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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In the two sole achievements of the 4-1/2 hour meeting, the Downtown Business Improvement District budget was increased to $750,000, resulting in increased assessments to businesses in the central business district. In an exclusive interview with WPCNR, Rick Ammirato, the Executive Director of the BID said this bump-up “allows us to increase our allowed expenditures to $750,000, allowing us (the BID) room to grow.” Ammirato said the assessment to the 145 assessible properties in the BID District would increase $75,000 to $575,000. Mr. Ammirato told WPCNR this amounts to about an additional $100 for each of the 145 assessible properties in the Central Business District, but this would fluctuate on the larger properties. He said the typical property of Gross Floor Area of 3,000 square feet and a 50 foot frontage pays $700 now and would pay approximately $800 this year.

 The city will also get a new nightclub “Aura,” approved for 107 Mamaroneck Avenue.

Continuances.

The Avalon Bay project, and  the White Plains Hospital Medical Center emergency room expansion were continued to the June 5 meeting. Avalon Bay’s attorney, Mark Weingarten made it clear Avalon Bay was not negotiating any further with the property owner who owns a house on the block where the Avalon was going to be built, and said that since his client has met council conditions, they are obligated to approve the special permit (allowing 14 stories).

The $146.3 Million City Budget hearing had only two speakers address the 2006-2007 budget. The budget is scheduled for approval May 25. (Marjorie Davies, Co-President of the League of Women Voters urged increasing city worker’s health co-pays and functional consolidations to lower city expenses, urged the city not to sell land assets in the future, and endorsed continuation of the ½ cent city sales tax.)

Pounding the Comprehensive Plan Review

Previously, in the first hearing of the night, an orchestrated procession of 20  Comprehensive Plan Review critics took the Comprehensive Plan Review apart.  Mr. Seidel, speaking 13^th in the anti-Comprehesive Plan Review lineup, laid on a litany of the city’s failures to observe state environmental statutes and meet its own Open Space Committee, and charged it failed to seek outside help in conducting the review arousing the brooding, smouldering Mayor’s ire.

The sizzling exchange unfolded dramatically at around 10 P.M like this:

Mr. Seidel: Where is it? You’re not doing it. You’re paying lip service, so you can use the document to justify the variances to show that now you have a big rezoning going on and you’re going to base it upon this updated document. Wrong! It doesn’t hold water. It won’t hold legal muster. I urge you not to accept this as a plan update. You can use it as a status report and I urge you to merge the Citizens Plan Committee with the Comprehensive Plan Review Committee and get some real expert advice.

           You don’t have experts sitting on one or two committees. You should go to outside people as well and get a full panoply of ideas and take a future development course. You haven’t been proactive. I keep saying that. Please be proactive. That’s what you’re getting paid to do. Be proactive. Think about our future. Think about where you really —

Mayor (interrupting): Stop being critical. Stick to the topic.

Seidel: How can I not be critical?

Mayor Delfino: You’re being critical of the council. O.K., please…(Unintelligble)

Seidel: I am because you’re not doing the job you’re being paid to do.

Mayor Delfino (voice rising): In your opinion! That’s your opinion!

Seidel: That’s my opinion! It’s my five minutes. Mayor do not bully me. This is not Stalin! Don’t do this. Do not make like Russia. I’ve got a right to five minutes. Give me my five minutes.

Mayor (overriding Seidel’s comments): Don’t just criticize this council. I’m telling you right now not on this (Unintelligible)…

Seidel: I’m here to give you public comment, and my public comment right now my comment is criticism

Mayor(interrupting, snapping drowning out Seidel): Don’t tell them they’re not doing their job. They are doing their job and they’re doing a good job.

Seidel: You’ve been given zoning changes for two years, and refused to act on them for environmental reasons Why?

Seidel then walked away from the podium. The Mayor appeared to have had had about all he could take after listening to a fine-tuned onslaught of criticism of his planning process.

It did not start out that way.

Previously, there was a genteel introduction to the hearing by the Commissioner of Planning, followed by a glowing description by the Co-Chair of the Comprehensive Plan Review Committee, John Martin. Marting describing the Mayor-Council appointed Plan Committee process. He noted the 8 community meetings they had held (in a year) and 13 meetings the committee had held with staff departments. He described the completed review as “not a perfect document.” Isabel Villar, another committee member said how the committee “did everything we could.”

Then Comprehensive Plan Review critics took over and worked the document over like a tag team.

