WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER 3,374,995 VISITS IN ONE YEAR—65,000 VISITS A WEEK BY 985,281 VISITORS

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WPCNR Main Street Journal.June 2, 2003, UPDATED 11:00 P.M.: The Common Council this evening met at 7:30 P.M. at City Hall, 255 Main Street, and completed business by 8:20 P.M. in a record-settingly brief monthly meeting. They approved unanimously the Memorandum of Understanding reached last week between the Common Council and theatrical producers Tony Stimac (of the Helen Hayes Theatre Company), and Jeffrey Rosenstock (of the Queens Theatre in the Park) to manage the White Plains Performing Arts Center.

Neither Mr. Stimac nor Mr. Rosenstock attended the formal vote approving their appointment.

The council also voted to increase towing fees for scofflaw vehicles to $125. Eileen Earl, former Budget Director, was saluted for her service to White Plains by Mayor Delfino, Benjamin Boykin, Robert Greer, Rita Malmud, Tom Roach, and Mr. Hockley and Mr. King, though Ms. Earl was not in the audience.

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WPCNR’S ADAM IN ALBANY. By District 89 Assemblyman Adam T. Bradley. May 30, 2003: With so many threats to our families today, it is even more pressing to ensure the safety and well-being of our loved ones. In the Assembly, I have made it a top priority to lead the fight to protect Westchester families.
Shielding our loved ones from gun violence

More often than we’d like, we get bombarded with tragic stories about senseless deaths from gun violence. From terrorist attacks, to crimes involving imitation weapons, there’s an overwhelming need to better protect our families.

I have sponsored an initiative which would ban the possession, sale and use of 50-caliber weapons in New York State (A.7039). Frighteningly, these weapons of war are readily available on the Internet. According to a report by the Violence Policy Center, Osama bin Laden’s terrorist organization purchased at least twenty five 50-caliber weapons from a U.S. manufacturer. Due to the continuing threat of future terrorist attacks, it is even more pressing to quickly enact this legislation.

I also sponsored legislation to strengthen the enforcement of the law banning the sale of realistic imitation weapons while giving individual consumers injured due to the sale of an imitation gun the right to seek redress for their injuries from the retailer (A.5763).

People needlessly die at the hands of police officers who mistake these imitation weapons for actual firearms. This measure will help reduce the threat of crimes and incidents of fatalities involved with these imitation weapons, and hold responsible those retailers who continue to carry these illegitimate items.

Protecting parents with children in foster care

Parents with children in foster care deserve proper notification when it comes to the safety and well-being of their children. When a child is removed permanently from the home it demands a serious discussion from all parties involved. As a long-time advocate for children and attorney in practicing family law I know there are often many sides to each situation.

That’s why I sponsored legislation strengthening parental notification requirements when social service agencies move to terminate parental rights. This legislation will ensure that parents are aware of the custody and parental rights associated with their child, and have a meaningful opportunity to have their voices heard.

From gun control to protecting parental rights, ensuring the safety of Westchester families is my top priority. We live in an ever changing, often unforgiving world, where our best interests are frequently cast aside. I will continue the fight to ensure that Westchester families are protected and work to ensure that all our loved ones are secure.

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WPCNR Common Council Chronicle-Examiner. By John F. Bailey. May 29, 2003, UPDATED 10:00 P.M. E.D.T.: In Executive Session last night, the Common Council hammered out the details of a Memorandum of Understanding between the city and Tony Stimac, Artistic Director of The Helen Hayes Theatre Company of Nyack, and Jeffrey Rosenstock, Artistic Director of Queens Theatre in the Park, Flushing, Queens, to hire the two-man partnership of the two veteran “regional theatre producers” to manage and program the new White Plains Performing Arts Center.

Common Council President Benjamin Boykin told WPCNR tonight the council felt the existing “infrastructure” of the two organizations reduced the amount of investment the city would have to make in the theatre, and that was one of the key factors why the Council, in what Mr. Boykin said was “a consensus” went with Mr. Stimac and Mr. Rosenstock: “They can use the staffs in their present organizations to sell tickets and market the theatre, so the city contribution does not have to be as much.”

