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.

Hits: 0

WPCNR THE PARKING NEWS. November 30, 2004: The doubledeck parking garage being built behind the block on Mamaroneck Avenue housing Smiley’s, the Gedney Station Post Office, Francesco’s, Gino’s and Dunkin Donuts  is nearing completion to serve the long parking impoverished Old Mamaroneck Road and Shapham Place neighborhood.

Approximately 600 new spaces will be available on two decks, accessible via Mamaroneck Avenue adjacent to Dunkin Donuts, and from the municipal parking lot behind Mamaroneck Avenue School. WPCNR has learned the “Double-Decker” is on target only a month behind schedule, and will open to the public in mid-January.

PARKING IS ON THE WAY! The Mamaroneck & Bryant parking structure sprawls behind the U.S. Post Office, as seen from the Bryant Avenue grade coming up from Mamaroneck & Bryant intersection Tuesday. It will be opened mid-January.  It is being built for a cost of approximately $2.6 Million bonded for by the city.Photo by WPCNR ParkingCam.

ANOTHER DPW TRIUMPH! The upper deck seen from Mamaroneck Avenue School. Motorists parking overnight or seeking parking for the school, or anticipating a long walk into downtown may enter the upper deck from the Shapham Place lot. Construction is being supervised by the White Plains Department of Public Works. The construction has been underway for about eight months.  Photo by WPCNR ParkingCam.

Hits: 0

WPCNR LANCET. From Westchester County Department of Health. (EDITED) November 30, 2004: White Plains will observe World AIDS Day Wednesday with a series of information events to educate citizens to the dangers and spread of AIDS. Westchester County, according to Westchester County Commissioner of Health, Dr. Joshua Lipsmann, has the highest number of AIDS cases in New York State outside of New York City. Around White Plains, citizens can attend the following events inside the city. There will also be two forums held Friday to educate women to the AIDS phenomena:

– White Plains Hospital Center (Davis Ave. @ E. Post Road) will be providing  education materials and information on HIV/AIDS in the lobby from 11:30am-1:30pm.  Contact Deborah Frantzen, Resource Clinician, 914-681-1194.

–         The Westchester Coalition on Global Poverty and AIDS (WCGPA) is hosting an event with various speakers and cultural performances.  The event is at 7pm at Memorial United Methodist Church, 250 Bryant Avenue in White Plains (between Mamaroneck Avenue and North Street).  Admission is free.  Donations will support three Westchester-based organizations providing treatment, care, and prevention services for HIV/AIDS in Africa.  Visit www.memorialmethodist.org or call 914-949-2146 for directions.  Free parking.  For further information, contact Ken Paterson at 914-337-4247 or Ron Mitchell at HAPNY@hotmail.com. 

– The LOFT is screening the film “Red Ribbon Blues” starring RuPaul, Paul Mercurio, Debbie Mazar, and John Epperson at 7:30pm.  HIV/AIDS information will be available from ARCS, WCDOH, and NYU School of Medicine.  180 E. Post Road, White Plains.  Contact: Yvette 914-948-2932.

“When people think of HIV/AIDS, they don’t realize how prevalent HIV/AIDS is in our own communities” said Joshua Lipsman, M.D., M.P.H, Westchester County Health Commissioner. “Many people would be surprised to learn that outside of New York City, Westchester County has the highest number of cases of HIV disease in the state,” added Dr. Lipsman.

In the United States, up to 950,000 Americans are estimated to have HIV, with 40,000 new infections every year. In New York State, Westchester County has the highest number of cases of AIDS and the highest number of cases of HIV.

In recognition of World AIDS Day, the Westchester County Department of Health will be hosting a conference, “The Down Low and HIV: What is the Connection?” on Friday, December 3 from 8:30 am to 1:00 pm at the Crowne Plaza in White Plains. Featured speakers include Keith Boykin, lecturer and award-winning author; Patricia Nalls, Community AIDS activist for the rights of women living with HIV and their families; and Dr. Lisa Hightow, lead author of a study on a University of North Carolina outbreak of HIV among male college students.

