Renegades Urge End to PILOTS, new Planning Right Now. City Candor.

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WPCNR CAMPAIGN 2007. By John F. Bailey. June 21, 2007: Robert Levine, Robert Stackpole, and Marc Pollitzer, renegade independent candidates for the Common Council opened their assault on the Common Council with a low key stance in delivering an analysis of why the city needs new leadership on the Council.


The three passionate advocates for the future called for ending PILOTS for new proposed developments, protecting zoning, ending sales of city assets to balance the budget, and called for hiring independent consultants to develop a new Comprehensive Plan for the city. They advanced no proposals as to how they would rein in the city budget, manage infrastructure needs brought on by development, and stopped short on declaring a moratorium on development.


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The first public appearance of the three Renegade candidates for Common Council happened last night at a meeting of the North Street Civic Association.


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The forum began with homilies by Mike Graessle, former City Commissioner of Planning, detailing controversial planning issues at risk (Ridgeway Country Club, Amodios, how city develops now) and Dr. Saul Yanofsky, former Superintendent of Schools, arguing the city policies on finances, particularly PILOTS are hurting the school district.  The three renegades, then made their cases for the reasons why the public should vote them in and Dennis Power, Benjamin Boykin and Milagros Liquona, their prospective opponents in November out.


An audience of 50 persons, plus Mr. Power, Mr. Boykin, Councilman Tom Roach and Ms. Lecouna observed the dignified presentation which took place after a business meeting of the North Street Civic Association at Ridgeway School.


Levine said “Planning is not a game of darts hitting one place or another with nothing interconnected.”
Levine, a real licensed architect and planner, now retired called the city’s planning process a “privatization of planning,” saying “we have allowed, even encouraged, development initiatives by private developer interests with scarcely any but the most benign official oversight. The type, location, timing, size and appearance of speculative projects are governed primarily by the developers’ requirements…Tell our elected representatives to kick the foxes out of the hen-house. Tell them to stop the privatization of the planning and implementation process now.”


Levine said the 1997 Comprehensive Plan and its “predictably inadequate 2006 update fall short.” He said both plans do not take into account the population shift, health care facilities infrastructure, civic amenities, transportation systems, traffic/parking, new retailing and city school facilities needs. He calls for the city to prepare a Request for Proposals for a ” well-qualified objective planning professionals to assist in the formulation of a new Comprehensive Plan.”


No More Cave Ins on Zoning


Marc Pollitzer, speaking next, called on city zoning to be protected and not changed just because a developer wanted it. Pollitzer cited the example of some councilpersons working to make more city information available to the people, and praised the council for listening to the people and voting down the Exclusivity Agreement requested by Louis Cappelli for his Station Square Development. Mr. Pollitzer did not mention that the council voted it down only after it had been exposed by this reporter that the council had known about the plan for 5 weeks without saying anything about voting It down. Mr. Pollitzer also did not mention the council rush to approve the LCOR project for affordable housing, nor the vote on a trolley system without having read the study recommending it last week.


Cappelli Did Make an Offer for Ridgeway


Mr. Pollitzer, who is a member of Ridgeway Country Club was asked if Louis Cappelli had made an offer to buy that country club. Pollitzer said Cappelli had made the club “a nebulous offer.” Asked afterwards by WPCNR whether the offer had been discussed with the membership at large, Pollitzer said it had not, but he was expecting that it would be. He said he did not have a figure.


Stackpole Shocker 


Robert Stackpole followed and made sharp criticism of the city’s financial position making note that the taxes for one developer, Louis Cappelli on $1 Billion of development in the city should be $12 Million, but as a result of his PILOT payments, the Cappelli developments are paying the city $1,092,265, according to documents from the City of White Plains Finance Department. This brought a gasp from the crowd.



Stackpole warmed to his task, criticising the sale of land for quick fixes, saying that bond rating agencies do not like to see the city balancing its budget by selling assets. Stackpole called for an end to PILOTs, because now the city no longer needs to attract developers with incentives. He also said there is no chance the legislature will approve an Industrial Development Agency for White Plains, because of an ongoing investigation into IDA improprieties in the state. He also noted how difficult it is to get information from the county IDA on valuations of PILOTed properties it owns the assets.


Councilman Benjamin Boykin got up and declared that 221 Main, the Ritz-Carlton development, did not have a PILOT because it was a hotel and condominium.


Mr. Stackpole, a gentleman,  politely did not inform Mr. Boykin that 221 Main is listed on the Top 40 Tax Payers of 2007-2008. provided by the city Finance Department as paying $193,654 in City Taxes. Mr. Stackpole also did not make the point to the audience that PILOTs payments are not equal to taxes the property would pay if it did not have a PILOT, something that has been said falsely by the Mayor and particular Councilpersons, who have said people do not understand PILOTS.


