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 THE DEVELOPER NEWS. By John F. Bailey. June 18, 2007: A spokesperson for Cappelli Enterprises said today he would have to clarify Cappelli Enterprises position regarding making arrangements with golf clubs in White Plains for member privileges for guests and condominium owners at the Ritz Carlton Westchester.

Geoff Thompson, the spokesman said, despite a written statement from Cappelli Enterprises released to the media Thursday that said if the developer entered an agreement with  a golf property it would be kept residential, told WPCNR “Louis told me Friday he is definitely not trying to buy a club. He’s just trying to buy memberships in the clubs.”

 

Asked how Mr. Cappelli could renovate a clubhouse, add a spa and tennis facilities to a club, as the statement and comments he released Thursday said, just based on purchasing memberships, Thompson said he would have to clarify that with Mr. Cappelli.

Asked again if Mr. Cappelli was targeting Ridgeway Country Club, which was reported today as losing members by The Journal News,  making it perhaps vulnerable to an offer, Mr. Thompson said Mr. Cappelli was under a Confidentiality Agreement with Ridgeway Country Club, and would not comment further. Thompson said Cappelli was negotiating with 4 clubs in White Plains.

The new position of the Super Developer appears in sharp contrast to the statement he released Thursday which ruled out residential development of any country clubs he “made arrangements with,” if one makes the assumption you have to own a property to change it’s nature.

The obtainment of memberships of clubs does not give you that much sway over tee-times and privileges. At most resorts where golf is an option for guests, the resorts own the golf courses, the concierge gives you the number of the golf clubhouse, and you as guest simply call up and arrange a tee-time. At private clubs, members have first choice of tee times, often reserving them. If 200 guests at the Ritz-Carlton as well as some 400 residents had use of a golf club, but Mr. Cappelli only owned say 25 memberships that would be far different than the arrangements and availablity at most resort hotels.

At the Lake Placid Resort for example where this reporter plays when sojurning in the Adirondacks,  I can arrive on Thursday, call as soon as I arrive and be on the course that afternoon or get a tee time the next morning. No problem. I am not at the mercy of members. Whatever arrangements made with any club based simply on membership acquisitions would be hampered with only a handful of memberships.

The statement of last week gave a strong indication the Super Developer is looking to buy:

LC Main, LLC, as owner of the Ritz-Carlton, Westchester is actively talking to a number of different golf clubs within a ten-mile radius of the hotel and is actively seeking various other opportunities that have the potential to enhance and expand the services and amenities available to buyers of the condominium residences.

Golf courses and golf privileges are commonly offered to home buyers in new residential projects across the United States. Westchester County has long offered some of the best and most exclusive golfing opportunities found anywhere in the nation, and an ability to access these courses is a strong attraction.

Various possibilities for offering golf as an amenity to Ritz-Carlton, Westchester buyers are being explored.

Should a golf course venture be entered into, it would be for the sole purpose of being repositioned as a world class golf and tennis club, not for conversion as a residential development.

LC Main, LLC recognizes and respects that golf courses serve as open space amenities for the neighborhoods and communities in which they are located.

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WPCNR CAMPAIGN 2007. June 18, 2007: Mike McConnell, a resident of Battle Hill has sent a letter to the Treasurer of the Battle Hill Association announcing he will be communicating with the Internal Revenue Service as to how political activism on the part of association leaders affects neighborhood association tax-exempt status.

This issue has been raised by McConnell in the last week because of activism by neighborhood association members who are running for Common Council and association officers who have announced their support for nominated Common Council candidates. Mr. McConnell said in a letter to the Treasurer of the Battle Hill Association, he is seeking IRS analysis of whether this activity implying association endorsement by association violates tax-exempt status in White Plains. The letter follows:

Attn. Jiwanda V. Gale-Rogers, Treasurer

         Battle Hill Association

 

Hi Jiwanda,

I figured I would flag you on this since you are the Treasurer of the Battle Hill Association. I will be communicating with the IRS and NYS Taxation and Finance this week regarding the debate over the correct tax status of all neighborhood associations. As Treasurer of the BHA you would be the officer responsible for all this info and all filing requirements. If the IRS needs any info I will give them your name as the BHA Treasurer, OK. If it’s not you please let me know when your responsibility ended so I can tell them to contact the current Treasurer. If I receive additional information all will forward to each association as necessary.

