Arts Bash 2007 — Set for June 8

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WPCNR MAMARONECK AVENUE AMBLER. May 12, 2007: A warm summer night, food, fun and fabulous art set the scene at the Westchester Arts Council’s annual ArtsBash party! This arts extravaganza will feature cuisine prepared by 12 leading chefs of Westchester, New York City, Fairfield, and Rockland, along with a special preview of the exhibit Seeing Stories and open studios.  ArtsBash 2007 will kick off at 6 pm on Friday, June 8. The festivities take place in the spectacular Grand Banking Room of the Arts Exchange, 31 Mamaroneck Avenue in downtown White Plains, and spill out onto Mamaroneck Avenue. Tickets to see and be seen are $100; to order tickets or for more information please call 914-428-4220 x273.


ArtsBash party goers will be able to tour the Arts Exchange building, visiting artists’ studios, tasting food, and taking in the exhibit. Thanks to the efforts of Cuisine Chair Anthony Goncalves of Trotters, guest will be treated to exquisite cuisine prepared by the best chefs in town. Hors d’ouvres will be created by cuisine artists from Trotters, Alfama, Antonees, Blue, Cosmos Seafood, Crabtree’s Kittle House, Iron horse Grill, MacMenamin’s Grill & Chef Works, Mulino’s of Westchester, Soprano Foods/Dairyland. Tintol, Wasbi, Wasabi Chi, and Whole Foods Market.



ArtsBash is being chaired by Emily & Eugene Grant, Amy & John Peckham, and Jacqueline & Arthur Walker.



The featured exhibition, Seeing Stories is part of the countywide collaboration Open Books, presented by Target. The exhibition will highlight the work of Westchester-based artists and examine the fascinating process by which these illustrators breathe life into words.  You will recognize the work of award-winning artists such as Jerry Pinkney, Yumi Heo, Susan Jeffers, Peter Sis, and Ed Young and be delighted to discover the visions of eighteen lesser known but equally talented artists.  Their styles are as diverse as their backgrounds but their artwork and their stories will enchant children of all ages. Seeing Stories is curated by Yvonne Pollack and Jerry Pinkney, one an educator and the other an artist; both are long-time advocates for picture book arts.



ArtsBash continues on Saturday, June 9 with a free open house party at the Arts Exchange, home of the Westchester Arts Council. The public is invited to drop in, view the exhibit Seeing Stories, join a lively discussion with author and illustrator Jeremy Pinckney, participate in a comic book workshop, enjoy face painting, kite making, and so much more! The Arts Council staff is hard at work planning a day full of surprises for the whole family. Doors open at 12am, and the fun lasts all day!  The Arts Exchange is located at 31 Mamaroneck Avenue in downtown White Plains.  For more information please call 914-428-4220, or visit www.westarts.com.


 



 

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Superintendent of Schools Appears on White Plains Week Monday

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WPCNR WHITE PLAINS WEEK NEWS. May 11, 2007: The White Plains School Budget and School Board Election vote are coming up Tuesday, and White Plains Week has as its guests Monday evening on WPPA-TV, White Plains Public Access, The Spirit of 76, Channel 76, Superintendent of Schools Timothy Connors and Assistant Superintendent for Business, Fred Seiler are interviewed by John Bailey, The White Plains CitizeNetReporter, Peter Katz, and Jim Benerofe of suburbanstreet.com.



Superintendent of Schools Timothy Connors, second from left,  and Fred Seiler, Assistant Superintendent for Business, to Mr. Connors’ left, flanked by Jim Benerofe, left and Peter Katz on Friday’s edition of White Plains Week, which cables Monday at 7 PM on Channel 76. Exclusive Photos of the new Station Square proposal from Louis Cappelli will also be presented on the show.


