis of the Police and Fire retirement situation, the heavy presense of thousands of youths milling about the downtown from 1 to 5 A.M. Friday, Saturday and Sundays, the profitable status of the Department of Recreation and Parks, and the Library case for opening Saturdays. Set your video taping machines for 11 P.M. Sunday evening.


The hearing is three hours long of the April 26th 2010 Budget Hearing 




Continuing dates to follow and other Budget Hearings to be aired through out the remaining budget process in the up coming weeks.



The tape is produced by:Renaissance Media Group, with video taping by Carl Albanese at no charge to the cable station.

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Why News 12 Cameras Kept Out of Dem Meeting: Dem Chair– A Misunderstanding

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WPCNR BACKROOM BULLETIN. May1, 2010: WPCNR has obtained an explanation circulated by the Chair of the Democratic City Committee for reasons why the News 12 and private video operators were not allowed inside the Democratic City Committee meeting Thursday evening when the party District Leadeers considered a resolution asking Mayor Adam Bradley to resign.


Liz Schollenberger, the Democratic Chairperson explains the YWCA told News 12 cameras were not allowed inside the building because children were present, neglecting to tell News 12 they were only banned until the Democratic City Committee arrived.


Here is Ms. Schollenberger’s official explanation: 


 
Thanks to everyone who attended Thursday’s City Committee meeting and to all your collective efforts to keep the meeting organized and civil, despite the fact that there were widely diverging opinions being expressed.  I will see many of you at the dinner tomorrow.

 

You may have seen Channel 12 report that the White Plains Democratic City Committee excluded its reporter from our meeting at the YWCA on Thursday night.  In fact, as many of you know, since I have been City Chair, I have never excluded the press from any meeting of the City Committee.  Some people suggested in advance that I do so at the March City Committee meeting, where there was bound to be a discussion of how we should respond to the charges facing Mayor Bradley. I did not do that, and that discussion played out in the presence of a reporter from the Journal News, which, as you know, resulted in a fairly lengthy news article describing the range of opinions expressed at that meeting. 

 

 Our bylaws specify that our meetings are open to all enrolled Democrats in the City of White Plains.  Since we are legally a private organization, we could exclude those other than White Plains Democrats from our meetings.  However,  given the elective nature of our positions as District Leaders and the fact that our activities and our very purpose are focused on public-policy issues and the electoral process, I have taken the view that it is best not to exclude  reporters from City Committee meetings.   

 

 What happened with Channel 12 on Thursday night was the result of a three-way miscommunication.  When I arrived at the Y somewhat in advance of our 7:30 meeting, a Channel 12 van was in the front parking lot.  Soon after I entered the building, the executive director of the Y told me that she was not allowing the cameramen in because she did not want them filming in  areas with children.  Before the meeting started, I told various members of the City Committee about that conversation.  Accordingly, when a camera crew later tried to enter the room, those closest to the door, including Council Member Dennis Power, told them they could not come in.  Dennis was  just acting on what I had said.

 

 Channel 12 has reported that, at some point, police arrived at the scene, and told them that the City Committee, as a private organization, had the right to exclude them if it wanted to.  That’s legally correct, but neither I nor anyone acting at my request, called the police.  The first I knew of any police presence or involvement Thursday night was when I got home and saw the report on our meeting on Channel 12.  I still don’t know if the police were called by the someone at the Y to keep Channel 12 out, by Channel 12 to help them get in, or by some individual member of the City Committee.

 

 When I spoke to the executive director again on Friday morning, because I was surprised by the Channel 12 report, she said that I had misunderstood her, that she had meant to convey to me only that she had kept the camera crew out until we arrived, at which point it was up to us to decide whether to allow them into the meeting.  I have no reason to doubt her explanation of what she meant (especially since the Channel 12 reporter who was there on Thursday night told me on Friday that she has filmed stories at the Y previously), but what I understood her to say Thursday night was that the Y – which, after all, is our “landlord” when we meet there – had a policy prohibiting TV cameras inside the building.  I passed that understanding along to others, who acted on it when the camera crew tried to come in. 

 

 Even if that misunderstanding had not occurred, the question of whether to allow TV cameras –as opposed to  reporters – into the City Committee meeting would have been a different one from the question of whether the meeting should be open to members of the public, or to the press, as their surrogates – which I have always resolved in favor of openness, including on Thursday night, when Journal News reporter Ben Rubin was, again, present throughout and, again, wrote a fairly lengthy account of the meeting.  I would certainly not have treated a reporter from Channel 12 any differently from a reporter for the Journal News. 