The three said they would be speaking out more on specifics.

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The Flood Summit Blames Development; Building in Flood Plains for County Problem

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WPCNR THE SEWER NEWS. Special to WPCNR from Paula Piekos. June 21, 2007: Wednesday was the day of the Westchester County-sponsored Flood Summit at the Westchester County Center. To sum it up, it seems there has been flooding in our area for many years, but the storm events are coming at more frequent intervals, and development is making it worse. It also seems that quite a few studies have been conducted, with the end results being remediation plans presented, but then not carried forth. The county recommended tighter controls on developments contributing to county regulated streams; a review and tighter regulations on proposed subdivisions, and a new flood control entity on storm water management.



The Chiefs on the Spot at the County Center which was high and dry Wednesday. From left to right, David Kvinge, County Commissioner of Environmental Planning; 3rd from left, Mary Colvin, Chief of Community Mitigation Programs Branch, Mitigation Division, FEMA; 4th from left, Willian Nechamen, NYS DEC Chief, Flood Plain Management Section, Bureau of Program Resources & Flood Protection; 5th from left, Jodi McDonald, Chief, Rivers & Lakes Division, US Army Corps of Engineers; far right, Les Radfor, Recovery Manager, NYS Emergency Office.



County Planning Commissioner Gerry Mulligan, proposed DEC tighten regulations, controlling development contributing to streams in the county, a review of proposed subdivisions for storm water retention procedures and establishing a new regulatory entity on storm water management. Photos by Paula Piekos


 


Gerry Mulligan, County Commissioner of Planning on a slide in the background recommended New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation work with municipalities to tailor regulations to specifically address storm water management for flood control and flood damage reduction. He also recommended expanding jurisdiction, standards and requirements of the County Storm Control Law to control development within and contributing to regulated streams in the county.  He recommended reviewing proposed subdivisions to  incorporate storm water runoff management. In another strategy he recommending establishing a new “Flood Control Entity focusing on storm water management, flood mitigation, and related matters.”


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There also seems to be a pattern of flood events followed by activity in seeking remedies, but the remedies are not put in place. This was blamed due to running low on founds. Another generalization is that flooding is a natural event. The problem is not the flooding and flood plan, but building structures in its way.


Most of the remediation work that has been carried out in our area has been along the Saw Mill River. Sewage issues were not addressed.


We can just all hope that with all the money now pledged by the state and federal government, after all the studies are none, there is money left over to fix the problems and prevent them from happening again in the future, and that this will not take so much time that another storm event causes harm before this can happen.


Andy Spano kicked off the presentations, and was followed by many speakers, accompanied by Powerpoint presentations about the history of flooding in the area. 


Among those on the dais: FEMA’s Mary Colvin, Chief, Community Mitigation Programs Branch Mitigation Division;  William Nechaman NYS DEC Chief, Flood Plain Management Section, Bureau of Program Resources and Flood Protection;  Jodi McDonald, Chief, Rivers & Lakes Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Les Radford, Recovery Manager, NYS Emergency Office; David Kvinge, County Commissioner of Environmental Planning;  Gerry Mulligan,County Commissioner of Planning Nita Lowey had a representative.


FEMA’s people spoke on flood plain management. County Planning Commissioner Mulligan and Gina D’Agrosa of the County Water Agency spoke about all of the government partnerships that will be involved in planning a strategy to prevent future flood damage and their roles in the situation.


David Kvinge, County Director of Environmental Planning gave an informative talk about the history of flooding in our area. The issue of all the prior studies was dealt with by Gina D’Agrosa, Jodi  MacDonald, and the Mayor of the City of Rye, Steve Otis.


Speaking of Mayors, Mayor Triifeletti of Mamaroneck was there, and were heads of other municipalities, but I did not see Mayor Joseph Delfino in the crowd, though I was told Commissioner of Public Works, Joseph Nicoletti, his men Stan Johnson and Brian Murphy were there.

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Is the Shuttle for Downtown White Plains a Good Idea? You Decide

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WPCNR MR. AND MRS. AND MS. WHITE PLAINS VOICE. June 20, 2007: Well, now. Shuttles have been proposed in downtown White Plains before, and now we have an instant proposal that the Common Council has jumped on and already applied for the money to buy buses, and spend $1 Million a year to run it.


How does Mr. and Mrs. and Ms. White Plains feel about it? Check the survey to the right to let us know how you feel. Neighborhood associations were not contacted by the organizations doing the survey, so this is your chance to speak out.

