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 MEDIA PRESS NOTES, by Herb Flack. February 12, 2008:

These are the Final Days for Registration for the 2008 White Plains Little League. Families with children 5 to 15 may still register their children for the spring season  through the miracle of online registration by going to the league website at www.whiteplainslittleleague.com or by dropping by the Department of Recreation and Parks on Gedney Way. Over 850 youngsters have signed up, but time is running out.

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The White Plains Boys Basketball Team (14-6)  No. 7 Seed try to extend their season with an opening round game in the Section 1 Class AA Boys Basketball Tournament at the high school Friday against Fox Lane (11-9), the Number 10 Seed.

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The White Plains Girls Basketball Team (10-10) Number 10 Seed play John Jay of East Fishkill in East Fishkill Friday. John Jay, No. 7 Seed is 14-6.

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Team registration is now being accepted for the Westchester County 78^th Boys’ and 24th Girls’ Recreation Basketball Tournament to be held at the Westchester County Center in White Plains. Deadline for registration is 3 p.m. Thursday, February 14.

            Sponsored by Westchester County Parks, the tournament will be held on the following dates: Thursday – Saturday, March 6 – 8; Monday – Thursday, March 10 – 13; and Monday – Thursday, March 17 – 20.

            The tournament is open to all Westchester youth teams sponsored by local recreation departments. The local recreation departments will determine the teams that qualify and will represent their community in the tournament.

            Both boys’ and girls’ divisions will be divided into three age groups for competition: Cubs (11 and under), Midgets (12-13), and Juniors (14-15). Age is determined as of September 1, 2007. The Cubs and Midgets will compete in Open, Intermediate and Recreation categories; the Junior division is open.

            Trophies will be awarded to the winning and runner-up teams in each division and the players on the winning teams in each division will receive individual awards.

            Entry fee is $75 per team. Team rosters must be submitted through local municipal recreation departments before the deadline. Parking is $4 at the County Center lot.

            For more information and registration, call your local municipal recreation department or the County Parks Department at (914) 864-7064.

 

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 WPCNR’S MUCKRAKERS NOTEBOOK. February 11, 2008: The lack of guidelines for fledgling young reporters from the journalism schools today – that never teach the sad truth that the most respectable officials and leaders lie to  people and reporters on an hourly basis – and those who think what they see on television and read in the mainstream press is how reporting should be done,  WPCNR turns to The Muckraker’s Notebook which will bring the public some of the truisms and sayings by famous reporters and investigators  of the past, not all of whom ever existed.

Today’s nugget comes from the first fictional detective, whose cases, chronicled by Dr. John Watson, still rivet the reader today. He needs no introduction. Here is the famous detective on the art of detection:

” It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts. ” 

 Sherlock Holmes, from A Scandal in Bohemia

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WPCNR’S THE REAL DEAL By The Wedding Genie, Jeannie Uyanik of C&G Weddings. February 9, 2008: February is the month of love and romance so it seemed only fitting that we would feature a few success stories, so to speak, of those who made it through the wedding and now really enjoy the perks of Valentine’s Day stress free!  Each week this month, we will bring you a different couple, at a different time of year, in a different setting, further demonstrating that the only limit to an amazing event is your own imagination. This weekend it’s “A Winter Wedding” 

 

 

Escort Card Table

A Winter White Wonderland on the Water in New York City

 

The reception for 300 guests was staged at Pier Sixty located directly on the Hudson River. This neutral space provided an opportunity for Atlas Floral Designers to morph the room into a winter wonderland by using a color palette of winter white, contrasting black and sparkling silver.  Elaborate arrangements could be found suspended from the ceiling, on pedestals, and on the tables.  Abigail Kirsch Caterers prepared the four -course meal as well as the whimsical white cake which was detailed in geometric lines and shapes.  As favors, each guest was presented with a small box of silver, white and black M&Ms inscribed with the wedding date and the bride and groom’s names. 

 

 

The Stats:

Time of year: November

Location:  Pier Sixty

Guests: 400`

The bride:  a lawyer

The Groom:  a flooring designer

 

The entertainment:  Ceremony: specially arranged Beatles tunes from Venues Ensembles, a leading string quartet; Reception:  they played for Paul McCartney’s wedding and won over the bride’s heart:  Soul Solution from Around Town Entertainment

 

 

 

The Scene: When assigning this bride the task of looking at vendor websites, she approached it like she was at work.  No detail was left unread, no picture unseen, and no sound bite unheard.  The space that was chosen, Pier Sixty, was a large neutral space that sat on the Hudson River.  The bride loved the space but was eager to meet with her florist to see how he could morph it into something amazing.  Sticking to white as her main color, the florist hung sheer drapes, erected a large tree in the center of the escort card table, suspended arrangements above the tables as well as had them on top of tables.  A white aura similar to a fresh snow was beaming from this site. 

