City: “Nothing’s Changed:” Extend NYPH Pro/Bio Plan. Valet Pick.

Hits: 0

WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL CHRONICLE-EXAMINER. By John F. Bailey. September 24, 2004, UPDATED 3:00 A.M. E.D.T.: The Common Council Work Session called for Thursday evening found the council not objecting to Susan Habel’s report that city departments:  Planning Dept., Planning Board, Environmental Officer, Traffic Commissioner, Conservation Board and Public Works found that conditions in White Plains have not changed significantly to merit a full scale review of the New York Presbyterian Hospital proton accelerator/biomedical research project. She said those departments recommend that the New York Presbyterian Hospital site plan to build a proton accelerator/biomedical research facility be extended for another year at October’s Common Council meeting.


 



NOTHING’S CHANGED: Susan Habel,Commissioner of Planning advises Common Council that city departments find the city environment has not changed substantially. Photo by WPCNR News.







PARK YOUR CAR SIR?



DIRECTOR OF PARKING, AL MORONI, introduced Laz Parking as the designated Valet parking concern selected by the city. Photo by WPCNR News


The council also appeared to be in agreement with the Department of Parking selection of a firm named Laz Parking (not a misprint), to handle the valet parking concession at the City Center at no cost to the city. Albert Moroni, Director of Parking, said the valet parking would be available 7 days a week for both restaurant and general shoppers at the City Center at a cost of $5.



 


Mr. Moroni told WPCNR after the meeting that all cars would be parked by the valets and pay at the city going rate of 50 cents an hour. He said the valet firm makes its money on the convenience charge of $5 for 3 hours. Legal Seafood and Zanaro’s Restaurant elected to participate in the Valet Parking arrangement, and Applebee’s did not. Moroni said that the two participating restaurants would give back some of the valet fee for patrons dining at those establishments.


 


Valet Parking Hours


 


Valet Parking is available, according to Mr. Moroni, 7 days a week for all patrons of the City Center: On Monday through Thursday from 5 P.M. to 11 P.M.; Friday, 5 to midnight; Saturday, 12 Noon to Midnight, and on Sundays from 12 Noon to 9 P.M.  Moroni also told WPCNR that all meter sticker corrections had been executed throughout the city, and the city was now ticketing until 9 P.M.


 



VALET ALLEY ON MAMARONECK AVENUE AT CAPACITY AT 5 MINUTES TO 6 THURSDAY EVENING. Mr. Moroni said the Department of Parking and the Department of Public Safety was going to monitor the placement of the Valet Podium and the queing of the vehicles awaiting valet service at the City Center. Photo by WPCNR News


 


Rita Malmud raised the issue that the Valet Parking area seemed to be creeping up the block past the 140 feet from Martine Avenue where the ordinance says it should be. Mr. Moroni explained that the Zanaro’s manager had been demanding of the Valet men to move the Valet stand closer to his door than the door to Legal Seafood. Mr. Moroni vowed that his department was on it, and would enforce the exact position of the Valet Podium.


 


Cappelli Asks to Pay Taxes With the Rest of the Guys


 


A media horde (Suburban Street.com, WPCNR, The Journal News, Westchester County Business Journal) showed up for the Cappelli PILOT matter on the agenda, expecting something very exciting. However, when Louis Cappelli and his entourage of  efficient-looking men in suits only appeared to request a change in payment date on the City Center Payment In Lieu of Taxes which the council appears to be willing to approve.


 


Currently Mr. Cappelli has to pay his taxes 1-1/2 years in advance of Clayton Park, LCOR and JPI, which was requested of a previous Cappelli financial partner.


 


 Last night, Mr. Cappelli has asked for a relaxation of this timetable, because it has created a burden on his tenants at City Center.


 



 


Cappelli is asking that the 1-1/2 years in advance be trimmed to 30 days in advance of when the other three developers pay theirs. The Legal Department and the Finance Commissioner indicated no problem with that. Mr. Cappelli pointed out the city loses no money, because the $2.5 Million payment is held in escrow anyway. Photo by WPCNR News


 


Habel: Department Heads Say “No Significant Change” in Conditions


Warranting extensive review of NYPH Permit.


 


After the Valet Parking and Cappelli matters were dealt with, Susan Habel Commissioner of Planning, briefed the Council on the Administration’s analysis of the New York Presbyterian Hospital Site Plan Extension request.


 



SUSAN HABEL,  COMMISSIONER OF PLANNING, DISCUSSING THE TWO YEAR JOURNEY TO GROUNDBREAKING. Photo by WPCNR News


 


Habel said construction on the proposed proton accelerator/biomedical buildings on old driving range in the NYPH property at the East End of the City, could not have begun until the state had signed off on the storm water detention plan, the on-site pools, and until the landscaping plans for the access road along side the Bloomingdale’s driveway had been o.k.’d by city departments.


 


Council Caused the Delay by Imposing Environmental Conditions: Habel


 


She pointed out that the Common Council placement of extensive environmental conditions on the project had contributed to the length of time, (two years), it has taken to secure approvals from the state on the storm water retention plan, and the city requirements for entrance road tree removal and tree replacement after its construction.


 


 Ms. Habel gave no reason for why the state permit drag developed. She did not say whether it was caused by New York Presbyterian Hospital being slow to turn over plans to the city departments, or city department delays in reviewing the Hospital plans for the storm water, road beautification and erosion control plans.


 


No one on the Common Council asked for an explanation of why a project that was supposedly approved with all plans in place two years ago (the requirement of any site plan), had to be redrawn up with consultation with city department heads after it was approved.


 


No Accelerator Tech Update Asked for. Compact Version Available in Europe.


 


The Council also did not ask if the  NYPH-selected proton accelerator was still as viable a cancer treatment option in the view of NYPH doctors and the oncologist community today as it was two years ago. The original plans called for the Proton Accelerator/Biomedical facility to open in 2005.


 


Perhaps it should.


 


The Paul Scherrer Institute in Villigen, Switzerland, has developed a compact proton accelerator  a few metres long, (not needing a six story building to house it) for delivery to existing hospitals to establish their own gantry bays to treat patients in their existing buildings.


 


The Institute is reported by the SwissInfo information service, in a story datelined today as having developed “a new extremely compact proton accelerator, called a cyclotron, just to supply (to hospitals)  the protons for the proton therapy facilities.”


 


One of these compact accelerators is being installed at the new proton therapy clinic in Munich, Germany — the first commerical facility of its type in Europe. The clinic in Munich is reported by  SwissInfo as ordering four gantries enabling it to treat 3,000 to 4,000 patients a year.


 


The SwissInfo article can be read at http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/swissinfo.html?siteSect=511&sid=4911065.


 


WPCNR has an inquiry in to the Scherrer Institute for details, is following up on this development.


 


 


No Hospital Executives Show. No Explanation for Alleged Delay.


