WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER 3,374,995 VISITS IN ONE YEAR—65,000 VISITS A WEEK BY 985,281 VISITORS

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WPCNR THE HUNGRY NEWS. May 15, 2006: Trucks, vans, SUVs arrived in twos and threes through the day Monday from 43 soup kitchens and food pantries throughout the county to pick up  over 126,000 pounds of non-perishable food donated by the National Association of Letter Carriers at Memorial Methodist Church today.  The drive has been sponsored for six years by the Westchester Coalition for the Hungry and Homeless (www.foodclothingshelter.org)

Rosa Boone, Executive Director of Westchester Coalition for the Hungry and Homeless, supervising pickup of food donations from Westchester County Lettercarriers Monday morning. Photo, WPCNR News.

The Food Tent at Memorial Methodist Church on Bryant. Vans from Shiloh Baptist Church of New Rochelle, Mount Lebanon Baptist Church Food Pantry of Peekskill, and Mt. Vernon New Life Fellowship Soup Kitchen wait to load up supplies. Food was collected by Westchester mailmen and delivered to the Food Tent Saturday and began to be distributed Monday morning. Photo by WPCNR News

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WPCNR The Housing News. By John F. Bailey. May 15, 2006: The White Plains Housing Authority’s Administration Offices and Resident Resource Center was opened this morning by an overflow crowd of community officials, concerned citizens, and even a visit by Representative Nita Lowey. Mack Carter, Executive Director of the Housing Authority welcomed the throng, and afterwards confided to WPCNR that new affordable housing projects would be undertaken by the Housing Authority in White Plains in the near future.

White Plains Housing Authority Headquarters this morning. Photo, WPCNR News.

Mayor Joseph Delfino of White Plains, Larry Sallee, Chairmain of the White Plains Housing Authority, and Mack Carter far right, cut the ribbon to launch the facilitiy in the spacious new community room. The facility provides a board room, meeting rooms, classrooms, a computer center for students, and the community room that a Facilities Coordinator, scheduled to be hired, will schedule for tenants of the housing authority and community groups. The Headquarters housing 10 employees of the White Plains Housing Authority.  Photo by WPCNR News.

 “Thank you’s” were tendered all around to architects, politicians, the Mayor, city department heads in the opening of the heaquarters which took 2-1/2 years to build, a year late in opening, having been completed by Summit Construction of White Plains after White & Carr the first contractor left the project. Mr. Carter told WPCNR the building came in on budget at $2.4 Million in federal Housing & Urban Development funds, with some minor cost overruns that HUD is paying.

Mayor Joseph Delfino thanked all who had participated in the project that had been in the planning stage for 25 years. He also mentioned that the Lexington Avenue corridor would be the next step in refurbishing the city’s West side and he encouraged the residents of the public housing to involve themselves with the city as the Lexington Avenue project is formulated. Representative Nita Lowery addressed the group and spoke on the need for devoting more financial resources for more affordable housing and that constituents should let The White House know that funds should not be cut for housing and services for the less fortunate.

Mack Carter speaking to WPCNR after the ceremony, said that though he was very proud of presiding over the new headquarters construction, that new affordable housing in White Plains was the Authority’s next goal. Carter said the Housing Authority had identified areas where new affordable housing could be built, but declined to name the areas, but that more affordable housing was on the Authority agenda.

Staff at White Plains Housing Authority new offices enjoying their new facilities, L To R: Zhana Rodriguez, Jennifer Genovese, Teddie Henderson and Pat Callahan. The entrance is more user friendly, clean, and no longer has that Sing Sing Prison atmosphere. Photo, WPCNR News.