 

 TV cameras are, however,  obviously more intrusive and potentially disruptive than a reporter sitting in the room and taking notes, so one may have a policy of being open to the press (including TV reporters), but not allowing  TV cameras into the room.  New York State’s courts, for example, allow the general public and the press full access to most court proceedings, but do not allow TV coverage of court proceedings. Many public bodies provide for the presence of a fixed camera in the room during their meetings, but do not allow camera crews to move around freely.  That is an issue that neither I nor the City Committee had ever faced, at least in the ten and a half years I have been a member of the City Committee, because, until Thursday night (when I understood the Y to have barred the TV cameras), no meeting of ours was ever thought newsworthy enough to draw TV coverage.

 

 Finally, Channel 12 newspeople  have suggested, in on-air discussion of our meeting Thursday night, that the meeting was subject to the Open Meetings Law because all members of the Common Council were present.  This is not an accurate interpretation of the Open meetings Law. The Council Members, including the Mayor, were seven people out of more than 60 in attendance, and they were sitting or standing at different places around the room.  There was no obviously no transaction of Common Council business going on “in secret,” particularly with a Journal News reporter in the room.   Moreover, even bodies subject to the Open Meetings Law are not required to allow camera crews and their cameras in to film their meetings.

 

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Democrats ,2 to 1, Give Bradley Vote of Confidence–Pending Resolution of Case

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WPCNR BACKROOM BULLETIN. APRIL 30,2010: Democratic City Leaders (some by proxy) overwhelmingly voted by a 2 to 1 margin to defeat a resolution calling for Mayor Adam Bradley to step down from his position last night at their City Committee meeting held at the YWCA. By a vote of 35-18 the resolution asking the Mayor to resign went down.


An observer said Mayor Adam Bradley addressed the meeting, and described his talk as one where “He recited all his accomplishments so far; and restated his hope to protect his daughters (from the media, etc.).”


A second resolution expected to be offered by John Kirkpatrick to the effect of not taking a position pending outcome of the Mayor’s domestic abuse case was not offered.


Mayor Bradley returns to New York State Supreme Court on May 10 for his next appearance in the court proceeding in which he faces 9 separate charges stemming from separate incidents of alleged spousal abuse, including witness tampering.


An observer speaking under condition of anonymity who was inside the meeting tells WPCNR that the Democratic City Committee barred some media and allowed other media to enter the lounge where it was held, to wit,


“The Democratic Committee has set a new media precedent for the Press to attend their District Leader Committee meetings.


Specific Press, selective by Council Member Dennis Power is allowed to cover their Committee District Leader meetings and report on them.



JN Ben Rubin, was permitted to attend and report on the meeting, other press was prohibited from entering the meeting.



We need to discuss this unfair, biased media practice.”



 

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Mayor to Be Fair in Settlements. Unions Collaborative.Phone/Personal Talks Go On

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WPCNR CITY HALL CIRCUIT. By John F. Bailey. April 29, 2010: Mayor Adam Bradley today contacted WPCNR today  and criticized media reports “rehashing” recent budget and labor disputes of the past as being unproductive, untimely, and disruptive to current sensitive union negotiations, saying “I made a commitment to look forward, not backwards and go forward…discussions of the past produces no benefit, and are inappropriate. The publishing of today’s article in The Journal News hinders the ability for all of us (city and unions) to be looking forward.”


 


He said all union presidents, police, fire, teamsters and civil service have been collaborative, professional  and understanding in the discussions he has had with them. Asked if he has dropped his proposals for extensive layoffs in police and fire, Mr. Bradley said he would not negotiate in the press and said “My hope is that we can find a way to maintain our level of professionalism.”


 


He praised the professionalism and high level of standards of the workers in all four city unions, (and non-union personnel)  and said he had utmost respect for them.


 


Asked when the next meeting with the unions would be, John Callahan, City Chief of Staff said talks on the telephone, and personal meetings had been going on at various times with union leaders and the union lawyers.


 


WPCNR asked the Mayor if he had backed off his May 2 deadline for the unions to get back to him on layoff and benefit cut possibilities  and combinations as have been revealed to WPCNR by union sources. The Mayor would not confirm or deny the deadline, saying he would not negotiate in the press. Asked if he planned a settlement before the May 27 deadline for passing the budgtet, the Mayor said he hoped so.


 


Asked if he was not looking backward, would the Mayor drop the city legal effort to have the12-hour shift for police patrolmen overturned because it was not approved by the Common Council, the Mayor said he would not. “That’s a different issue, not part of the aribitration award.”


 


Asked if whatever labor decisions are made would treat all labor unions the same, Bradley said his goal was to be fair to all union workers involved.