 


WPCNR queried Geoffrey Thompson, the lone representative from New York Presbyterian Hospital who was there, a media spokesperson for the hospital (no hospital executives or legal council were present),  for an explanation  whether it was NYPH delay or error in formulating the plans or demands of city departments or delays in improving them. He said he would ask the hospital what contributed to the delay.


 


Habel said the city had been working steadily with the NYPH on the plans since the site plan had been approved in the summer of 2002, permits had finally been received from the state in April and July of this year, and that Joseph Nicoletti, Commissioner of Public Works had approved water and sewer related matters at the end of August.


 


No Update on Technology


 


WPCNR also asked Mr. Thompson if the hospital could issue a statement on how the proton accelerator measures up as a cancer treatment option since completion now looked like it would not happen until 2007 (WPCNR estimate) two  years after approval (in August, 2002). He said he would ask.


 


Habel noted that the Planning Board, the Commissioner of  Public Works, the Traffic Commissioner, the Environmental Officer, had agreed that conditions in the eastern end of the city where project is to impact had not changed significantly and that all recommended the site plan be extended. Habel concluded by saying, “With respect to any changes (in the conditions), the Planning Department, Traffic Department, Conservation Board, Planning Board found no impacts and changes in circumstance that would affect this extension.”


 



COUNCILMAN TOM ROACH  asked if the extension was being asked for  “in spite of no substantial construction, or because of.” Councilman Benjamin Boykin, is at left.  Photo by WPCNR News


 


Habel  said, “because construction was not permitted until they had received these permits from the state,” as the reason for extending the permit.


 


Delgado: Three years the Max?


 


Mr. Delgado delving into the labyrinth of zoning zen on site plans quoted from the ordinance governing site plans noting that substantial construction had to be shown after three years.  He asked if the hospital had only one more year to get the project going: “Are we looking here at a life (of the site plan) of three years?”


 



WHEN LARRY DELGADO SPEAKS, PEOPLE LISTEN: Councilman Delgado reviewing the apparent three-year time limit on getting “significant construction” accomplished on approved projects. Photo by WPCNR News


 


  Ms. Habel said, “It (the site plan) could be renewed again. That position has not been held to the business community,” saying there have been other projects that have taken more than three years. Ms. Habel did not cite any such examples, though JPI is approaching three years.


 


It should be noted that Louis Cappelli built a 34-story building and the City Center complex in two years after site plan approval. Clayton Park built its apartments in approximately 18 months. Bank Street Commons was built in approximately two years. The two hospital buildings contemplated are six stories each.


 


Arnold Bernstein said the council should take a look at defining the words “substantial construction,” as a basis for renewing a site plan.


 


Other Business 


 


In other matters, the council was supportive of an expansion of a U.S.A. Storage facility on Kensico Avenue, and was advised that the developer selected by Westchester County to build the affordable housing complex, Horton’s Mill Village by Liberty Park, would build the utilities and infrastructure for the project at a capped cost of $800,000. City Corporation Counsel, Edward Dunphy said the county would pay that cost. The evening concluded with a report on Library Interior renovation.


 

Posted in Uncategorized

White Plains Softball Dad On Leading Edge of Internet Telephone Revolution

Hits: 0

WPCNR JUST BUSINESS. By John F. Bailey. September 23, 2004: Paul Riss is a softball dad in White Plains, whose daughter has played and participated in the White Plains Little League and the White Plains Explosion for a number of years, so when WPCNR got a news release from Paul about his company offering internet calling, which WPCNR simply does not understand, it was a natural to give Paul Riss, the CEO of eLEC Communications in White Plains a call and ask what is internet phone all about.


 



THE LITTLE BLACK BOX THAT WILL CHANGE THE WAY YOU PHONE: Reached at his office, Riss explained that eLEC Communications,  is offering a little black box that bypasses your local phone company and can chop the cost of local calls through Verizon in half. When WPCNR pointed out I paid Verizon $90 a month, ATT & T Wireless $125 a month (on a conservative month), and US Sprint a $100 a month for long distance, Ray Burke, his publicist said, “John, you should definitely get one.” Riss is so eager to get the Voice Adaptor Box out to the public, that he is making a special offer to readers of the White Plains CitizeNetReporter. If you call eLEC and order the Voice Box Adapter, and mention the White Plains CitizeNetReporter, Mr. Riss will give you the Voice Box Adaptor free. Photo, Courtesy, eLEC Communications


 



I asked Paul what makes his VOIP box different from your ttypical telemarketer slammer call.


 


Riss said it is a box available only to households and businesses equipped with DSL Broadband lines that allows you to use your home or business phone, keeping the same number or numbers, over the internet — bypassing Verizon equipment and line charges, turning long distance calls into pennies, not dollars — while providing answering service, call-waiting and a host of other features through the eLEC Communications package.


 


Riss’s company eLEC Communications Corporation, was formerly named Circo International, a luggage company, handling big name lines like Dunlop and Perry Ellis and Samsonite where he had to deal with inventory, styles, storage.


 


He got into the telephone business because, as he puts it “there’s no inventory. I’m just selling minutes.”  eLEC Communications is now profitable on an operations basis for the last six quarters and Riss sees VOIP ( for “Voice Over Internet Protocal”) as the future in telephone communications. 


 


Southwest Pacific Bell, “the last of the baby bells,” as Riss termed them, thinks so to. This week Southwest PacBell signed up Ford Motor Company for 50,000 lines to their VOIP network.


 



 


In response to my question of what is VOIP, Riss said, “It’s a product made by Grandstream. It allows you to take your regular analog phone and make it into a digital phone so you can make calls over your high speed internet connection. There’s a hookup so you can plug your computer in and your phone in so your computer can be on while you’re using your phone.” WPCNR PhotoCapture from Grandstream website.


 


Gentlemen, Jam in Your Jacks. No Technician Needed. Riss says.


 


“The box  (known as a VOX Adapter Box) plugs into your internet connection. Then it has three separate ports,  a LAN ( for Land Area Network) port, a WAN (for Wide Area Network) port, and a Phone port. You plug your broadband  connection into the WAN. You plug your computer into the LAN, and you plug your phone into the Phone Port. With those three connections, you’re basically up and running. It’s meant to be a plug-and-play device.”


 


At the present time, he’s shipping it to select cellphone stores in Manhattan, that are “selling it off the shelf.”  Riss says, the VOX Adapter Boxes come preprogrammed with a phone number and an IP address. “Right now they’re all 212 area codes. You go home and plug this in. Now you have another phoneline and it’s a 212 area code. Now, once you start doing that and you’re comfortable with it, we’d like to take your home number or your business phone number whichever it is and port that over, so your regular home number will ring on this internet phone also, and that way you can ditch your local phone carrier.”


 


Riss said he has 914 area code numbers available and shortly will be able to supply area codes nationwide.