This year’s World AIDS Day theme is “Women, Girls, HIV and AIDS,” which reflects on how

HIV/AIDS has significantly increased among women. Women now make up half of all people living with HIV worldwide. In Westchester County, women are contracting the disease more than ever before. Among women, middle-aged minorities are at greatest risk. “Data indicate that compared to their male counterparts, black, non-Hispanic women have a higher rate of HIV/AIDS infection, as do all women between 40 and 49 years of age” said Dr. Lipsman. 

The December 3^rd conference  will focus on a common avenue of HIV/AIDS transmission among African-American women. African-American women between the ages of 30 and 50 who are in heterosexual relationships with men who are having sex with other men on “the down low” are particularly vulnerable to contracting HIV/AIDS.  Recent national studies suggest that 30% of all black bisexual men may be infected with HIV, and up to 90% of those men do not know that they are infected. Researchers for the CDC have referred to these men as a “bridge” to infection from gay men to heterosexual women.

World AIDS Day events are occurring throughout Westchester County. Included are the following:

• Hastings-on-Hudson: 

The Westchester Chapter of the United Nations Association of the U.S.A. will hold a forum on Sunday,

December 5^th, “HIV/AIDS – a Global and Local Issue!”  The keynote speaker will be Dr. Allan Rosenfield, Dean of the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University.  He will be joined by a representative of UNAIDS and by student activist Kelley Cope. The forum will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. at the new Greenburgh Town Hall, 177 Hillside Avenue, Greenburgh 10607 (off Route 119).  The public is welcome, free of charge.  Light refreshments will be served.  Call 914-478-3450 for more information or visit www.stratdev.com/UNA-USA/

• Mount Vernon

– World AIDS Day Ceremony at 11:30am on December 1st, Mt. Vernon City Hall, City Hall Rotunda (open to the public).  For further information, contact Danielle Scholar, 914-699-7230. 

– The Mount Vernon Youth Council invites all youth ages 12-18 years old to “HIV… An

Issue for Everyone.”  3pm-7pm.   Mount Vernon Armory, 144 North 5^th Ave., Mount Vernon, NY  10550.  Co-sponsored by The City of Mount Vernon (Mayor Ernest D. Davis), WestCOP and Family Services of Westchester.  RSVP to Tamara Berthaud at 914-668.9124 x 18.

• Valhalla

The following are events sponsored by Westchester Medical Center for Wednesday, December 1^st:   

–         9:30am, Opening of the Quilts (WMC Interfaith Chapel)

–         10am-2pm, Information Table (University Hospital Main Lobby);

–         Noon, Interfaith Service for Wholeness (WMC Interfaith Chapel);

–         2pm, AIDS Care Center (ACC) Service of Remembrance (WMC Interfaith Chapel);

–         5pm, Closing of the Quilts (WMC Interfaith Chapel). 

For more information, contact Br. Richard John Lorino at 914-493-1292.

• Yonkers

– December 1^st: The following are events sponsored by the Yonkers HIV Providers’ Task Force (with the support of The Sharing Community, St. John’s Riverside Hospital, and Greyston Foundation) at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Getty Square unless other wise noted:

9:30am – Proclamation Ceremony at The Guild Room

10am- 3pm – The Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt Display

12pm – 1:30pm – Interfaith Vigil of Remembrance and Hope featuring the Lincoln High School Choir and the Greyston Health Services Theater Group

1:45 – 2:15pm – Acknowledgement Ceremony of Local Providers in the Guild Room

For more information and to register for the “The Down Low and HIV: What is the Connection?” conference on December 3^rd, contact the Westchester County Department of Health at (914) 813-5256 or  email omb1@westchestergov.com.

Hits: 0

WPCNR MAIN STREET JOURNAL. By John F. Bailey. November 29, 2004: The Reverend Janet Vincent, Rector of Grace Church reported to WPCNR Monday afternoon that the Department of Social Services contacted Grace Friday and asked for a meeting with the Church Board of Directors to discuss the issue of Samaritan House finances. Vincent said today that the meeting could take place possibly this week. (“We don’t have a date yet, she said.)