Computer Center features 10 computers donated by the White Plains School District. Mr. Carter told WPCNR the Authority is in the process of hiring a facilities coordinator to arrange tenants’, corporations, and community use of the facilities. Carter said the facility would complement the Thomas H. Slater Center (across Fischer Avenue from the new headquarters), and not interfere with their programs in any way. Photo by WPCNR News

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Mr. Lawson is complimented flawlessly by the enthralling contralto, Ann Van Cleave as his completely believable and practical inspiration, Chairy Barnum.  (The Chairy role was played originally by Glenn Close.) Photo, Courtesy Westchester Broadway Theatre, By John Vecchiola.

Mr. Barnum’s world-famous attraction: the golden Swedish Nightingale, Jenny Lind is played with ethereal glow by the mesmerizing soprano, Allison Spratt. The comely Ms. Spratt has guile, pluck, earthiness and displays a well-timed Swedish accent. She creates a dazzling “Swedish” delight and distraction for the Master of Humbug himself.   Her soprano soars operatically to the top of the Big Top.

Mr. Barnum is so smitten with Ms. Lind, he takes on a new specialty as an actor in this show towards the end of the first act that will be an adventure for the audience and Mr. Lawson every night. It’s very high. Very daring. He has no script, and well, you will just have to see how Mr. Lawson makes out the night you go see the show. It involves a patient Ms. Spratt as a pining Ms. Lind waiting and waiting and improvisation by Mr. Lawson as he attempts to join her – well, you just have to see him to see if he executes the bit. The audience really gets their moneys’ worth from Mr. Lawson in this stunt.

Scene-Setters

The calliope music piping the audience in to enjoy dinner for the show sets a circusy mood. The ceilings of the theatre are festooned with drapes of scarlet swales to give a big top tent atmosphere to the amphitheatre. The extra touch to the interior puts you in a circus mood, so when the “Ed McMahon of Westchester Broadway Theatre,”  Steve Callaran welcomes you with his gifted way of pattering the announcements, you’re ready. 

A mime appears and performs a talented balcony walk on the wooden ballustrade of the third row.  Ken Lundie the musical director and John Daniels seat themselves at twin upright pianos and race into ragtime. The nonstop entertainment that “ “the circus” is known for begins.

Terri White gets the good times started with a comic turn and dance as Joice Heath, “The Oldest Woman,” whom Mr. Barnum turns into “George Washington’s Nurse” to turn a buck as an attraction. Ms.White’s pratfalls and scat singing of Thank God I’m Old follows up Lawson’s sucker number and just floors the audience.

Highlights of act one include the inspiring One Brick at a Time, where you have the plucky ensemble tossing bricks at each other. The duet between Lawson and Van Cleave, I Like Your Style, and The Colors of My Life get you comfortable with the characters and make you feel good about spousal appreciation.

Most amusing bit is Mr. Barnum’s negotiations with Tom Thumb the famous midget. How Mr. Thumb agrees to Mr. Barnum’s offer gets the biggest laugh of the night. Children will enjoy the Bigger Isn’t Better number by the hard-working Courter Simmons playing Tom Thumb, as he cavorts about the stage with men on stilts and thoroughly inspires the audience. He is reminiscent of Bobby the Old Mousketeer. (Man, Mr. and Mrs. White Plains, I am getting old.)

The spectacular entrance of Allison Spratt as Jenny Lind the opera beauty whom Barnum introduces to America, is sold totally by Ms. Spratt’s cool shocking beauty and not-so-innocent innocence that steals Mr. Barnum’s heart. Casting of both distaff leads in this show got the chemistry right. Photo, Courtesy WBT, By John Vecchiola.

Ms. Spratt’s timing and comedic Swedish accent when Barnum teaches her to greet American audiences with a Swedish “Ladies and Gentlemen” is smoothly done and stirs the audience with laughter. Then Ms. Spratt surprises all by hitting high notes worthy of Maria Callas. Ms. Spratt’s singing high opera while swinging on a swing of silken rope spun cleverly out of the back of her costume suspended by two of the ensemble is astonishing.  

Ms. Spratt balances “no-hands” on just her svelte and shapely  posterior 30 feet above the stage while belting out the real highs —  a remarkable feat, as she sings her great show-stopper, Love Makes Such Fools of Us All.

