Feiner: Offer $$$ to Burbs to Invite Affordable Housing In

Hits: 0

WPCNR THE FEINER REPORT. By Paul Feiner, Greenburgh Town Supervisor. August 24, 2009:

Westchester County officials should consider providing financial incentives to neighborhoods that agree to implement the desegregation agreement–which will require 750 affordable homes or apartments, 630 which must be provided in towns and villages where black and hispanic residents make up a small portion of the community.  I suggest that Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano and the members of the Westchester County Board of Legislators schedule a meeting with all the mayors & Town Supervisors to discuss the implementation of any affordable housing plan.



, comptroller’s office should be asked to sign off on the plan.

As a former member of the Housing Committee of the Westchester County Board of Legislators and as  Town Supervisor of Greenburgh – I have been very interested in affordable housing initiatives. In recent decades almost every elected official has supported affordable housing until it’s proposed in their community. Voters usually support the election of candidates who stand for affordable housing until the proposed units are recommended in their back yards.  The aggressive NIMBY reactions from residents in most communities in Westchester against any affordable housing  has resulted in few affordable housing units being built in the county in recent decades.

Recently the Greenburgh Town Board approved a zoning change to allow for workforce housing in the Fulton Park neighborhood. Although the housing is going to be situated across the street from a deli,  a Verizon office building & Staples  store – many residents came out against the proposal. They also motivated other civic associations within the town to oppose the project.  The location of this complex is ideal for affordable housing – within walking distance from  downtown White plains, the White Plains train station, Central Ave.  The site was previously used for homeless housing and before that was a sleezy hotel. If an affordable housing proposal for working people at this location is controversial – it is not unreasonable to assume that there will be significant opposition to all the units of housing that are proposed by the county–no matter where it is located.

 

If the county enters into a stipulation with the federal government and promises to build affordable housing within the county – it is important that a plan be implemented to reduce neighborhood opposition. If neighborhoods receive benefits if housing is placed in their community – members of the community might reluctantly support the housing instead of fighting it.

 

The county should consider offering  to acquire and pay for additional open space in the immediate neighborhoods impacted by the housing units.  Another financial incentive that should be considered: the county should pay for the costs of educating the additional children who will be attending the public schools. Perhaps, additional grants could be made by the county to the affected school district to provide enhancements for other students (such as free SAT preparation courses). Other financial incentives to neighborhoods that are impacted by any stipulation should be considered. 

 

 Some people might suggest that it’s unfair for the county to reward neighborhoods that accept affordable housing. I disagree.  Neighborhoods are accepting a social responsibility that others neighborhoods don’t want.   The bottom line: The county should make affordable housing so appealable to neighborhoods that residents feel that their property values will go up because they will receive amenities not available to others  if the housing is placed near them.  Maybe we can make affordable housing so appealable that communities will compete for the privilege of having affordable housing within their boundaries.

 

Obviously, if this kind of agreement is implemented – a legal agreement will have to be approved. The State Attorney General’s office

Posted in Uncategorized

Assisted Living Facilities Not Required to Have Emergency Power On Site: State

Hits: 0


WPCNR THE POWER NEWS. By John F. Bailey. UPDATED 3:30 P.M. E.D.T., August 20, 2009: According to the New York State Department of Health, New York state “assisted living facilities” like the Esplanade Senior Residence in White Plains are not required to have on premises an emergency source of power in case of a power outage.


 


The question of a backup power source came up after the 130 tenants of The Esplanade were without power for about five hours Thursday evening as result of a burned out feeder cable beneath Mamaroneck Avenue.





According to Jeffrey Hammond, spokesperson for the New York State Department of Health, “Assisted living facilities are required to have in place and to follow an established protocol to insure the comfort and safety of the residents.” Asked if this stopped short of requiring a source of emergency power, Hammond said  that was correct.


 


Last night, White Plains Department of Public Safety opted not to attempt to evacuate the 130 tenants of the Esplanade, because of the difficulty and health risks involved.


 


Currently there are two assisted living facilities planned for construction in White Plains, the Kensington assisted living facility on Maple Avenue and Longview Avenue and the North Street Community senior condominiums and assisted living facility.


 


Frank Pagani of Thompson & Bender, speaking for the North Street Community  reports this afternoon that the North Street Community assisted living facility planned for the former St. Agnes Hospital site will have total emergency backup: “Regarding your inquiry, the assisted living facility planned for North Street will have 100% back up for life safety operations (sprinklers, emergency lighting, automatic doors) and the Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning system. And, in about 3-4 months, building 311 (doctors’ offices facility) will be 100% backed up in case of a power failure.”