Vincent also said the Church and the Grace Church subsidiary which manages Samaritan House has no intention of closing Samaritan House if their financial deficit of approximately $70,000 could be met. Vincent explained that Grace Church,  the landlord of Samaritan House (located on the third floor of the Grace Church annex) had sought to raise the Samaritan House rent (paid to Grace Church), as a means of making up a portion of the deficit the operation runs. She did not have exact figures in front of her.

Vincent told this reporter she called me because “there’s been confusion as to what has happened.”

Never told D.S.S. it was planning to close.

Vincent denied that Grace Church had told the D.S.S. it was planning to close Samaritan House, while in negotiations for a new contract.  “That is not true.” She said. “We’d happily keep it open  if we have a contract (with the Department of Social Services).”

She said Grace Church is not seeking a battle with the Department of Social Services.

Reverend Vincent  is quoted in the Monday Journal News as saying at a sermon Sunday morning at Grace Church that “On November 17, we were notified by Social Services that they would not give Samritan House a new contract. It was totally their decision.”

Mahon, on the other hand said in the same article that Samaritan House had and we quote from the article, decided to close Samaritan House while still in contract negotiations with his department

Reverend Vincent also denied she had ever told the Journal News reporter that Louis Cappelli was giving $1,000,000 to the church. She explained “you know what happens, what you say comes out in bits and pieces.”

“We’ve been negotiating with Mr. Cappelli for 2-1/2 years about renovation plans for the church, and he always understood it would include renovating Samaritan House,” Vincent told WPCNR. Asked if the renovations planned would mean displacement of the residents of Samaritan House, Vincent said, it would be done perhaps incrementally so displacement of residents would be minimal. Asked if the kitchen renovation would require closing of the soup kitchen, Vincent happily reported the kitchen was already renovated, and that the hall where the hungry were fed needed to be renovated. She said it was possible the soup kitchen might have to be moved temporarily during work on that serving area.

Vincent disclosed that no contract had been signed with Mr. Cappelli or his organization for any of the renovation work as of yet.

Figures Figures Figures

Vincent said she could not comment on the figures disclosed by  in the Journal News article today which were at odds with the figures given by Joseph D’Ambrosio, Executive Director of the Grace Community Center  in the very same paper last week, because she was not close to them. Mr. D’Ambrosio has yet to speak with WPCNR on the financial pictures the Samaritan House and Open Arms Shelter face, though invited to do so last week.

Today, Mr. Mahon, Commissioner of the Department of Social Services, is reported as saying Grace Church, the Samaritan House landlord had asked for a $70,000 rent increase for the third floor Samaritan House staging area. The article notes that Mahon reports that Grace Church asked for a 37% increase of $221,538.24  above the $598,752 allocation Samaritan House receives, which appears larger than the 15% increase Mr. D’Ambrosio said Samaritan was seeking.

WPCNR asked the Westchester County Department of Communications to arrange for Mr. Mahon or Ms. Travers to speak with WPCNR on this matter last week, but to date neither Mr. Mahon nor Ms. Travers have contacted WPCNR.

A Rumor Starts Press Feeding Frenzy

Asked how the Department of Social Services got the impression Grace Church had decided to close Samaritan House, Vincent said it was a story that got started by a resident of Samaritan House who told it to a minister she believed was from Peekskill. Vincent said she was first approached on the story by a Channel 4 reporter who asked her about it. Then she spoke to The Journal News when Ms. Elan called. Asked how the Department of Social Services got the impression from Grace Church it was closing, Vincent said she did not know, but repeated Grace Church had never told the D.S.S. it was closing or that it had threatened to close.

Vincent recounted that the church had talked with the Department of Social Services last summer that they could not continue running the present deficits that they had run for the last three years, and needed a better contract to cover those deficits. She said the Church had not heard from the D.S.S. on the negotiations, since the summer. Vincent denied contacting the press about this situation.