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The Coming Looting of the BID. Shuttling Dollars

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WPCNR THE DAILY BAILEY.  News & Comment By John F. Bailey. June 20, 2007: The Journal News trolley shuttle story in White Plains in this morning’s edition, in which the City of White Plains is seriously considering spending $840,000 a year to run a downtown shuttle, (as reported by WPCNR last week) spending $242,000 of a government grant to buy three buses, after spending $200,000 of taxpayer dollars for a study gives a clue as to how the city might to pay for it.



 What was unusual about this story was that Rick Ammirato, the Executive Director of the BID – usually one of the top cheerleaders for the Delfino Administration – went on record according to the reporter as saying the “half-million loss” – was something “I don’t know if that’s something the city’s ready to do given the pressure on the budget.”


This is astounding. The BID, which is poised to pounce on an additional $1 Million in assessments when the BID expands which should be happening shortly given the lack of opposition, has been hoping to expand its operations bringing more amenities, street sweepers, full-time paid ambassadors, and advertising banners to the downtown. What they apparently did not know was they are going to pay for the shuttle.


However, we now have a good idea of how the city might pay for that shuttle. They could pick the BID’s pockets under the guise of saying the shuttle will improve BID members’ business in the downtown, and take that $1 Million assessment and apply some of it towards the shuttle, if not all of it . Isn’t it a coincidence that as soon as the BID draws closer to expanding and getting its hands on $1 Million, the city suddenly gets this trolley study and in a lightning round applies for Nita Lowey’s grant? How convenient.


Why don’t we see these things coming?  It is found money. The shuttle routes conveniently move persons through the new BID area to be added, so it is very justifiable. 


But is anybody thinking in City Hall? Is anybody thinking on the Common Council?


The study done at a cost of $200,000 on the shuttle  never went to the populace and the neighborhoods to ask what kind of shuttle would they be willing to use. They asked office parks how many of their population would use it, and that number came in at 25%. The study described shuttles in Chattanooga, Denver, and Alabama. Now what is significant about the Denver shuttle is their shuttles go from huge parking lots outside of town into the city, and run every 5 minutes and every 75 seconds during rush hour.


That is not what is proposed in White Plains. The interval in White Plains is  10 and 15 minutes on the shuttle routes proposed. Hello? I can walk from the train station into downtown in 15 minutes rather than stand there waiting for a shuttle to arrive. We’re paying $200,000 for this “expertise.” Whoever picked these people to do a study? You cannot recommend something that does not fit a “successful” model.


 The study should have looked into The Town of Huntington NY, where a 16-fleet shuttle costs the Town of Huntington about $2,011,000 a year loss. $2 million! And, that is with$472,000 in government assistance.


Consider the isolated Southender


 Often I have wanted to get into town without a car. I have to take the No 5 bus, which runs once an hour on the North Street loop into the transcenter. It would be great if the city fanned shuttles out down Mamaroneck Avenue to the White Plains border, deployed them out Post Road and over to Central Avenue and the office parks to bring persons into the downtown without cars.


Do any of the White Plains proposed routes go out of the downtown? No.  People in the outlying neighborhoods will still be taking cars into town to the train station. The recommendations don’t have any basis for expecting success. A shuttle sounds good and it will make money for somebody, but it may cost BID merchants and we taxpayers a bundle every year. Who gets the franchise is the question. Not to mention the infrastructure.


Besides, with the shuttles stopping on downtown streets, even if you did not have the perpetual construction delays, you’re going to have traffic blockage, tying up traffic even more – unless they pull into the cutouts.  Where’s the thinking here? For this we paid $200,000. 


The city deserved better. But if you go on the study, this shuttle does not make sense. The routes don’t stop often enough. They don’t serve wide enough areas, they do not move people from one end of the city to the other.


But, you watch the BID is going to pay for this. Something they did not tell the merchants, and the merchants did not even think about when the expansion plan was advanced. This may be why Mr. Ammirato expressed uncharacteristic concerns about the shuttle costing too much. He feels a city grope coming on.


And what about Andy’s AirLINK?


Now, the county started a shuttle to the airport this week with no advance advertising. Now the astute transit reporter for Gannettt, Caren Halbfinger, pointed out today the county has only advertised AirLink on the radio.  The county is going to spend $690,000 of taxpayer’s money to run this service then evaluate it, she writes.


Wait a minute: did not the county think of doing an Andy Spano phone call to every family in Westchester – telling them about AirLink? Was somebody asleep in communications? Come on. He could have done that, rather than buying radio time.