 


In the course of the program, Connors said that the STAR Rebate program, by which residents apply for an additional STAR rebate through letter or online (instructions will be mailed to residents), will be continued by the governor for the next three years. He made no commitments to keep the budget at the 4% rate of growth established in this year’s $174.1 Million budget up for approval by voters May 15.


Mr. Connors predicts that 2007 Elementary and Middle School test scores would greatly improve thanks to the new BOCES data analysis techniques that the district elementary schools are employing to work on specific skill remediation to prepare students for the tests. He also said the measure of how well students are being educated in White Plains are reflected in the overall high school graduation rate which in 2006 graduated 82% of its students (entering high school in 2001). (Of those 82%, 94% of white students graduated; 82% of Blacks graduated, and 70% of Hispanic students graduated.)


The show may be viewed Monday evening at 7:00 P.M. on Channel 76 in White Plains.

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Louis Cappelli Proposes BILLION DOLLAR BABY: Station Square.

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WPCNR MAIN STREET JOURNAL. By John F. Bailey May 10, 2007: Louis Cappelli introduced what he called his “Billion Dollar Baby” to the Common Council Thursday evening: a staggering complex of three “World Class Office Buildings” anchored by a 5-Star World Class Hotel, replete with a new MTA train station and commuter parking garage — studded with retail. The developer also proposed he build the mythical “Grove Street” extension to facilitate traffic flow to enable the project.


Louis Cappelli presenting his vision for the 21st Century: last night. The Super Developer, creator of New Roc City, City Center in White Plains, The Ritz-Carlton at Westchester, blew the Common Council and reporters away with the scope of the project. Cappelli is seeking to acquire exclusive development rights to the city municipal parking garage, parking lot and Firehouse 7 to create the project. He told WPCNR, he would have to negotiate with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and the state to put together the project, but said the city’s approval was his first step. As part of the project Mr. Cappelli would build a new fire house and parking for 1,500 commuter parking garage.



The model of Station Square on the site of the White Plains Transit Center, Parking Garage. In the foreground is The Galleria



The view looking North. Showing the fivebuilding complex and how it would fit at the Western Gateway to the city. The tallest building is believed to be the hotel.



The view West. In foreground is the City Center, followed by the Ritz-Carlton and the lit complex is Station Square. Mr. Cappelli said he envisioned this after takin several trips into New York by train, and feels that developing the train station area will revitalized the strip from The Ritz to the train station, saying “Station Square will connect the successful redevelopment of the Mamaroneck Avenue and Main Street area with the city’s transportation hub to create a first-class gateway to White Plains. This is smart growth in its truest sense.”

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District Inflated Contingency Budget to Show New Budget in Favorable Light.

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WPCNR SCHOOL  DAYS. By John F. Bailey. May 10, 2007: White Plains residents got a surprise


 when they received the  School Budget Vote and Board of Education Election Notice yesterday. The


  formal notice mailed to residents required by state law shows information previously sent to voters in


its newsletter on the budget was not true.


 



State Required School Budget Election Notice which arrived in mailboxes yesterday across


White Plains shows Newsletter (below) mailed three weeks ago is in error.


 



Newsletter Proclaiming Proposed Budget was less than a Contingency Budget. It arrived in


 mailboxes two weeks ago.


 


Budget voters had been lead to believe the $174.1 Million Budget was $300,000 less than the


Contingency Budget calculated by  the District one month ago and publicized as being a result of the


state legislature’s largesse and  accounting shift, when they open the Election Notice will find the 2007-


2008 budget  $174.1 Million,  while the Contingency Budget – publicized by the School District three


weeks ago as $174.4 Million –  is now officially $173.6 Million. This means that if the voters reject the


budget next Tuesday the district  will have to adopt a budget $400,000 less.