WPCNR asked Reverend Vincent why Grace Church had told workers at Samaritan House they would be out of a job as of January 1, if negotiations were still going on. Vincent said the church had not actually fired the staff effective January 1 as reported in the Journal News November 23  when reporter Susan Elan wrote: “She (Robbin Clarke) was fired with the rest of the (Samaritan House) staff”). “We told them that if we didn’t have a new contract they could be out of a job, January 1,” Vincent explained.

Hits: 0

WPCNR ROVING PHOTOGRAPHER. November 28, 2004: Today’s Photographs of the Day evoke the romance of travel of times gone by. From an old train station built in 1911, to the rolling Pennyslvania farmlands that still feed America, despite reports of their demise.

The Great American Train Station. This is the 1911 Yonkers Train Station refurbished recently by the MTA. Portal to NYC, Cold Spring, Albany, Montreal, Buffalo and SHE CAR GO! Photo by the WPCNR Roving Photographer.

That Great Highway: Heading West on The 78th Division Highway, heading to Harrisburg you discover the late, lamented America that used to be still is out there. Still working hard still feeding America. Photo by the WPCNR Roving Photographer.

Hits: 0

WPCNR PRESS BOX. By John F. Bailey. November 25: The 34^th Turkey Bowl featured six senior stalwarts stepping up to make key plays in the White Plains Tigers’ 24-8 victory over  stubborn and poised Stepinac Crusaders. The contest was played under threatening skies, featured a pelting shower just before the half, and  turned gloriously sunny before a festive crowd WPCNR estimates as about 3,000. It was a day that showed all that was good about football.

 The game turned on special teams play.  Pablo “The Second Toe” Siaba drilled a 22 yard  after a goal line stand by the Crusaders in the first quarter.

THE NUKE’S LAST TIGER TOUCHDOWN:  Paul Scotman (29) and Gary Morello (22) turn aside tacklers as Ike Nduka standing crosses the goal line for the TD that made the score 9-0 in the second quarter. A partially blocked punt set up the first Tiger touchdown  on a signature Kevin Avery to Gary Morello 29 yard  pass completion to the 6, followed by  lugs by “The Nuke,”  (Ike Nduka) for Mr. Nduka’s final touchdown as a Tiger. Photo by WPCNR Sports.

This was followed by a 50 yard punt return by Mike “Night Train” Lane breaking open the game in the second quarter, to give the Tigers a 17-0 lead midway through the second stanza.

An interception by Connor Lantier set up the third and final Tiger T.D, putting the Tigers in business on the Crusader 25.  Avery’s  pretty flare pass in the left flat to a lone Paul Scotman scored the final Tiger 6 of the year, to make it 24-0. The White Plains Tigers finished the season with a 6-4 record, Stepinac, 4-6.

Tiger Stops on 4th Down Stymie Stepinac.

Stepinac took the kickoff on their own 26 and drove  41 yards in 8 plays  to the White Plains 33 yard line where they were stopped on a 4^th and 2 as the Tigers stalled Dwayne Jones in the middle to take over on downs. The drive was highlighted by  Mike Hendersons 13 yard scamper on a quarter draw.

 Taking over at the 6 minute mark of the First Quarter the Tiger line systematically drove to the  Stepinac 5 on 5 carries by Ike Nduka. The big play occurred on 1^st and 10 at the Tiger 43,  when QB Kevin Avery pitched back to Nduka who swept around left end gathered steam and got rolling. He lost the handle on the ball at the Crusader 30, picked it up and was pushed out at the Crusader 9, a run of 48 yards. Two carries by Ike got the ball to the five and a pass to Shawn Jimison was tipped by the Crusaders, and the Tigers brought on Pablo Siaba who drilled a 22 yard field goal to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead at the 3:50 mark. (We will miss Mr. Siaba’s leg and all-around kicking game and wish him well.)