 


Riss stressed you don’t need a technician to install it. He says it’s more “complicated” if you have SDSL at home. ADSL or cable (such as Optimum online), seems to work “within five minutes,” he reports, “and you’ll be calling over the internet.”  His company provides 24/7 technical support with very easy-to-understand instructions.


 


 



 


THE ONE COMPUTER SETUP for the Voice Adapter Box. Other Family computers and phones simply plug into your normal telephone jacks, and work like “extenstions,” only eLEC is routing the calls to the internet. Photo of Illustration from eLEC Communications Instructions.


 


Advantage: Price and the usual Features—Bundled.


 


For users, Riss reports, the Vox Adapter Box is  a lower cost product. His box which he buys wholesale from Grandstream (www.grandstream.com) also comes with bundled features. Those features Riss includes  are now “extras” that Verizon, the CitizeNetReporter’s telephone company charges for.


 


“We have free features with it, Riss explains, “meaning voicemail, callforwarding, callwaiting. If you buy this from Verizon or any phone company they’re charging a lot of money for the features.”


 


(Verizon charges me $11 a month for its custom calling package and Voice Mail Service.)


 


Penny a Minute vs. 2.4 Cents A Minute.


 


When told of the CitizeNetReporter phone bill levels, Riss pointed out “If you get this product, your usage drops dramatically. How about this: I have a friend who has a diner. Every morning his 200 faxes go out. Each fax takes about 25 seconds, say. Verizon charges him a 3-minute minimum for each fax. He’s paying $15 a day to send out his menu every morning of his specials to the 200 people on his fax list. At $15 a day, if he faxed over an IP connection, that 25 or 30 seconds, we’re only charging him half a penny, because we’re charging him a penny a minute. Half a penny times 200 faxes, that’s only a dollar, instead of $15.”


 


No Changing of Phone Number.


 


Riss says that everyday thousands of people are making the switch or “porting” their number  to “Voice Over IP,” as this connection is called. “There’s local number portability between phone companies. We would port over your number over to us so Verizon no longer has it. Verizon’s no longer billing you. We’re billing you. We offer an unlimited voice package for $29.95 a month, (by contrast, WPCNR paid $180 in August for one month of local and long distance plus service)  which includes unlimited dialing in the U.S. both for local and long distance, and for international rates we have more than twenty countries available at only 2 cents a minute.”


 


Custom Country Calling Envisioned.


 


Riss pointed out the advantage of the Internet  VOIP call: “As we start rolling it out more, we’re thinking of doing some ethnic marketing. If you have our product and we’re charging you 2 cents a minute to Germany, Italy, Israel, Hong Kong, parts of Russia, we can interest a bunch of ethnic groups who are calling home all the time.


 


“Even better,” Riss continued, warming to the possibilities his Voice Adaptor Box offers,
 “a distributor  who has a big business in Latin America, told me, if I ship our Vox Adapter Box (with a 212 number) to Venezuela then he has a lot of people in Queens or Brooklyn who (would send a eLEC Voice Box to relatives in South America)  and would call that number and it would be a local call for that person calling from Brooklyn, even though the phone is ringing in Venezuela.”


 


Take Your Voice Box With You. Keep Your Former Number.


 


In speaking with Ray Burke, of Beacon Rock Research, a consultant to Mr. Riss, Burke pointed out that a person who moves to say California or anywhere in the United States, could take their Vox Adapter Box with them, never have to change their phone number. While waiting for their   phone service and DSL line to be hooked up at their new residence, they could immediately begin making calls, using their former telephone number.


 


One customer of eLEC Communications did that when they moved to South Carolina rather than change their number with all their New York clients, Riss said. Vox Adapter Box allows their New York clients to contact them in South Carolina without long distance charges.


 


Monitored it for 5 years.


 


Riss said the progress in Voice Over Internet Protocol, over the last five years has been amazing. “We’ve been looking at it for over the last four or five years, and the technology equipment is really working now and the beauty of it is, it’s a computer. If someone calls us up and says I want my phone to do this, and eLEC does not have that feature, we can say to them call us back next week. It’s just a guy writing software to do it. We can do special software for ring tones for your children, your boss. It’s caller i.d.”


 


Selling the Razor to Make Money on the Blades


 


 


Riss reports the eLEC is selling the Voice Adapter Box for less than half what its manufacturer, Grandstream,  is selling it for on the internet.  “What we’re doing to encourage people to buy our product is, the cell phone stores selling it are charging $29.95, already programmed with an I.P. address and phone number. It’s yours to keep. Eventually we hope you just give up your Verizon line and move it over to our VOIP platform, but you may as well run them parallel for  3 or 4 months before you do it. A lot of consumers are already are paying for high speed access, why should they have to pay for a separate land line coming in. They can just use that high speed access connection to make their voice calls.”


 


Riss said that if persons or businesses wishing to try the Voice Adapter Box Service mentioned they read about it on the White Plains CitizeNetReporter, he would include the Voice Adaptor Box free, a $29.95 value, and start our readers on the $9.95 a month service.


 


Can Be Used with Cellphone.


 


Riss notes there is also a way to have the Voice Adapter Box ring your cellphone. “When someone calls you your cellphone can ring, your home phone can ring, and your vacation house can ring all at the same time. We can do call forwarding to each line. If someone calls your house. You’ll still have inbound calls, counting on your inbound minutes.”


 


A Raft of Services Verizon Charges For Bundled.


 


Burke said that after a consumer purchases the Voice Adapter Box for $29.95, a one time only fee, they can opt for two plans.


 


For $9.95 a month they get all local calls for 1 penny a minute, and can place all long distance calls through the United States for 1.9 cents a minute.  Riss said, for comparison, Verizon charges 2-1/2 cents per minute for local calls, and U.S. Sprint, WPCNR’s carrier for long distance, 3.4 to 3.9 cents per minute.


 


Savings Make Reporter’s Jaw Drop.


 


WPCNR notes this is a tremendous swing. In a call I made to Denver Colorado at 12:45 P.M. in August, WPCNR paid $5.20 cents for a 13 minute call. At the eLEC Communications Voice Adapter Box rate, that call would have cost me 13 cents.


 


Mr. Burke noted that for the $9.95, eLEC throws in the following goodies: “For $9.95, you get Free voice mail, free call waiting, free caller i.d., free caller forwarding, free three-way calling, free call transfer, free call return, repeat dialing, call hunt, call blocking, ring selection, anonymous call rejection, do not disturb, extension dialing, international call blocking, speed dialing. It’s amazing.”


 


3% Excise Tax Only.


 


Riss said that he passes along the charge Verizon charges him for patching through a call to a non internet user, and  terminating the call on the local phone wire. That charge is included in the $9.95 a month charge plus a 3% excise tax  for the data transfer on both the 9.95 charge and the local and long distance charges. On the $9.95 that amounts to 30 cents.


 


For  $20 more a month, eLEC offers  unlimited calling an international calling package including the U.S., Canada, and twenty overseas countries at 2 cents a minute.