Don’t try that at home, kids.

In Act II, the show rushes to a rousing finale after the tasteful departure of Ms. Lind and the equally uplifting manner in which the show treats Mr. Barnum’s loss of his wife during his brief fling at politics.

Blockbuster Finale

The show closes with one of the most crowded, frantic loudest finales befitting the circus as Mr. Barnum meets Mr. Bailey (James) and forms you know what. (Barnum & Bailey Circus.) The finale is dazzling, with acrobatic ensemblists descending from the rafters and catwalks into the audience; high wire specialists climbing  and spinning to the top of the WBT big tent. The ensemble had to work out to do this show, because many perform acts requiring great strength and stamina. Try singing while suspending yourself from a rope sometime.

The set design by George Puello and Steve Loftus has created a lovely circus atmosphere by rendering a calliope backdrop to the set where the 9-person music ensemble sits in the open – a rarity for the WBT. The  ropes and swings actors swoop down and in and out on appear quickly and flawlessly. Small props and starscapes denote slight changes of scene – but the audience is not bothered by it because after all they’re getting a circus here. The show needs to achieve a balance between the big sound of the ensemble and the microphones of the actors. Sometimes it was hard to make out the fast-talking lyrics, but that is a problem with every musical I have ever seen. Andrew Gosmer’s lighting design lent great exuberant atmosphere to the show, especially on Colors of My Life.

I have to laud the Ringmaster, Jonathan Brody, who keeps things moving with just the right “John Sterling”(Remember WCBS-TV’s The Big Top on Saturdays in the 1950s), voice, and heightens the expectations of the audience just like the circus does.

Barnum was a hit in 1982 and now it is a hit all over again. That is the charm of the WBT. When you go, you will never see a bad show. Plus you get the show, the dinner,  all for the price of  $70.

Part of the swank lobby of WBT is decorated for this show with circus memorabilia and posters to get you into the atmosphere of the circus. The management has created an historical showcase of pictures of the original P.T. Barnum and his wife, and Tom Thumb and family. It’s the kind of atmospheric touch – a homage — no other professional theatre I have been to takes the effort to create.

 Barnum is playing the WBT “Big Top” nightly except Mondays,  through July 8. The box office may be reached at 914-592-2222 or go to the WBT website, www.broadwaytheatre.com.

Like a circus, WBT’s Barnum is big, loud, unabashedly good natured. It tumbles engagingly out at you like a gang of puppy dogs and mischievous kittens. You gotta love it. The cast has such a good time (or appears to), that you’ll have a great time too. If your children have never seen a circus or a Broadway show, this is one to introduce them to a little bit of both. They’re not going to get antsy. The staid audience of Mr. and Mrs. Who’s Who of Westchester on Press Night applauded for a minute and a half.

Barnum, Westchester Broadway Theatre’s revival of the 10-Tony-nominated hit Cy Coleman musical of 26 years ago is a family show and brings to life the feel of the circus. There is no number you can ignore. The ensemble and characters trooping, flipping, balancing climbing into the spotlights and balancing on the rails of the tables, and energizing the stage hold your attention. (The ensemble is also very brave considering the stunts this show demands of them.)

If you bring children to see Barnum, they’ll want to join the theatre, the actors and actresses look like they are having so much fun. You’ll laugh at the sight gags, be amused at Ms. Van Cleave’s way to settle arguments with Mr. Lawson, and the show soars from beginning to the glorious jumping, cartwheeling, rope-climbing finale.

Now, if the show only had a live elephant. Beware of flying batons. Step right up ladies and gentlemen!

It’s a three-ring circus!

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WPCNR’S THE FEINER REPORT. By Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner. May 10, 2006: The Greenburgh Town Board unanimously approved the Fair Share Health Care resolution calling on the State Legislature to approve plans to level the play for responsible local employers that struggle to compete against large profitable corporations like Wal Mart that doesn’t provide decent benefits to their employees. 

