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 POLICE GAZETTE. By John F. Bailey. April 14,2010: The Carrier Brothers, Jim, President of the White Plains Police Benevolent Association, and Joe, President of White Plains Firefighters Local #274, each told WPCNR they recognize the city is in financial trouble, and are willing to come to the table and talk with city management and the Common Council about ways to ease the city deficit, pegged at $9 Million,  and to discuss ways to trim the projected19% tax increase.

Joe Carrier, Head of White Plains Fire Fighters Union listening to Michael Genito discussing city budget woes Monday evening.

Both union presidents said neither the Mayor, or any of his staff, or any member of the Common Council has contacted them to come to the table and help work on the budget to cut down the planned 19% tax increase.

WPCNR POLICE GAZETTE. By John F. Bailey. April 14,2010: The Carrier Brothers, Jim, President of the White Plains Police Benevolent Association, and Joe, President of White Plains Firefighters Local #274, each told WPCNR they recognize the city is in financial trouble, and are willing to come to the table and talk with city management and the Common Council about ways to ease the city deficit, pegged at $9 Million,  and to discuss ways to trim the projected19% tax increase.

Both union presidents said neither the Mayor, or any of his staff, or any member of the Common Council has contacted them to come to the table and help work on the budget to cut down the planned 19% tax increase.

WPCNR reached out to Joe Carrier this afternoon, after noting the Common Council had no suggestions on how to cut the budget substantially at Monday’s Budget & Management Committee meeting. I asked if the firefighters were willing to discuss short-term solutions to trim expenses, salary increases in 2010-11.

Joe Carrier of the Firefighters told WCPNR, “It’s important to let you know, speaking for White Plains Firefighters Union Local 274, we are open to sit down. We recognize the financial crisis the city is in, and are willing to sit down and are open for any and all suggestions. (As of Wednesday afternoon, we have not been contacted by either the Mayor (Adam Bradley) or his staff or any members of the Common Council.”

WPCNR asked what the firefighters might be prepared to do. Carrier said he was not going to negotiate in the press. He said the firefighters were not in good position to agree to layoffs, noting: “We are currently 12 (firefighters) down. We have 9 rigs in the city, 5 engines,. 3 trucks, and 1 emergency unit. Presently, we do not have the men to run Ladder 34,andwe are down to staff to run only 2 trucks. Without the overtime provisions in the budget we cannot staff those trucks.”

Wednesday evening, WPCNR asked Jim Carrier, President of the White Plains Police Benevolent Association, if his union would be willing to forego raises, put in a wage freeze, or make other kinds of temporary money-saving if the city dropped its court action to have the 12-hour shifts for police controls voided.

Carrier echoed his brother, Jim’s thoughts: “I’m aware of the city’s financial problems and fiscal situation. I have not been contacted by Mayor Bradley, his staff, or any member of the Common Council either.  I’m not going to talk of any proposals or negotiate in the press. I’ve always been willing to do that (talk) to the Public Safety Commissioner (David Chong), and the Mayor and his staff.”

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WPCNR CITY HALL CIRCUIT. By John F. Bailey. April 10,2010: Mayor Adam Bradley of White Plains answered 5 Common Council members’ call for him to resign from his position Monday (because of the effects of his ongoing domestic abuse case), by saying, “I am not resigning.”

After a brief statement, he took questions from an assembly of media, and an observer for WPCNR, reports he handled the questions very well and was at ease, then conducted a budget and management committee meeting with no new budget changes from last week. The budget remains calling for a 19% tax increase, but two members of the committee and Councilperson Benjamin Boykin said layoffs had to come.

“I am not going to resign.” Adam Bradley addressing the media below, answering the call by 5 members of the Common Council for him to resign because they feel his court case over domestic abuse is distracting. Photos for WPCNR by Peter Katz

Forty-five minutes later Mr. Bradley chaired the first meeting of the Budget & Management Committee, in which Commissioner of Finance Michael Genito presented the budget.

In attendance were Councilmen Benjamin Boykin, Thomas Roach, Beth Smayda, Milagros Lecouna, Dennis Power, and David Buchwald. Mr. Boykin made the suggestion during a discussion of the sales tax that the city survey how much retail space was vacant in the downtown to see what needs to be done to improve the city’s retail sales tax take.

David Buchwald asked the administration about the feasibility of bonding for health care expenses and benefits, and Mr. Genito and Eileen Earl Bradley said the state frowns on borrowing for operational expenses and pointed out various pitfalls involved in that strategy.

Beth Smayda raised the matter of certioraris (refunds for taxes overcollected, due to lowered assessments), one of the main budget problems, and Mr. Genito said the city was expecting a resurgence of ceritiorari filings over the next few years due to the poor economy last year and this year, holding out little turn around. He said the assessor and he would be developing a closer look at this.

Other than these comments, the councilmembers who have had the budget for a week,offerred no other suggestions for trimming the budget which going forward still calls for a 19% tax increase in city property taxes.

 Councilman Benjamin Boykin, speaking of the city’s budget condition said, layoffs and personnel cuts to come were unavoidable, (even though city sales tax collections were up and the the sales tax fall off year to year declined only 2.4% in the Third quarter. The city is down 11% through three quarters.

Mr. Bradley was in command of the meeting, and relations were cool but cordial after the duelling news conferences of the afternoon when Mr. Roach, Mr. Boykin, Mr. Buchwald, Ms. Lecouna and Ms. Smayda united before the media called on Mr. Bradley to resign.

Earlier today, the Mayor’s domestic abuse case was carried over to May 10, with the Mayor agreeing to be evaluated for any possible potential for domestic violence by pyschiatrists and medical personnel of SANCIA, 20 Church Street, White Plains. The Mayor did not plead guilty to any charges, and did not agree to attend any domestic violence classes as is being reported erroneously by several media. The agreement to be evaluated by SANCIA was in exchange for remaining free in his own recognizance

Media Trucks parked outside city hall.  We hope they were paying their parking meters.