 


Riss sees making some deals  with other small phone companies or VOIP carriers where they are terminating each other’s VOIP calls for free and bypassing companies like Verizon altogether.


 


Not a Telephone Slammer. Brazil a local call.


 


Riss went to great lengths to explain that Vox Adapter Box is not at all like the telemarketing calls WPCNR, and perhaps you, dear reader, receive frequently of an evening, suggesting you can save over Verizon or AT & T.


 


“It’s a lot different. You can only use it if you have broadband. It really is a lot less expensive. It’s feature-rich. You can have up to five numbers ringing at one time. You can take the Voxbox you buy off the shelf, take it to Brazil, and if anyone is calling you from White Plains, and you’re in Brazil, it’s still a local phone call for them because it’s ringing in Brazil. In that instance, it works somewhat like a cellphone.”


 


Could be the Start of Something Big.


 


Riss said he has no stores in White Plains selling the box yet, but does have a store in Connecticut. He has also had fifteen consumers in the testing of it:


 


“We’re just rolling it out. Before we sent it out to the stores we put fifteen people on it that we know and love to make sure everything works and that they were happy with it. And we have several people who are just loving it. We had one person who had Verizon DSL having problems with it because Verizon DSL blocked the VOIP calls, until we programmed in the user name and password for that person. We had to program that into the box. We’ve never had anyone with cable having a problem.”


 


Riss’s company is located in White Plains, and is traded over the counter, and is growing. It increased the number of lines it is serving by 59% at the end of its Third Quarter, and that 59% increase was achieved in three months.  The company billing is at $1 Million a month and growing almost doubling its business from last May, when its monthly billings stood at $587,000. Riss also reports the company has been making an operating profit the last six quarters. It operates eLEC Communications and New Rochelle Telephone.


 


Riss invites friends and neighbors to try his service, mention the CitizeNetReporter, and receive his Voice Adapter Box Free to try the service and the savings.


 


Riss notes that the Wall Street Journal quoted a research report predicting that the 100,000 persons who use VoIP presently will grow to 10 Million people in three years.


 


For more information, go to eLEC Communications website for its Voice Adaptor Box at www.myvox.net, or to order a box directly to hook up and try Voice Over Internet Protocol. The box, Riss says comes with an unconditional guarantee and will be replaced if ever defective, at no charge. The company can be reached at 1-800-VOX1699.

Posted in Uncategorized

300 Building Workers Rally In Support of Health Care. Wal-Mart Protest Planned

Hits: 0

WPCNR MAIN STREET JOURNAL. From a White Plains CitizeNetReporter. September 23, 2004 (EDITED):  The SEIU Local 32BJ (Service Employees International Union)  rallied in White Plains yesterday, in an open air special union meeting to ask members permission to call a strike against suburban employers. Identical rallies took place in New Jersey and Long Island today. AFL-CIO affiliated unions also plan a speakout at the Common Council Meeting October 4 to protest and inform the Council and the Mayor on alleged Wal-Mart anti-union practices.



Custodians Rally for Health Care Coverage in front of County Office Building Wednesday. Photo by a White Plains CitizeNetReporter.


Another meeting will take place in the New Yorker Hotel in New York City today, followed by a mach to the Empire State Building. The union’s major concern is health coverage.



PUBLIC OFFICIALS SUPPORT RALLY AT MICHAELIAN COUNTY OFFICE BUILDING WEDNESDAY: Left to right, the Mayor of Harrison, Steven Malfitano, (representing State Senator Suzi Oppenheimer, Councilman Robert Greer, New York State Assemblyman Adam Bradley and Assemblyman Michael Spano. Photo by a White Plains CitizeNetReporter


Union organizers (WPCNR’s correspondent reports),  are in process of planning a AFL-CIO affiliated union presence for the 7 o’clock Citizens To Be Heard segment at the October 4 Common Council Meeting to rally the city to reject Wal-Mart as a tenant of the former Sears building adjacent to City Hall. The Council Speakout is being organized by RWDSU 338, (Retail Wholesale & Department Store Union, representing 100,000 workers nationally). The union objective is to alert and teach the public of the corporate practices which “make Wal-Mart bad corporate neighbors.” The union will be sending a Vice President/ Health and Safety Director, plus a few more will unbdoubtedly be there.


The object is to have Mayor Joseph Delfino and the Council understand at least some of what  labor and elswehere already understand (about Wal-Mart). Mayor Delfino has made known he is opposed to Wal-Mart renting space in the Sears building, currently being renovated by Ivy Equities.

Posted in Uncategorized

Mr.Jet’s Thoughts on the 2004 New York Jets

Hits: 0

WPCNR PRESS BOX. By Mr. Jet (Greg Zaccaria) Section 76, Giants Stadium, The Meadowlands. September 21, 2004: After the first two games of the 2004 NFL season, the New York Jets are flying high, accomplishing something they have never done in the 3 previous seasons under Head Coach, Herman Edwards.They are 2-0. Although there is a long way to go, The Jets and their fans have a lot to look forward to in the upcoming months.

The Attack


 


Besides having a favorable schedule, the Jets have one of the most balanced offenses in the NFL. They addressed one of their biggest needs in the offseason with the acquisition of Justin McCareins, A tall, Big receiver that the team has been missing since Meshawn,excuse me, Keyshawn Johnson left after the 1999 season.McCareins will not only make it more difficult for opposing defenses to key on speedy Santana Moss, But he is tough and is not afraid to go over the middle, and he will be a big target for Quarterback Chad Pennington, down by the goal line. Justin Mac has done very little in the first two games, but watch out as he develops a chemistry with his QB.

 

The Line

 

But the Jets have been and will continue to be a running team, and from the way their future Hall of Famer, Curtis Martin has begun the season, Jet fans can count on this team to light up the scoreboard. But the key element to this offense is their very talented and athletic offensive line. Their job is to open holes for Curtis Martin and protect their franchise Quarterback, Chad Pennington, If they can stay healthy they can be one of the best lines in the League.

 

Cardiac D

 

Now the defense is another story. Gone are mainstays,Moe Lewis and Marvin Jones. This defense which has three number one draft picks on the defenseive line need to put pressure on opposing Quarterbacks. The Jets have a number of young inexperienced players on defense. This Defense will be exciting to watch, but they will also frustrate you at times. New Defensive coordinator,Donnie Henderson will be calling the shots for the “D.” He was the former Defensive Backfield Coach for the Baltimore Ravens. What Mr.Henderson is quickly finding out is that this Jets defense has no All World players like Ray Lewis.But I feel that the defense will get better as the season progress.

 

Playoff Dreams

 

With a steady Field Goal Kicker in Doug Brien, and good Special Teams, this Jets team has the tools to be a playoff team. They will have a problem trying to beat the New England Patriots for top spot in their Division. But in today’s NFL, teams have proven that if you are playing well come playoff time, anything is possible. After all I’m a Jet fan and I can dream, Can’t I? 