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The proposal covers all businesses with 100 or more employees in the state, except those in agriculture and manufacturing. It also covers building service workers in buildings with 100,000 square feet of office space or 50 residential units. The law will require large employers to pay $3 per hour towards health benefits.

DON’T BE FOOLED.

The e mail sent out to the e list yesterday by Town Board members is a smokescreen to cover up the improper use of police for political purposes. During my tenure as Town Supervisor I have tried hard to keep the community before major actions are taken unless that information jeopardizes the town in any way. The e mail I distributed did not jeopardize our bargaining position. 

 POLICE SHOULD NOT BE USED FOR POLITICAL PURPOSES- EVER

Yesterday’s statement by the Greenburgh Town Board members does not and can not excuse the fact that the Board adopted a Resolution on April 28, 2006 to authorize a police investigation to purportedly determine who provided e mails to a resident of the Town when I had informed them, as they now admit “prior to the board authorizing the investigation” that I had provided the e mails. The resolution, which in minute detail, claimed to recount the events supporting the investigation, materially and deliberately omitted this disclosure because it would have made it obvious on its face that there was no need for an investigation by Town Board employees or the Police Chief. Also, the e mails in issue, one of which I drafted did not contain, discuss or solicit any legal advice. 

As  the Board knew that I had provided the e mails, there was no basis for a criminal investigation to determine if the town’s e mail system had been hacked. If the Board wanted to investigate our computer system they could have conducted the investigation with administrative personnel, not the police. Further, the Freedom of Information Law and its exemptions were inapplicable to this matter because no filing for information had been made and, even if there had been a filing, there was no applicable “present or imminent contract award” exemption as the Board had not decided upon the nature and scope of any proposal. Therefore, the purported legal grounds supporting the resolution were illusory.

None of the e mails were referred to in title or text as being privileged or confidential. In the past, when the Town Attorney’s office wanted e mails to be confidential the Town Attorney’s office  has used the following language:

 This electronic mail message contains information that (a) is or may be LEGALLY PRIVILEGED, CONFIDIENTIAL, PROPRIETARY IN NATURE, OR OTHERWISE PROTECTED BY LAW FROM DISCLOSURE, AND (b) is intended only for the use of the Addressee(s) named herein. If you are not the intended recipient, an addressee, or the person responsible for delivering this to an addressee, you are hereby notified that reading, using, copying or distributing any part of this message is strictly prohibited. If you have received this electronic mail message in error, please contact us immediately and take the steps necessary to delete the message completely from you computer system.

Thank you.

 Susan A. Mancuso    Town Attorney   Town of Greenburgh    

   177 Hillside Avenue   Greenburgh, New York 10607  

  914.993.1546       fax 914.993.1656  

Our Town Attorney did not intend the e mail that I had shared with a resident to be confidential. Otherwise he would have included the above language in it.  In addition, the e mail sent to members of the Board was also sent to two non members of the Town Board.

I publicly released the contents of the Police Chief’s findings after giving the Board, the Town Attorney and the Police Chief notice that I would do so if I did not hear from them by a specific time and date. No communication was received by anyone before the time passed. Further, the Police Chief’s report did not contain anywhere on the document the words “privileged and confidential.”

I will continue to do everything I can to obtain the best value for the town in any commercial transaction and I will continue to respect the law and the very important concept of open government. I hope the Board will never again resort to the adoption of Resolutions that misstate the facts and the law and the improper use of the police department for political reasons.

PAUL FEINER

Greenburgh Town Supervisor

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WPCNR Quill & Eyeshade. Commentary By John F. Bailey May 10, 2006:  Tuesday evening, the Mayor of White Plains was reported going to a civic association meeting to discuss neighborhood issues. Meanwhile, in another part of town, not too far away the Superintendent of Schools addressed other neighborhood associations on the school budget.