Boykin said he expected Mr. Stimac and Mr. Rosenstock would become involved in the “look” of the facility, which is the next issue, Boykin said the Council would be paying close attention to.

“THE PRODUCERS”
Tony Stimac, Artistic Director of The Helen Hayes Theatre Company, in Nyack, and Jeffrey Rosenstock, Artistic Director of the Queens Theatre In the Park, Flushing, as they addressed the Common Council May 19 where they impressed the Council with their programming “synergy” and savvy.
Photo by WPCNR News

George Gretsas, the Mayor’s Executive Officer said this evening that the Mayor and the Common Council had come to agreement to enter into the “Memorandum of Understanding” and put the agreement on Monday evening’s Common Council agenda for an official vote. Gretsas said the public would have an opportunity to comment on the city’s selection and the terms of agreement at Monday evening’s meeting, but that the vote did not require an official public hearing. Terms of the Memorandum of Understanding will be spelled out in the release of the Common Council agenda Friday morning.

The WPPAC is being built into the new City Center, now under construction by Cappelli Enterprises. No other suitor was negotiated with by the city, after initial financials were presented by all three hopefuls May 19.

EMERGING FROM EXECUTIVE SESSION: Council Benjamin Boykin, left, and Robert Greer as they left the approximately 2-1/2 Executive Session Wednesday night, in which the Memorandum of Understanding was finalized with Mr. Stimac. Mr. Stimac was spotted by WPCNR emerging from Executive Session at 9:40 PM Thursday evening at City Hall.
Photo by WPCNR News

The agreement in principle was confirmed today by City Hall officially at 6 PM by Gretsas. Mr. Rosenstock and Mr. Stimac have formed a private partnership to manage the theatre. They are the last entity into the race for the project of managing the White Plains Arts Center.

They were selected over two White Plains groups seeking to run the theatre: Westco Productions, headed by Susan Katz and Centerpoint Stage, a consortium organized by Jonathan Mann, currently with the Westchester Arts Council.

City Committed to a $100,000 Theatre Operating Budget.

As part of the running of the theatre, Gretsas said, the city has set aside a budget of $100,000 for the operators of the theatre. Gretsas reported that the actual name of Mr. Stimac’s and Mr. Rosenstock’s organization has not been determined, and that the next step, according to his understanding, was to form a non-profit organization to run the White Plains Performing Arts Center.

Gretsas told WPCNR this evening that in addition to the $100,000 city commitment, that the city would be responsible for utilities, sanitation, and “general responsibilities” associated with city-owned facilities.

PIONEERS OF CREATIVITY IN A DEMANDING MARKET: Mr. Stimac, left, and Mr. Rosenstock have pioneered, founded and created two “small theatres” in the competitive New York metropolitan area: The Helen Hayes Theatre Company and Queens Theatre In the Park.
Photo by WPCNR News

Mr. Stimac took over a foundering restoration of the Nyack theatre in 1996, and through his efforts renamed it The Helen Hayes Theatre Company, organizing both financing and producing the programming. The theatre has a schedule this year that premiers new plays, stages popular revivals, and tries out Broadway bound productions, one of Mr. Stimac’s fortes.

This season, the Helen Hayes will premier Jackie Mason’s new musical Laughing Room Only; and is currently premiering Swango: The Fusion a new dance spectacular. Also on the fall “playbill” is a premiere of The Mancini Project, a dance and musical extravaganza with storyline featuring the music of Henry Mancini. Revivals to be staged include It Had to Be You and The Music Man at the holiday season.

More about Mr. Stimak’s Helen Hayes operation can be learned by visiting their website at www.hhtco.org.

A Theatre in Queens That Competes with Manhattan.

Mr. Rosenstock is the creator of Queens Theatre in the Park, an operation of his conception that turned the vacant New York State Pavilion in Flushing Meadow Park, site of the 1964 World’s Fair, into a thriving theatre serving diverse ethnic populations of Queens, and introducing hot new properties to New York theatre aficionados.