Could ads be put in the airport, as Ms. Halbfinger points out, there are none.  40 persons rode AirLink Monday the first day. That is less than the 13 an hour the White Plains study says will ride the proposed White Plains shuttles. What is going on here?  There is also no place to park to drive your car to the train station and take AirLINK, since long term spaces are taken in the White Plains Transit Center garage. It has no shot at working without satellite parking for the AirLINK patrons. Gee, I should have charged the county $100,000 for that piece of advice.


This sounds like Andy is spending $690,000 to show that a shuttle won’t work to prove he needs a new parking lot at the airport.


Overheard at the virtual reporter’s bar, “The Front Page”


For those who do not know of it, “The Front Page” is  the virtual bar where the rat dog reporters hangout in fedoras and askew ties, smoking Luckys and nursing bourbon and soda in the wee hours by “Typos” the bartender, who looks a little like Joe the Bartender. Oysters and Finanhaddy are served to all hours. Teletypes line the wall–UPI, AP, clattering away like the old days. The tables are makeshift copy desks with candlestick phones. Smith Corona Typewriters are on the desks to rap out ideas. Your tabs are put on spikes. The coffee is black and really bitter. The glamorous sob sisters in Hedda Hopper pillbox hats, legs discreetly crossed, in tight tailored suits, draw the drooping eyeballs of hardbitten newsdogs. The dames who dig for dirt are looking for a reporter to light their cigarettes. The talk there last night went like this…


Speaking of checks – for something completely different, is city hall in White Plains going to have a news conference complete with Peter Gilpatrick holding up a big blown up check with the Mayor when LCOR presents its $6,000,000 check to pay for half the commuter parking lot down on Bank Street, needed by the city before June 30 to balance the city budget – just a suggestion.


Considering the heroine Probation Officers who assisted in apprehension of robbery suspect on South Kensico Avenue storage facility, how about using the Patriot Act powers to search all commercial storage properties for contraband, weapons, storage of illegal drugs, stolen goods, fencing operations? I bet the police would find a lot of interesting goodies in those facilities. Are they used for selling drugs, for example? Meeting places to sell drugs? And stolen property? Let’s use the Patriot Act Powers for good.


And, if White Plains Hospital Medical Center is so well run, why is it losing $4.5 Million a year as one of their executives stated on television on Common Council Television June 4? Remember, they closed St. Agnes and Port Chester’s United for losing similar amounts. And now, the hospital has to expand its emergency room to cope with the increased traffic from defunct St. Agnes and United. If anything the hospital should be experiencing a windfall from the closing of those two hospitals.


And, how long does it take the DEC to clean up a contaminated, toxic dump? 32 years and counting. The dragging the feet on cleaning up the White Plains City Dump is unbelievable. The DEC more and more is showing that it appears to be a government funded employment program for scientists rather than an organization with teeth. It covers up for communities, is not interested when violations are reported such as the sewage leaks into Silver Lake, and tries to downplay situations, and allows communities to cover up embarrassing situations, because that’s what’s going on in White Plains. And how about announcing the total fine by the way? What is City Hall afraid of? What is galling is the contamination has been known about for years and no bureaucrats in the DEC forced White Plains to clean it up.


Oh…and Typos the Bartender wants to know why the School District is not going to release its “Action Plans” for the School’s next decase as part of its Strategic Planning until next fall.  The public doesn’t know on what the action plans are going to take action (like maybe the budget?)….or what. What a way to involve the community, especially when most of the persons on these action committees are school district personnel. How can they be objective? How can they be trusted to make hard decisions on the biggest drain on taxpayers in the city…the school district.


Typos also whispered to me that there is big time confusion on how many petitions for office you can sign. A Board of Elections type said one petition is all  a registered voter can sign. The head of the Democratic Party said you could sign one petition for three candidates. The election law says you can sign three. Shame on the Board of Elections and the Democratic Party for not promulgating the rules so no one candidate can spread false signing rules. That is a disgrace. In the Board of Elections doesn’t know and those Board of Election chairs are getting $100 Gs a year and more to know that — then they should be ousted… 


More from “The Front Page” to come.

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Common Council Meets Tonight on Phones, Multi Space Meters

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WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL CHRONICLE-EXAMINER. June 20, 2007: A Special Meeting of the Common Council was called by announcement 30 minutes ago for this evening at City Hall, beginning at 6 PM. The calling of the meeting conflicts with a community meeting scheduled this evening at Ridgeway School at 7:30 where Robert Stackpole, Robert Levine and Marc Pollitzer, opponents of the incumbent councilpersons Boykin and Power and new candidate Milagros Lecuona, are expected to launch a fusillade of attacks on the fiscal management of the present Common Council.