 


Damon Amadio, White Plains Commissioner of Building, advised WPCNR Thursday afternoon that the Kensington whose plans have not been finalized was required to have emergency back up for its fire pump, elevators, and lighting, and said he’d be very surprised if the building was not planning on installing a full power backup facility. Amadio said the Kensington was required to by code because of its height and number of proposed residents.


 


Amadio reported that nursing homes in the city were required by national and state law to have full emergency power backup systems. He said that facilities without backup systems have been known to contract with outside generator-supply companies to rent generators to keep the facilities operating during an extended power outage period. He said according to the city code, buildings were not allowed to keep buildings occupied when the temperature in them dropped below 50 degrees, but there was no city ordinance saying a building could not be occupied when it reached a maximum temperature. Amadio was checking into whether or not the Senior Armory Residence had an emergency generator.


 


Mr. Hammond of the Public Affairs Office of the Department of Health said that persons  as a Hotline persons can call to report concerns they have about assisted living facilities which keeps identity anonymous. That HOTLINE is 1-866-893-6772.


 


The Department of Communications of Westchester County told WPCNR that the Esplanade and all other assisted living facilities in the county are strictly under the jurisdiction of the New York State Department of Health, which regulates how those facilities are constructed and managed.

Posted in Uncategorized

Con Edison Restores Power to Esplanade

Hits: 0

WPCNR THE POWER NEWS. UPDATED 1:35 P.M. E.D.T. August 20, 2009 UPDATED from 11 P.M. E.D.T. Thursday evening.:  White Plains Department of Public Safety reports this morning that power was restored to 95 South Broadway, the Esplanade Senior Residence as of 11:30 P.M. Thursday night after police, fire and EMS personnel spent the evening checking on individual residents to see that they had water and were not suffering ill effects from the heat.


Bob McGee, spokesperson for Con Edison said this afternoon,  exact cause of what circumstances created the feeder cable outage are still under investigation: John, we ran the shunt to expedite repairs on the feeder in an effort to normalize the system as quickly as possible. We won’t know what caused the cable to fail till we do an autopsy at the Cable Center.


McGee confirmed at 10:50 A.M. Thursday morning that “the generator was brought in (by Con Ed) but not used. We managed to get a feeder repaired in the meantime. The generator remains on standby at the site, though. We did run a shunt. I am trying to confirm whether or not it was used. Ongoing work to repair the burnouts will last about a week.”


Deputy Commissioner of Public Safety Daniel Jackson gave WPCNR this update as of 8:30 this morning on traffic:


All lights functioning properly / power was restored to 95 S Broadway at approx 2330hrs (Con-Ed generator brought to location)


Mamk Av open for rush hour.  Work scheduled for later in the day may close a lane in each direction betwen Post and Maple. Hamilton Av (from Cottage to MLK) – One lane closed on west side

60 So. Broadway – Work scheduled for daytime /  currently road is open.

Lyon Pl (Con – Ed working in front of 95 S. Broadway) / Road open


 


Con Ed pays the O.T.


Later Thursday morning, Commissioner Jackson advised WPCNR that “about 10 police and 15 fire personnel were on scene at the busiest point.  Con Edison will be paying the cost of any overtime incurred, including the officers on traffic control needed during the continuing repairs.” He confirmed only one person transported to the hospital for difficulty breathing.


Bob McGee, spokesman for Consolidated Edison told WPCNR Thursday  morning that a feeder cable broke at 7:37 P.M. Wednesday night and Con Ed received calls from 55-75 South Broadway and the Esplanade shortly thereafter. He is checking at this time to confirm whether power has been restored by running wire to the Esplanade or whether a generator is being used.McGee said that the cause of such feeder cable outages is a build up of heat underground during a heat wave and they usually take place about three days into a heatwave. He said it makes no difference whether it is new feeder cable or old that the buildup of heat will result in cable fires the longer a heat wave continues. This was the first Consolidated Edison power outage of the summer in White Plains this summer.

Deputy Commissioner of Public Safety John Cullen reported that  police and fire personnel and EMS medical personnel were checking room to room at the Esplanade assisted living facility at 95 South Broadway, checking to see that residents are all right, and supplying water to them as needed. Cullen said fire personnel were attempting to ventilate the building while power was waiting to be restored. There were no plans to evacuate the residence where 130 senior residents live. One person having trouble breathing was removed to a hospital, he said.