 WPCNR notes this was a missed opportunity for both leaders to have a public town meeting of the minds as they sail on a financial sea afloat with financial icebergs:

 The Captains of the two “ships of the city,” the School District Titanic and the City Hall as the Carpathia (the Titanic rescue ship),  could have taken last night as an opportunity to entertain possible solutions to steering around their twin financial icebergs:

The first iceberg is the Mayor’s “roll-over-and-play-dead, never-met-a-certiorari-I-didn’t-grant” response to certioraris the last six years that lower the city assessibles.

The second iceberg is the school district reluctance to trim staff, attack its bureaucracy, and trim the automatic 7% increase they deliver every year minimum in the school budget.

No, that did not happen in White Plains last night.

The Mayor and Superintendent met in separate sites in the same city. Much as the Titanic wallowed for two and a half hours before sinking while the ship California, a mere 3 miles away from the Titanic ignored the distress calls, and five other ships within two hours’ sail, passed her by. Only the Carpathia, 40 miles away steamed to Titanic rescue.

Neither Captain of the two city ships seems particularly interested in working to a joint solution to the laissez faire budget trends of either financial ship.

One City Captain, the Mayor, keeps kowtowing to certiorari-filers and entrepreneurs and does not jawbone them, let alone extract a quid pro quo that protects city taxpayers. But his administration does document his record of success. Recently statements have been made that the city  has had 1,000 businesses have come to the city. Could we have a list, please? Who are they, where are they?  

 

 While the other Captain, the Superintendent of Schools, has yet to institute an aggressive program to cut school district budget growth. Both Captains seem to be imitating each others’ spending policies, while feeding taxpayers into the boilers of their respective city financial engines. The question is when will they run out of coal (taxpayers)?

Now what could be gained by a public meeting of Superintendent Connors and Mayor Delfino? You never know. 

Can the Mayor show some numbersmanship to take hold of his budget? It continues to grow unchecked due to blind faith in development falling short of expectations, while the development creates new spending needs that outpace development benefits.

Can the Superintendent embark on budget projections and spending cuts in anticipation of city certioraris before rather than after the fact — with timely information from the Assessor’s Office? Could a certiorari “giveback” penalty be enacted by the city fathers to make cert-filers think twice before “cert-ing”?

Could the city, rather than balancing budget by selling off assets, cut its budget just a tad? One day before Decision Night, the Common Council has not announced any cuts in the budget. Let alone a freeze in administration salaries. Perhaps a token cut might be made? Perhaps we could lop off a street sweeper, one commissioner car?

The city, though appears to be taking its cue from the School District 25 year traditional habit of spending and the city is playing great catch up ball.

The City combined operating budget for 2006-2007 is $146.3 Million. It’s growing at 5.2% a year 2% over the inflation rate. This means by 2007-2008 we can expect a city budget of $154 Million, and by 2008-2009, a budget of $162 Million, just about what the school budget is now. 

This is what happens when you spend more than your revenues and bet on the next big check, borrow for the future against the present.

The School Budget will break $200 Million in two years.

In a projection issued February 27, the school district predicted it will spend $178 Million in 2007-2008.  At least the school district does do projections.
 

Now let’s take this into 2008-2009. The School District Salaries, according to the Assistant Superintendent for Business office will hit the $104 Million mark in 2008-2009, with fringe benefits hitting $42 Million, and the rest of the budget based on conservative 3% inflation will put the 2008-2009 budgets at $189 Million.

However the district 2008-2009 projection appears understated, because it assumed a 5% per annum increase and 6% per annum increase in transportation and utilities — both sure to escalate with the unforeseen escalation in fuel costs in recent months. The 2008-2009 projection is a very generous budget prediction on debt service. The $189 Million 2008-2009 “Budget” lists debt service with no allowance for new certioraris in 2008-2009, and leaving out any mention of the capital improvements bond issue in documents presented to the Annual Budget Committee.

Only astute ABC-ers who looked at the Capital Improvements  debut service financials and added them to the Budget projection got this subtlety.