 

 

 

 

The food:  Abigail Kirsch Caterers served a four course dinner that started with a veggie risotto stack and ended with a Chocolate Hazelnut Dome.  Keeping with the black, white and silver theme, the wedding cake which sat on a beautiful silver plateau was adorned with black detailing that mimicked a playful palate of lines and shapes. 

 

Alternate Table-Setting

 

The Favor:  This bride and groom catered to the sweet tooth of their guests.  On the way out of the space, there was a table full of small boxes tied with silver ribbon which held custom made M&M’s in their color palate of white, silver and black.  On some candies it read the bride and groom’s names and on the others, it had the date. 

 

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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. By John F. Bailey. February 7, 2008 UPDATED 4:08 PM WITH

VISUAL AIDS: 

The School District Annual Budget  Committee met Wednesday evening and was informed by

Superintendent of Schools Timothy  Connors and Assistant Superintendent for Business Fred Seiler

that the district faced $16 Million  in  projected refunds to 209 new certiorari  filers over the next two

budget years . Assistant  Superintendent Seiler said it was too early to tell how the school district

would handle the outright refunds or replace the lost revenue

 

 

School District’s Top Ten List of 2007 Petitioners for Assessment Refunds

They said the refunds would ultimately have  to be funded by either borrowing, establishing a budget

reserve, or cuts in the budget or increased taxes – revenue that would have to be replaced each year

by the school district going forward in the budget years ahead.  

 

 

 

209 In Line. Top Ten List Introduced

 

Mr. Seiler said as of September 2007 there were 209  new petitioners in 2007 alone (commercial and

 residential) seeking reductions in assessments of $82.9 Million that Seiler said would result in an

estimated $9.2 Million in outright refunds by the school district if settled for 25% of the requested

reduction– the typical historical settlement of such claims.

 

 

 

For the first time in city history, Fred Seiler unveiled a  “ Top Ten List of Petitioners” for reductions in

 assessments – who filed in 2007. The list includes The Galleria (seeking a $7.3 Million reduction), 

Fortunoff (a $6.8 reduction),  Bank Street Commons ( $3.2 Million), AT & T (2.8 Million), The Seasons

 ($2.3 Million), and  the condominium owners at Trump Tower at City Center ($2.1 Million). 

 

PILOTED Properties Get Into the Act

 

Several properties which received Payments In Lieu of Taxes to facilitate their development now seek

 reassessments  which will result in the school district  likely refunding  a substantial percentage of

 what they paid in their PILOT payments.  Bank Street Commons, according to the School District,

 paid $2.5 Million in PILOTs to the city, county and school district in 2007-2008, and is seeking in 2007

a $3.2 Million reduction in assessment.

 

Budget Committee Absorbs a Bit of Bad News

 

Seiler told the audience of the Budget Committee the district would have to pay this anticipated refund

liability through a combination that could include budget set-asides, budget cutting or borrowing.

Through the course of the evening, the Annual Budget Committee was acquainted with the pressures

on the school district budget which was introduced as $190.7 Million.

 

Fred Seiler presents the $190.7 Million Budget (as analyzed previously in yesterday’s

WPCNR Preview).

Connors and  Seiler both said that departments have been asked to look at their budgets, personnel

needs and that a new budget would be introduced to the Committee next week, holding out the

possibility the $190.7 Million figure which – if the assessment roll remains the same—would by

WPCNR estimate raise the school tax rate $55 per $1,000 of assessed value resulting in an $800

increase in the school taxes of a home with a market value of $700,000, and assessed value of

$15,000.

 

 

Connors said a new budget would be presented next Wednesday.

 

Donna Mclaughlin, the President of the Board of Education welcomed the gathering  saying 2008-

2009 was going to be “a tough year” and “we have a lot of work to do,” and “we are eager to hear what

you have to say.”

 

 

Superintendent of Schools Timothy Connors then took over, saying, “We’ve come to share

with you where we are on the budget,” and that last year, “listening to one another we did a

good job.” He said  by “listening and interacting” with the committee, he would craft

a “Superintendent’s Budget,” and made it clear “Your role is advisory.”

 

Connors then told the committee that Mr. Seiler was going to talk about “the bigger issues that are

coming up,” and that was how assessments were affecting the budget.

 

Assessments Primary Reason for Escalating Budget.

 

Seiler launched into a discussion of market value of properties determined by Albany and how that

was affecting the Equalization Rate explaining that as market value of White Plains properties went up,

the lower the equalization rate became, which adversely affected commercial assessments, resulting

in certiorari actions on the part of commercial properties.

 

 

PILOT PAYMENTS 2007-2008, showing how much more they pay now than when the

properties were vacant, as presented by Mr. Seiler Wednesday evening.

