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 BUMPER TO BUMPER. By John F. Bailey. October 9, 2007: Official spokespersons for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in Washington,  and the Transportation Security Administration stopped short of saying the two super-security agencies approved Governor Eliot Spitzer’s initiative, the “Drivers License for All” policy for New Yorkers.  A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security stated that Driver’s Licenses under the REAL I.D. act could only be issued to citizens when states have to be REAL I.D. compliant in 2013.

The policy announced by the Governor September 21, would  extend driver’s licenses to immigrants who are residing in the state illegally. Spokespersons for the nation’s super security agency watchdogs would not take a position against the policy outright when contacted by WPCNR. However The Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said that January 2013 was when New York State had to be highly compliant with REAL ID regulations. At this time, the Governor’s office has indicated to WPCNR the DMV will not consider REAL ID requirements until the final regulations are issued by the Department of Homeland Security.

Lara Keehner, spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in Washington, said in a WPCNR interview, “The particular policy that the governor has explained he’d like to go forward with, is in particular  is a state’s rights issue, because of the fact that it’s pertaining to the eligibility of whether  or not you’re able to drive on the highways. So that particular part of it the Department (of Homeland Security) would not be involved in.”

She did say that the question of citizenship in regard to issuing of REAL ID compliant Driver’s license was an issue and point of departure that the Governor’s plan would not be acceptable.

“But, of course, we are interested in securing  identification, Western Hemisphere Travel Intiative (WHTI) compliant Driver’s Licenses as well as REAL ID compliant Driver’s Licenses or other kids’ documentation, we do care about. One of the requirements (of the REAL ID Act) is you have to verify the eligibility or citizenship of the person to receive. Those  (REAL I.D.-compliant) drivers licenses would not be able to be given to illegal aliens.” Keehner said.

Homeland Security releasing Final REAL ID Regs in “Near Future.”

WPCNR asked Keehner what the timeline on REAL ID Act compliant licenses was in view of the Governor’s liaison on the License for All policy had said the state did not have to be compliant until 2013 and the state was not reacting to REAL I.D. requirements until Washington “promulgates” the requirements.  Ms. Keehner interpreted the timeline slightly differently:

“In the near future, I wouldn’t be able to give a timeline, we will be rolling out the final regulations on that, yes. “

Asked if the final regulations on REAL I.D. would be ready by January, Keehner said she thought so but would not want to guarantee it. 

“Extremely Compliant” by January 20013

WPCNR asked if the Governor’s office was correct in saying the state did not have to be compliant until 2013. Keehner had a different interpretation:

“That (2013) is when they need to be extremely compliant. But, you’ve probably seen the fact sheet on our website. There’s a series of ways in which they can be compliant. Obviously we want states to be compliant as soon as possible, but the last possible and actual date is 2013, yes.”

I asked, if according to the DHS website, driver’s licenses can only be issued to citizens after January 31, 2009, was correct:

Keehner  commended, “That’s my understanding—licenses that are Real ID-compliant, yes. What we care about in this department here is making sure that we have pure documentation . so we can be sure that the person holding that I.D. really is that person, and that you are able to confirm certain things about that person which would be dated on that documentation. When our customs officers dealing with people coming across the border, they have over 8,000 different types of documentation they need to sift through.”

State Working with DHS?

I asked about theWestern Hemisphere Travel Initive effort and how the Governor’s plan affected that:

Keehner noted,  “The State of New York is one of the ones we’re working on to provide secure driver’s licenses so folks can travel with greater ease across the Canadian and U.S. border. Washington State and Vermont have said they want to do that. They are doing extremely well, we are very pleased with that partnership.”

 

Signoff or Not? 2 Sets of Licenses?

WPCNR pointed out the Spitzer administration has not indicated that the Department of Homeland Security had “signed off” on the Spitzer licensing of illegals policy.

Keehner said, “I wouldn’t be able to say we signed off on it either. I believe we are aware of their interest to do that. But I know, on a side note, we are working with them on the potential of their joining us on our Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative program and getting their driver’s licenses up to speed with that.”

I asked if the DHS would like very much to have a license for illegal aliens and a license for citizens?

She said, “I never said that. They could have the potential for having two separate licenses, one that is Real ID compliant, and one for illegal aliens. I wasn’t commenting on it. I said that is one thing they could be doing.”

Awaiting Answer from the State

WPCNR has placed a call to the Governor’s Press Office to ask if the state would have two separate types of licenses, one for illegal aliens, and one for citizens, or aliens legally registered with the Immigration and Naturalization Service. WPCNR awaits their return call. The Governor’s Press Officer on this issue last Friday said that the state was not reacting to REAL ID Act issues until the Department of Homeland Security issued its final regulations.