The Agenda:


1.            Application submitted by Heyman Properties, in relation to a request for a site plan amendment at 1 North Broadway, for Antipasti Restaurant.


 


 


2.            AllianceBernstein: Signage at One North Lexington Avenue.


 


 


3.            Capital Projects: Courthouse; Multi Space Parking Meters; Miscellaneous Water Systems.


 


4.                  Verizon contract – phones.


 

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Lake Street Party Aftermath.

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WPCNR Police Gazette. By John F. Bailey June 19, 2007: The stabbing at Delfino Park  two days ago on Saturday night was reported on News 12, but few details emerged. A helicopter was reported circling overhead. White Plains police said they called in the Harrison Police who assisted in clearing the area after the stabbing of an adult male that happened after a day long barbecue staged by a barbershop owner on Lake Street, had ended according to police. The White Plains Police investigation to apprehend the attacker is continuing. Persons with knowledge of the incident are urged to contact the police, 422-6111.



The stabbing took place after a day long barbecue for the Lake Street area in Delfino Park.Melissa Lopez, Coordinator of Public Information for the City of White Plains said Roland Hudson, an owner of a local barber shop took out  the permit  to put on a barbeque from 11 to 6 PM in the Delfino Park parking lot, as his way of thanking the community. Ms. Lopez said the permit was for a barbeque  and a D.J.. She said the Mayor had stopped by at the event but did not say if the Mayor was present when the stabbing took place.


News reports said in sketchy descriptions that hundreds of people ran from the park after the stabbing which White Plains Police said happened at 8 PM Saturday night.  


Harrison Police received a hotline call from the White Plains Police as an advisory, according to Deputy Police Commissioner Daniel Jackson, speaking to WPCNR today. A Harrison Police spokesperson could not pinpoint when they received the call because it was not in the Harrison computer, according to Lieutenant Schuck of the Harrison Police. Schuck confirmed that HPD units were dispatched and “stood by.” She said the sergeant who responded was away for a few days and she had no other details of Harrison Police involvement, and suggested WPCNR talk to the White Plains Police about the scope of the situation.


Melissa Lopez referred WPCNR to the White Plains Police. Deputy Commissioner of Public Safety, Daniel Jackson furnished this report moments ago on the situation Saturday evening:

It was a community bbq with a permit issued by the Recreation Dept. Approximately 350 people in attendance.

No arrests (in the stabbing) as of yet, the investigation is ongoing.  The victim is Andrew Holt, 39 years old. The stabbing took place at 8 PM

We are not aware of the Mayor or any Council Members being present at the time of the incident.

Harrison was notified in case they got spillover into their jurisdiction from the park as people left. They assisted in getting the people out of the area.

Again, there were officers in the park at the time of the incident. Mounted officers.


Commissioner Jackson reported no other arrests in relation to the festivities.


City Hall’s Lopez said the party was not a political event sponsored by the Mayor.

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No Timetable for DEC Decision on City Cleaning Up Dump TCEs

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WPCNR THE DUMP REPORT. By John F. Bailey. June 18, 2007 UPDATED 6 PM E.D.T.: Fourteen months after the Department of Environmental Conservation ordered the White Plains City Dump composting operation capped and closed, due to TriEthylene Chloride contamination over 35 years, there is no timetable for a decision on when and if the city is going to have to remediate the soil and TEC contamination existing there, according to a DEC spokesperson.


The spokesperson confirmed this afternoon that the Consent Order with the City of White Plains on the total amount of fine the city owes the state had not been finalized, but that it will be soon. They said the DEC will be present when sediment samples are collected from the Mamaroneck River. The spokesperson advised that they expected the testing to be completed by the early part of the summer.





 


The  former compost operation beyond the baseball field at Our Lady of Sorrows in May, 2006, since removed.  The DEC after 35 years of knowing the TEC contamination existed there is orchestrating a series of tests by the City of White Plains as we write, to determine the extent of contamination that the agency has known of for 35 years. WPCNR Photo Archive.


 


Wendy Rosenbach, Regional Citizen Participation Specialist for the DEC, told WPCNR that the White Plains Department of Public Works “Subsurface Investigation” (called for in September 2006, according to letter from the city to the DEC), has been “ongoing since March 2007.” She reports “monitoring wells have been installed and have been sampled. DEC has not yet received the analysis of the results.”

WPCNR asked whether  the DEC checking on the monitoring work that White Plains is undertaking on the landfill site.

Rosenbach said they were:  “DEC has provided oversight for the investigation program by reviewing and commenting on the investigative work plan and by visiting the site on several occasions to observe the field work in progress. DEC staff will be present when sediment samples are collected in the River. DEC will review the analytical results and the investigation report.”