Posted in Uncategorized

Mayor to Lobby Albany for Accurate Real Time Sales Tax Reporting: Wood

Hits: 0

WPCNR CITY HALL BLUES.  By John F. Bailey. September 21, 2004, Updated 12:17 P.M. E.D.T.: The Council of Neighborhood Associations invited newly minted Councilperson Larry Delgado to address issues with them last week at Education House. In the course of that evening last week, Mr. Delgado reported that the city Finance and Budget departments were going to attempt to get financial data on the pace of sales tax collections  in a more timely, more accurate manner from the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance and the Comptroller’s Office to prevent the budget trauma of last year.




MAYOR JOSEPH DELFINO ON MISSION TO GET ACCURATE SALES TAX REPORTING  FROM ALBANY ON SALES TAXES. Photo by WPCNR News.


 


 


 



 


 


Councilman Larry Delgado, (CENTER), with, L to R, Robert Levine, Lisa Tarricone of The White Plains Watch, Mr. Delgado, and Judith Higgins,  in speaking to the Council of Neighborhood Associations said he found it hard to believe with the business being done in the downtown that our sales tax figures were not running way ahead of last year at this time.  Delgado said White Plains collected over $38 Million in sales tax for fiscal 2003-04. Speaking to WPCNR at the Sculpture Garden Opening, Budget Director Anne Reasoner confirmed that. Photo by WPCNR News.



PAUL WOOD, ACTING EXECUTIVE OFFICER of the City of White Plains, expressed concern on the sporadic reporting of sales tax figures, and announced the Mayor’s new initiative to Albany at the Sculpture Garden opening at the Library last Wednesday. Photo by WPCNR News.



Last Wednesday the sun-bronzed Paul Wood, the Acting Executive Officer for Mayor Delfino, confirmed that the city was going to attempt to get the sales tax numbers “in real time.”  He reported that Mayor Joseph Delfino will be going to Albany in October, (no date set), to discuss what can be done to get real numbers on what the city earns from sales tax each month.


 


“Now they just give us estimates based on last year, “ Wood told WPCNR. He said that the city needed timely figures, “in real time” based on actual receipts, not estimates. He said the Mayor was going to discuss the possibilities of the state instituting timely, actual coin-in-the-till-as-of-this-moment reporting to the city.


 


Tom Roach, Common Council President, told WPCNR last week, he, too, was “all in favor of  more (financial) reporting, the more information, the more timely, the better,” he said, and added that  he had spoken to New York State District 89 Assemblyman Adam Bradley about it, that that Mr. Bradley indicated he would aid in the White Plains quest for more key numbers, more often, to improve financial planning.


 


Still Using Green Eyeshades and Ledgers?


 


As an example of the confusion the “Green Eyeshade Reporting”  (in the age of the number-crunching computer), now used by the state to report the numbers to the state’s cities, there is a tendency on the part of  responsible city governments to overcompensate if the numbers estimates from Albany look low.


 


This is what White Plains did last year in its budget process. For example, if the city had known they were going to get an estimated $10 Million in sales tax in the last quarter of 2003-2004,(April, May, June)  or were in a better financial position on actual sales tax receipts in March than they thought they were, the Common Council might have trimmed its property tax increase slightly, or bonded for a million less.


 


Still No Numbers Three Months Later.


 


The footdragging among Albany Eyeshaders  kills the ability of cities to plan finance responsibly for the next year, or at least gives them a good excuse to extra more taxes from their citizens and businesses.


 


The $10 Million (About $3.35 Million a month in April, May, and June, 2004)  of sales tax revenue White Plains got (we think) in the last quarter of 2003-04 is a WPNCR estimate as to what the city actually raked in sales tax in the final quarter because that was the gap the city was facing, again based on estimates of sales trends as last year played out based on city hall figures.


 


Financial Ballparking


 


WPCNR estimated that the city was at $28 Million in Sales Tax revenues at the end of three quarters, based on the figures the city provided at the end of March. This meant the city needed $10 Million over April May and June to make their budgeted sales tax revenues for 2004-05 of $37 Million, or about $3 Million and change a month in April, May, June. They got it.


 


Meanwhile, Budget Director Anne Reasoner told WPCNR at the Sculpture Garden opening last week that the city still has not closed the books on 2003-04, and has no handle on the newest sales tax figures for the first two months of 2004-05 (July & August, 2004). She said the city would be reporting the figures on the budget in about the middle of October.


 


Something the U.S. Government Does that New York State Cannot?


 


Considering that the United States Government reports job figures nationally every month, as well as price information (Consumer Price Index), it would seem that the New York State Comptroller’s Office and the Department of Taxation and Finance could do the same thing. If they can’t, why can’t they?  If they can, why don’t they? Maybe they are making a lot of mistakes in rechanneling sales tax back to the cities? That’s what hopefully Mayor Delfino and the rest of the New York Conference of Mayors will be able to find out when they meet next month.


 


Earl Skeptical In Her Last Days.


 


 



EILEEN EARL, FORMER CITY BUDGET DIRECTOR, NOW A CONSULTANT AS SHE APPEARED BEFORE THE COMMON COUNCIL, JANUARY, 2003. Photo, WPCNR News Archive.


On January 26, 2003, WPCNR published an article revealing that other budget directors agreed with Ms. Earl’s skepticism that Albany is not splitting the take correctly.


 


Here is an excerpt from that article:


 


In January, 2003, just before she left her post,   former Budget Director Eileen Earl at a Council Work Session on the budget , said she did not believe White Plains was getting the right amount of sales tax back  it was due. She revealed that the state does not send White Plains an audit of sales tax receipts  Budget Directors in New Rochelle and Yonkers went on record with WPCNR questioning the sales tax receipts the state sends back to their cities.


 


What Ms. Earl said about the state not sending the city an audit interested the CitizeNetReporter. I talked with Howard Rattner, Financial Manager of New Rochelle. He confirmed to us that the state never sends New Rochelle any kind of audit. He said he has asked the Department of Taxation and Finance for reports on how much revenue different business groups in his city generate to New Rochelle, and has been told “they don’t have the ability to do that.” Rattner wryly said that in this age of computers this was hard to believe.

Asked if the state was sending New Rochelle its fair share of sales tax, Mr. Rattner, said “Supposedly.” He said there are “occasional period adjustments. No real projections (from the state). You (as Budget Director) get projections (from the state). You (as Budget Director) have little control over that. How they distribute (the sales tax revenue) is up to them.”

Yonkers Budget Director, James LaPerche, confirmed that Yonkers did not receive detailed audits from the Department of Taxation and Finance either, saying, “he just accepts the checks as they come in.” LaPerche said the Department of Taxation and Finance was not too responsive to requests. They don’t really respond to him, was what he said. Asked if Yonkers felt the sales taxes were being redistributed correctly, LaPerche said, according to Hezi Aris of The Yonkers Tribune, who interviewed him,” they don’t know, they assume that’s their share.”