The school debt service would climb from approximately $6,000,000 in 2006-2007 to 10.6 Million in 2008-2009 if the school district floated the full $66.7 Million bond. That adds $4 Million to the rosy scenario budget, lifting it to a minimum $193 Million in two years.

 
This does not include any new certioraris the school district does not know about.

It is not inconceivable that rising expenses will bring additonal budget increases well beyond those February projections in order to keep the School District Titanic steaming ahead with a full compliment of crew that will kite the 2008-2009 budget over $200 Million. It is interesting to note that if that happens the budget will go from $165.8 Million this year (2006-2007) to $200 Million in two years.  

Think about this: The School Budget is compounding at about $15 Million a year. There is talk on the Board of Education about trimming. The Teachers Union head has talked about paying more health costs. (The Next School District Iceberg: the Teacher contracts expire at the end of 2007. That will most surely hit the $200 Million mark.)

Something’s gotta give. Something’s gotta give. Something’s gotta give.


When both the city and the school district increase spending when revenues are, in the school district case, dwindling, and in the city’s case, not rising as fast as they would like, something or someone has got to give. 

 Usually it is you and me, the taxpayer. Are the financial Captains and the School Board members and Common Council members going to take a look, together?

City and school district financial policy is flooding red ink all over the city books, despite contrived surpluses by counting loans as revenue, by desperation bonding, fire sales of land, and assurances that development will save the day. Maybe it will. It has not so far.

Plugging the monetary gash in the side of the School District Titanic with tax increases, stopgap borrowing, while the Carpathia of the city government steams in circles instead of coming to the rescue is aggravating the revenue situation for both city and school district.

Both revenue sources are drying up on the city and the school district. It does not take a Ph.D. or an MBA to figure that out.  Because the Ph.Ds and MBA’s have not figured it out. All you have to do is look at your tax bill. 

 As the Mayor is fond of saying, and some councilpersons and school board members echo, “it all comes out of the same pocket.” Well it is our pockets.

 In the future, the city has to find some way to stop the certioraris.

The city has to extract an infrastructure tax of some kind with new development.

The school district must cut..  

The entire city has to wake up and smell the coffee that development has to be done, but you have to extract a fair amount of taxes out of the developers.

The real increase in city development  has only risen $7,587,000 a year since 2002-2003 when the city sales tax collected was $34, 413,400 a year in sales tax, for 2005-2006, if all goes according to plan we will hit $43 Million — that’s a rise of $9 Million a year (and yes, Paul Wood, there are mortgage taxes and permit fees — paid once). That’s not adjusting for inflation.

 The city gained $2.6 Million in PILOTS this year. The school district saw roughly $8.5 million in PILOT payments from the development for 2006-2007 but has gotten killed by certioraris that the city has not fought. Has this development helped the School District?

The School District received $6 Million in PILOTS in 2004-2005, $7.2 Million in 2005-2006 and budgets based on city figures, will receive $8.8 Million in PILOTS in 2006-2007. That is $22 Million in PILOTS. But, water is still pouring into the bowels of the School District Titanic.

Because the $22 Million in PILOTS in the two years and upcoming in 2006-2007 has been wiped out  by certiorari assessment losses to the tune resulting in a $23 Million increase in school taxes in the same three years.

The PILOTS are a wash because of the certiorari drain of $21 Million those three years. Perhaps the city negotiated PILOTS just a tad too generously?

The Mayor says there is nothing he can do about the certioraris. That is not the answer. Together the two captains should get their ships together soon with the commercial businesses that are creating these financial icebergs because they can. You can hardly blame them.

The question the two captains have to engage is when do the tax increases become too much for the well-meaning and generous White Plains taxpayers to bear? When will the populaces who believe all the city hall and school district hand-wringing and finger-pointing, realize what is happening and why?

Do they care?

As Superintendent Connors said Tuesday evening at the Council of Neighborhood Associations, “everything is relative,” noting that the same things were said about the budget twenty years ago.