Keehner had noted earlier in the conversation that a person without a REAL I.D. compliant license (in 2013), would not be able to cross borders, not get you in a federal building and would not get you on an airplane.

TSA Says I.D. is Not Their Focus. Security Is.

Meanwhile, across town at the Transportation Security Administration,  A TSA spokesperson Lara Uselding, said the TSA would not have a comment on whether that agency approved of the governor’s “License for all” policy.

Uselding said the driver’s license is not the prime focus of the TSA screening personnel at the nation’s airports:

 “At the airports, we have many layers in place, starting with our ticket-document checkers, those are Transportation Security officers trained to look for false I.D.s and have some form of detection skills looking for persons who would do us harm.  If you say you are John Smith, and you came through with an I.D. saying Bill Smith, we would have that first layer of security to say that’s an I.D. that’s not valid, if for some reason someone sneaks through with a false I.D., from a security standpoint, we have the security checkpoints where those individuals are going to go through a screening. We have  other security layers in place to make sure nobody gets to bring a prohibited item on the aircraft and that we just make sure all individuals are screened.

I can’t really comment on the governor’s policy. From a security standpoint, we want to make sure all individuals are screened which we do and we have many layers in place to make sure that passengers follow the rules and that starts from the curb and goes all the way to the cockpit.”

Acceptable?

Asked if the Governor’s Drivers License for All initiative was acceptable to the TSA, Uselding said, “I can’t comment specifically on what Governor Spitzer’s doing, but  our focus is on security so we have layers in place and we want to make sure no person intending to do us harm, no prohibited items are going to get through and aboard the aircraft. From a security standpoint, there’s even cases where persons lose their wallet, and we follow certain guidelines to manage those on a case by case basis. Those individuals  can receive secondary screening and further scrutiny to assure they don’t have anything on their person or in their bags that would do harm to the aircraft.”

She said, “However, we do work with our other federal partners, and  if there’s ever a case where there might be outstanding warrants, we’ll refer them to law enforcement, so we do work partnership with immigration and customs. For us, our focus is on security, and we want to make sure no one has anything on their person that could harm our passengers.”

WPCNR pointed out that based on what Ms. Uselding said, that would mean Governor Spitzer’s press office is correct (that TSA is not concerned with their licensing program).

“I don’t know what you mean.”

I pointed out that the license as the Governor’s Press Office envisions it would be valid as a photo- Government issued I.D. to 20013, when the REAL ID Act takes effect, and asked, “From what you just told me, If your focus is primarily on people taking devices that could cause a security risk to the aircraft, then if you’re (TSA)convinced that the person  (alien or citizen) is not a threat to do violence, they get on the plane. Is that correct?”

“I’m not in a position to comment on the governor’s policy. We focus on people and their property. We make sure through many layers, including behavior detection officers who are trained to look for signs of fear, deception or stress, and if those individuals exhibit certain signs we’re going to pull them aside and really put them through some extra scrutiny, the same with their personal items and any kind of bags that would come through. We are focused on people and their property and insuring nothing harmful gets past security checkpoints.

I did tell you there are some cases where our people have found people with false i.d.s  or warrants and we will work with local airport police or Immigration officers.”

Upper Level TSA Comment Not Sought.

I asked if she would go to upper TSA Management to ask them to make a comment or statement that they would accept licensing of illegal aliens as the Governor suggests.

Uselding said, “We wouldn’t have that information. When a person comes to the airport and presents an I.D. to the airlines, it’s up to the airlines to check them in, and then those individuals come to the checkpoint, and again have to present proper document and boarding pass to our TSA people and then go through the checkpoint. We wouldn’t have information about whether he’s a citizen or not.”

I asked, “It wouldn’t matter to you whether he was a citizen or not. Is that what you’re saying?”

Uselding said, “Our focus is on security, and making sure people who wish to do us harm with prohibited items do not make it through and don’t harm passengers.”

I asked again if she could take this to a higher level and get a definitive announcement from the TSA that the Spitzer plan is all right with the TSA.

Uselding said, “It’s just not our place to comment on that. As I said, our focus is on security. And if there are ever cases that need to be elevated to a proper agency, we will do that.”

She reiterated that she would not take WPCNR’s question to a higher management level, she said.