Cash First. Count Later.

There’s a reason for that.

WPCNR learned that sales tax receipts are not collected and recorded to a city’s or county’s account on a real time basis by the Department of Taxation and Finance, such as credit card sales in the consumer sector are.

Sales tax receipts are sent weekly by businesses to the Department of Taxation and Finance, but not reconciled until actual returns are filed quarterly. This creates an artificial “float,” a “cash gap” between estimated sales tax receipts and actual receipts due the municipalities. According to our sources it can take about six months while Department of T & F personnel literally “eyeball” the sales tax returns. As the budget directors we talked to, explained it:


 


The Process

Rattner of New Rochelle said that the sales taxes are collected by the businesses in the state, and filed directly with the Department of Taxation and Finance. Cuneo-Harwood of White Plains added that the sales tax receipts are sent directly by businesses weekly to the State, but their tax returns are filed quarterly.

It is only when the Department of Taxation and Finance receives the businesses’ tax returns that they reconcile and determine actual sales tax amounts collected for a city such as White Plains for a specific period. A city or said there are “occasional period adjustments. No real municipality with its own tax jurisdiction such as New Rochelle, Rattner said, has the sales broken out and sent to the state in the return.

No “W-2’s” for Businesses.

Jurisdictions, WPCNR learned, are determined based on reading the addresses on the returns. Rattner said businesses do not file the equivalent of a “W-2” or copy of return to the cities or towns where they do business and collect the sales tax.


 


 


Consequently, it appears, the only budget tool any city or town has as to what they can count on in sales tax receipts is the amount sent to them last year. The state simply returns last year’s collections, and adjusts on a quarter to quarter basis, after they check returns.

Westchester County, too has no handle on “their handle.”

Donna Green, a spokesperson for the Westchester County Department of Communications, confirmed that Westchester County does not receive a state audit, town-by-town, city-by-city, as to what “handle” (Race Track parlance for total monies bet on a single day), Westchester generates from year to year, either by business type, or business location.

She said the county receives a lump sum payment for the county tax, then distributes the share to the towns for which it collects by a percentage based on the town and city individual tax rate. The cities of Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, White Plains and Yonkers receive their payments from the state directly because they are separate tax jurisdictions.

The county can only assume they will receive approximately the same sales tax as the previous year, and more if the economy turns up, or such as may be the case this year, turns down. The county then apportions the receipts to cities, towns, and municipalities, who of course, have to trust the county’s formula after taking the county takes their share. They have to trust the county because there is no return filed by municipality for individual businesses collecting sales tax.

Eyeshades and Paper?

The state appears to be collecting sales taxes the way they have always collected them. There are no “real time” transactions, no instant classifying of sales tax revenue collected by county or municipality, which is baffling in the age of electronic banking, internet sales, and computerized business operations, and international money transfers.






 


 


 


The fiasco of  the loosey-goosey sales tax reporting to the City of White Plains last year underlines the need for monthly actual figures reporting of sales tax receipts for the city, and a full state audit of the sales tax collected, city-by-city, county-by-county, across the state every year.


 


No State Self-Audit.


 


According to the city budget people we spoke to in Yonkers and New Rochelle, the state does not audit itself on the sales tax collections.  The New Rochelle Budget Manager at the time said he has asked the state Department of Taxation and Finance for breakdowns of sales tax collected by business type, such as sales tax from auto dealerships, retail stores, restaurants, and the state has told him they cannot provide that.


 



 


Mayor Delfino’s visit to the Eyeshades next month perhaps will start a process where budgeting might be more orderly and intelligent in White Plains than the process the city indulged in last year in which they dissolved the Parking Authority, bonded for rolling stock, and raised property taxes, forced to make budget fixes based on sales tax reporting from the state that needed to be more timely.

Posted in Uncategorized

Latimer Backs Veterans Bills.

Hits: 0

WPCNR CAMPAIGN 2004: From George Latimer. September 20, 2004 (EDITED): Westchester County Legislator George Latimer, the Democratic Candidate for New York State Assembly in the 91st District, has announced his support for a series of bills designed to assist veterans in a variety of ways.



Latimer cited a series of veterans bills, currently pending action in the State Legislature – most sponsored by retiring incumbent Assemblyman Ron Tocci, who heads the Assembly’s Veterans Committee. “I hope these bills pass before year’s end”, Latimer said, “but if not, I intend to sponsor or co-sponsor their re-introduction next year and will work for their passage”.




Latimer noted a few specific bills among a large number of measures for veterans:

A.10895 – Corporate and personal income tax check off to support
military family relief funds;

A.5959 – Increases paid leave for public employees on military duty

A.5052 – Nursing homes required to apply for federal VA pension for
veterans and spouses

A.5878 – Local school tax exemptions for disabled veterans

Other bills ranged from postponement of judicial proceedings for children of military members to supplemental life insurance for active duty members of the armed forces.

Latimer, running on the Democratic- Independence- Working Families Party lines, has been a supporter of veterans issues as County Legislator, and has regularly attended meetings and special events of local American Legion
and VFW posts. In a statement, he said,


“Our brave men and women who have answered their country’s call – both today and in days past – deserve our support and assistance to meet their everyday needs. It is very easy to praise their bravery under fire…but true support is more than rhetoric. “, Latimer stated. “We ought to prove our support in tangible ways”.


Posted in Uncategorized

The Super Developer Leases Ground Floor of Bar Building To Posh It Up.

Hits: 0

WPCNR MAIN STREET JOURNAL. By John F. Bailey. September 20, 2004: Louis Cappelli confirmed  to WPCNR today  he has leased the street level floor of the Bar Building for 15 years, including frontage of the Bar Building, 199 Main Street, from its owners, Frank and Anthony Longhitano.  


 



 


Meeting of the Minds on the Ground Floor: Cappelli told WPCNR Monday he made the lease agreement with the Longhitanos so he could control the  ambience of first floor, and “control” the look of the store frontage adjacent to his hotel/condominium complex he is developing one doorway down. Entrance to the historic former headquarters of the Westchester Bar Association is at the far right. Photo by WPCNR News


 




The existence of the agreement came to light when LC Main LLC, Mr. Cappelli’s corporation developing the hotel/condominium (221 Main Street), filed Registered Agreement # 442460483 with the County Clerk’s office September 2 officially giving notice of an agreement with 199 Main Street Realty Corporation, the owners of the Bar Building.  



LOUIS CAPPELLI pausing to answer questions from Reporters from Kids Xpress from the Slater Center at his most recent public appearance, the opening of Zanero’s, August 16. Photo by WPCNR News



 


Monday, Mr. Cappelli explained to The CitizeNetReporter  what that agreement was. It signals the start of a new relationship between “The Superdeveloper” and Anthony Longhitano. Asked if this indicated a “thawing” of the relationship with the Longhitanos, Mr. Cappelli said, “He’s a great guy.  It’s just busness. You can’t argue with a man who bests you in business.”