Last month I inquired who might be handling these issues and Patti advised me she was un-sure if you were still handling this area. Could you get together with her and let me know who I should identify as treasurer if your not interested in the position anymore? As Treasurer it would be your responsibility to make sure all financial books, documents and tax reports are in order. You should review IRS doc 1024/ F990 and SS-4 in the event the BHA is not in compliance these docs may be required. I don’t want to appear ignorant and give out the wrong information so please check with the BHA CPA or Attorney if they have been retained. 

I originally researched this information at Patti Cantu’s request. 8 months ago. I spent a great deal of time researching this info and I made the following recommendations last year:

1)         The BHA needs to form an LLC or Not for Profit Corp. since they are involved with landlords-housing issues and public safety complaints against individuals and the BHA officers could be exposed to liability.

2)         The BHA needs to meet and consult with an CPA/accountant immediately in order to protect everyone from tax problems.

3)         Patti was advised to retain an attorney and I recommended that the charter and tax purpose be reviewed immediately. The BHA must evaluate whether their business activities are taxable in terms of fund raising, bank donations, political activity etc..

4)         The BHA needs to trim its list of directors from 10% of the membership to about 4 people not 8-10.

5)         The BHA was advised to procure a computer with a software accounting package and designate someone as bookkeeper.

6)         If it is determined that they meet the reporting requirements of a 501/503C NON Profit Organization then the Treasurer needs to file the appropriate paper work.

7)         If you have filed for Federal Tax ID # then they needed to identify your organizations purpose on the application. If they continue to operate under an officer’s social security        number then they need stick to collecting dues and not accept donations or engage in fund raising activities. They were putting themselves at risk.

8)         They were also advised to procure business liability insurance since they were engaged in Public Safety and Housing issues.

9)         All these efforts were made at the request of Mrs. Cantu and my recommendations were given at her request. I was clear that she and her officers needed to clean up their operation for there own protection.

 

I will update everyone once I get a determination on how the neighborhood associations should be classified for tax purposes. I am no longer a member of the BHA and I will be pursuing this tax information and association status issue as an independent citizen. We want to make sure our political system is sqeeky clean.

 

Regards

Mike McConnell

 

Cc: Patti Cantu

Cc: BHA Membership

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WPCNR THE SUNDAY BAILEY. By John F. Bailey. June 17, 2007: My father gave me three pieces of advice in life: Always drive an air-conditioned car. Always centrally air-condition your home. Stay out of court.

 

My Dad{ Charles F. Bailey, Center, formerlly of Pleasantville, N.Y. as he appeared in a banking advertisment in the 1960s for his bank. Republic National Bank.

 

And — Oh — don’t sit in traffic,  always take the service road on the Long Island Expressway.

(He would have loved a Garmin.)

In restrospect, his advice has served me well.

I am always comfortable. I sit out traffic delays in comfort. I have not made lawyers rich.

He was not an especially emotional man. He was a banker and always wore suits to work.

I have fond memories of going to meet him when he got off the train in Pleasantville – when

The train tracks were at grade with Manville Road. I was most impressed as a young chile by how he always smelled of coal cinders when he got off the train – like commuter’s cologne.

Sadly on today’s electric trains you do not get that. And you always heard those steam engines coming. You could see them: Clouds of very busy and industrious black smoke streaming at the horizon down the line.

He’d get off the train. My mother would move over and he’d drive the old Hudson Hornet home.

He always spoke quietly. Never raised his voice. Drank scotch and soda and he smoked. He set up a Lionel train set in our basement – perhaps our unspoken connection.

When I was sent in by train for the first time to meet him at the office during Christmas time. He’d have his secretary greet me at Grand Central Terminal which still is a very big and scary place. He would take me to lunch at Jack’s Monte Rosa restaurant on 49^th Street – which I thought was a very great place. When I first went to it with him, I was a little disappointed that it was not more glamourous but I was really impressed that Jack the owner greeted him by name. I thougt that was great that my Dad was greeted with respect. When I first started working I ate regularly at a restaurant below the television station where I worked, and the owner eventually, named Marty, started calling me, ‘Hi John, how are you?” People would look at me. I liked that. 