In the Budget newsletter promoting the budget as “District Presents Lowest Budget Increase in


Southern Westchester County,” on page 2, in the column, “An Important Message from the Board of


Education,” there is a paragraph entitled the Bottom Line which reads:


 


The Bottom Line: Vote on May 15. The budget-to-budget increase is relatively low – lower, in fact,


than the so-called “contingency budget” that the Board could adopt if the budget were voted down…


 


WPCNR asked Fred Seiler, Assistant Superintendent for Business why the Contingency Budget


figured by the district last month ($174.4M) had shrunk $729,884 to $173,670,116.


 


Seiler said that in figuring the contingency budget, the district is required by law to remove costs of any


new equipment,  which he said accounted for the $729,884 reduction. Seiler explained that when the


$174.4 Million figure was announced to the school board, it was the computation of what the state by


its own formula would set for ther district as the Contingentcy Budget.


 


WPCNR asked  if it was known at the time the school district would have to remove new equipment


from the $174.4 possible Contingency Budget. Seiler said, “Correct.”  He said that if the budget were


rejected by voters next Tuesday, May 15, the Board of Education would have the option of putting new


equipment back in, or cutting other items, or going back out to the voters for another vote. If they stayed


with the Contingency Budget, he said, the district could reconfigure the expenditures in a different


spending allocation, as long as the district did not exceed the $173,670,116 figure.

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Total Tax Abatement on Bank Street Job: $29 Million. Wrong Number Given IDA

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WPCNR Common Council Chronicle-Examiner. By John F. Bailey. May 10, 2007: City officials


provided the most detail yet three days before an absolute must approval date to get the 55 Bank


Street affordable housing and apartment project launched, and guaranteeing a fast influx of $6 Million


in cash to balance the city budget.


 


Total tax abatement on the project was put at $29 Million over 18 years, lower than the $39 Million


reported by the Westchester County Industrial Development Agency to WPCNR last week. The


difference is due to providing the tax abatement only on the 75 additional units the project will provide,


in addition to the 32 required by White Plains law.  The PILOT takes the towers off the tax roles and


assigns their assessment to the Westchester County IDA, which is not required to pay property taxes


on the assessment.


The  Revenue analysis calculated that it would cost LCOR $201,000 to build each affordable unit and


to construct 75 units would cost $15.1 Million and that the property tax abatement to pay for the


additional 75 affordable units of housing (over the 32 Bank Street is required to provide by city law),


would total $31,173,000, however LCOR, in an act of largess, according to the Commissioner agreed


that all the city need abate was $29 Million. 


 


The difference comes from the arrangement of the 107 affordable housing units. Because Bank


Street would be required to build 6% affordable units by city law, the abatement is being calculated


only using the additional 75 units. 


 


 A total  32 of the  107 units are to be offered at market rate or  100% of  median income, while the


balance of 75 units will be offered to persons  making 80% and  60% of median income, which was


counted as a good thing by city officials because  many who would like units priced at the Bank Street


affordable housing rents would not qualify unless they made less than $73,000 (the median income in


the city of White Plains) When the additional 32 units at 100% market rate are included the total cost to


build the 107 units comes to $21,507,000. By subtracting this figure from the $51 Million Bank Street


would pay in  taxes due over 18 years you come up with a figure of $29 Million which is the amount of


tax abatement LCOR and the city of agreed upon.


 


Additional revenue, the city reports, will be generated by the project consisting of $4,550,000 in the


Parking Garage Annual Fee, $15 Million in property taxes from the hotel “enabled” by the project for


15 years beginning after hotel construction, plus $1.2 Million in retail property taxes plus sales tax for


total additional projected revenues of $20.8 Million.


 


The council was impressed with these numbers. Ms. Malmud, the strongest critic of the deal seemed


mollified at the new figures, about $10 Million less than the Westchester County IDA reported last


week on the official deal sheet the IDA approved. The Mayor said that the assessed value of the new


55 Bank Street is assigned to the Westchester County IDA.


 


Later, Paul Wood, City Executive Office, told WPCNR that though the assessed values of buildings


enjoying PILOTS in White Plains is assigned to the Westchester County Industrial Development


Agency, the IDA does not pay property taxes on those assessments. At no time did any member of the


council ask the Assessor, Lloyd Tasch, who was in attendance what the assessed value of 55 Bank


Street would be, if White Plains did not PILOT the project. 