Robert Levine, Pauline Oliva, Robert Stackpole, Mike Graessle, Jeffrey Smith, Barbara Pollack, James Kirkpatrick, Mr. Seidel,  Marc Pollitzer, Carry Kyzivat, Jack Harrington, Sol Yanofsky, Terry Conroy (who raised some highly interesting questions about parking alone), Allan Teck, Carl Albanese, Paula Piekos and Dennis Power and a  Battle Hill resident  all roasted the comprehensive review turned in by the Mayor-and-Common Council appointed committee as not going far enough, ignoring the financial condition of the city, ignoring the school system role in the community, and for not recognizing the big box retail has not delivered the full economic punch the city was expecting. No one spoke in favor of the review.

 Teck was the first to suggest the members of the Citizens Comprehensive Plan Committee which “jump-started” the Comprehensive plan review process two years ago by submitting their review first), be combined with the Mayor-Council committee members. Seidel echoed that sentiment.  Ms. Pollack took particular exception to the city committee’s comprehensive plan review confining affordable housing to the downtown. Linda Tow, gave particularly poignant testimony about how she has lived in White Plains, but now cannot afford to live in the city. She also pointedly said that Centro Hispano could not find her housing for less than $900 a month. Tow also said that the reason people live in substandard illegal housing is that is all they can afford and that was why it was happening in Battle Hill.

After the Mayor’s outburst at Mr. Seidel a recess was taken for ten minutes at 10:10, and afterward, Dennis Power was the next speaker urging in 10 seconds the Comprehensive Plan Review not be adopted.

Not to Worry Says the Council.

Each member of the Common Council then went to great lengths to assure the public that the process of the Comprehensive Plan Review was just starting and that the Council would hold public work sessions to address their comments. (This is not exactly a big thing. All Council work sessions are public anyway. It was not clear whether the public would be able to speak at those public comprehensive plan review work sessions the Common Council promised. That would be a big thing.  Public comment is prohibited at work sessions.)

The Kindly Mayor Returns.

When the Mayor closed the Common Council meeting fifteen minutes before midnight, he recovered his dignity and assured the public the Comprehensive Plan Review would include their input, saying, “We had a lot of hearings tonight. It was interesting to hear. Each speaker had their own subject and you try to define it to a single point to get things done. Councilman Boykin, as usual, summed it up exceptionally well. Every day something changes. Every day.You put the best plan in the world together. It’ll change. The Comprehensive Plan,  that plan is going to change somehow a little bit. It’s going to be tweaked a little bit, I tell you that right now.

We thank you for your patience in bearing with us this evening. It was a long meeting, but I think in many ways, I’m very pleased that we had it. Because it is important to us to all recognize that when the community tries to work together, they should be heard, always should be heard. As Mrs. Malmud  and others have said, it’s only the beginning of the process. I’m sure when we get through the process, the comprehensive plan maintained most of our meeting time tonight, but keep in mind this plan isn’t to be rewritten, it sounded like it was going to be rewritten. This is solely a review. A review has never been done in this city before. We had two other comprehensive plans written and they were not reviewed, and I’m glad we reviewed it. Because times have changed since 1997.

      I think as we took each and every project on, I can tell you we adhered to the comprehensive plan of this city and we will continue to adhere to the comprehensive plan of this city. It is only a guide. As times change, as Councilman Boykin says, we must change, because it’s the only way we can conceive our future and where we’re going.

      There’s 41 cities in the state of New York. I’ll tell you one thing. This city is very proud in the direction it went, because you should only go up to the northern tier of New York State and you’ll understand what we accomplished here following the Comprehensive Plan is something this community and this council, this council should be very very proud of.”

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WPCNR The Immigrant News. May 1, 2006. UPDATED May 2, 2006, 9:45 A.M. E.D.T. UPDATED May 3, 2006, 10:45 A.M. E.D.T.: The National Day of Immigrant Demonstrations for Citizenship  in White Plains began with a march of approximately 200 students from White Plains High School down Bryant Avenue and up Mamaroneck Avenue to Renaissance Plaza Fountain Monday.

Contrary to what high school students who signed up previously for the national day of demonstration for immigrants’ rights have said to promote participation in the march their absence was not condoned by the high school administration.

The Superintendent of Schools Timothy Connors told WPCNR Wednesday the children who left the high school to attend the march were not excused from school. Their absences were noted and marked “an unexcused absence.” Connors said the students were not assigned detention for cutting school to attend the March. He said that depending on the number of unexcused absences each child had in each class, it  eventually could effect their academic grade.  