 


A Meeting of the Minds


 


Mr. Longhitano had held out from selling the Bar Building to Mr. Cappelli, and in an effort to protect his building from possible use of eminent domain proceedings by the City of White Plains, sought and received New York State Office of Historical Preservation designation as an historic building. Longhitano has steadfastly maintained the building was not for sale. However, he had never ruled out the possibility of a lease.


 


Cappelli said he has leased the space for $100,000 a year from the Longhitanos for the 1,900 square foot space, approximately $50 a square foot. Asked if he had a lease with an option to purchase, Cappelli said it was a lease deal, and that the Longhitanos would continue to own and rent the upper 19 floors.


 


Longhitano & Cappelli?


 


The SuperDeveloper said he and his company is currently in discussions with Mr. Longhitano on the details of refurbishing the existing South and West exteriors of the Bar Building, which Cappelli said would include removal of the window air conditioners and cleaning up the façade. Cappelli said the rear wall of the Bar Building will be  fitted with a mirrored glass façade to harmonize with Mr. Cappelli’s glass architecture planned for his hotel fronting on Court Street. No work would be done on the East wall of the Bar Building, Cappelli said because that would abut his hotel and not be visible.


 


Asked if he planned to lease or buy the rest of the building, Cappelli said that would continue to be owned by Mr. Longhitano, and tenants of that space would be paying their rent to Mr. Longhitano.


 


Demolition of Main Street Derelicts to Begin within “A few weeks.”


 


Cappelli said he was awaiting  the Department of Housing and Urban Development to approve him as the “designated developer” of the urban renewal portion of the 221 property and after that approval, demolition would begin.


 


Present Tenants on Ground Floor Will Not Remain.


 


Mr. Cappelli said he would begin negotiating with the present tenants of the first floor of the Bar Building, including a Subway Sandwich shop, a telephone store and a third leased space would be negotiated with to buy out their leases. The owner of one of those stores confirmed to another tenant of the building, who asked their name not be mentioned, that they have been advised by letter to pay their rents to LC Main LLC, Mr. Cappelli’s company.


 


A letter to this effect had been apparently been delivered to a tenant of the Bar Building on the seventh floor, leading WPCNR to check with the County Clerk’s office to see if Mr. Cappelli and Mr. Longhitano had been collaborating. Three other tenants in the upper reaches of the Bar Building have told WPCNR they have received no such letter advising them that Cappelli was now their landlord.


 


Trump Tower at City Center Marketing Showcase to Open Friday.


 


Mr. Cappelli said he was on target to open the sprawling Trump Tower at City Center sales office Friday next to Grace Church, after converting a portion of the 221 Main building. He said he has 480 private inquiries into the availability of the the TTCC condominiums in the South tower of the City Center.


 



Opening Friday for Private Clients by Appointment Only: The Trump Tower at City Center Showcase on Main Street. Photo by WPCNR News


 


“This (level) of interest is unheard-of,” Cappelli said, and speculated that he expected to sell out the South Tower “very quickly.”


 


Predicts Bar Building Cache Will Be Enhanced.


 


Asked what effect the interest in the City Center and hotel condomiums would do for  the value of office space in the Bar Building, Cappelli said he expected rentals in the Bar Building to go up 30% or more. The Bar Building currently rents in the $18 per square foot range, and Cappelli predicts that after his hotel opens, office space in the Bar would rise into the “high $20s per square foot.”


 


More Cappelli News – Ginsberg Deal Off.


 


In a free-ranging discussion, Mr. Cappelli brought WPCNR up-to-date on East Main Street developments.


 


He said, he would contest the plans of A. J. Rotundi and Martin Ginsberg to build a 28-story apartment complex on top of the former A & P building adjacent to the City Center, because he said the building would obscure the Westward view of the City Center.


 


“Unfortunately the (any new 28-story) building just blocks the view. In my building you’d see him, in his building, they’d see me. It would look horrible. We were actually going to do a deal with him, (selling the Corner Nook-Citibank-Main Street Book Store property owned by Mr. Cappelli), and let him do the building,”  Cappelli said. But then he said, he had been admiring the view of the City Center Trump and City Center One citadels driving in on I-287 West, and he revised his thinking:


 


“But, after seeing that (the view from the eastern approach to the city) in the last week or so, we decided we’re not going to do it. Because I think low rise needs to be on that site. I have the highest regard for Marty Ginsberg and his company. They’re one of the top developers in the county. Unfortunately, I think we’re going to have a bit of a difference of opinion. ”


 


Cappelli said he did not expect Mr. Ginsberg and Mr. Rotundi to sell their property to him. “I think it’s just an issue of lawsuits filed back and forth. They’re trying to get control of the property I already own.”


 


Sees New Lowrise building on Corner Nook Site.


 



 


ATLANTA BREAD FACTORY READIES OPENING ON MAIN STREET at City Center. Photo by WPCNR News.


 


He said in view of the imminent opening of Atlanta Bread Factory, and the café in Barnes and Noble, that the Corner Nook was going to see increased competition. He said he would begin discussions with them soon to make them a settlement to leave the block. Asked what he planned for the block, which is adjacent to the entrance to City Center, Cappelli, said he planned a low-rise building with retail on street level, featuring another café “to activate the Center on both sides (of City Place.”


 



TRUMP TOWER AT CITY CENTER RISING. Mr. Cappelli plans a low-rise building with posh retail and a cafe to round off the City Place plaza, foreground to rise in the location at lower left of complex, where The Corner Nook cafe now does business. Building rising behind the traffic light is the City Center Garage. Photo by WPCNR News


 


Lining the Sewer to Begin in 7 days.


 


Cappelli announced American Water Systems would begin lining the Main Street Sewer next week.
 

Posted in Uncategorized

Lutz, Oppenheimer, Torre– Crusaders Against Domestic Violence — to be Honored

Hits: 0

WPCNR WHITE PLAINS LAW JOURNAL. From Pace University. September 20, 2004 (Edited): The Women’s Justice Center (WJC) of Pace University School of Law will honor its former director Victoria L. Lutz, Esq., New York State Senator, Suzi Oppenheimer, and Cristina Torre, of the Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation at “A Celebration of Justice for Women,” the Center’s annual benefit dinner, to be held at Abigail Kirsch at Tappan Hill in Tarrytown on Wednesday, October 6, 2004.


“In the United States a woman is battered by a man – usually an intimate partner—every 15 seconds, raped every two minutes, and murdered by a spouse or boyfriend every six hours,” said Pace Women’s Justice Center Executive Director Susan L. Pollet, Esq. “We have become a national leader in addressing these problems and need financial support to build on our successes.”


The evening’s honorees reflect a range of approaches from legal advocacy and service to legislation to education.