The Crusaders took the ensuing kickoff on their own 20. Mark Cleary’s scamper to the 34 gave them a first down. Dwayne Jones carried to the 42. Jones got a first down on the 44. The first down play gained nothing. Then  Henderson hit  Paul Faia with a short flat pass on the right sideline and Faia took the ball to the Crusader 48.  On 3^rd and 5, Jones got 3 yards but was stopped at the White Plains 48 by Gerard Bryant, Kahly Merot and Shawn Jimison.

Bryant Gets a Piece of the Punt.

The game turned around as the second quarter started.  Stepinac’s 4^th and 2  punt was partially blocked by Gerard Bryant and fluttered like a quail where the Tigers recovered it at the Stepinac 46.  With the score 3-0, it was still a football game.

Paul Scotman carried straight ahead for 10 yards and fumbled forward at the Crusader 36. Right there with him, was  Tiger Khaly Merot to recover his fumble at the 36.

The stage is set.  

The next play saw Avery drop back roll right to the near sideline looking for his favorite target the crafty Gary Morello.

How to Beat Double Coverage: Morello found himself doublecovered at the 15 yard line and came up away from the double team to get Avery’s pass. Then swoosh-shazam, Morello whirled and powered between his two defenders to the 6 for a first down and goal. The pass play covered 30 yards, and the play has been a mainstay of the offense this season. Here Mr. Morello is finally bulldogged down at the six after his comebacker catch and spinmove. Photo by WPCNR Sports.

Avery gave the ball to Nduka on first and goal and Ike rammed it to the 2 and went through the middle on the next play. The Tiger line was a cohesive, clear-em-out, take-no-prisoners line today. Pablo Siaba’s point after touchdown made it 10-0 White Plains with 10:21 to go in the first quarter.

Night Train Switches on to the Main Line.

On the ensuing kickoff Stepinac took over on their 22 and could not move it.  Punting from his own 6 yard line, the Crusader kicker got the punt off and a good one 25 yards from scrimmage and high, plenty of time to smother any return.

Two Crusaders were within 3 feet on either side of  Mike Lane in deep punt coverage for the Tigers at the 50 yard stripe right by the Tiger paw. The two Crusaders in coverage watched  flat-footed as Lane moved up to make the catch.

NIGHT TRAIN BURSTS TRIUMPHANTLY OUT OF THE END ZONE AFTER HIS 48 YARD PUNT RETURN. Mike Lane is carrying the football far right. Photo by WPCNR Sports.

Lane leisurely moved ahead of his defenders as if to make a fair catch, but did not raise his hand. He picked off the punt, accelerating,  and wheeled left  blasting away from them and lit out for the far sideline. DOWN the sideline he went picking up freight cars (blockers) and around the Crusaders he went for a 48 yard touchdown. Siaba’s kick made it 17-0 with 8:06 to go in the half.  Two Crusader special team mistakes, the blocked punt, and the punt coverage had been converted into two touchdowns in 4 minutes.

Lantier Picks One Off.

The sky turned dark and threatening with 6 minutes to go in the first half and a brief heavy thunder shower spritzed the big crowd.

Trying to get back into the game, Stepinac attempted to pass, and Connor Lantier picked one off setting up the Tigers with a first down at the Tiger 25. Ike Nduka in the midst of a sudden thunder shower, ran some 70 yards to the Crusader 9. Avery found Paul Scotman all alone running out of the backfield into the flat  for a 9-yard touchdown pass to make it 24-0 with the Pablo PAT.

APOCALYPSE NOW:  Paul Scotman partially hidden, has just taken a Kevin Avery Pass wide open in the left flat, just two strides ahead of  Stepinac’s George Kehayas (11) and Justin Kolman (54) and is about to pounce into the endzone for the score that will make it 23-0. Photo by WPCNR Sports.

Excellent clock management. 

Will some one tell me why our high school coaches manage the clock better than Tom Coughlin and Herm Edwards?

A personal foul gave Stepinac a first down on the Tiger  35, after a valiant drive by the Crusaders was threatening.  With about 15 seconds left in the first half, Mike Henderson found Paul Faia behind the defense in coffin corner for a Stepinac score and 2-point conversion to make the score 24-8 at halftime and that’s the way she stayed.