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EXTEND PARKING TIME BY CELLPHONE DEBUTS

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WPNCR THE PARKING NEWS. From Antoinette Biordi, Communications Director, City of White Plains. April 29,2010:The City of White Plains launched its new “Pay by Cell” program today.  City Officials gave a demonstration on how it works at the Waller Maple Parking lot. For a nominal service charge of 50 cents, parkers with cellphones, parked in select city garages and lots (Waller, Lyon Place, Chester Maple Garage, Hamilton Avenue Garage and Trans Center Garage) May extend parking time using their cellphone. White Plains is the only city in New York State and one of a handful of cities across the nation that offers this unique program.





 


City officials gave a demonstration on how it works at the Waller Maple Parking lot this morning. White Plains is the only city in New York State and one of a handful of cities across the nation that offers this unique program


 


The “Pay by Cell” iniative will give people who prefer to pay for parking by using a cell phone instead of waiting in line at the digital multi-space meters. “This allows people who are in a hurry to pay for parking right on their cell phones,” says White Plains Parking Commissioner Albert Moroni.


 


Here’s how it works.


 


1. Users can either register online at www.paybyphone.com or call 1-888-450-PARK (7275). 


 


 


2.When people call the number, they follow the prompts and pay for the parking.


 


3.The company will provide you with a text message 10 minutes before your time is up. 


 


4. At that point, you can extend the time by using your phone to avoid a ticket.


 


Parking attendants will be able to check the multi space meters and recognize your mobile payment.


 


Mayor Adam Bradley says, “This new iniative will make parking more friendly and convenient for people visiting and doing business in White Plains.” Pay by Cell will be offered at:


 


Waller Maple Lot,


Lyon Place Lot,


Chester Maple Garage,


Hamilton Main Garage,


Trans Center Garage.


 


Eventually Pay by Cell will extend to the Galleria Garages and all other parking locations in the city by the end of the year.

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FEINER: COUNTY SHOULD SURVEY LABOR COSTS OF PUBLIC EMPLOYEES

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WPCNR THE FEINER REPORT. By Paul Feiner, Greenburgh Town Supervisor. April 29,2010: Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner, a former President of the Westchester-Putnam Town Supervisors Association is writing to County Executive Rob Astorino and to all the Mayors/Supervisors in Westchester suggesting that the county help local governments run  more efficient and less expensive govenments by conducting an annual study comparing salaries, benefits, union contracts, use of overtime of every town, school & fire district in the county.



 


 

 

Feiner said that the lack of a county analysis & comparison makes it difficult for elected officials to know if they are providing the taxpayers with the maximum value for the tax dollar. It would be helpful if we had a comprehensive analysis/comparison of pay,  summaries of all negotiated (or arbitration imposed) contracts and if every official could compare how much it costs to run their government with other governments of similar populations.

Feiner said that his suggestion would provide taxpayers valuable information that could help citizens determine if their governments are efficiently run. It would motivate elected officials to work harder to save taxpayer dollars since their costs would be compared annually with neighboring jurisdictions.

 

A COPY OF THE LETTER FEINER IS SENDING THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE, SUPERVISORS, MAYORS, BOARD OF LEGISLATORS FOLLOWS…

 

  In recent months county officials have approached local governments asking how they can help us run a more efficient government. I have a suggestion:



  The county should commence an annual county-wide study comparing:


*Salaries and benefits of Commissioners, managers in every municipality, fire district and school district in the county;


*Union contracts (PBA, Teamsters, CSEA) in each community –negotiated wages (freezes, increases)


*Use of overtime and number of employees each locality hires (population analysis). Municipal, school, fire district comparisons of equivalent services based on population.


  This study should be prepared annually and will help local and county officials determine whether they are giving taxpayers good value for their dollar. I also believe that this could also help local governments evaluate whether they are negotiating good contracts –because we will have data from other localities.


  The taxpayers will also benefit because they will have a better understanding of how their tax dollars are being spent.


  The county should seek grants for this undertaking. If grants are not available the long term benefits could outweigh any costs. I am convinced that this suggestion will result in significant savings of taxpayer dollars.


 


Sincerely,


 


 


PAUL FEINER


Greenburgh Town Supervisor

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Feiner: Legislators Could Give Cty Exec Right to Have Appointees Pay Health Care

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WPCNR NEWS & COMMENT. By Paul Feiner, Supervisor, Town of Greenburgh. April 27, 2010: I have been reading your articles and commentaries about County Executive Rob Astorino’s battle with the County Legislature over the proposal to require county employees to contribute to health care costs.


This fight hasn’t saved taxpayers a dime since Commissioners, deputy commissioners, patronage appointees and employees are not contributing to health care costs. While the blame game continues, all employees are able to continue to work without contributing into their health care costs.  