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WPCNR MR. & MRS. & Ms. White Plains Views. October 8, 2007: When Governor Eliot Spitzer introduced his plan to grant drivers licenses to illegal aliens if they produce documented identification September 21, it has stirred a lot of questions.

What do Mr. and Mrs. and Ms.White Plains think? Since White Plains has a population of two-thirds minorities, some of whom may be considered illegal aliens, it is an interesting issue.  We have come up with some ways to treat this problem: Tell us what you think in the poll at the right.

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WPCNR PRESS BOX. By John F. Bailey. October 6, 2007 UPDATED October 7, 2007 11:30 AM EDT: Yorktown’s Huskers dominated the second half  to overcome a two-touchdown deficit, and a stingy Tiger red zone defense when Brendan Brunell got a step on a lone tiger defender and took a perfectly thrown 10-yard quick pass at the goal line on a 3rd and goal from the Tiger 10 to give the Huskers the lead with a minute to go in the game, 15-14.  A two-point conversion made the final score 17-14.

Yorktown held the ball for 8 minutes in the final quarter on route to the clinching touchdown grinding out first downs at 8 yards a clip on the drive. It was the first home game played at Eastview School in years due to the unavailability of Parker or Loucks Stadium due to synthetic turf conversion.

Number 32 Maurice Thomas Looking like Jim Brown — Rumblin, Stumblin for a 49 yard Touchdown run to put the Tigers up 6-0 in the First Quarter. The Thomas run was a stunner right up the middle.

4th down and 9 Conversion on Husker 24 Sets Up second Tiger TD in second quarter: Mike Howard (15) has just flipped a perfect screen pass to Ray Mitchell, following his Tiger mates, took the pigskin to the Yorktown 10 to keep the Tiger drive alive. Mitchell (33) can be seen falling out of bounds in center of picture.  Billy Dosantos scored on a 7 yard run minutes later to put White Plains up 14-0. A blocked punt gave Yorktown a safety to make the score 14-2 at the half.

Yorktown came back on a drive in the third quarter to close to within 14-9, then after stopping the Tigers on 3 and 2 at the Tiger 41 at the outset of the 4th quarter, Yorktown drove 59 yards in an amazing 17 plays for the winning score with a minute to go. The Tigers after leading the entire game fall to 2-2. They play Horace Greeley next Saturday.

 

 

This game turned around in the Third Quarter when  White Plains took the kickoff at their own 30 and drove in 9 plays to the Yorktown 44 confidently moving the ball,seemingly on route to their third touchdown, when Yorktown stripped the ball and recovered a fumble on the Husker 37.

Yorktown began the drive to get back into the game . The Huskers traded alternative runs getting only to the Tiger 41 when a motion penalty set them back to a 2^nd and 14 on the Tiger 47. Then came the first turning point.  A pass fell short of an intended Huskie receiver on the Tiger 33 with a Tiger defender either falling or inadvertently tackling the receiver and the pass interference flag came out. First down Yorktown on the Tiger 33. However, the ball was thrown  way short, uncatchable. Tiger Coach Skip Stevens protested the call to no avail.

Invigorated, a run got Yorktown to the 15, then a first down on the 5. The Tigers held them for three downs with Yorktown’s second effort by Peter Frank  yielding their first touchdown on 4^th and goal at the 1. With the point,  it was 14-9 with 4 minutes to go in the third quarter.  The Tiger defense was tough inside the red zone today but were chewed up on the Yorktown running game between the 20s.

Mitchell runback called back.

Ray Mitchell broke the ensuing kickoff out to the 50 yard line, but a flag on the far side of the field away from Mitchell’s route, started the Tigers at their 20. The Tigers managed one first down to the 32 then were stopped at the first play of the 4^th quarter on third and 2 at their 42. Yorktown  stopped Mitchell up the middle and forced a punt.

A booming punt set up Yorktown at their own 31. White Plains never touched the ball again for the next 8 minutes, as Yorktown simply chewed up yardage at 8 yards a clip, gaining 7 first downs stopping the clock 7 times  which as it turned out was a huge factor in their winning touchdown drive which consumed 18 plays.

 

Big Overland Gains Highlighted Yorktown winning TD Drive in 4th Quarter, the Huskie backpack ripped off consistent gains of 8 yards on first down.

Ray Mitchell saved a touchdown with a jarring head-on tackle at the White Plains 16, as the Tiger defense valiantly, doggedly attempted to halt the inexorable Huskie drive. After yielding a first down at the 5, White Plains held on two plays with Maurice Thomas sacking the Huskie QB at the 12. A run was stopped at the 10. On third and 6 with a minute and seconds to go in the game, and an almost certain pass, Yorktown went to a tight formation. John Froats looked left. It was a Quick pass to Brunelle on the goal line defended by one Tiger. Froats got the ball in waist high away from the defender and Brunelle stepped into paydirt. Yorktown had the lead and the ball game.