Commissioner Cullen said Con Edison was on the scene at 11 P.M. attempting to hook up a temporary generator to restore power to the residence.


At the time the outage was being repaired, Elizabeth Clark, spokesperson for Con Ed said the company had crews on the scene and will either install a replacement generator or run in “shunts,” that she describes as temporary wires running power to the building. Ms. Clark said she did not know whether the Esplanade had an emergency generator on the premises. She had no estimate when power would be restored or the cause of the power failure at this time.


Cullen reported the city started having power problems at 5 P.M., as a result of a manhole fire at 164 Mamaroneck Avenue, which he said knocked out power to 75 South Broadway, 95 South Broadway (The Esplanade assisted living building), and 2 to 4 Lyons Place. He said power was restored to 75 Broadway, and Con Ed was working on the Esplanade at this time.


 

Posted in Uncategorized

Glen Hockley Files with Board of Elections To Run as Independent for Mayor

Hits: 0



WPCNR CAMPAIGN 2009 By John F. Bailey. August 18, 2009: City Councilman Glen Hockley submitted petitions to the Westchester County Board of Elections today, totaling by Mr. Hockley’s estimate, 1,800 to 2,000 signatures, to run for Mayor of the City of White Plains, Hockley told WPCNR this evening. He told WPCNR he had a plan to control the rise of property taxes in the city, saying details would be spelled out in his coming campaign.


 


 



 


Glen Hockley at Common Council work session, July.


 


Hockley said he gathered “a bunch of the signatures” himself, going house to house in 90 degree heat, under threatening skies, and with the help of  loyal supporters.  Hockley will the lone opposition in the November Mayoral race facing Adam Bradley, the nominee who has the Democratic, Republican, Conservative, Independence and Working Families Party lines.Hockley’s sigantures of course, are subject to verification and legality by the Board of Elections.


 


 


Hockley said when he serves as Mayor he will be serving with the people of the city of White Plains and would have their best interests in mind. He told WPCNR he would begin campaigning after Labor Day, and one of the cornerstones of his campaign will be a plan to bring property taxes under control.


 


He said he would be concentrating on pocketbook issues that would help the citizens of  White Plains get along financially. He said he would not be beholden to any particular party philosophy, and that his knowledge of the city finances gathered from his six and ½  years on the Common Council made him qualified to fix the city problems.


 


He thanked his supporters who helped him acquire the signatures placing him on the ballot.



 


Hockley had sought the Republican nomination for Mayor, but was denied consideration, though Mr. Hockley has loyally supported many of the Mayor Joseph Delfino’s initiatives: the City Center, the 221 Main hotel complex, the 1/2% increase in the sales tax, among the most significant. It is also not known whether Mayor Delfino will bankroll the Hockley run from the Mayor’s $106,000-plus Friends of Joseph Delfino political war chest that now has no war to fight.


 


Mr. Hockley according to the New York State Board of Elections, as of July 31, 2009, had $1,453.56 in his Citizens for Glen Hockley Campaign Fund, while Mr. Bradley had $239,643.67, (and Mr. Bradley continues to raise money).


 


Should the Board of Elections find Mr. Hockley’s petitions in order, the campaign will pit Mr. Hockley against Adam Bradley,


 



Glen Hockley, left, and Adam Bradley, right in March, 2002 when Mr. Bradley successfully fought for Mr. Hockley to be seated on the Common Council all the way to the state’s highest court.


 


 



Hockley being sworn in, March 15, 2002, after victory in New York’s highest court.


 


Mr. Bradley’s legal efforts on Mr. Hockley’s behalf resulted in Mr. Hockley’s ascending to the Common Council in 2002 after a legal battle up to the New York State Court of Appeals stemming from a jammed voting machine in White Plains District 18. The Court of Appeals ruled that the courts did not have the authority to call new elections to recontest District 18, allowing Mr. Hockley to assume his post on the Common Council in March 2002.


 


Hockley was subsequently removed from the Common Council by order of New York State Attorney General at the time, Eliot Spitzer, as a result of a quo warranto action initiated by lawyer Jeffrey Binder on behalf of  former Councilman Larry Delgado, who was seated on the Council in 2003. Hockley was re-elected to the Common Council in 2005. Binder oddly enough is now organizing a fundraiser for Mr. Bradley.


