Hits: 199

“GOOD MORNING DENNIS AND TONNY FROM WHITE PLAINS NY USA WHERE IT IS 74 AND SUNNY WPCNR DEGREES.

HOW DO  YOU LIKE THE NEW NORMAL DENNIS AND TONNIE?  ARE THE GOVERNOR AND THE STATE LEGISLATURE GETTING ALONG?  ARE WE ALL GETTING BEYOND COVID? STATE SENATOR SHELLEY MEYER TOLD ME IN AN INTERVIEW FRIDAY AFTER GOVERNOR CUOMO VIRTUALLY SAID “ANYTHING GOES” LAST WEEK. SENATOR MEYER TOLD ME AND I QUOTE:

“IT IS A FANTASTIC DEVELOPMENT THAT 70% OF NEW YORKERS HAVE HAD AT LEAST ONE SHOT AND THAT THERE IS A SENSE OF RELIEF AS WE SIT HERE IN WHITEPLAINS, THROUGHOUT MY DISTRICT YOU CAN SEE PEOPLE VERY HAPPY TO GO BACK OUT TO SHOP WEARING MASKS OR NOT WEARING A MASK THERE’S QUITE A MIX OF THAT. I THINK IT’S A VERY POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT AND I’M HAPPY WE’VE REACHED THE 70% ALTHOUGH, SENATOR MEYER TOLD ME, I’D LIKE US TO GET TO A HIGHER NUMBER, IN ALL OF OUR COMMUNITIES IT IS STILL DISPROPORTUNATE IN ALL ZIP CODES. UNQUOTE.

WHAT’S AHEAD? SENATOR MAYER SAID “I THINK THE GOVERNOR HAS TOO MUCH POWER GIVEN WHERE WE ARE IN THE PANDEMIC AND THINK AS WE EBB  I THINK IT’S APPROPRIATE TO LIMIT HIS EMERGENCY POWERS AND ALLOW HIM TO HAVE TRADITIONAL POWERS DURING AN EMERGENCY AND SOME KINDS OF HEALTH THING, BUT BEYOND THAT I THINK PEOPLE ARE READY FOR THE LEGISLATURE  TO HAVE MORE OF AN EQUAL POWER AGAINST THE GOVERNOR . I’M IN FAVOR OF THAT.” SO WE WILL SEE WHETHER THE LEGISLATURE WHEN THEY RECONVENE  WHENEVER THAT IS IF THIS EFFORT TO HAVE POWER TO OVERRULE THE GOVERNOR TAKES FLIGHT AGAIN.

YOU CAN SEE THE COMPLETE SHELLY MAYER INTERVIEW THURSDAY NIGHT AT8 ON WWW.WPCOMMUNITYMEDIA.ORG OR ON FIOS CHANNEL 45 COUNTYWIDE OR OPTIMUM CH. 76 IN WHITE PLAINS,

MEANWHILE DENNIS, THE PACE OF VACCINATIONS IN WESTCHESTER SHOW INTRIGUING INFORMATION– THE POPULATION OF WESTCHESTER HAS GROWN BY 200,000 PERSONS OVER A MILLION.  556,308 PERSONS ACCORDING TO THE STATE HAVE COMPLETED THEIR SECOND SHOT THAT’S 57% OF OUR ESTIMATE POPULATION OF 967,612 AND 614,700 MORE HAVE RECEIVED ONE SHOT WHICH MEANS 1,171,008 WESTCHESTER RESIDENTS HAVE GOTTEN SHOTS—THAT’S 203,000 MORE WESTCHESTER RESIDENTS THAN THE PREVIOUS CENSUS SHOWED. THIS IS GREAT NEWS FOR THE COUNTY IF THIS IS CORRECT.

WESTCHESTER AT THE PRESENT RATE OF SECOND SHOTS SHOULD BE COMPLETELY VACCINATED BY JULY 31, ASSUMING WESTCHESTER CAN ADMINISTER 15,000 SECOND SHOTS A DAY IT WOULD TAKE 40 DAYS TO VACCINATE 2^ND SHOTS IN THE  614,700 NEEDING A SECOND SHOT AS OF MONDAY MORNING.

THE MID-HUDSON REGION THOUGH IS PROCEEDING AT A MUCH SLOWER VACCINATION PACE OF 39,000 2^ND  VACCINATIONS A WEEK OF NEW PERSONS STILL IN NEED OF A SECOND SHOT. IN THE MID HUDSON REGION AS OF MONDAY, 1,225,367 STILL NEED A SECOND SHOT OF THE MIDHUDSON 2.3 MILLION. OF THAT TOTAL WESTCHESTER HAS 1,074,633 STILL NEEDING  A SECOND SHOT,MEANS  1,225,367 IN THE MID HUDSON REGION NEED A SECOND SHOT AT 39,000 SECOND SHOTS A WEEK, THE REGION WILL NOT BE FULLY VACCINATED UNTIL THE FIRST WEEK IN DECEMBER. THIS POSES THE POTENTIAL RISK IN THE 6 OTHER COUNTIES OTHER THAN WESTCHESTER OF A POSSIBLE THIRD WAVE OF INFECTIONS DURING THE SOCIALIZING OF FALL AND THE HOLIDAYS.