Seiler showed a list of White Plains PILOT properties showing how they had all produced higher taxes

through PILOTS (Payments In Lieu of Taxes) approved by the city to incentivize development. What

Seiler did not show was what the properties would have paid in taxes if they had been taxed at the full

tax rate on their present assessment.  (The present potential assessments of those properties were

not included on the chart, since PILOTED properties are not on the city tax roll, because they are

considered property of the Westchester County Industrial Developmet Agency.)

 

Seiler noted that two properties were coming off PILOTS (which WPCNR believes are 9 West and

1133 Westchester Avenue) and that while they were on  PILOTS they had appreciated in value. The

reason for this is that 9  West applied for a certiorari and had their assessment reduced, thus lowering

their real estate taxes,  and 1133 Westchester has received a PILOT recently increasing what they

paid. The building had  been in the process of renovation.)

 

Seiler then introduced his Top Ten List of Petitioners for Assessment Reductions, saying this was

going to cost the district $7 to 8 Million a year for the next three years, in refunds (and the need to

replace the lost school tax revenues.) “There’s not an end in sight, unless the (state) legislators do

something,” Seiler said. Assemblyman Adam Bradley, last fall observed that his bill to have a separate

commerial tax rate for commercial property was not likely to get any support in the State Senate, and

therefore it had not been advanced.

 

Realtor Observes Decline in White Plains Home Prices

 

At this point, Mr. Wolff,  of Wolff Realty in White Plains, made his remark that the White Plains housing

market and home values were “still soft,” that “the average price of homes in White Plains is down

10%.”  He said the “median prices was very misleading.”

 

Wolff said he doubted that total reassessment of properties in White Plains was the answer, because

homes built in the 1940s would be assessed dramatically higher, he estimated  that if your home had

an assessed value of $12-13,000 dollars now it could go as high as $20,000 in assessed value.

 

Such a jump in assessment, WPCNR notes,  would result in an instant increase in school taxes alone

of $3,000  a year if a $13,000 assessed home were to be reassessed up to $20,000.

 

Bill Pollak of the School Board observed how the equalization rate had declined  from 7.4% in 2000 to

2.69% today.  (Actually this was adjusted upward by the state to 2.75% in response to city pleas.)

Pollak observed that reassessment might divide the community.

 

Capital Project Moving Ahead

 

Seiler then shifted to brighter matters – the $69 Million Capital Project to build the new Post Road

School, and renovate the Mamaroneck Avenue School. He said the project was under budget and had

opened Mamaroneck Avenue School project for bids, and that the Post Road School so far had

received 44 bids on the construction. He said the Post Road School schedule was optimistic. (It is

scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2009.) Asked by a member of the audience if the district would

refinance previous loans due to the lower Federal Reserve Rate, Connors said they were going to look

at that. Financing for the Post Road School would be put out in June, Seiler said.

 

The effect of Assessments Reductions on PILOT-ed properties.

 

Fortunoff (The Fashion Mall Partners LP) paid $1.3 Million in PILOT Payments in 2007-2008, and

seeks a $6.8 Million reduction in assessment. Should Fortunoff for example settle their assessment

reduction claim for 25% of what is asked for, (a typical historical settlement, according to Seiler)  

 WPCNR calculates such a 25% on the dollar settlement would result in a $1.7 Million reduction in

Fashion Mall Properties  assessment.  Should that turn out to be the case, the school district would

have to refund Fortunoff $755,000 for 2006, more than 75% of what the school received   ($901,778) 

from Fashion Mall Properties in school taxes in 2006.

 

Bank Street Commons is another intriguing adventure in math. Bank Street seeks a  $3.2 Million

reduction in their assessment. If  the historical settlement of 25% is reached, this would result in the

school district having to pay back $351,000 of the $1,667,340 Bank Street paid in taxes to the school

district in 2007-08.  The developers of Bank Street Commons, LCOR recently received land from the

city at a reduced price  and were granted a PILOT going out fifteen years in a second development on

Bank Street for affordable housing, resulting in $29 Million in tax relief according to the city, and $39

Million in tax relief according to the Westchester County Industrial Development Agency, depending on

how the tax relief is defined. The justification for the 55 Bank Street deal according to the city was to

build a rental  development that included 20% of the units as “affordable.”

 

The Pressure Stays On

 

Seiler also noted that once these certioraris were settled, the pressure would not be off. 

 

The equalization rate nosedive this year to 2.75% would most certainly produce another round of

certioraris for years to come (as first reported by WPCNR weeks ago). Organizations receiving

certiorari relief and assessment reductions cannot reapply for reassessment for three years after

receiving assessment relief, Seiler said.  WPCNR notes that the anticipated $21 Million drop in the

assessment roll resulting from these settlements – the largest cumulative hit the district has ever taken

will result in a $9,200,000 drop in school revenues  — which in and of itself would require one time only

refunds but replacement of the $9.2 Million in revenues a year.