TOUCHDOWN! Paul Faia of Stepinac holds arm aloft, celebrating Crusader TD with 8 seconds to go in the half. Faia had slipped behind the Tiger D and Mike Henderson lofted a beauty on target. The score with two-point conversion made it 24-8, and that’s the way she stayed. Photo by WPCNR Sports

The Tigers used running plays to chew out the clock in the Third Quarter. Stepinac was driving for a score midway in the 4^th quarter with still an outside chance, when Gary Morello intercepted a pass in the end zone to end any chance of the Crusaders.

This game, as mentioned before, turned on several key plays that had Stepinac recovered a fumble there, or made a tackle there, the game would have been different. But that’s football. Analysts like yours truly can always point to what won or lost the game, but the players play it and they know how hard it is.

That’s why the handshakes and congratulations that follow these contests seem to be more genuine than the perfunctory “good game, good game” gatherings at home plate. The players, the coaches, are participants in a great thing that is hard to do, requiring endless dedication and concentration with brief unsung moments of glory, when some dumb reporter doesn’t even see your number or your block.

The seniors leaving White Plains and Stepinac today had one last taste of that glory and why they play this hard game today. It was glorious.

The fans did, too.

 What is great about White Plains and Stepinac football is that the town of White Plains just comes out, hangs out, enjoys each other, heals each other  and appears to be very thankful they live in a place like White Plains.

WHITE PLAINS SENIORS ARE INTRODUCED AT PARKER STADIUM FOR THE FINAL TIME:

Pablo Siaba,  Kevin Avery, Connor Lantier, Shawn Jimison,  Robert Ostrander II, Gary Morello, Mike Lane, Jeff Bagley, Jr., Ike Nduka, Paul Scotman, Khaly Merot, Akin Benton, Keith Simone,  and Drew Mollo. Photo by WPCNR Sports.

In a ceremony at the beginning of the contest  the “Dedicatees” of the game were given plaques for their service to athletics at WPHS and Archbishop Stepinac. This year the game was dedicated to Jim Noonan, White Plains resident for 41 years, and the City of White Plains Insurance Risk Manager,  long time supporter and tireless worker for Stepinac success and growth, and to Mariano Scarano, recently retired Athletic Director of White Plains High School, who built up the present WPHS athletic program over the last six years.

THE SUPERBAND With Lesley Tompkins In Command (White Jacket) Got the Turkey Bowl Started. Photo by WPCNR BandCam

Jim Noonan, left, and Mario Scarano right, holding plaques– Honored before the Kickoff. Photo by WPCNR Sports.

At the conclusion of the game,  Khaly Merot of White Plains and Richard Shanahan of Stepinac were selected for their outstanding sportsmanship in the game. Mayor Joseph Delfino in blue cap, congratulates Mr. Merot, and Mr. Shanahan. Each player received the B. T. Lauer Award Scholarship awarding each player $1,300 each for college tuition.  Photo by WPCNR Sports.

The big crowd did not leave when the showers came at the half. They stayed to watch “The Superband,”  the White Plains High School Marching Band. They met and greeted alumni back on college break and White Plains football players of the past. The Mayor of the City of White Plains, Joseph Delfino, was back from Japan for the game, saying he had a wonderful time there. The Mayor watched a lot of the second half on the sideline, watching the game with Mario Scarano, the former Athletic Director of White Plains High School. 

THE SUPERBAND: White Plains High School Marching Band held the crowd at halftime with a spectacular marching display. Photo by WPCNR BandCam

TIGERETTES TEAM UP WITH THE SUPERBAND AT THE HALF. Photo by WPCNR BandCam

Neighbors greeted each other. Young adults who you worked with in high school not so long ago, come up and say hello to you on their return from college. You meet great players of the past we still remember.

This only happens once a year in White Plains on Turkey Bowl Day.

ALL-AMERICAN AUTUMN: Parker Stadium on Turkey Bowl Day. Photo by WPCNR Sports.