 The large protest group, joined by the high school students in mid-morning,  gathered in the morning and chanted all day at the intersection of Mamaroneck Avenue and Main Street where a crowd estimated by White Plains Police to be about 200 persons  with the number of demonstrators dwindling to about 60 persons by 3:30 P.M. By 5 P.M., the demonstration had disbanded. White Plains Police estimate the crowd at both the student march and the Fountain demonstration to be about 200 for each event.

Hispanic and Latino Demonstrators at Mamaroneck and Main, 3:30 P.M. Photo, WPCNR News.

Signs Read: “We Are Not Criminals,” and “Everyone Deserves a Chance at the American Dream,” The last hours of the Immigrants Day protest Monday in White Plains. Photo, WPCNR News.

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WPCNR Green Ways. Special to WPCNR. May 1, 2006: A fundraising effort has been launched to enhance, educate and enlighten the public about natural green space and woodlands preservation in White Plains. Sponsored by a group of philanthropists wishing to remain anonymous. The group has announced the sale of photographs of greenspace “gems” of White Plains, owned by the city in hopes to assure their preservation against the developers’ bulldozers and piledrivers.  It is one of many efforts underway for the  enhancement, education and enlightenment of natural green space woodlands and their value and preservation in White Plains.

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WPCNR MR. & MRS. & MS. WHITE PLAINS VOICE. April 30, 2006: WPCNR enjoyed a private screening in the palatial mansion of a Hollywood mogul last evening, seeing the recent remake of King Kong. In the sensitive last moments Ann Darrow and the big lug have together at the top of the Empire State Building, Kong says something very tender to Naomi Watts as the biplanes swoop in to finish KK off. We sent the script back to rewrite for some subtitles as to what the Kong man said to Ann. What do you think King Kong said to Ann Darrow. Check your choice for the most appropriate lines in the poll at the right.

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WPCNR STAGE DOOR. By John F. Bailey. Exclusive to the CitizeNetReporter April 27, 2006: WPCNR has learned there is more behind sketchy press reports that the Helen Hayes Theatre Company in Nyack has two theatre companies interested in resuming the theatre’s operation in the fall.

Carolyn Rossi Copeland, (Top, center), Founding Artistic Director of  renowed Lamb’s Theatre Company in New York with some of her cast, from her  now touring hit, Letters to God. Photo by Carol Rosegg, Courtesy The Lamb’s Theatre.

One interested party is the renowned impresario, Carolyn Rossi Copeland who has run arguably, the most successful “community theatre” in Manhattan, the Lamb’s Club Theatre, located on the third floor of the 1903 Sanford White-designed Lamb’s Club mansion, now owned by the Church of the Nazarene in Manhattan. She is considering moving her entire operation to Nyack.

Ms. Copeland is founding and still Artistic Director of the Lamb’s Theatre Company and  has produced  original critically acclaimed  and successful touring shows through her Lamb’s Theatre  for 28 years without building a deficit.   The unique flare of Ms. Copeland could be coming to Nyack and Rockland-Westchester.  She told WPCNR today she has the backing of The Friends of the Nyacks, the theatre group being given the chance to “save” the Helen Hayes.

The other theater company, reportedly expressing interest is based in New York, but a Helen Hayes Theatre Company Trustee, Daniel Rodriguez was reported saying that theater chose not to be identified.

Lamb’s Theatre Space Could be Razed.

Ms. Copeland told WPCNR she is interested in the Helen Hayes Theatre Company because she is losing her historic Lamb’s Theatre space at 130 West 44th Street, her home, because “the option on the building is coming to a close in September so the people who have the option are going to be executing it, it looks like, in September. I do not know how they resolved the air rights with the landlord (Church of the Nazarene),  but as far as our theatre company, we are looking for a new home.”

The owner of the building, The Church of the Nazarene had an agreement with the Hampshire Hotels and Resorts  chain to build a hotel within the confines of the building in 1999. According to  Reverend John Bowen, Pastor of the Church of the Nazarene, contacted by WPCNR today,  the Church signed an option agreement with Hampshire to build a hotel in the interior of the Lamb’s Club building.

To date, Bowen said that has not been done, Bowen told WPCNR, the church is presently in discussions with the hotel. As part of any hotel construction, Bowen said Ms. Copeland’s third floor theatre space, where members of the Lamb’s Club staged productions a century ago, (featuring such performers as George M.Cohan, who first performed Over There in the theatre)  would be gutted.

Lamb’s looking for a Home

Copeland told WPCNR in a telephone interview from her home, that she and her Board of Directors have yet to decide whether to leave New York City, or seek other space in New York for their Lamb’s Theatre Company productions.