 


 


Posted in Uncategorized

White Plains Has Soft July Down 12.5% in Sales Tax Rev: Projects to $6M Deficit

Hits: 0

 


 


WPCNR QUILL & EYESHADE. By John F. Bailey. August 18, 2009: White Plains retail sales subject to state sales tax collections continued their decline, down 12.5% year to year in the first month of the city fiscal year in July, the second straight month sales tax had declined from the previous year. This latest number continues the trend first reported by WPCNR six months ago indicating White Plains retail is running 12% behind 2007-2008 collections.



 


 


Though there are 11 months to in the fiscal year, unless the city economy picks up and vacant big retail properties are filled (former Fortunoff, Circuit City, Filene’s Basement, just three), the city now faces the prospect of being $6 Million off in projected sales tax revenues they are counting on for 2009-2010. Official figures for July 2009 were provided WPCNR by The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.


 


If sales tax does not recover significantly (and holds at the present level),  to make up that shortfall, the city would have to enact an 18% property tax increase.


 


The County of Westchester sales tax receipts are down 12.9% over the first six months of the county 2009 fiscal year.





Common Council President Benjamin Boykin told WPCNR in July, when the final quarter of 2008-09 fiscal year failed to meet projections of the City Finance Commissioner by $1 Million , that he is going to call for a budget review in September.


 


Westchester County sales tax collections in the first six months of 2009 have declined  too. The county “handle” on sales tax receipts is down 13%. The county collected $33.8 Million less in fiscal 2009 at the halfway point than the county did in 2008, according to statistics from the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance Office of Tax Policy Analysis.


 


The pace of retail sales projected by White Plains Week and WPCNR in the spring of this year continues to indicate key sales tax collection in the city are consistently 12 to 13% off.


 


On the county level the county as of midway is running $3.8 Million behind in sales tax receipts, 12.5% below the collection pace of last year after half of the 2009 fiscal year. If the retail trend continues, the county would face a $3.8 Million deficit in sales tax receipts for the year.  The county budgeted to collect $478,235,000 in sales tax for the year.


 


In the first six months of 2008, Westchester County collected $271,096,156.95  in sales tax. In the first six months of 2009, they collected only $237,221,726.61, a decline in receipts of 12.5%.


 


This combined with obvious deficits in mortgage and hotel tax collections is not a positive trend.


 


In White Plains if the 12.9% fall-off in retail sales  tax collections continues it means the city faces a $6 Million budget shortfall. It already has a $1 Million deficit left over from 2008-09. The city budget calls for collecting  $47,250,000 in sales tax in 2009-2010. If the 12.9% decline continues, the city will only raise $41 Million in sales tax.


 


However, August is the second most lucrative retail sales month of the year next to the holiday season in the second quarter, so there is hope this is just a sluggish start. To correct the nearly 13% decline in July, the city would need to generate a half million dollars more in August sales tax receipts to get back on track with sales tax pace. In August, 2008, the city collected $3.9 Million in sales tax (however that was inflated by the additional ¼% sales tax added last year. The cumulative effect of a soft retail market is not easily erased.


DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION & FINANCE


OFFICE OF TAX POLICY ANALYSIS


SALES TAX MONTHLY CASH/COLLECTIONS REPORT


MONTH OF JULY 2009


                                  CASH JULY 09          CASH JULY 08    CUMULATIVE          CUMULATIVE


                                                                                                               CASH  09                 CASH   08


 White Plains City       $3,431,350.08           $3,938,113.71          $25,379,226.67      $26,641,410.77


Westchester Cty         $31,249,530.49         $35,646,779.50        $237,221,726.61   $271,096,156.95


 


 

Posted in Uncategorized

Pro Fastpitch Opens Championships Tomorrow–NPF Gains Prominence as Olympics Ban

Hits: 0






 

 

WPCNR FASTPITCH NATION. From National Pro Fastpitch, Denver, Colorado. August 18, 2009 (EDITED):  On the heels of last week’s announcement from the IOC regarding their recommendation to not include softball on the 2016 slate, the National Pro Fastpitch League suddenly becomes a more important focus for the fastpitch softball community. Fans, players, manufacturers, and media outlets are all asking the question “What will become of softball at the highest level?” and wondering if the National Pro Fastpitch League has the wherewithal to step into the void that will inevitably be left by no further Olympic competition.


Cowles Cup Opening Ceremonies, August, 2004 Featuring the New York Juggernaut and The New England Riptide.

A WPCNR query to the United States Olympic Committee as well as USA Softball on whether the Committee would continue to fund the USA Softball International team efforts nationally in view of the International Olympic Competition Committee rejecting softball for the 2016 Olympics as well as the 2012 Olympics has not been responded to yet by the USOC.