When my father came to visit me inWashington where I worked. I took him around town. I told him when he got off the plane. “Hi, Dad, welcome to my town.” I wanted to impress him. We’re always trying to impress our fathers.

 

Another Father time was when my Dad came out for Dad’s day at college. I mean this was a big thing to me. He watched me do play-by-play of a football game from atop the press box in 25 degree weather. It was cold. But he watched. Acted impressed.

Another time when I last a job when I was working at the television station that I had been being considered for. And I told him how unfair it was, he put things in perspective: “Puggy, he said,  “The film manager wasn’t going to put you in as his Assistant if you were going to be bucking him all the time.”

It put things in perspective.

Then later in my career when I was fired out of a job completely blindsided. He again intervened, saying to me he thought what the agency head had done was a terrible thing. I needed that at the time. He also, in a very supportive move, told me if I could make $1,000 a night writing a free lance direct mail package, I should keep trying to do that.

Dads are there to say the right things to you at the right time. Sometimes it is not always the right thing, but they try. Often, if you’re lucky, as I was, they say the right thing. And not the wrong thing.

When I bought my first house in White Plains. He never criticised the house. But when I sold it, he complimented me, “I think it’s great how you came out of it (the crummy first house).”

They’re personal trainers.  And train you to run a race. If you stumble, no one hurts more than they do. When you succeed, no one is prouder. They know what you should do, but they can’t tell you, because you won’t do it if you’re a kid. But the more subtler of them tell you any way in hopes it will sink in to the rebellious teen mind. My dad was subtle.

Another fond memory: My father took me camping once at a friend’s cabin in Pennsylvania. Funny thing was there was such a great comic collection we wound up sleeping in sleeping bags on the porch of the cabin. That was funny.

Another time when I was being threatened in college over a position at the radio station, I asked him if I should just abdicate and assign a play-by-play position to the person who was being forced on me. He advised me to “stick to your guns,” so I reported the threat to the Dean. The position was compromised, but I was never threatened again.

He never shared my love for baseball and sports. In fact he never played catch with me all that well. I mean I could have made the big leagues (pipe dream) if he played catch with me more. But that’s a small criticism.

I wish I had more of his financial acumen. But I do not.

As you grow into your 30s and 40s, little things they say to you you begin to understand. My father never struck me, but always disciplined me with quiet words. I have not always been that way as a parent myself, being somewhat volatile. I wish I had his even temperament.

He always asked me to take care of my mother. And the only time he really got mad at me was when I had made my mother upset with me.

I little like John Wayne in the way he disciplined, I remember he would say admonitions quietly. Such as when I got an F in an English course at college. He told me, that was the last F I would get at Ohio Wesleyan, because the next one he would stop paying my tuition. That had an effect. And that was when tuition was only $3,000 a year.

So, on Father’s Day, I think of him as I do most days of my life. I become more like him every day.

He is always lingering in the background of my thoughts. I do not know what he would think of what I am doing now.

But, he’d say — “If that’s what you want to do. Do it.”

He also would say, “You have to make yourself happy.”

I also think, even today of what advice (laconic as always) he’d give me in a situation 

You never outgrow your need for Dad.

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WPCNR BUMPER TO BUMPER. By John F. Bailey. June 15, 2007 UPDATED 6/17/07 12:30 A.M. With Color Route Pix :  The new downtown shuttle system put into motion by Council approval of purchase of 3 shuttle buses Thursday evening will lose the city $449, 590 a year with government subsidies. It will cost about $1 Million a year to operate, according to the study delivered to the Common Council Thursday night, reportedly for the first time.

The cost per ride over one year of a projected 128,500 is $6.22 per ride, equivalent to a typical White Plains cab fare into the downtown from the train station. Should the city acquire the projected “public money” subsidies the cost drops to $4.22 a ride

“White Plains Rapid Transit” Recommended Buses. The Council may choose from one of these hybrid fuel bus designs. The buses would carry about 30 persons each and operate on three routes in the White Plains downtown at a cost of about $1 Million a year.

 

The “Program for Review of Downtown Shuttle Service” prepared by Urbitran Group, recommends three downtown routes  costing  from $741,338 to  $889,605 a year. It recommended the city purchase four vehicles which would be run by a private contractor to execute three downtown routes, and recommends a 50 cent charge per passenger. The estimated annual operating costs do not cover signage or public information efforts on the part of the city.