 

Superintendent of Schools Timothy Connors  (Left),said the decline in assessments in

previous years was the primary  factor driving the school budget. Jackqueline Mackin of the

Budget Office is  seated. Mr. Seiler is at the podium to the right.

 

Speaking to Mr. Seiler Thursday I asked if the refunds anticipated to be $8 Million a year the next two

years, would have to be replaced by an increase in school tax rates to equal the amount of the lost

revenue. Seiler said it was too early to tell, and that the school district would be deciding whether to

replace it with a reserve for these certioraris or to finance them.  He did indicate that that would have to

be dealt with.

 

$21 Million Assessment Drop? Holy Wallet, Batman!

 

In 2007-2008 The City Assessment Roll  available to the school district stood at $291 Million of Total

Assessed Valuation.  A $21 Million erosion of assessments  (if the $82 Million in requested

reductions  is settled at the  historical 25% rate) without any  assessment replacement somewhere  by

the city would drop the roll  to about  $270 Million of  Assessed Value in 2008-09 or 09-10 .depending

on the timing of the settlements.

 

 This means when those reassessments take effect the school district would need

to replace the revenue lost by that $21 Million assessment decline. By WPCNR calculation, the 7%

drop in the  assessed value represented  would increase the school tax rate $33, should the revenue

have to be made up by White Plains taxpayers.  

 

This added to the $474 per thousand tax rate in effect  this year would automatically increase taxes to

$503 per thousand, without the 9.5% increase called  for in the $190.7 Million budget.

 

WPCNR preliminary analysis of the $190.7 Million Preliminary Budget  indicated White Plains

taxpayers faced a $55 tax rate increase outright  to pay for the budget increase, even if assessments

as of March 1, remain the same or are slightly higher as the city assessor Lloyd Tasch predicts.

 

In 2009-2010, the Deluge.

 

The big assessment hit whatever it turns out to be will come when preparing the 2009-2010 school

budget when these new certiorari settlements impact the assessment roll.

 

Put another way, based on this year’s numbers the $21 Million anticipated drop in assessed values

over the next two years will mean a $33 increased per thousand in assessed value to the White Plains

School Taxpayer,  before the year to year inflationary impacts are felt on the school budget expenses.

 

Simple math shows that these assessments now introduced that the school expects to settle will in

addition to the year by year budget increases could result in  an increase in the  tax rate of $75 to

$100  per $1,000 of assessed valuation in the next two years ($550 to $575/$1,000 of accessed

valuation as opposed to the $475/$1,000 this year.

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WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL-CHRONICLE EXAMINER. February 4, 2008: The Common Council approved the start of construction of 23 units of “affordable housing” at the “Air Rights” building over the City Center Garage, with exterior design pending in a routine procedure at the close of the evening. The action would appear to clear the way for Cappelli Enterprises to start construction on the first of  23 “affordable housing” units owed the city of 65, relating to obligations Cappelli Enterprises agreed to in exchange for approval of the City Center and Ritz-Carlton projects. 

Councilman Benjamin Boykin asked City Corporation Counsel Edward Dunphy what was the actual date all 65 affordable units had to be built after which Cappelli Enterprises would not be issued Certificates of Occupancy for the second condominium tower at the Ritz-Carlton Westchester complex at 221.

Dunphy said the date was August 6. This is a departure from the impression left last month when the Mayor’s Office said Cappelli Enterprises need only open 24 affordable units in order to begin issuing Certificates of Occupancy. The “finish or else” date appears to be a distinct shift in policy coming about as a result of Cappelli Enterprises announcing Sunday it was suspending development in White Plains. The Cappelli organization had indicated as late as December they had hoped to put some of the 65 units in another building they were considering developing in White Plains.

In other action,  a hearing was held on The Venue, the retail complex planned or the 120 Bloomingdale Road property and after pleas from several neighbors saying the comprehensive plan called for protection of outer neighborhoods, the hearing was held over until next month.

The home rule resolutions on the 1/4% increase in the sales tax and the 3% hotel tax were approved, clearing the way for Assemblyman Adam Bradley to present them to the state legislature for approval. Councilman Glen Hockley read a statement criticizing “the majority of the Council” for bowing to the wishes of “the cautious management of the asssemblyman” in settling for 1/4% sales tax hike instead of 1/2%. Dennis Power leapt to the defense of the majority decision saying “it was not a badge of honor to have the top sales tax in the county,” pointing out the $11 Million in revenue Hockley spoke of  with a 1/2% raise was not guaranteed. He instead promised “a better approach to budget management and to concentrate on our budget and what we need to do.”

The Mayor announced the appointment of Michael Filardi as City Marshall, whom political insiders have connected with Basil Falardi, formerly a leading figure in the Republican Party in White Plains.