WPCNR pressed on how long will the testing phase last. Rosenbach said: “The consultant’s statement regarding what investigative work needs to be completed is: We need to complete the stormwater sampling and the sediment/surface water sampling. We also have to drill on the Our Lady of Sorrows property. With the negotiations for property access, I think the School was hoping we could do the work when summer vacation starts. Based on this, I would expect the investigation to be completed by the early part of the summer.”


Asked what Commissioner of Public Works Joseph Nicoletti is attempting to determine, Rosenbach said,”A major goal of the surface investigation is to define the horizontal and vertical extent of the TCE contamination in soil and groundwater.”


WPCNR asked if the DEC had an estimate of the amount of TEC down there. Rosenbach said the testing would determine that: “DEC does not have an estimate of the real extent of contamination. We are waiting for the results of the investigation to determine that information.”


I asked what would the city have to do in event of a cleanup. Rosenbach noted, “The purpose of the current investigation is to define the problem and identify requirements for remediation.”


I asked why it has taken the DEC so long to do the tests. Ms. Rosenbach said, “This is an extensive investigation with numerous monitoring wells, test pits, borings, soil gas measurements, geophysical surveys, etc. The time which has been spent carrying out the investigation is not excessive or unusual for an investigation of this scope.”


Rosenbach had no estimate of possible costs of cleanup: “DEC does not estimate cleanup costs. DEC will review the site investigation and remedial plans after they are submitted.”


As of this writing, Rosenbach had no knowledge of the total fines the city has agreed to pay, based on the Common Council approval of giving the Mayor the right to sign an agreement with the DEC at the last Common Council meeting.


The city, at last report, was forced to make arrangements to take its composting to a county facility and cap its compost pile. The DEC is still awaiting city testing results to determine the extent of the TEC deposits said previously by the Commissioner of Public Works to be 15 feet below the surface. 


The Mayor’s has not responded to WPCNR questions on the progress of the dump tests.

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Avalon Bay Community Breaks Ground June 26

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WPCNR THE DEVELOPER NEWS. From The Avalon. June 19, 2007:  On Tuesday, June 26, at 11:30am, AvalonBay Communities will break ground on its first apartment building in White Plains, Avalon White Plains.   A ceremony celebrating the ground breaking will be held at the community site at 27-29 Barker Avenue in the City of White Plains and will be attended by local elected officials and community leaders as well as executives of AvalonBay Communities.



Avalon Bay ‘s 348 apartments in the 14-story apartment wings,  viewed from intersection of Church and Barker looking North North West. Photo, WPCNR News Archive. 



Avalon Bay rendered viewed from Church Street looking South.  Mr. Jordan said that nothing has changed essentially from what was approved with 45 townhouses (shown above on the North side of the complex looking towards Main Street and  348 apartment units planned to be built on the 6 story town houses filling the square block of the parking lot. Photo, WPCNR News Archive.



Manhattanites fly in for a check out of the Avalon Bay Apartments site at the Church Street and Barker Avenue Intersection, seen in background in upper left of photo. Photo, WPCNR News Archive.


The beautiful new community will feature 393 luxury apartment homes, consisting of studios, one, two, and three-bedroom floor plans in a fourteen story tower and townhouses. 

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Tiger’s the Greatest.

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WPCNR THE PRESS TENT. By Johnny Birdie. June 20, 2007: Well, you have to hand it to Tiger Woods. He’s got his wife expecting any moment. He has the media hounding him all weekend about him making a move, then the geniuses in the sports sections, the networks, and the professional sportswriting press get all over him for finishing second by one stroke in the US Open. They say he’s human. Not as good as he was. Losing his touch.  They did not know what they were seeing Sunday.


For Sunday, Tiger Woods showed he was the Master of them all.



 


 


 


The losers in life — the sportswriting fraternity — criticising one of the great winners and losers of all time for finishing second? Do they really  think that criticising his game will make him better? Poppycock! What fools.


Do they recognize how tough it had to be for him —   putting on a championship performance despite the worry — and I assure you there was worry — about his wife expecting a child? In many ways this Open was Tiger’s best performance.


And how about the sportsmanship. There is Tiger joking and congratulating Angel Cabrera around the cup. You know it takes a really big special person to be that gracious and congratulatory in that situation. What a hero. Such a role model. A young man wise beyond his years.


It is Woods who sets the example for sports. He works very hard at his game. He tries his best. He concentrates. He retains control of his emotions at all times — something we all could be better at. He is gracious to his competitors whom he makes better competitors. Make no mistake, they all compete better because of him.


No, the sportswriters really missed the story this weekend.