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WPCNR QUILL & EYESHADE. April 12, 2010: White Plains generated $3,724,875 in sales tax receipts in March, according to the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, an 11% increase over March of 2009, bringing the sales tax total through three quarters to $32,454,035. It was only the second month the last nine that sales tax receipts were up, however if the city continues this rate of spending, or even meets the last quarter figures of 2009, the city will possibly meet its $43.5 Million revised projection of the sales tax, though falling short of the Delfino Administration prediction of $47.3 Million. The sales tax deficit still looks to be $4.3 Million, but the 11% increase is good news, reflecting merchants’ reflections that March sales were up.

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WPCNR CITY HALL CIRCUIT. By John F. Bailey . April12, 2010 UPDATED 12:25 A.M. E.D.T. April 13, 2010: Carl Albanese, a free lance videographer and television production specialist, describing himself as “a video producer with a production company in Westchester, 35 years in the Media Communications Business as a Business man and family man.”

Albanese, is a  longtime city activist and close observer of city hall issues the last six years declared his candidacy for Mayor Sunday on the steps of City Hall, if a vacancy develops in the Mayor’s office. Monday afternoon, after Adam Bradley’s statement he would not resign from office, Albanese said it looked like there would be no special election  for him to run in.

Carl Albanese Declares Candidacy. Mr. Albanese with his family at City Hall Sunday evening. Left to right, Ellen LaNicca-Albanese, Giancarlo Albanese, 13, Mr. Albanese, and Kristoff Albanese, 21, graduate of Iona College Hagan School of Business.

“I’m running because of the Mayoral Crisis and the Common Council failure to address adequately the financial crisis the city faces, and the issue of domestic violence. This is a failure of leadership. It is a failure of our political system and those who run it. I call on citizens to come out and take an active roll in the leadership of our city.”

Albanese said he grew up in a family where there were domestic abuse issues. He has seen first hand  the hurt and devastation repeated domestic abuse inflicts on the family. He said not only had his father inflicted abuse on his mother and sister for years, but his sister, was a victim of domestic violence. “He (Mr. Albaneses’ father) could snap in an instant. And when he did all you could do was take cover.”

Albanese’s decision is poignantly personal. He revealed his sister at age 17, fell into a domestic abuse situation with a male 30 years old with whom she had a relationship:

“My sister spent 5 to 7 years at Bedford Hills Prison for defending her life against a man in his 30’s who tried to kill her with his illegal gun, beat her to a pulp beyond recognition. While he held the gun to her head, she fought for her life in the struggle, the gun went off, and he got killed with his own illegal gun. She did not have a good lawyer,” he said sarcasticly.

 When the current domestic abuse charges were filed against the Mayor of White Plains with the city in financial disarray,  Albanese said he could not stand on the sidelines.

Albanese said he would seek the nomination, acquire signatures for petitions and do what must be done to put the key issue of the city: financing operations back in focus. He said he would seek nomination from the Republican Party, the Working Families Party, the Independence Party and the Progressive Democrats Party, if a Special Election to elect a new Mayor  became necessary.

There would not be a Special Election unless the Mayor’s office becomes vacant through either resignation of the Mayor, or his removal from office by the Common Council, or the Governor. The Common Council is empowered, somewhat ambiguously by Section 30 of the Charter  as follows:

The Common Council may compel the attendance of absent members at any meeting propertly called, and may punish or expel a member for disorderly conduct, for the violation of its rules, or for official misconduct, or declare his(her) seat vacant by reason of absence, provided such absence has continued for the space of four months; but no expulsion shall take place and no vacancy on account of absence be declared except by the vote of three fourths of  all members of the common council.

There would have to be a vacancy established in the Mayor’s Office before May 3 for there to be a special election called within  60s as provided by Section 46 of the Charter. Otherwise, the election for a new Mayor to finish out the current term would be held in November during the general election.

Likely candidates to contend would be County Legislator Bill Ryan, who once attempted to run for Mayor; Councilman Benjamin Boykin, former Councilman Glen Hockley, and possibly Councilman Dennis Power.  Councilman Tom Roach might also be persuaded to run, should he have to step in as interim Mayor fulfilling his responsibility as Council President.

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WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL CHRONICLE-EXAMINER. By John F. Bailey. April 10, 2010:  Councilwoman Beth Smayda returned a WPCNR inquiry Saturday afternoon and confirmed that Mayor Adam Bradley had telephone her, Councilperson Milagros Lecouna, and Council President Tom Roach Friday. She did not know if he had telephoned Councilman Buchwald, (who has said the Mayor had not called him), Benjamin Boykin and Dennis Power.

Smayda said the Mayor explained to her that “Obviously, he and (his legal)counsel have to look at a lot of strategies  and potential things that can happen (in court) Monday and asked that before we take any steps to wait until Monday.”

Asked if a press conference calling on the Mayor to resign, was ever considered being held Friday, Ms. Smayda told Smayda the councilpersons , “were trying to consider and evaluate all courses of action. We are trying to do what is right for the city. As you know, the council is limited in actions it can take (towards removing the Mayor), based on the charter.”

Ms. Smayda said the Council would be holding the Special Meeting on the city budget, previously scheduled Monday evening at 6:30 as scheduled. She wanted WPCNR to assure the city, the council continues to discuss and consider the budget problem the city faces, and members of the council have had discussions with staff and department heads on the budget. The city faces a 19% property tax increase in the Budget Director’s submitted 2010-11 Proposed Budget, as Mayor Bradley described it at last Monday’s Common Council meeting.