Victoria L. Lutz, Esq., is now Executive Director of the Crossroads Safehouse in Fort Collins, Colorado. As Executive Director of the Pace Women’s Justice Center for twelve years, she provided the guidance and vision for the Center to grow from 1 1/3 staff members to a staff of over twenty.


 A former prosecutor with the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office and former Adjunct Professor at the Pace University School of Law, Ms. Lutz has created and conducted gender violence training programs for prosecutors, civil and criminal defense attorneys, judges, law enforcement personnel, advocates and other members of the community-response network since 1994.


 Her training sessions have taken her from Congressional and New York State hearings to more than half of the 50 U.S. states and Tanzania. Her publications span books, law reviews and journals. Ms. Lutz will receive the “Creative Vision for Women’s Justice Award” for being the “visionary who continues to inspire us all in the fight against violence against women.”       

For her dedicated work in the New York State Legislature on behalf of women and children’s issues, the Hon. Suzi Oppenheimer will accept the “Diane White Legal Advocacy Award.”


Senator Oppenheimer chairs the Senate Democratic Task Force on Women’s Issues and has remained a strong proponent of domestic violence legislation.  Over the years, Senator Oppenheimer has initiated a variety of legislative grants for victims of domestic violence and made possible projects addressing domestic violence.  Several recent projects include a dating violence video in conjunction with My Sister’s Place and the Junior League of Central Westchester, a video on Children and the Effects of Domestic Violence with the Pace Women’s Justice Center, and Victims Assistance Services projects.   

Cristina L. Torre, of the Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation has dedicated herself to the prevention of domestic violence. A former Head Directress and educator in Montessori schools, Ms. Torre and the Joe Torre Foundation embody the ideal that every child has the right to be safe at home. The thrust of the Foundation is education aimed at breaking the cycle of domestic violence. Ms. Torre’s goal is to use education to eliminate the pain of abuse.  Her work as an educator and through the Joe Torre Foundation is why Ms. Torre will receive the “Gail Katz Memorial Award.” (Gail Katz was murdered by her abusive husband almost twenty years ago. He was convicted in the year 2000.)   

Before the dinner, the Silent Auction in the Pavilion Promenade will offer more than 100 donated items, including a stay at a beautiful country bed and breakfast, stays at a variety of four-star hotels, spa treatments, jewelry, private figure skating lessons, dinners for two at many popular Westchester restaurants, and enough tickets to sports events and signed sports memorabilia to keep attendees’ favorite sports fans happy for an entire year.

Proceeds from the dinner and silent auction support the Women’s Justice Center, a non-profit organization that annually conducts trainings for thousands of judges, law enforcement officers, attorneys, and law students.


The WJC has pioneered the 24/7 division of legal services to battered women by partnering with police departments and hospitals, so that victims of domestic violence can receive legal services when they need them most, even at 2 o’clock in the morning. Each year the WJC provides direct representation to more than 1,500 victims of domestic violence and their children.


Annually, the WJC conducts more than 100 domestic violence, elder abuse, sexual assaults, and other training programs. It also has produced public service announcements for the Violence Against Women’s Office of the federal government concerning domestic violence, written judicial training manuals, and published many articles on gender violence. Its help lines address over 1,200 calls per year.    


Tables are available from $1500 to $100,000. Individual tickets are $150-$1,000. For reservations or more information about the dinner, please contact Helene Norton-Russell at (914) 422-4069.


Posted in Uncategorized

Moviegoer Critiques Automatic Seating at City Center Cinema De Lux

Hits: 0

WPCNR SCREEN GEMS. WHITE PLAINS VOICE. September 20, 2004: Saturday was definitely a movie day, and a moviergoer relates his experience taking his daughter to the City Center De Lux, finding the consumer at somewhat of a disadvantage:
 I took my 19 year old daughter, home from college for the weekend, to
the movies the other day.  Without checking any times, we arrived early for
a 9:20P showing of Sky Captain.  Seeing a long line at the register we went
to the machines on the opposing wall nearer the piano. Paying 24- for (2)
movie tickets is a little steep  I’ll admit, but after all it
would be in the “directors hall”.  We went to a restaurant on Mamaroneck Ave
for dinner and came back in plenty of time to see our chosen flik.

    I must say, the directors hall is no big whoop. I mean I paid extra for
us to sit in this “special room” with what seemed like fake leather seating
with identical paper murals of San Francisco bay on each side of the room
and then had to sit according to our assigned seating while only two other
people were in the theatre.(three rows up from Center aisle and the extreme
left)

    When you buy from the machines it doesn’t ask where in the hall you’d
like to sit based on the still available seating, apparently the machine
seems to give you what IT thinks is next.  Maybe there’s a little more to it
than that because after all, we weren’t in the first row looking up but
based on the time the tickets around, where we would have chosen to be had
we been asked, were sold (ours were bought 2 hours before show time), the
two tickets we got were (sort of) arbitrary.

    We waited for the show to start and just moved in on the many still
unfilled seats in the middle of the house in our aisle plopped down for a
good old fashioned adventure. Except for the woman seated near me who seemed
to have missed the part about suspending disbelief at the door and couldn’t
help herself from reminding the theater goers around her that she wasn’t
fooled or her male partner, we actually had a good time in spite of the
price gouging, the inappropriate seat assignments or some theater goers
incapable of shutting up.

    Had I gone to the real live person with the long line, they would have
asked, of the still available seats, which seats did I want for 24 dollars
at 9:20P show.  Being that a corporation is saving on personnel in this
exchange the machine purchase (with the arbitrary seating) should be less
expensive then with a real person at the register or be giving the same
options as the real person.

Movie theater goer

Posted in Uncategorized

City to Honor Jerome Robinson by Putting His Name on Ferris Avenue

Hits: 0

WPCNR STREETS OF WHITE PLAINS. September 20, 2004: The city will officially rename Ferris Avenue for the friend of the city’s youth, the founder of the Jerome Robinson Drum & Bugle Corps,  Graduate of White Plains High School, Jerome “Bump” Robinson, who died last spring unexpectedly. The ceremony will take place October 2 at noon on of course, Ferris Avenue, and be preceded on September 30 by a recognition and thank you dinner at 7 in the Community Room at Madison House, site of much of Mr. Robinson’s work.



JEROME BUMP ROBINSON REMEMBERED WITH A STREET WITH HIS NAME. Mr. Robinson was unofficially known as “The Mayor of Ferris Avenue.” Photograph from Thomas Slater Center.





The honor was announced Sunday evening by Ron Jackson, longtime community advocate, who has steadfastly supported creating a permanent memorial to Mr. Robinson who promoted youth self-esteem and steered them toward achievement through sports, music, and a charismatic rapport with the city’s youth for three decades. Through Mr. Jackson’s discussions with city councilmen, the Mayor’s Office, and community leaders who worked with Mr. Robinson, the memorializing of “Bump,” as he was nicknamed will become reality.

Posted in Uncategorized