The story was that Tiger Woods and Angel Cabrera the winner showed us how sportsmen compete. Cabrera struggling out of poverty — as did Mr. Woods — to win the U.S. Open. And the press concentrated on how Tiger Woods lost the tournament. It was a great sports story and the sporting press completely missed it.


That is nuts. Mr. Cabrera played incredibly on the final day. Tiger played tough and tried to catch up and came very close to tying.  In the end, Mr. Cabrera was so happy and Tiger Woods you could see in the photographs was happy for him, respectful of the achievement. Something the sporting press did not show in how they reported the event. The leads were that Tiger had lost it — not that the Angel had won it.


Even in defeat the great Tiger Woods showed his greatness by saluting Mr. Cabrera’s achievement calling it a fine round of golf today.


He is a fine young man. They both are fine young men. They represent the best.


I for one cannot think of going out an playing as great a game as Tiger did with the knowledge I was about to become a father.


Tiger will surpass Jack Nicklaus record of winning 19 Major golf tournaments, it is just a matter of time. He knows this. And, you know, he ranks right up there with Jack Nicklaus as a human being and sportsman, too.

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Eighth Graders Needed only a 55 to Pass State Math Assessment

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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. By John F. Bailey. June 18, 2007:  White Plains Eighth Grade Math Students passed at a rate of 71% on the 8th Grade State Math Assessment, but they only needed to earn 55% of the 69 points on the exam to pass the 8th grade test. ( To pass  the 8th grader had to achieve a raw score of 38 of 69 points).



Raw Score to get a 650 Scale Score (Passing) on the 8th Grade 2007 Math Assessment is 38 points out of 69 points.


The average  math Scale Score of White Plains Eighth Graders has  also declined though from 726 for 2005 Eighth Graders to 664 for 2007 Eighth Graders. A Mean Score of 650 is passing. This drop raises the question of whether more White Plains students are passing by a narrower margin.


A total of 71% of WP Eight Graders passed the tests given in March 2007. But,  60% of the  those were in the critical Level 3 bracket, and 11.4% achieved the Level 4 category, (about even with years past). 


A 13% improvement in test scores, would indicate the district has a preponderance of eighth graders entering high school next year with what may be a borderline passing knowledge of math.


The Rest of the story


Examining the test scoring grids on the New York State Education Department website, show that the Department’s news release this week reporting that “improvement is notable in middle school, from grades 5-8. This year 73 percent of students across grades 3-8 achieved the math standards, compared to 66 percent last year,” does not tell the whole story.  The release does not make clear students to “pass” had to answer only enough questions correctly to earn 55% of the total point value on the tests.


The State Education Department assigns a Scale Score of 650  for the magic 38 point level (38 points earned by answering enough multiple choice questions correctly to earn 38 out of 69 points).


More revealing of just how many White Plains students entering high school are performing at the C minus, D and D minus levels of passing is the mean score: 664 for the entire eighth grade. The Passing Mean Score is 650.  Tom Dunn of the State Education Department Media Relations Department said the  Mean score on the assessment scores is the average score, not the median. The SED explains that Level 3 students could be expected to score between 65 and 85 on the Regents exams.


If you went to school in the 1950s and you scored 38 points out of 69 points on a test, (the 650 Passing Score) you got a 55 – a D-minus – or an F.


The 2007 breakdown.


The White Plains breakdown of students (by score) scoring above 38 points on the 2007 8th grade state math test show of 517 Eighth Graders taking the test, 306 scored in Level 3, and 59 scored in Level 4. Level 2 (below 38 points of 69 points) showed 117 students at that level; and in Level 1, 35. The breakdown of scores on those students at various levels and the distribution of students by actual score  has never been made public by the State Education Department or been presented by the White Plains schools.



 


The 55% standard is constant through the 2007 testing levels by grade.


A total of 71% of White Plains seventh graders “passed” the 7th Grade 2007 Math Test. To “pass” a seventh grader had to answer enough questions to score 28 points out of a possible 50 points—55% .


White Plains sixth graders passed at a rate of 66%. Sixth graders, to “pass” needed to rack up 27 of 49 points  (55%) on their test.


In fifth grade, 73% of White Plains students passed. They needed to score 26 of 46 points on their test to pass (56%).


In 4th Grade, where 75% of White Plains students “passed,” the youngsters needed to total 39 points of 70 points to reach the Level 3 Passing plateau – 56%.


In 3rd grade, 24 points out of  39 points, or 60% was required for passing.