First Half Exactly the opposite.

In the first half Yorktown’s inability to hang onto the football allowed White Plains to control the ball.

After Yorktown went three and out on their first possession, three plays later, Maurice Thomas burst through the center of the Yorktown line and cruised 49 yards for a Tiger touchdown for a 7-0 lead at the 7:40 mark of the opening stanza.

Yorktown then started slicing up the White Plains line, posting three quick first downs, driving to the White Plains 23 with 3 minutes to go in the quarter when  White Plains stripped the ball  with Jean Joseph recovering the fumble on  the Tiger 20 yard line.

The Tigers then drove 80 yards in 12 plays with Billy Dosantos scoring to give the Tigers a 14-0 lead.

This well-orchestrated drive featured two 4^th down conversions by the Orange and Black. The drive started with a 25 yard pitch and outside left end run by Ray Mitchell to give White Plains a first down on the Yorktown 38. After  a 6 yard carry by John Philogene gave White Plains a 4^th and 3 on the Yorktown 28, Philogene burst through the line again for a first down to keep the drive alive.

Three plays later came another key 4^th down conversion on 4^th and 9 at the 27. Mike Howard rolled right looked to Ray Mitchell in the left flat positioned with three blockers for a screen play that sprung Ray down the sideline for a first down on the Husker 14.

Enter Billy Dosantos. The Tigers line sprung him to the 7 yard line. On third and 3 on the 7, Dosantos scampered untouched into the end zone. Mike Howard added his second PAT and it was 14-0 with 10 minutes to go in the half.

After a long run Yorktown’s runner coughed up a fumble on a great strip  by Billy Dosantos and  White Plains  started again on their 21 but the Tigers had a punt blocked, with Yorktown taking over again, driving to the Tiger 5 where the Tigers held them in a great goal line stand.

Forced to punt from their end zone, Yorktown blocked another Tiger punt that bounded out of the endzone for a safety and the Huskies had a 14-2 deficit at the half.

 

Overflow Crowd Views the action in the shadow of the City Center. Bleachers did not have the capacity to handle the crowd.

Best Band in All the Land Entertained at Halftime — Jason Kaplan Leads the Band — in a majestic rendering of Kung Foo Fighting.

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WPCNR’S THE REAL DEAL by The Wedding Jeannie. October 6, 2007: Contrary to popular belief, the tradition of the white wedding dress only began in 1840’s England during the reign of Queen Victory.  Before her wedding to Prince Albert, women wore gowns in different colors, and it was only after the Queen had been wed in white, that the trend began in full swing.  While white was always a popular color to demonstrate purity and innocence, the white wedding gown was a tradition that escaped many until Victoria set the stage with it (and in the US white only began to signify purity after WWII).  Ironically, by the late 1800’s, much was written about how a brides’ gown had always been white, furthering the myth that this had been an age old tradition.  And as with most popular trends, this was one that began only with the very wealthy.  It was difficult to keep white clean or get it clean, so only women with disposable income could justify the expensive of having a white dress that would probably never be worn again. 

Jeannie Uyanik, Planner to the World

The Wedding Jeannie

$10,000 to $15,000 a dress.

 

Plus ce que change, plus ce que reste la meme – a famous saying indicating that the more that changes, the more remains the same – and that is certainly true of trends in wedding dresses starting with those that can afford them!  The average cost of purchasing a wedding dress in the city is roughly $4,500.  We know that for many brides, this can be representative of half their entire wedding budget.  It’s difficult to justify the cost of a small car for a gown that you will wear once.  But we see brides in the tri-state area spending closer to $10,000-$15,000 on their wedding day attire frequently. 

 

Bridal fashion can be all over the spectrum.  Brides go strapless, go short, go ornate, go plain, and go wild.  But one thing remains consistently important: comfort.  Regardless of what your personal style is, you need to be extremely comfortable in your gown.  If you aren’t, you’re setting yourself up for a fidgety wedding day (and you don’t want that showing up in the video or pictures).