Get me to the Train on Time.

The 81-page study, proposes “The A Line,” a route using two vehicles between 6 AM and 10 AM, one vehicle leaving the train station, on a 25-minute loop plus 5 minute wait time at the train station. It leaves the station proceeding down Lexington Avenue to East Post Road, continuing on East Post Road to The Westchester Mall via Westchester Avenue, and returning to the train station via Paulding Street to Maple Avenue, continuing West Bound on Maple to Longview Avenue to Quarropas, west to Bank Street and continuing back to the train station, operating every 15 minutes with 5 minute wait time at the train station. 

The A Line: Rush Hour Route: From the Train station to the Westchester and back.

West Side East Side All Around the Downtown

This route would reduce to one vehicle in midday hours between 10 AM and  and 3 PM, then resume with two-shuttle service between 3 PM and 6:30 PM.

 

The Great Northern Route –THE B LINE

The “B Line”  originates from the train station and runs one shuttle during morning and evening rush hours on a 20-minute loop to the northern side of downtown, Hamilton Avenue Eastview Neighborhood,  pulling out of the station, turning left on Ferris Avenue, righting on Water Street and motoring smartly to the White Plains Mall, righting on Cottage Place to Hamilton Avenue, where it turns left and motors down Hamilton  to North Broadway, crossing North Broadway and continuing in a square loop down Lake Street where it turns right onto Canfield Avenue, rights onto Main Street to serve the Eastview neighborhood. Upon reaching North Broadway the B route rights North on Broadway and continues to Park Avenue, where it makes a left, continues on Park Avenue West and loops back to the train station when it reaches Ferris Avenue.

The B route will operate  from 6 to 10 AM in the morning and 3 PM to 8 PM evenings.

 

The MiDDAY SPECIAL

The “C Line”  operates two vehicles serving downtown in the midday hours from 10 AM to 3 PM weekdays and 10 AM to 7 PM Saturdays .

 

“The C”  midday service would assign the two shuttles  handling the A Shuttle during morning rush. The C would run continuously, weekdays to “offer mid-day customers the most convenient service and a short loop connecting downtown travel areas, office and residential, commercial centers, shopping and restaurants. It is hoped office workers would use the  C to travel between businesses and the City’s “commercial core.”

The C begins its run at Main and Bank Streets, proceeds down Main Street in an eliptical loop to South Broadway, turns south to Westchester Avenue to the Westchester Mall, where it takes Paulding Street to Maple (Fortunoff’s), and takes Maple Avenue  West to Mamaroneck Avenue. It then follows Mamaroneck Avenue north to Martine Avenue (through the heart of the Mamaroneck Avenue bar & grill row, lefts on Martine (at City Center), and proceeds down Martine past The Galleria to Bank Street and main where it begins the loop again.  It is estimated that each shuttle would take 20 minutes to complete this loop, so a citizen is never more than 10 minutes away from a convenient C Shuttle.

On Saturdays the C Service would circulate for 9 hours all day, and may be extended to include stops at the train station.

Vehicles and dollars.

The study recommends purchase of 4 hybrid-electri/diesel vehicles seating from 30 to 44 passengers. One is a vintage trolley look. The survey expects 10 to 15 passengers per hour on shuttles such as this in similar shuttle projects nationally.  The survey predicts the service will be more successful in midday hours. Overall, the 4 shuttles in service they would  serve about 13 passengers an hour, over 9,884.54 annual hours of service for total ridership a year of 128,500.

 

 

At 50 cents a passenger, that would yield $64,250, meaning the service would lose about $825,355 a year. Should the 4 shuttles be filled to capacity  120 passengers an hour, for 9,885 hours at 50 cents a passenger,  the ridership would be 1,186,200 and at 50 cents a ride would generate revenue of $593,100 still the loss would amount to $296,000 a year.

State Aid Would Subsidize

The study notes that the New York State Transit Operating Assistance  program (STOA) and the federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) program are sources of funding to subsidize the service.

The Town of Huntington and the City of Long Beach, Long Island currently receive such a STOL subsidy for their rapid transit program.