 


The  approximate $10 Million difference from the Terms Sheet received from the Westchester County


IDA, where tax abatement was given a value of $39 Million)  comes in reducing the 107 affordable


housing unit total figure to 75 (accounting for 32 units they would have to build  and taking it out of


equasion, making the abatement appear smaller.


 


The math computes: 32 units x $201,000 per net cost to build an affordable unit is $6.4 Million, which


when added to the 29 Million abatement figure brings the total to $35,432,000, add the $2.1 Million


LCOR agreed to take off the abatement and you are at $37.5 Million, $1.5 Million short of the $39


Million filed with the Westchester County IDA.


 


Gilpatric Says Hotel to Be Built Same Time.


 


Mr. Gilpatric of LCOR told WPCNR that the hotel would begin construction at the same time the 55


Bank Street project began. The hotel is being described as being “enabled” by the 55 Bank Street


project because the parking for the hotel would be contained in the 55 Bank Street garage. However,


again the hotel was approved as a distinctly separate project. Gilpatric told WPCNR the company had


several hotel chains interested in operating the hotel.


 


Paul Wood, City Executive Officer, told WPCNR that Lehman Brothers was expected to handle the


financing and that the city Urban Renewal Agency would not be issuing revenue bonds to finance the


$235 Million cost of the project. He said the White Plains Urban Renewal Agency might offer some


small sales tax breaks but there would be no major financing.


 


Gilpatric admonished the council in a firm way that this was the deal and that if the council wanted to


do it they could but only under these PILOT terms, but that he needed their O.K. of the PILOT that they


(the council) wanted to do it so he could begin spending $500,000 of preparation work to execute the


project.


 


Mr. Gilpatric declined to reveal to WPCNR what the rents would be to qualifying families on the 107


affordable units. Rod Johnson, City Deputy Commissioner of Planning said those rents are set by


county guidelines.


 


The $29 Million Tax Abatement was figured assuming taxes would go up an average 6.6% a year over 18 years. The 6.6% a year property tax increase was based on an average of the past 15 years tax history of the city, school district and the county.

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Super Developer Unveils new White Plains Super Project Thursday Night.

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WPCNR MAIN STREET JOURNAL. By John F. Bailey. May 10, 2007: As predicted by WPCNR last weekend, and often speculated on White Plains Week, the city news roundup show, Louis Cappelli, the kingpin of Cappelli Enterprises, will announce his “next big thing” Thursday evening to the Common Council.



Louis Cappelli, the Super Developer, May, 2006 on the Ritz-Carlton site. There is more Cappelli to come and he’ll announce his new Super Project Thursday night.


According to Paul Wood, city executive officer, the project will built on Main Street near the train station and include a hotel and more tall buildings, but Wood said, the Ritz Carlton Westchester will remain at 50 stories the tallest building in the city. The Common Council has postponed Decision Night on the Budget until Monday evening, May 14, when they will also be voting to approve the 55 Bank Street affordable housing-luxury apartment complex.


Mr. Cappelli, in a leadup to his big splash Thursday evening announced the gourmet restaurant that will be perched atop the Ritz-Carlton Westcherster hotel.


 

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Is Council Listening to the People? Do They Care?

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WPCNR MR. AND MRS. AND MS. WHITE PLAINS POLL. May 8, 2007: After another long Common Council evening highlighted by a very light turnout of citizens to speak on the budget, the LCOR Bank Street Job, the BID expansion approval process, and the Weisz hotel zoning caper, and the distressing news that Don Hughes, who has spent the last few years running a website that attempted and succeeding in bringing revealing documents to the populace, is no longer going to do that any more because of his disenchantment with the political process, WPCNR got to thinking. We have heard from a number of persons that feel the Common Council, the Mayor, the city officials no longer listen, care or give a wit about what the citizens think about issues — that the council does whatever the Mayor tells them to do — whether citizens dislike a course of action or not. So, we got to wondering what does Mr. and Mrs. and Ms. White Plains really feel? Do we think the Common Council, the Mayor, and the city’s aloof administration is doing what they want? You tell us, in the poll at right.