 

Many designers keep this in mind when creating their latest designs.  Something as simple as choosing an empire waist or a cap sleeve can add that element of comfort while reflecting your personal style.  Speaking of style, it’s usually a good idea to somewhat define what your style is.  Are you traditional and love the idea of wearing a big beautiful ball gown?  Are you a glamorous bride that wants to bring in a bit of old Hollywood into the wedding?  Are you simple and want something more dainty and casual?  These days, there aren’t many rules on wedding fashion.  The dress is a place where you can really express yourself and have some fun doing it!  But a word to the wise, don’t pick something too trendy that will leave you saying, “Now why did I pick this dress again?”

 

Bridesmaids’ Styles Today.

 

And as for the dreaded bridesmaid dress!  The days of poofy sleeves and super matchy-match dresses are over.  The trend for the last several years for bridesmaids is the idea of the ‘re-wear’.  Obviously it’s an honor to be in someone’s wedding, but it’s and even bigger honor when a bridesmaid gets to wear a dress that she loves and that she wants to wear again!  Over the years, some designers have really perfected it! 

 

For example, Ariane Goldman Finkel owner of Twobirds Bridesmaid came up with a bridesmaid dress that can be worn ten different ways.  With this concept, Ariane “marries the bride’s vision with the bridesmaid’s happiness.”  There are other companies that will have similar options.  Amsale’s bridesmaid division allows the bride to choose a fabric and then gives bridesmaids the freedom to choose the design of the dress (with the bride’s approval, of course!)  The hope is that in the end, everyone is happy and feels good in the dress!

 

Grooming the Groom

 

Last but certainly not least, the groom’s attire.  Often the male formalwear is forgotten about until the last minute.  It’s clearly an easier task to cross off your list than getting wedding dress but it shouldn’t be overlooked!  Most people think of the traditional black tux when it comes to the groom and groomsmen. 

 

But more and more, we find that people are going in the suit direction- even for really nice affairs.  When there’s a tie involved, it gives the men a chance to play with color a bit more and it turns into a great gift for the groomsmen. 

 

But for true black tie affairs, I do still see the traditional tuxedo.  What’s interesting is that more and more grooms are going in the direction of buying a tuxedo rather than renting.  If you have access to a good outlet and don’t mind a day of shopping, grooms can often find amazing deals.  And unlike a wedding dress, you can wear your tux over and over again! 

 

Setting the Dress Code

 

The most common question that we get about wedding attire is how to let people know it’s a formal event.  For the record, according to proper etiquette, in the same vein that you would not tell your guests what to wear to a dinner at your home, you are not allowed to instruct guests who to dress at your wedding.  But that caveat generally falls on deaf ears!  So how do you tell people that you want them in tuxes – our favorite is a small note saying “black tie invited” at the bottom right hand corner of the invitation.  It’s a bit less harsh than just “black tie” and certainly more direction than nothing at all. 

 

Whatever you do, the attire that the bride and groom select for the wedding sets the basic tone of the event, so remember that in your selection process and use it to your advantage in setting the stage for a magnificent day.  Attire is part of the décor (next week’s topic) and if you have 6 women running around in the same dress, that’s a color scheme and should be included in the design of the day! 

 

 

Note: Got a question or a comment for the Wedding Jeannie? Ms. Uyanik will answer your questions. Simply e-mail her at weddinggenie@candgweddings.com

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WPCNR BUMPER TO BUMPER. By John F. Bailey. October 5, 2007: The Governor’s Office Press liaison on the alien-licensing initiative said today that the New York State Drivers License (even those issued to illegal aliens) would remain valid and acceptable government-issued photo I.D.s at airports throughout the country at least until 2013 when the REAL ID Act goes into effect.  The Department of Homeland Security has not verified this, nor has the Transportation Security Agency at this time.

Jennifer Givner, press spokesperson for the Governor on the licensing initiative told WPCNR the program would be administered most likely by existing Department of Motor Vehicles personnel whose training has just begun. Training is expected to be completed in eight weeks when the program begins in December. Passports and identification documents would be validated by these in-training DMV personnel, who would use scanning equipment to verify the validity of foreign passports presented to the DMV for identification purposes.

Givner indicated the United States Department of Homeland Security  and Transportation Security Administration have not been deeply involved in the development of the Governor’s program, and apparently have not officially approved it, nor does the state need the agencies’ approvals to implement the license policy.

WPCNR asked if these non-citizens whom the governor wants to license would invalidate the New York State Drivers License as a government issued, photograph means of identification at airports, Givner said absolutely not.

Aliens Licenses Good to Go at Airports.