REMEMBER OUR 701 WESTCHESTER AVENUE DISPUTE LAST WEEK, DENNIS? THREE MEMBERS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL, NADINE HUNT-ROBINSON, JOHN MARTIN AND VICTORIA PRESSER CAME TO EDUCATION HOUSE LAST WEDNESDAY AND SAT DOWN WITH 5 MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL OF NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS AND HEARD THEIR CONCERNS ABOUT MAYOR TOM ROACH’S PROPOSED PROCEDURE FOR CREATING A NEW MASTER PLAN FOR THE CITY.

THEY HEARD QUESTIONS FROM MIKE SANCHEZ OF THE NORTH STREET ASSOCIATION – THE DISTRICT WHERE I LIVE AND PHONED IN COMMENTS AND MOSTLY CRITICISMS ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT NOW BEING DONE MOSTLY THAT THERE WAS TOO MUCH AND THE COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION WAS NOT LISTENING TO COMPLAINTS. COUNCILWOMAN NADINE HUNT-ROBINSON DISPUTED THIS POINTING OUT THAT WHEN RESIDENTS IN AFFECTED NEIGHBORHOODS CAME OUT TO PUBLIC HEARINGS, THE COUNCIL LISTENED TO THEM AND DIRECTED DEVELOPERS TO GO BACK AND WORK OUT COMPROMISES WITH THE NEIGHBORS.

JOHN MARTIN, THE 19-YEAR MEMBER OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OBSERVED THAT THE PREVIOUS COMPREHENSIVE PLAN DEVELOPED IN A 2-1/2 YEAR PROCESS ENDING IN 1997 PRODUCED THE CURRENT PLAN ACTUALLY CALLED FOR MORE RESIDENCES TO BE BUILT IN THE DOWNTOWN AND TO PROTECT THE OUTER NEIGHBORHOODS. HE SAID THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LAST 21 YEARS REFLECTED THIS. 

THE CURRENT STALL OF PROJECTS LIKE THE WHITE PLAINS MALL AND THE SECOND HOLE IN THE GROUND THE WHITE PLAINS PAVILLION FORMERSITE AND THE STOPPING OF CONSTRUCTION ON THE MITCHELL ON MAMARONECK AVENUE DUE TO THE BUILDING CONTRACTOR HAVING FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES ARE REFLECTIVE OF THE PANDEMIC EFFECTS ACCORDING TO THE CITY.  

COMMON COUNCIL MEMBERS IN A VERY BOLD GESTURE SHOWED UP AND DEFENDED THE MAYOR’S  PRESENT PLAN TO REVISE THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN THAT WILL APPOINT A STEERING COMMITTEE VERY SIMILAR TO THE STEERING COMMITTEE THAT EXPLORED TOPICS OF CONCERN 25 YEARS AGO. THE PROCESS IS EXPECTED TO GO OUT 4 YEARS AND POSSIBLY 6 BEFORE THE NEW PLAN IS IMPLEMENTED WHATEVER THAT MEANS.

THE CONCERN I HAVE IS HOW CAN YOU PLAN WHEN YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT EFFECTS OF THE COMPLETED PROJECTS NOW APPROVED BUT NOT PROGRESSING WILL HAVE ON WHAT YOU THINK MIGHT BE APPROPRIATE FOR ANY VISION OF THE FUTURE

SPEAKING OF DEVELOPMENT, MARTIN GINSBURG THE DEVELOPER SHOWED OFF HIS NEW RENOVATION OF ONE MARTINE AVENUE LAST THURSDA AND THE APARTMENTS ARE UNIQUELY SPECTACULAR WITH NO APARTMENTS THE SAME ON ANY FLOOR, ROOMY LIVING AREAS SPECTACULAR SPREAD FROM NARROW ENTRANCE CORRIDERS OPENING TO BEDROOMS AND WIDE ANGLE LIVING AREAS WELL WORTH A LOOK.

THE SCHOOL DISTRICT POSTPONED THE MIDDLE SCHOOL GRADUATION SCHEDULED FOR TONIGHT AND MOVED IT TO THURSDAY…THE HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION IS SUPPOSED TAKE PLACE WEDNESDAY EVENING AT 5.

IT’S BEEN A PLEASURE!