“We are obviously all disappointed by the decision of the IOC to omit softball as a medal sport in Olympic competition. Knowing the enthusiasm that has been generated for this sport in the past 13 years on the coat-tails of Olympic softball, the disappointment is surely felt worldwide by athletes, fans, coaches, and organizations,” commented Cheri Kempf, NPF Commissioner and President.




 

 








Women’s fastpitch softball was first added as a full medal sport on the 1996 Olympic Games held in Atlanta, GA. Softball remained on the slate of summer sports through the next three Games set in Sydney Australia, Athens Greece, and Beijing China. The United States captured the Gold Medal in 1996, 2000 and 2004, but fell to Japan in 2008, taking silver instead of gold for the first time in history.

 

“We have seen the entire sport of fastpitch softball explode in this country especially once softball became an Olympic sport. There has been overwhelming support from colleges and Universities in not only adding the sport (for some) to their competition agendas, but also in the allocation of funding to support the programs, teams, and athletes. The Women’s College World Series is second in NCAA Championships only the Women’s Final Four in popularity,” stated Kempf. “That speaks volumes for our sport.”

 

Women’s Professional Fastpitch has existed in the United States on and off since the early 70’s. Professional competition has remained consistently for the last 12 years in some form and the NPF is currently on its 6th year of existence. The League currently has five teams that compete over a 40 game- 3 month regular season. The NPF Regular Season championship was just captured for the second year in a row by the Chicago Bandits. League play concludes in the coming week with the top 4 teams competing for the Championship Series Cowles Cup, which this year will be held in Akron Ohio at Firestone Stadium.

 

“I would like to see the support that was focused on the Olympic reinstatement be re-focused now that we know Olympic competition is no longer possible. There is absolutely no reason why women’s pro softball should not be an overwhelming success in the United States,” commented Kempf. “NPF proudly boasts the top athletes in the world. We have former Olympians that include Jennie Finch, Cat Osterman, and Crystl Bustos alongside NCAA superstars that include the likes of Angela Tincher, Megan Gibson and Caitlin Cochran. There’s no better fastpitch softball competition in the world than right here in the NPF.”

 

Former Gold and Silver Medalist, Crystl Bustos, retired from international competition following the 2008 Olympic Games to return to Akron Ohio to play for her former professional team. “Professional Fastpitch gave me my opportunity to be an Olympian. I was a pro before I was on the Olympic roster and it was important for me to return to Akron before retiring.” Bustos led the regular season in the top three offensive statistical categories of batting average, home runs, and RBI’s in 2009. “The competition in this League is much better than you will see with international teams and in international competition. The League has come a long way on that front,” said Bustos. “International play does not compete with what you are about to see in the NPF’s Championship Series.”

 

Two-time Olympic Gold Medalist and Silver Medalist in the most recent games, Cat Osterman, is a member of the Rockford Thunder. Osterman boasts a 11-1 record on the season helping to qualify her squad for the Series in Akron. “Obviously it’s sad for our sport that we are no longer included in what’s deemed the biggest sporting event internationally, but at the same time it gives us an opportunity to showcase other avenues to play post- college,” said Osterman.  “The NPF allows all of the top athletes an opportunity to continue to compete at the highest level, so hopefully now we can turn the focus to our pro league in order to help the sport continue to rise.”

 

“The biggest sporting events in the nation are the NFL Super Bowl and the MLB World Series. There is absolutely no reason why professional fastpitch softball should not be the platform for the highest level of competition in our sport. I am confident that the NPF has the structure in place to accomplish this and I urge softball supporters to put their enthusiasm behind the efforts of the NPF and professional fastpitch.” said Kempf.

Posted in Uncategorized

County Biz Icon, Reader’s Digest to File Bankruptcy, Restructure $1.6B Debt

Hits: 0

WPCNR DOLLAR DAILY. From Reader’s Digest News Release. (EDITED)  August 18, 2009: The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc. (RDA), a global multi-brand media and marketing company, based in Chappaqua, New York, announced Monday it has reached an agreement in principle with a majority of its senior secured lenders on the terms of a restructuring plan to significantly reduce its debt burden and strengthen the company financially for the future. The restructuring agreement provides that the company’s senior secured lenders will exchange a substantial portion of the company’s $1.6 billion in senior secured debt for equity and provides for a transfer of ownership of the company to the lender group.