Rosenstock, is a well-connected individual, who sits on the New York State Council of the Arts, has fund-raised and produced for the theatre, since he founded it in 1989. A lively, enthusiastic visionary of the theatre, he brings with Mr. Stimac an understanding and a pipeline of funding sources, state and federal, who believe in his vision.

Commissioner of Recreation & Parks, Arne Abramowitz, was in charge of Flushing Meadow Park where QTP is based, and is familiar with Mr. Rosenstock’s work with the Queens community.

This spring, Queens Theatre In the Park produced Dames at Sea, a new musical about the 30s, and in the summer produces new plays. Rosenstock is also founder of ethnic festivals that are held every year at the QTP, including the first Latin Festival in the United States which he founded in 1996.

A sampling of the spectrum of arts Queens Theatre In the Park offers its community under the baton of Mr. Rosenstock can be seen on the QTP website at www.queenstheatre.org.

Wanted: A Local Impresario.

In their presentation to the Common Council May 19, Messrs Stimac and Rosenstock said they would hire a full-time manager to run the day-to-day operations of the White Plains Performing Arts Center, coordinate with community groups, and execute the marketing and advertising programs. They said they would work with the manager to program the theatre, drawing upon productions they are staging in their own theatres. “The Producers” said the key to small theatres being successful was “synergy,” working together to share productions and give the widest possible venue exposure to a production in the area. They said at the May 19 meeting with the Council that there were great possibilities of sharing productions at their two existing theatres and by seeking playdates from other similar “small theatres” around the Northeast.

Promised: A Premiere Week.

Rosenstock reported at that May 19 meeting that he envisioned a weeklong opening festival at the White Plains Performing Arts Center when it opened in the fall, building a weeklong series of performances of local groups around one major professional performance, as one idea he had in mind for “Premiere Week.”

Stimac said May 19 that he would be taking a leave of absence for two months in July from his Helen Hayes “watch,” to devote full-time to organizing the opening of the White Plains Performing Arts Center, and would be taking a similar leave in November and December. Rosenstock said he had informed his Executive Director of his possibility of creating the White Plains Theatre company, and said he had received encouragement.

Mr. Stimac is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in England. He has directed over 120 productions at showplaces in London, on Off-Broadway, in summer stock and regional theatres, including The McCarton, Roundabout Theatre, Goodspeed Opera House, and Cincinnati Theatre in the Park. He knows the regional audience, having produced 700 shows at the John Drew Theatre at Guild Hall in East Hampton.

Mr. Stimac has a track record for what works artistically and commercially, blending nicely with the White Plains Performing Arts Center desire to produce new works. As founder of Musical Theatre Works in 1983, he had produced 49 world premieres of new musicals and 275 staged readings. Of those productions, 40 have gone to Broadway, Off-Broadway and regional theatres.

When asked, Mr. Gretsas could not recall whether the Queens group had been in the list of approximately 15 organizations originally informed about the Request for Proposals by the city theatre consultant, Duncan Webb.

Westco Productions and Centerpoint Stage have been informed of the Common Council’s decision, subject to confirming vote Monday, to strike a deal with Mr. Stimak and Mr. Rosenstock.

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WPCNR CITY HALL HERALD. May 29, 2003: Wednesday evening, the Common Council adopted the 2003-04 City Budget. Here are Council President Benjamin Boykin’s remarks on the new budget:

I want to thank the Budget Department under the leadership of Ann Reasoner for developing a budget that is easy to follow and that lays out the opportunities and risks faced by the City of White Plains. Let me also thank Eileen Earle, our former budget director, who retired in February, and has continued to assist us through this budget cycle. In addition, I commend all the departments for their ongoing efforts to improve productivity and contain costs while maintaining our high quality of services to our residents and visitors to our city.

As a financial executive, I know the renewed emphasis that has been placed on financial disclosure. I am pleased to report that the City of White Plains continues to win awards for fiscal integrity and presentation.