Asked if this was why Copeland is interested in running the Helen Hayes, she said “Yes, it was the original  interest was because we knew we’d be leaving and several of my Board members actually live in Nyack, (Marion Jacobs and Terry Heckert),  and they alerted me to it. We haven’t really made a decision yet because moving out of the city is a very big deal. They were letting me know that they thought  the (Helen Hayes) Theatre was going to become available, and so I sent in a proposal. I’ve actually had one conversation so far with the new owners (Milbrook Acquisitions of Great Neck).”

Carolyn Rossi Copeland.

Photo by Carol Rosegg, Courtesy, The Lamb’s Theatre Company.

Asked if those discussions concerned moving the  entire successful Lamb’s Theatre operation up to Nyack, Ms. Copeland said, “That has been the conversation, Yes.” The Lamb’s most recent production was The God Committee last month.

The Copeland View.

WPCNR asked Ms. Copeland how she would involve the theatre with the Nyack community. “I think for the theatre to be successful in Nyack, it has to involve the community. The Lamb’s Theatre would possibly be the managing partner with many other users, But we have not made the decision, so I have not spent a significant amount of time making a plan yet. I haven’t negotiated any further than an initial conversation with the new owners. We had a very good conversation. There’s a lot in play. Part of that is deciding whether we leave the city, or not.”

New Board of Directors

WPCNR asked Ms. Copeland about whether she’d be working with the Helen Hayes Theatre Company present Board of Directors, she said “I have a Board of Directors and we’d be looking for additional members. I think the Helen Hayes Board is no longer involved in this facility, except that they are owners of the interior of the theatre, but no, I’m not interested. That wouldn’t be part of any agreement that I make.”

Asked if she’d be partnering with another theatre operator. This she said is a possibility: “I think we would be a managing partner, then we would elicit other users and other groups, but we would be the theatre company that would schedule and manage things, and produce three or four shows a year and a youth program. There’s got to be a lot of other users. It basically can’t be vacant, you know.”

Will meet with Milbrook in week.

WPCNR wondered if she’d had any financial discussions yet, and if she liked the numbers.

Ms. Copeland, a seasoned savvy financial operator of an avant gard successful little theater surviving aisle to aisle with the Broadway giants, laughed, and said,  “I can’t really comment on that at this point. I think no arts organization ever likes the numbers. The next step is we’re going to meet again (with Milbrook) in a week and we’re going to see if we can have the kind of support that’s needed and the kind of figures that make sense for an arts organization to move.”

Capitalization Being Analyzed.

WPCNR queried Ms. Copeland if she was appropriately capitalized at this time.

(Milbrook Acquisitions has said publicly they would rent the theatre space for a minimum of $18,000 a month rent for the theatre space which computes to $216,000 a year — before the theatre is refurbished with sound system and theater equipment.)

Copeland said, “I think that’s part of the meetings we’re having now, and that we will continue to have in the next five days. There are lots of groups meeting and people having these kinds of conversations. To come there underfinanced would be a huge mistake.”
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Ms. Copeland was asked if she was working with Friends of the Nyacks, a group that has spearheaded the “Save the Helen Hayes” effort in Nyack, and asked if they were endorsing her.

“Deborah Nardone (of Friends of the Nyacks) and I have been involved in this from the very beginning. I would say they feel we are the right group for the space. Yes.”

Asked if she had any contact with the O’Donnells of Nyack, who said they would offer to buy the theater complex for $5 million, but that offer was ignored by the Helen Hayes Theatre Company Board of Directors, in favor of the Milbrook offer of $3.7 Million),  Copeland said she had not.

The Next Act

Copeland said the situation “is being continued. It’s a big decision, because anybody who takes on that venue is committing themselves to a 15 year project, you don’t build a theatre overnight. It’s a great little town, but the theatre has to be supported.”

WPCNR asked if financial support in Nyack was there.

“Well, I think there are several people raising their hands, but I will know a lot more about that after next week,  when I get finished meeting with all of these groups,” Copeland said. “I think it’s important the community feels a sense of ownership over the future of the theatre company and the future of the facility.”

Programming direction.

Your reporter asked Ms. Copeland what kind of programming she thought would bring in the attendance that seems to be lacking.

“I think a wider net has to be cast in terms of the entertainment. I think you’ve got more of a diverse population than the programming in the past acknowledged. You’ve got to do everything from the college music scene to the classics to the youth programs to holiday programming. You’re thirty minutes outside of Manhattan so you have to do things that are serving the people in that community.”

Ms. Copeland said she would have more for the CitizeNetReporter next Friday on the Helen Hayes drama continues to unfold.