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Extended Stay Hotel Zoning Pushed to June. No Design Yet on the Weisz Hotel.

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WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL-CHRONICLE-EXAMINER. May 8, 2007:  Robert Weisz, the Westchester County Association’s  Developer of the Year, spoke on the hearing involving his wishes to build a hotel on the 1133 Westchester property. However, Weisz did not show a architectural rendering of the hotel structure (4 stories) he plans to build, and how it would sit on the site which overlooks the Maple Moor Golf Course.


The tree loving councilmembers Rita Malmud and Benjamin Boykin  had earlier waxed eloquently on the preservation of trees on the North Street Community site, did not ask about the terrain of the property. Paula Piekos said she remembered the 1133 site as having trees where the Weisz hotel would be built.  Weisz said the hotel grounds and existing parking areas would be relandscaped with trees to replace any trees that would be lost due to the hotel construction. Weisz said the hotel fit all the zoning restrictions on the property on dimensions. The legislation enabling extended stay hotels in the Campus Office District and three zones in the downtown business district, as well as the hearing on the Weisz hotel project were adjourned to June.



View of proposed site of the Robert Weisz “extended stay” hotel at the entrance to 1133 Westchester Avenue. How the hotel would look situated on this property is a mystery. The hotel is going to go on the slope in the center of the picture. But, again no rendering has been presented. 



Hotel based on Mr. Weisz’s overhead plans would sit on the far back of this slope, overlooking this fairway and green on the Maple Moor Golf Course. How many trees would be taken from this site to put the hotel up has not been indicated.


 


 


 

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Bronx River Parkway Lane Closure.

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WPCNR BUMPER TO BUMPER. From Westchester County. May 8, 2007:

The right lane of the Bronx River Parkway southbound between River Road and Greenacres Avenue in Scarsdale will be closed from May 8 until May 29.


This closure is necessary for bridge rehabilitation work. 


Delays are expected during weekday rush hours and motorists are advised to seek alternate routes.


            For additional traffic information on this project, contact Westchester County Department of Public Works at 995-2555.

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Bank Street Job to Go Under Further Scrutiny Wed. Only 11 Oppose BID Bustout

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WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL CHRONICLE-EXAMINER. By John F. Bailey. May 8, 2007: The Common Council after “informal discussions” during the day did not approve the 55 Bank Street 538-unit twin tower approvements last night, instead bringing Peter Gilpatrick of LCOR back for a Work Session Wednesday evening at 6 to discuss in more detail the financial terms he explained to the Council last night.


Gilpatric pressured the council saying if they wanted affordable housing they could say yes. The Mayor persuaded the council that they could vote to approve the project next Monday.  Gilpatrick emphasized the $480,000 a year PILOT arrangement was equal to the cost of building the 107-108 affordable housing units shortfall — however he did not say what the building would pay in taxes if all units of the towers were taxed at full market value which WPCNR believes is $39 Million according to what he told the Westchester County Industrial Development Agency last week.


In the course of the hearing the $39 Million figure floated to the Industrial Development Agency as a PILOT by Gilpatric never was mentioned or  brought up by any member of the Common Council.


Gilpatrick continued to extoll the hotel he expects to build ajacent to the Bank Street towers as a benefit of the  55 Bank Street project, (pumping out $655,000 in taxes a year), when in fact, it is a distinctly separate project that LCOR could have built any time in the last seven years and no hotelier has been signed for to this reporter’s knowledge. It may never get built. At no point did any member of the Common Council ask what the 55 Bank Street project could be assessed for, if they did not have a PILOT agreement — and what it would cost the city in tax revenues.