Givner said that does not change (even though possible illegal aliens could be issued New York Driver’s Licenses):  

“ The REAL ID Act doesn’t go into effect until 2013. Yes, you can use it at an airport (as means of acceptable government-issued photo i.d.), It doesn’t change anything. People are trying to scare you when they say that. This becomes an issue, the entire issue of the driver’s license and state-issued driver’s license, when the REAL ID Act goes into effect. But again, it is not until 2013, more importantly the federal government hasn’t promulgated the regulations yet. People don’t know what to do. States don’t know how to prepare for it and how to insure their licenses will comply. That’s why some states have opted out of it. We (in New York State) are taking the approach to wait and see what the federal government wants to do.  You see how ridiculous that is, right?”

Different Requirements

WPCNR pointed out that the REAL ID Act as presently constituted would require all states issuing a driver’s  license to issue licenses only to citizens or those supplying a Social Security exemption letter.

“That’s one of the many, many features that they (the REAL ID ACT)  have, the requirements we anticipate, but no one is going to comply with that. Everyone is going to have to have two forms of identification – state-issued and a federal I.D. one. But we don’t know. There’s time before this occurs.  Right now you can use your New York Driver’s License to get into federal buildings, you can use it to  get on a plane.”

I asked if the United States Department of  Homeland Security has approved the Governor’s program. Givner said she would get that answer.

Givner filled WPCNR in on the details of the Governor’s program to make New York State Driver’s Licenses available “without regard to immigration status” in an effort to make the state’s roads safer. According to the Governor’s official press announcement  of the program, “tens of thousands of undocumented, unlicensed and uninsured drivers are currently on New York’s roads, contributing to increased accidents and hit-and-runs as well as higher auto insurance rates.”

No Consultation. No Review by  Washington

The press officer, confirmed that the program was not developed in cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security in Washington.

She said the Department of Homeland Security would not be reviewing the Department of Motor Vehicle personnel after they have been trained to conduct validation procedures on documents submitted by non-citizens the governor wishes to license. The press officer also stated that even after the licenses began to be issued to possible non-citizens and immigrants here illegally, that the license would still be acceptable photo, government issued Identification at airports.

Training of DMV personnel just begun. Ready in December.

 The training of DMV personnel to review documents immigrants and unlicensed individuals submit for licenses has just recently begun, the spokesperson said, and did not have a timetable when she expected the training of DMV personnel to be completed. The program is expected, she said to be conducted with existing personnel. The spokesperson said the process of validating documents submitted would rely heavily on electronic scanning of  immigrants’ passports. She said 110 to 120 countries now issue passports with scan barcodes on them. Passports without barcode-issuing countries she said would be collected and held pending validation by the DMV.

The spokesperson said the United States Department of Homeland Security has not issued REAL ID Act standards for driver’s licenses that New York State would react to them when the standards were issued.

No Social Security Number Required

Currently the proposed new Governor’s licensing policy will not require a social security number or a document from the Social Security Administration stating the person is ineligible to receive a social security number. On REAL ID Act standards one of these two documents must be supplied in order for a state to issue a driver’s license beginning January 31, 2009. According to the REAL ID Act, to receive a driver’s license,  acceptable identification to the Federal Government at ports of entry air and land, you must have a social security number or a letter stating you are ineligible for a Social Number.

2 PHASE ROLL OUT of Governor’s Plan

The program is scheduled to begin in two phases, Ms. Givner said:

 “The policy is not going to change that dramatically. Currently at the DMV, you and I have to in applying for  a license, show  (documents totaling) 6 points  that prove who you are and when you were born. They can include anything from a utility bill to a birth certificate to a number of different official documents that all have a point value. You have to have 6 points. Every document is assigned a different value.  This initiative is being rolled out in two phases: to allow the DMV to have a seamless implementation schedule. We don’t want to disrupt services for the people who are going to be in our offices throughout the state every day.  We also want to assure that we’re doing it diligently and make sure everything is up and running as we proceed.”

Approximately 10,000 people, whose license expired in last two years, she reports will be mailed letters first inviting them to apply for new licenses. Then  150,000 drivers who had licenses expire more than 2 years ago. These are drivers already in the system and were not allowed to renew their licenses because of rules implemented by the Pataki administration.

Second Phase – For All New Applicants

“Phase 2,” Givner explained, “ is when we expand this initiative to all of the new applicants, individuals who have never had a license before. They can come to the DMV. They will have to show identification proving who they are and they will have to obtain the 6 points that you and I, or any other individual regardless of citizenship status.”

WPCNR asked what were the point values of the documents.

Ms.  Givner said the DMV was not releasing that information yet and that there were 14 such identification documents , some of them new, which could be used to prove identification. She declined to say what those 14 documents were to prevent a stampede to the DMV.