The test score grids are available for viewing at http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/irts/ela-math/home.shtml


Percentages for Passing Slightly Higher in 2006


In 2006, when tests were administered in similar format, but passing percentages slightly higher (producing more borderline failures), the standards were as follows:


8th Graders to Pass: Needed 38 of 68 points (56%)   (58% of White Plains Students Passed)


7th Graders to Pass: 28 of 47 points (60%)                   (59% of White Plains Students Passed)


6th Graders to Pass:  28 of 49 points (57%)                  (53% of White Plains Students passed)


5th Graders to Pass: 27 of 46 points (59%)                   (61% of White Plains Students Passed)


4th Graders to Pass: 40 of 70 points (57%)                   (75% of White Plains Students Passed)


3rd Graders to Pass: 25 of 39 points (64%)                  (83% of White Plains Students Passed)


Slightly Different Year to Year at Some Levels


In looking at these differing passing levels from 2006 to 2007 you see some differences that could help scores:


The passing grade difference is almost 5% points higher in third grade in 2006 than it was this year – accounting for virtually all the White Plains third grade improvement (77% to 83%)


In 4th grade in 2006, you needed 57% of points compared to 56% in 2007 to pass, and White Plains held its own.


In 5th grade in 2006, a student needed 59% of the points to pass. In 2007, this standard was dropped to 56% — a 4% drop – accounting for 4% of White Plains 12% increase, so there is definitely improvement in performance there – or perhaps, just perhaps, more students were bumped up from borderline failing to borderline passing. Without a breakdown of where the scores fall within a bracket, you cannot tell.


In 6th grade in 2006, 57% of the points were needed to pass, and this year 55% was needed. The White Plains improvement was up, 66% to 53%, which could mean there are more borderline passing students than you’d like to see.


In the 2006 7th grade, 59% of points were needed to pass, and 59% of White Plains students passed This year 57% was needed and 70% of White Plains students passed, but by lowering the percentage needed to pass by 2%– this could also mean there are a lot of borderline passers in that percentage of increase.


Those seventh graders in 2006 were eighth graders taking the 2007 tests, and 71% of them passed. In eighth grade last year the passing percentage of points was 56%.  This year’s passing percentage was 55%. The whopping increase could be due to the efforts of the White Plains faculty, which we would love to think, or a very significant number of borderline passers at the 55% rate, or a combination of both slightly lower passing and better teaching.


What does it mean?


To read the state’s assessment news release, the state teachers and school districts are turning the corner. Telling us about 73% passing is impressive. But it is how and where you set the passing mark that is a big part of that story.


The 71% figure of eighth grade math passing students is sobering. Though improving, this means that 29% of students entering high school are failing math. They know slightly less than half the knowledge.


Is there a highly significant percentage of the 71% who passed, possessing math skills at the C-D and F levels since they are allowed to pass by getting only 55% of the possible points? The Level Four cut score is about 85%, (or 58 points of 69) equivalent to a B. What is not revealed in the 2006 Report Card (the 2007 is not out yet), is the distribution of scores within the two passing levels three and four.


Mean Score down since 2005


In 2005, White Plains middle schools had only 12% scoring in the Level 4 category, and 52% scoring in the Level 3 (55% or more points). The figures are not broken down so you cannot tell how many scored in the higher end of the Level 3 category or where the preponderance of students scored which would be revealing. The mean score among White Plains Eighth Graders  on the Math Test in 2005 was 726


In 2007, two years later, the mean score has plunged to 664. Does this mean what it appears to mean: that we are passing more students into high school with a half-knowledge of math? Are more students passing because we are passing more students by borderline margin? Is the state marking on a curve that produces a false positive that makes for good statistics and press releases but students who are numbers challenged?


Tom Dunn of the State Education Department media relations told WPCNR that the 2007 test was deemed rigorous and not “dumbed down” at all by math analysts who reviewed the tests.  


Asked if the State Education Department breaks down the spread of how many students scored in 10 point spreads or other incremental score spreads, across the Level 3 and 4 levels, Dunn said the State did not show that on their website, but that school districts could provide that information.


White Plains schools do not.


Statistics made public by the school district since WPCNR has been covering the assessments  (2000) have always been based on the percentage of students passing on grade levels on the assessments, not by how much students are passing by. The district does not break down for the public how many students scored at specific raw score levels and mean score levels. Such statistics would indicate whether the district was passing going away, or just passing.


A way to tell this would be if White Plains would release the numbers of students passing by raw score.


The district has never provided that breakdown.


The State Education Department does not so either. Mr. Dunn of the State Education Department, said that kind of breakdown is not made available on the School Report Cards. He did say that individual school districts could do that. WPCNR is not advocating names of students be used, just the number of students scoring 38 points, 39 points, 45 points, etc., that would be an interesting snapshot.

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