The study reports  that subsidy is 40.5 cents a passenger and 69 cents per vehicle mile. The study notes that at the extimated total passengers to begin the revenue miles would generate a $40,362 subsidy and at 40.5 cents for the 128,500 passengers expected, a subsidy of $52,043  from STOA that would cut the one year loss from $825,355 to $773,312.

The Bottom Line — a $449,590 Loss

The Study estimates with Operating expenses of $840,183 and fare revenue of $48,188, the city would have a net loss of $791,995 annually.

That would be mitigated by STOL and CMAQ subsidies of  $92,405 from STOA (half of which is provided by local match from the City of White Plains, or a benefactor), plus $250,000 in CMAQ federal funds.

The bottom line would cost the city a $449,590 loss a year to operate the service.

The Numbers:

                          Revenue Hrs   Op Expense    Ridership     Fares       Net Operating Expense

Weekday             9,052.5          $769,463        117,680     $44,130           $725,333

Saturday                  832               $70,720           10,820      $4,058             $66,663

Total                      9,884.5         $840,183          128,500     $48,188          $791,995

 

City of White Plains Funding Share

Net Operating Expense        STOA Funds         CMAQ Funds           City Share (LOSS)

     $803,116                                 $92,405*                     $250,000**                  $449,590

 

* Formula based, requires local (City of White Plains Match

**Projection based on similar programs in New York State

$6.22 A ride — Equivalent to Cab Fare in the city.,

 

The cost per ride (128,500 riders) to the city, should the above predicted subsidies come through is about $4.22 , for which the study proposes the city charge 50 cents. If you add in the cost of the subsidies the rides cost.

The actual cost per ride is $6.23 a ride when you consider the total cost of $800,000 a year to run it as projected the survey.

The study has already cost $200,000 of “public money,” and will expend $242,000 more public money to purchase the three buses..

Not too much Comment

The council approved purchase of three vehicles Thursday evening, using a $242,000 grant obtained by Congresswoman Nita Lowey. Councilpersons Dennis Power, Benjamin Boykin, Glen Hockley and Arnold Bernstein (who was not present Thursday night) indicated to WPCNR Thursday evening they had not read the study in detail before voting the purchase of the buses, because they had just received it that evening. Councilperson Rita Malmud did not return a message left by WPCNR

 

 

 

 

 

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WPCNR BUMPER TO BUMPER. By John F. Bailey June 14, 2007: Councilman Benjamin Boykin confirmed to WPCNR this evening that tonight’s passage of the resolution with an oblique reference to a Department of Transporation was the second step in putting into place a trolley shuttle system in downtown White Plains:

“We voted tonight to get the other federal money that Nita Lowey has allocated for the trolley(s), and this money ($242,000) will be used to actually purchase the vehicles,” Boykin said.  “Nita has provided us two grants. The first grant ($200,000) was provided for the study of the trolley. The second grant (resolution to accept it passed this evening) is for the funds we will actually use for the purchase of those vehicles. Again we will have to get input from the county, also input from the state, but that’s what that resolution does tonight.”

Boykin said,  “I’m very excited that we’re moving forward (with the trolley system). And this grant will also put in place the service plan. The service plan will take about a year (to implement). If all goes well and everyone signs off, we should have this up and running next year.”

Next Spring, The CitizeNetReporter asked. “Sometime next year. Sooner rather than later. I’ve been talking about the trolley for five years. It was one of my key initiatives in my previous campaign and it is a key initiative in this year’s campaign, and you’ll see it on my palm card.”

Boykin said a rather thick study was delivered to the Common Council this evening, but he had not gotten a chance to read it completely.  WPCNR asked what was the scope of it?

Boykin said  “The study was done by an independent expert in that area and we got a copy of the study tonight. It’s pretty thick.”

WPCNR asked what the study concluded. Boykin said, “There is a need…we think we can have a trolley.”

WPCNR asked if it spelled out why trolleys had failed in the past. Boykin said that would be addressed: “We know we’ve had a high failure rate all over the nation on these. That’s why we want to make sure we put a service plan in place we will still be working on it and get it hopefully right.”

Boykin said he thought the three trolley buses would be hybrid. “It will be a hybrid vehicle.” He did not know what capacity the buses would carry.