This was a very difficult budget year for the city. Our city’s two main sources of revenues are sales taxes and property taxes. For the upcoming 2003/04 budget year, sales tax will fund 36% and property taxes will fund 35% of the general fund budget. These two categories provide 71% of the general fund revenue.

The overall economic slowdown has impacted our sales tax revenues, which are budgeted at $35.0 million versus $37.0 million in last year’s budget. The actual sales taxes that were received last year were $35.5 million, a $1.5 million shortfall versus budget. The shortfall in sales taxes reduced last year’s fund balance. Sales taxes have helped to stabilize our property taxes. The ½ of 1% additional sales taxes for White Plains has been extended for two years, with the sunset in August 2005.

The reinvestment in our downtown will enable us to maintain our high level of public services while keeping our property taxes low in comparison to surrounding communities. We are fortunate that the renaissance of this city will drive economic benefits and quality of life improvements for all our residents. We have made strategic and visionary decisions that will serve us well into this century.

While we are reinvesting in our future, the full impact of these decisions will not be realized until the 2004/05 budget year and we will still be at risks for economic and other factors beyond the city’s control.

The total proposed operating budgets for the city is $104.6 million, an increase of 1.7% over the current year’s adopted budgets. The operating budgets are:

• General Fund – $96.045 million
• Library Fund – 5.0 million
• Self-Insurance Fund – 2.2 million
• Water Fund – 7.7 million

Interfund transfers total $6.3 million, resulting in the total operating budgets of $104.6 million.

In addition, our debt service fund budget to be adopted tonight is $7.3 million.

The budget is our commitment to provide services to our residents – public safety, public works, quality of life, governmental and community services. The 2003/04 budget includes a property tax increase of 7.5% or $7.31 per thousand dollars of assessed value. While I do not like to raise property taxes, it is important that we continue to provide our residents with the high level of services that make us a great city. In order to continue to provide these services, it is necessary that we increase property taxes.

Let me assure you that we have worked diligently to maintain services with the least impact to you, our taxpayer. We have retained the City’s Archivist position and we will continue to do infrastructure work and repair potholes. This is a budget that is fair and reasonable.

The assessed valuation of taxable properties is $317.1 million, a decrease of $1.7 million from the previous year. This decrease is primarily due to the removal of Bank Street Commons, City Center and Fortunoff from the tax rolls. Even though these properties have been removed from the tax rolls, the overall revenue to the city has increased due to the PILOT payments.

The upcoming budget is affected by items beyond the city’s control. As previously mentioned, sales taxes are budgeted at $2.0 million less than the previous year driven by economic factors as well as the lost of J. C. Penny and Saks retail facilities. Interest income is budgeted at $715,000, a decrease of $535,000 from last year.

Pension contributions are up $1.2 million. After an outcry from nearly every municipal government in New York, the State Controller revised the pension calculation which will require White Plains to pay a minimum contribution of 4.5% of total payroll each year to cover pension costs.

The city is a service organization. As such, personnel costs are our largest expenditure – approximately 79% of the budget. Sales and property taxes are no longer sufficient to cover personnel costs. The city has a dedicated and loyal work force that is committed to serve the residents of White Plains.

I want to thank them for their service. We must continue to seek ways to manage personnel costs and health benefits that is fair to employees and fair to the taxpayers.

We have worked hard to find new sources of revenues to add to our cultural and entertainment activities without shifting the burden to our taxpayers. The new Performing Arts Center, scheduled to open this fall in City Center and the new Renaissance Plaza and Park in downtown is being funded without increasing property taxes.

I am proud of our city’s renaissance and the hard work done to make it happen. We have reinvested in our downtown with new residential housing and commercial development of Stop and Shop, City Center and Fortunoff. We’ve made our city vibrant, kept property taxes low and enhanced our quality of life.

The budget that we adopt tonight maintains services at current levels in a cost effective manner. This is an outstanding accomplishment given the state of economic affairs. We are investing for our future to keep our city fiscally sound. White Plains has a bright future and all of us will be proud of this city. This is a great city to call our home.