Gilpatric also revealed that LCOR had responded to an RFP (Request for Proposals) sent out by the city. This was news to WPCNR that the city had ever RFPeed the municipal parking lot, since the city went to great pains to explain why the land was not put out for bid originally and had chosen LCOR because of their ease and familiarity with the city and the city’s needs. Hines, a national developer of housing was very interested in the property, but the city ignored their interest.


Along about 12:15 A.M., this morning Councilperson Rita Malmud accused the Mayor of “telescoping” the Bank Street project, not giving the council enough information on the financial details — which just surfaced last Thursday at the Westchester County Industrial Development Agency. The Mayor scornfully said Malmud could vote “No” on the project, and that way she was “making the four councilmen voting for the project take the hit.” The Mayor accused Mrs. Malmud of creating a negative perception of the project by criticising the financing in the press two weeks ago. Mrs. Malmud said, “I stand by my comments.” 


 


BID in Home Stretch


In the hearing on the BID expansion, Rick Ammirato, the Executive Director of the Downtown Business Improvement District, said to date only 11 property owners had written the city clerk opting out of the project. The Common Council closed the hearing, and within 30 days, should more than half of the landowners not opt out of the project or the major landowners not opt out, the BID will ask the State Comptroller to approve the BID expansion.


Councilman Dennis Power chided Mr. Ammirato on not contacting all the landowners. Ammirato said the BID had Fedexed those not receiving the notice of the BID intentions. At no time did any member of the Common Council suggest that the BID telephone each of the 192 Landowners and take a survey of who wanted to opt out and opt in to the newly expanded BID. Property owners must contact the city clerk or the BID to get the form to turn down BID expansion. The city clerk may be reached at 422-1227.


Ammirato outlined in a slide show the BID’s ambitious plans for hiring professional Community Ambassadors, and “green machines” to keep the sidewalks clean, and expanding city entertainment events with the additional $1 million the expansion of the BID to the south west and east of the city would bring to BID coffers.


Berg: No Way We Can Pay for Electric on the Garage 23


Mrs. Malmud, Dennis Power, Benjamin Boykin and Arnold Bernstein also took Bruce Berg of Cappelli Enterprises  for not agreeing to subsidize the electric heat on the 23 units Mr. Cappelli plans to build in the City Center garage. When Berg said Cappelli Enterprises had already paid $1.2 Million in affordable housing assistance in connection with the City Center project, Benjamin Boykin bristled saying that was “unfair,” as that was part of the Trump Tower payment to satisfy the affordable housing commitment on that building.  The approval for the 23 apartments could come as early as next Monday. The council agreed to have further discussions on the electric rate subsidy. Berg was adamant saying Cappelli Enterprises would not subsidize the electric bills on the 23 affordable units Cappelli Enterprises is building to satisfy its obligation in connection with their Ritz-Carlton project.


The council approved White Plains Hospital Center as the principle renter of the parking spaces in the Longview Avenue Garage, clearing the last part of the Kensington White Plains LLC senior assisted living project targeted for Maple Avenue, that also helps the Hospital parking problem.


The council adjourned the North Street Community project to June, but the impression on that project is that most of Wyndham Close objections have been met, with that neighborhood organization dropping their complaints about the size of the project, and instead focusing on landscaping. This project looks good for a June approval.


The lights for Gedney Little League field were approved as part of the consent agenda.


The budget hearing was uneventful, with the League of Women Voters suggesting the city deliver some revenue aid to the school district. Steve Kass, another speaker on the budget encouraged the city to hold the school district exempt from certiorari impacts, but he was not clear in exactly how he expected the city could do this. The Mayor said the school district approves all PILOT agreements, and said that perhaps their lawyer is unable to communicate this to the School District.  

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