 

I have an interim  compromise suggestion. The County Board of Legislators should authorize County Executive Astorino to immediately require (if he wishes) all political appointees under his jurisdiction (commissioners, deputy commissioners, patronage appointees) to contribute towards their health care.

 

Once top management and the political appointees of the County Executive start contributing,it will be easier for the administration to get a more comprehensive bill approved that will impact other county employees and elected officials. My suggestion would result in immediate taxpayer savings and would show leadership by example.

 

There is no valid reason why the Board of Legislators should deny the County Executive the right to require appointees under his control to contribute towards their health care costs while negotiations for a more comprehensive bill continues. 

 

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Our Man in Havana

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WPCNR ROVING REPORTER.  HAVANA, CUBA 2010. By Charles Lederman. May 1, 2010: Panama hat in hand, White Plains’ Charles Lederman visited the Cuban capitol this month and files this report on the storied capitol today, exclusively to WPCNR:


 


HAVANA, CUBA– A sprawling metropolis, among the largest of the Caribbean’s historical capitols with over 2 million residents, and rich in its history as colonial trading center and epicenter of civil strife and revolution.


 


My family and I just returned from a visit to Cuba (there is one flight a week from JFK International for those with State Department license). We enjoyed a rare opportunity for Americans living at the top of the 1st world, to observe life at the bottom of the third world.


 


 


 


What was most shocking to us was the change in both the physical condition of the city structure/infrastructure and in the society since our visit several years ago. During President Bush’s second term, executive orders made it impossible for many with legitimate purpose to visit Cuba. In response, the Cubans outlawed the American Dollar, and gave preferential treatment to Euros and its own monopoly money. President Obama has managed to reverse some of Bush’s orders (whereby we were able to visit), but has really only returned the regulations to a place they had been for years before Bush’s second term.


 


Havana was New York’s sister city in shipping and trade for almost 300 years. Much wealth has centered on this fortified city of colonnaded boulevards and cobbled back streets. While an influx of European investment has allowed a half dozen streets and hotels to be cleaned up and actually painted (a newly available commodity there),buildings and streets everywhere else are literally crumbling on top of people.


 


The desperation is apparent in every direction you look. The scantily clad jinateras (jockeys) his at passing tourists to ask for dates (even with kids in tow). The families are packed three generations to a floor of each four or five story walkup. Mysterious pipes spew effluent into the back alleys, while children play stickball around sink holes, collapsed walls, and 8 foot deep holes into a 200-year old sewer system.


 


Entertainment for foreigners is relatively inexpensive, as the regime is hard up for any hard currency it can get from outside. Food and beverage and cigars are very inexpensive in comparison to our Metro area. A nice meal for four including drinks and desserts was had for less than $100 at the finest rooftop dining room in town, upstairs from our room that had housed the likes of Al Capone, Santo Trafficante, and Josephine Baker.The biggest draws are spots where famous Americans of the past got drunk on Daquiris, Mojitos and Pina Coladas.


 


The only catch is that Cubans are not allowed to go where the foreigners are welcomed. The Cuban people cannot buy or sell red meat without risking a 20 year jail term, while the foreigners eat platter-sized Argentinean steaks. The Cuban people get a bag of beans and a bag of rice every other week, $8 a day wages, a loaf of bread (if they’re willing to wait on line at 9 P.M.), after the baker happened upon a sack of wheat that week.


 


It is interesting to note, however that the one place this socialist/communist dictatorship has actually succeeded is in providing health care. We were surprised to learn of so many foreigners coming to seek treatment that the Cuban government will begin charging visitors for health/life insurance during their stay.


 


The Cubans pay basically nothing for a system that provides comprehensive health care despite an obvious lack of physical resources. There is a doctor every couple of blocks for those in the city, who has one floor as an office and one (floor) to live in. Eyeglasses that take special order and cost hundreds of dollars here can be had the same day for less than $2 in Havana. Cardiologists from around the world visit and train in Havana.


 


If you don’t get your mammogram or colonoscopy or annual physical, a nurse comes to your door every week until you give in.


 


The seminal moment of our visit, however happened to be the last moment of our visit. Yankees (Americans) alone flyfrom an old decrepit hangar and runway, while others use a beautiful, modern airport next door. While we were waiting on line to board our flight home (delayed six hours), Cuban who were flying on the same plane began to crowd to the head of the line.


 


Well, I’m from New York, not Havana, and I’m not one to get pushed around and just go with the flow. So when I (and my wife) told the natives to act civilized, they were shocked that anyone should even raise their voice in such a tense atmosphere.


 


It was apparent that they all just wanted to keep their heads down and get on the plane out of there…too bad the diplomats on board didn’t see it, as they had already been hustled aboard ahead of the wheelchairs and the children and the crowd of frightened sheep.

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