Mary Berner, RDA’s President and Chief Executive Officer, said the company will continue to operate normally throughout the restructuring process. “This agreement in principle with our lenders follows months of intensive strategic review of our balance-sheet issues to financially strengthen the company,” she said. “We are gratified to have this support from our secured lender group. The company has strong brands and products, a leadership position in many markets around the world and a solid plan for the future. Restructuring our debt will enable us to have the financial flexibility to move ahead with our growth and transformational initiatives.”


The company has elected not to make a $27 million interest payment due today on its 9 percent Senior Subordinated Notes due 2017. Instead, the company is using the 30-day grace period available on the interest payment to continue discussions with its lender group and other stakeholders regarding the terms of final documentation and to gain additional support for the consensual de-leveraging transaction. Use of the 30-day grace period does not constitute a default that permits acceleration of the Senior Subordinated Notes or any other indebtedness. In addition, RDA continues to be in compliance with its financial covenants. The company’s business operations remain strong, with anticipated Fiscal 2009 revenue declines (not yet reported) in the low single digits, currency neutral, despite the global recession.


As part of the agreement in principle, RDA anticipates implementing the restructuring under court supervision through a voluntary pre-arranged filing under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code, which it expects to complete on an expedited basis while operating business as usual. During the 30-day grace period, the company will seek further consensus among its lenders and other stakeholders in advance of such a filing to facilitate the completion of RDA’s restructuring objectives.


The agreement in principle includes a commitment from certain members of the senior lender group to provide $150 million in new money Debtor-in-Possession (DIP) financing, convertible into exit financing upon emergence, which the company expects will ensure sufficient liquidity during the reorganization process and beyond. In addition to providing RDA with the necessary capital to emerge from Chapter 11, the arrangement also establishes the substantive terms of the $550 million in debt that will remain on RDA’s balance sheet upon emergence, a 75 percent reduction from the current $2.2 billion in debt.


As a result of the agreement reached with a majority of the senior lenders, the company expects that, subject to court approval, the vast majority of its suppliers and vendors will recover in full under a Chapter 11 plan. The Chapter 11 filing will apply only to the company’s U.S. businesses — its operations in Canada, Latin America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia-New Zealand will not be affected. RDA’s International operations are expected to have adequate funding based on continuing operations and access to proceeds from the DIP financing.


“We thank our sponsor Ripplewood Holdings, who has provided inspired vision and stewardship over the last two and a half years, including during this process,” added Chairperson Berner. In March 2007, Ripplewood led a consortium of investors in a transaction that resulted in the company’s acquisition. All of the members of the company’s Board of Directors who have served since the March 2007 acquisition, with the exception of Berner, have resigned from the company’s Board. The two recently appointed directors also continue to serve on the Board.

Posted in Uncategorized

One for the Tiger

Hits: 0


WPCNR View from the Clubhouse. By Bull Allen August 17, 2009: The headlines this morning out of windswept Chaska, Minnesota, disgust me, and once again distinguish the majority of the “professional” sports writing jury —the play writers out there – for their fickleness,  savagery, and glee they show in attacking great players when they are down.


 



Lake Placid Club. 2009


 





They love doing that.


 


Tiger Woods is being described as “blowing” the PGA Championship to Y. E. Yang, and in one article, a writer called Woods a “choker.”


 


Please. No choker wins 14 majors before age 35. No choker comes from behind in pain on one bad leg to win the U.S. Open as he did last year at Torrey Pines.


 


Tiger Woods is the greatest golfer of all time.


 


His comebacks have been legendary.


 


 He is the greatest competitor you will ever meet. He is a gentleman, despite his temper on the course (mostly directed at himself).  He never loses his will to win, unlike the sports writing hacks who never write a guts column which might take them off the suck-up express. He fights to the last shot.


 


These are the same “reporters” who never reported steroid use, never report womanizing  or hom0sexuality in the NFL by athletes and never had to make a play in a big spot, never have  their writing dissected by fans on whether they should have used an adjective there or asked this question or that, and they never write a big story that will take them off the press box buffet.


 


Could we write something about Mr.Yang and the incredible round he shot yesterday? That, at age 37, he has put Asian golf on the map?


 


The vast majority of writers are not concentrating on Mr. Yang’s wind game. How was he able to master the howling gusts of Hazeltine? Was it his clubs? Let’s concentrate on why Yang won, and not dismiss the Yang triumph by saying Mr.Woods lost it.