 She said the reason for withholding the point values was “we don’t want people showing up at DMV tomorrow with these new documents that we’re not accepting yet. It makes sense right?  We put them out there (now), people come in the next day,  saying look I have this. We’re trying to keep this a smooth process. We don’t want to confuse our customers. It (the list of documents) will be published as we get closer to the launch date.”

Not an overnight idea.

Givner said the plan has been well thought out: “This is not something that happened overnight. Not something dreamt up over a weekend. This is something the governor talked about during the campaign, he talked about expanding access to licenses for all individuals and for the last nine months we’ve been here in office we have been working with the DMV and other agencies and the offices through out the state.”

WPCNR  asked what agencies were involved in formulating the policy? She said Boards of Elections, for example, and various offices throughout the state. (“This a process where you have to include all the stakeholders, a lot of  people are going to be affected”)

Department of Homeland Security Involvement Not Clear

I asked if the state had worked with the Department of Homeland Security in Washington. Ms. Givner said, “To say specifically, I can’t say that. Part of what we’ve done by implementing this is we’ve taken  New York’s license, which is really one of the most secure in the nation already and we are implementing additional security safeguards to insure this is going to be the most secure license in the nation.”

New Technology for DMV: Passport Scanners

“We’re going to be incorporating new technology to (1),  validate and authenticate documents as they come. Say, I’m Jennifer, I’m from Portugal. I’ve never had a driver’s license before. Regardless of my status, whatever it is, I have my foreign passport from Portugal and a number of other documents to show who I am. I give them all my documents.”

“What DMV is going to do is that they’re going to have a central location where they accept these  documents and go through a process of validating them. Part of the DMV validation technology is scanning passports, so my passport and about 110 to 120 countries around the world that are scannable that have bar codes on them which we’ll have technology to be able to read and validate right there on the spot. Part of this process is to make sure each individual is who they say they are. “

DMV Responsible for Validation – Using Existing Personnel.

 I asked what about passports not scannable: “Documents that we can’t scan and verify right there on the spot we’ll take in and we’ll go through a process. We’re going to have a specially trained unit charged with validating these documents.”

Asked  where that personnel would be hired from, Givner said she did not know right now but “it may not be that we’re hiring additional individuals. Remember, we can use existing (human) resources as well and train them in this area.”

I asked what happens to passports not scannable. “It’s not confiscation. It doesn’t mean that it’s illegal. There are some that are not scannable. But, we will take that document and take possession of it in order to verify it. It goes through our channels to properly verify it. We’ll tell the individuals. If you need the passport tomorrow, they’re not want to give it up to us, right. We’re going to be working with individuals as they come in to say, we’re not going to able to validate this right here, we’re going to have to take possession of this, and it will be however long, a few weeks until you’re able to get this back, and these other documents. We’re going to take all those documents in order to prove who those people are.”

Photo Comparison Technology.

 Givner said they will weed out persons who have had bogus social security numbers in the past: “We’re also incorporating what’s called Photo Comparison Technology. When someone comes in who used a fake social security number, and they’re already in the system, for example, what the photo technology does is once they take my photo, they’re going to compare that against all of the other individuals already in the DMV database.

“If they get a hit, that I’m already in the system, that’s going to shoot up a red flag and put a halt on that application right away.  We go through the proper authorities to investigate to see what happened there. The goal here is, one license per one individual, not one individual who has several names. It’s really common sense. We can prove who you are we know where you are.”

Residency Requirement Needs to Be Legislated.

Givner said that the third component of the issuance of licenses is to institute you have to be a resident of the state to obtain a driver’s license.

Presently this is not required, she said. “Third component which is down the road, which requires legislative approval, is a residency requirement. Part of what we have to do is to introduce legislation and have it passed by the legislature which will require individuals seeking a New York State license to be actual residents of New York State. That’s the next step in the process.”

She said they did not expect this  residency requirement to be passed by early spring. “You’ve never had to be a resident of New York to get a license.That requirement has never been in existence. We’re working to make that happen.”

Under present law, Givner said you can come in from a state, take up residence in New York and receive a New York driver’s license if you turn in your out of state license.

$1.4 Million cost Paid for By Revenues. 

Givner said the cost to implement this is $1.4 Million, which she said would be offset by an expected $7.3 Million in extra revenue (from the issuing of licenses).

Asked how long it will take to train the DMV personnel to administer the document checking, Givner said, “ The training is already starting. The DMV is already working with county clerks throughout the state.  On the intense training, we’re working on getting the schedules out there.”