 


Also, could we have the courtesy to tell everybody the first two names of Mr. Yang in reporting who won the PGA Championship. (For the record, The Times reported Tuesday his full name is Yong-eun Yang. Took them long enough, didn’t it?)


 


Mr. Yang won the PGA  with a guts-ball shot on eighteen, when he fired away at the green giving it all he had, risking flying the green and the win, because he knew who he was playing. An iron into the green with the lead is going for the clincher, not playing it safe.


 


Yang won the way a big time golf tournament is always won. The Yang shot will take its place with Tom Watson’s chip-in on 18 at Pebble Beach, and Tiger’s own 12 foot putt for birdie to force a playoff at Torrey Pines.


 


Mr. Woods about a year after his catastrophic knee surgery has already won a couple of tournaments this year.. When Ben Hogan recovered from his auto accident in 1951, (far more serious, admittedly), it took him 3 years to recover. Woods, through his sheer force of will is still getting back his game. 


 


Woods practices very hard. So does Mr. Yang.  He plays to win every tournament. He essentially is still getting back his game. He had a day when nothing dropped for him, just as great pitchers sometimes find their stuff is not working for them.


 


To Mr. Woods’ credit, though severely disappointed in his own performance, he came out for the news conference, when I am sure he wanted to head straight to the airport. It was a horrible day for him.


 


The PGA Tour is nothing without Tiger Woods, and they need him more than ever. He is the standard. He is the only player on the tour, who playing on one leg last year, kept winning consistently. And, you know what, Woods never used his leg as an excuse for not winning last year. Unlike some super stars who make excuses all the time.


How consistent has The Tiger been in a game where you make so much money every week, you don’t have to win every week?


 



  1. Woods has won 70 official PGA Tour events, third all time behind Sam Snead and Jack Nicklaus.
  2. Woods has won 14 majors, second all time, behind Jack Nicklaus.
  3. Woods is 14-1 when going into the final round of a major with at least a share of the lead.
  4. Woods owns the lowest career scoring average and the most career earnings of any player in PGA Tour history.
  5. Woods is one of five players (along with Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, and Gary Player) to have won all four professional major championships in his career, known as the Career Grand Slam, and was the youngest to do so.[1]
  6. Woods is the only player to have won all four professional major championships in a row, accomplishing the feat in the 2000-2001 seasons. This feat became known as the “Tiger Slam”.
  7. Woods set the all-time record for most consecutive cuts made, with 142. The streak started in 1998, he set the record at the 2003 Tour Championship with 114 (passing Byron Nelson‘s previous record of 113) and extended this mark to 142 before it ended on May 13, 2005 at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship. Many consider this to be one of the most remarkable golf accomplishments of all time, given the margin by which he broke the old record (and against stronger fields in terms of depth than those in Nelson’s day) and given that during the streak, the next longest streak by any other player was usually only in the 10s or 20s.[2][3][4][5]
  8. Woods has won a record 30% (70 out of 234) of his professional starts on the PGA Tour

For any writer to say Tiger Woods chokes, well, that writer would be back covering curling if I were the editor.


 


This year, coming back from injury, Mr. Woods still works harder, and plays consistently better than any one else.  Over the weekend we had a cluster of big names who could not shoot par – “good guys who have not won,” that the sportswriting  fraternity loves to write up about as deserving of winning and wants sentimental favorites to win. They think Tiger is boring. Tiger wins because he works hard at his game, and at the same time is by all reports a model father.


 


He doesn’t carry illegal guns into night clubs. He doesn’t pick up strippers and take them back to his team hotel. He does not go on the Disabled List with a twinge in his thigh. He doesn’t do drugs. He carries himself with a maturity beyond his years and you’d be mad, too, if you did not meet your own standards set as high as Tiger sets his. He’s just too good. We love it when underdogs win. It is how the champions react to disappointment that set them apart.


 


 What happened with those “every man” heroes at Hazeltine the sports writers love ? If Tiger was playing so badly, how come they were way down? If Tiger “choked,” those other good guys the sportswriters love, gagged big time.


 


Woods was in it, despite having a bad day,  to the 272nd hole, and it took a   Yang clincher miracle guts approach to beat him. Yang earned it.


 


Mr. Yang can look back on this day as the beginning of a path to greatness, should he choose to take it.


 


Woods is a proud person. A man who when he fails, does not like the taste of it and he takes personal responsibility for it and has the guts to apply himself to make himself better.


 


Next year, Mr. Woods will set himself a goal of winning all the majors – the Grand Slam – to make up for lost time in this, his comeback year—which would tie him with The Golden Bear – another great competitor who also did not like to lose often.


 


Mr. Woods should not attend news conferences in the future considering the vile stuff being written about his performance today by the “sporting press” who are anything but sporting.


 


But he will attend them..


 


Because he has class.


 


Class is something the national sportswriting contingent does not know anything about – because the majority of them do not have it.


 


Mr. Woods, though most likely will be practicing today.

Posted in Uncategorized

Hockley to File Signatures to Contend for Mayor Tues. Bradley Fund-Raises.

Hits: 0

WPCNR CAMPAIGN2009. August 17, 2009: Councilman Glen Hockley who has been seen gathering signatures on petitions around the city by himself extensively the last few weeks told WPCNR Monday he is planning on filing petitions to run as an independent candidate for Mayor of White Plains on Tuesday. Mr. Hockley declined to say whether he had an “excess” of signatures (1,000 are needed from registered voters), that he was planning on filing with the Board of Elections in White Plains.


 



Glen Hockley, Councilman, announcing his candidacy for Mayor  (opposing Adam Bradley) in June as an independent candidate.


 


Meanwhile, (on another side of town) the frontrunner in the campaign for Mayor, Adam Bradley, continues to fundraise. An invitation to a so-called “Insiders Briefing from Assemblyman Adam Bradley” is being circulated to e-mail on his behalf by the former resident of White Plains, Jeffrey Binder and Paul Noto of  “The Strategic Politic Group for the Bradley Campaign.” The briefing costs $150 per person and will be held September 23 at the home of Karen and Ted Sewitch on Hillair Circle.


Bradley has all five lines on the November ballot: Democrat, Republican, Working Families, Conservative, Independence, but apparently is taking nothing for granted. Mr. Bradley’s Friends of Adam Bradley campaign fund related to his assembly office has  90,223 in its coffers as of July 31, and his other campaign fund, Adam Bradley for White Plains has $149,420.67 in it as of July 31, for a grand total of $239,643.67.


 



 


Jeffrey Binder, who runs the Strategic Planning Group for the Bradley Campaign, voting in 2003, when he ran for Common Council on the Republican line.


 


Binder also represented Councilman Larry Delgado in opposing Glen Hockley’s election to the Common Council (enabled, in part, due to a jammed voting machine in the 2001 election. In that lengthy progression of legal meaneuvers that led to the New York State Court of Appeals which ruled in favor of Mr. Hockley, Mr. Binder’s opposing counsel representing Hockley was Adam Bradley. Now Mr. Binder is supporting Mr. Bradley in his run for Mayor.


 


The Strategic Political Group for the Bradley Campaign has not filed any campaign reports that WPCNR could find on the Board of Elections website. Jeffrey Binder, White Plains political observers may recall ran for Common Council on the Republican Ticket in 2003 with Timothy Sheehan, and since then Mr. Binder has changed his political affiliation to Democratic, to the extent he is now co-chairing a political action committee for Mr. Bradley, apparently. Binder is associated with Jeffrey M. Binder & Associates, P.C. in White Plains.


 


Mayor Joseph Delfino, the current Mayor of  White Plains who announced he was not running for a fourth term in the spring of this year, still maintains a Friends of Joe Delfino campaign fund that contains $106,644.96 as of July 31, 2009. The Mayor by Board of Elections rules, may  keep this money and not return it to contributors as long as it is used for political or charitable purposes, and not diverted to personal use. The Mayor has to date, not indicated he plans to use the money to fund Republican candidates for Common Council or Mr. Hockley, should Mr. Hockley get on the November ballot.


 



 


 


 


Posted in Uncategorized

Worker Files Discrimination Suit Against City for Tolerating Racial Harassment

Hits: 0

 


 


WPCNR WHITE PLAINS LAW. From News Reports. August 14: Clarence Thrower, an employee of the White Plains Department of Public Works has filed a federal law suit in U.S. District Court against the City of White Plains in which he alleges the city allowed “severe and pervasive racial taunting” directed at him.  The suit alleges a pattern of harassment against him was allowed to exist by the city, that included racial slurs allegedly cast at him “regularly” by a foreman. The forms of harassment included  racial effigies displayed in the workplace and pranks directed at him and two colleagues supporting Thrower in complaining about Thrower’s  treatment by the foreman to supervisors in the Department of Public Works. The suit filed Monday does not request a specific sum of damages Mr. Thrower seeks.

Posted in Uncategorized