She said the personnel have to be trained before the system is up and running before December (8 weeks from today). Asked how long the training had been going on, she said the program had just been rolled out two weeks ago (September 21).

No TSA or DHS Review of Procedures Expected at this time.

Once DMV personnel are trained, I asked Givner if they would be checked out by the Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security in Washington.

 Givner said the state was “not required to, this is an internal policy change that we are making within the Department of Motor Vehicles. It ‘s not a law. It does not require legislative approval. It is an internal  policy change in order to allow and expand driver’s license access to all individuals.”

I asked if the DMV and the state was going to keep the Department of Homeland Security  in Washington, informed on this. She assured WPCNR “we have a close working relationship obviously talking to them every day.”

I asked what they were talking to them about, and Ms. Givner replied “I’m not going to go into details about it but we work very closely with them through our state office of emergency management, we have a military and naval affairs department, the state department, obviously, the state police. Every day we’re speaking to the federal government about various issues, any new sort of awareness, etc.”

I asked though, you didn’t really discuss this program with them specifically, is that correct?”

Givner responded, “The Department of Motor Vehicles is not in the business of verifying individual citizenship status. They are in the business of doing two things, certifying that an individual has met the requirements and standards in order to operate a motor vehicle in New York State; secondly, to prove identification  to prove who you are and validate that. They have not in the business or have they ever been in the business of proving citizenship or proving one’s legal status in this country.”

Diffuses Controversy.

Unasked, Ms.Givner warmed to her subject, addressing the controversy over giving licenses to persons without social security numbers:

“Individuals have been getting licenses without social security numbers for years, aside from the window where Governor Pataki passed his regulation. If you go to the Social Security Administration and obtain a letter of ineligibility, you are allowed to obtain a license in New York.

For example, someone comes in a work visa, working for a bank for a temporary period of time. They obviously have a need to drive while they here. Nothing wrong with that. What they do is they can apply for a license and they don’t have a social security number. What they present is the Social Security Administrations Letter of Ineligibility.”

Waives Letter of Ineligibility Requirement.

I asked then why in the Governor’s press release, the governor is changing the policy allowing applicants to simply check a box that they are ineligible for Social Security, Givner said, “This is a change in policy.”

Enhanced Driver’s License Progress

WPCNR asked if the DMV was working with the Department of Homeland Security to create an Enhanced Drivers License similar to the one that the State of Washington is going to put into effect in January.  Givner asked if this was to comply with the REAL ID Act, and said,

“The federal government has failed to promulgate the specific rules for the REAL ID Act, therefore no state in the country right now actually has identification that complies because no one knows what the regulations are going to be. They’re working on them that’s what they tell all of us.”

Asked if the DHS was working now with the DMV, Givner said, “We are awaiting the rules to be published. When we have specifics, we can work with them to address it. Before this initiative was announced,  the New York State License did not comply with what we anticipate will be the regulations. Every other state, individuals will have to also get the federal approved, you’ll have two different licenses,  two different forms of identification. Several states have already opted out.”

New License in the future?

Does this mean down the road mean that New York State will have to change, reissue all its licenses, WPCNR asked. Givner said,  “We will look into  it once the standards are actually promulgated and determine which direction to go in.”

I asked if it was correct that this entire process has been executed by New York State on their own with New York State agencies and not with Washington?  Givner stated:

“We are a sovereign state, sir, every state has the authority through its department of motor vehicles, I think you’re confusing this and sort of looking at this in an idealistic way, every state is not talking to the Department of Homeland Security on a daily basis. New Jersey just put photos on their licenses. New York State’s licensing is regarded as one of the most secure in the nation. What we’re doing and the way we’re moving forward cautiously, carefully and diligently is to make sure it remains one of the most secure licenses.  If an individual comes here they have to prove who they are. It has never been in the business of proving one’s legal status here.”

License Will Still Be Valid as photo-id. At Airports for New Yorkers

I pointed out that the REAL ID Act as presently constituted would require all states issuing a driver’s  license to issue licenses only to citizens or those supplying a Social Security exemption letter.

“That’s one of the many, many features that they have, the requirements we anticipate, but no one is going to comply with that. Every one is going to have to have two forms of identification – state-issued and a federal I.D. one. But we don’t know. There’s time before this occurs.  Right now you can use your New York Driver’s License to get into federal buildings, you can use it to  get on the plane.”

I asked if the DHS has approved this program. Givner said she would get that answer.