WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER SETS RECORD VISITS FOR YEAR 7,017,658 VISITS! 2,098,003 VISITORS MADE 6 VISITS A DAY EVERY DAY. 63,330 UNIQUE VISITORS MADE 133,730 VISITS IN DECEMBER. WPCNR AVERAGED 17,284 VISITORS A WEEK, VISITING 31,270 TIMES.

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WPCNR MAIN STREET JOURNAL. From Zanaro’s Restaurant. June 25, 2004: Zanaro’s Italian Restaurant will open its flagship restaurant at City Center in White Plans on July 19.  Located in the former Home Savings Bank, the new Zanaro’s will maintain the existing landmark architecture in its original form, creating a casually elegant setting, reminiscent of an Italian Villa.  The restaurant will offer 250 seats with various rooms for private parties and meetings, including a special room for intimate gatherings and dinner parties inside the original bank vault.

“In creating our new Zanaro’s restaurant, we remain committed to maintaining the architectural integrity of this wonderfully historic building,” said Zane Tankel, CEO of Apple-Metro, Inc., the parent company of Zanaro’s and New York metro area franchisee for Applebee’s restaurants. 

The Home Savings Bank, founded in 1893, was the first savings bank in White Plains. More than 30 years later, the founders decided to build new structure at the corner of Main Street and Mamaroneck Avenue.  The doors to the new building were opened on Dec. 21, 1925. 

 

Ironically, the building was quickly dwarfed by a surge of new office building construction downtown that occurred in the final years prior to the Great Depression.  These included the Peoples Bank building that today is owned by the Arts Council of Westchester at the corner of Mamaroneck and Martine Avenues, as well as the nearby North Court and Bar buildings.

The Home Savings building, designed by noted bank architects Holmes and Winslow, was imposing by White Plains standards of the day, as no large buildings had yet been constructed in the downtown.  However, as impressive as the new building was, complete with an electrically controlled vault, newspaper advertisements at the time referred to the Home Savings Bank as being the ” most important public institution in White Plains for the Poor Man.”

In 1956, the bank’s interior was modernized using a 1950’s chic approach.  With a green and ivory color scheme for the new main banking room, which also included dark Vermont verde marble and lighter shades of carpeting, paint and wallpaper, it took on a new “ultra-modern” look.  Mrs. Edwin G. Michaelian, wife of the long-time Westchester County Executive, was the interior decorator.

In what seems strangely quaint in today’s world of disposable cell phones, the New York Telephone Co. reported at the time that the bank had the first complete installation of “color phones” in the Westchester area.  They were a soft green to match the general décor, and those on the banking floor were gray to “match the office machines.”  

Almost 40 years later, the Home Savings Bank was acquired by Greenpoint Savings Bank.  The new owner occupied the bank until recently when it relocated the branch to new space within City Center on Mamaroneck Avenue.  “Fully respecting the building’s historic status, we will keep ‘The Home Savings Bank’ façade intact,” said Mr. Tankel.

Architect Jay Haverson, of Haverson Architecture & Design in Greenwich, CT, was retained by Apple-Metro to create the new restaurant space for Zanaro’s.  Haverson said his team has faced a number of challenges in converting the majestic early 20^th Century building into a modern-day restaurant.   “It’s a totally new concept to hit the market – there’s nothing like it in Westchester,” he said.  “We were faced with turning a cavernous building into a warm and friendly restaurant, without losing any of the structure’s unique characteristics.  This is one of the most challenging design concepts we’ve ever undertaken.”

Haverson said the exterior will remain basically the same, with the addition of tastefully done signage, awnings, canopies and lighting.  Inside, the architects will use the bank building’s 30-foot ceilings to their advantage, creating the feel of a Tuscan courtyard.  The original chandeliers have been refurbished, colorful fabric banners will hang from the ceiling, and creative track lighting will help add to the atmosphere.

The color scheme will reflect the Tuscan villa theme as well, with tans, creamy yellows and mustard tones.  Hand-painted murals of landscapes will drape the walls.  “The murals will be done in an impressionistic style, to give guests the feeling of looking out to the surrounding countryside from their courtyard, “ said Mr. Haverson.  Soundproofing will be installed behind the murals.

Because the existing limestone flooring was too difficult to recreate, the team decided to install terra cotta tiles over the limestone.  The kitchen, located under the mezzanine, will be an open style, where guests can see meals being prepared.  The existing mezzanine will also be part of the restaurant, offering dining both downstairs and upstairs.  A mahogany bar with glass shelving for wine displays will be located to the left of the entrance, and two back windows will look out onto the street. 

“We believe this is the perfect setting to launch our new concept of ‘fine casual dining,’ — offering food with a fine dining level of ingredients to the casual dining customer,” said Tankel. In addition to offering traditional Italian favorites, Zanaro’s menu will feature a large selection of house specialties such as Mozzarella ala Bravisimo, Shrimp Pancetta or Pasta Fagioli appetizers.

 

Zanaro’s main courses include other original dishes such as Chicken Vesuvius, a marinated chicken breast with spinach, prosciutto and fresh mozzarella and Uncle Vito’s grilled port chop enorme, a 12-ounce seasoned boneless pork loin served with garlic smashed potatoes.  Zanaro’s specialty pastas will include linguini Catarina and baked ziti al Forno, along with gourmet pizzas and stuffed oven sandwiches.

 

The White Plains’ Zanaro’s will be a model for future Zanaro’s restaurants, as the company begins to develop and grow this concept through the New York Metropolitan area and beyond.   Apple-Metro, Inc. is the New York Metro Area Franchisee of Applebee’s International Inc., owning exclusive franchise rights to Westchester and Rockland counties, as well the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island.  Apple-Metro also operates three Chevys Fresh Mex restaurants.

 

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WPCNR WHITE PLAINS LAW JOURNAL. By John F. Bailey. June 24, 2004: Larry Delgado within weeks, he hopes, of reclaiming the Common Council seat now occupied by Glen Hockley, is soliciting contributions to defray his cost of  mounting the legal effort to reclaim that seat. Papers for Mr. Hockley’s appeal of Judge Francis Nicolai’s summary judgment decision last month that Hockley be removed from the Common Council are due today in the Appellate Court, Second Department in Brooklyn.

Delgado has circulated a letter to select citizens that notes the costs of the quo warranto action, and asks for contributions to the Larry Delgado Quo Warranto Defense Fund.

Meanwhile in another part of the state, the Appellate Court, Second Department, in Brooklyn, that court contemplates Glen Hockley’s latest effort to prolong his stay on the Council, an appeal demanding a jury trial and a new judge in which Thomas Abinanti, Hockley attorney, seeks to put each of the 103 voters filing affidavitts swearing that they voted for Mr. Delgado the night of November 5 2001 on the witness stand.  Mr. Hockley, or rather Mr. Delgado’s term has 18 months remaining. Hockley has occupied the seat as a “usurper” according to a ruling by Judge Francis Nicolai.

Jeffrey Binder, Mr. Delgado’s attorney, expressed a resignation that the Appellate Court may take another 3 months to decide that appeal, saying the dispatch in which the Appellate Court would handle the case depended on whether they would continue to fastrack the case as an election case. Binder expressed concern that if the Hockley appeal was put in the regular Appellate Court calendar that Hockley could remain on the Council for the duration of his (Delgado’s) term.

Binder said Mr. Delgado had made an offer to Mr. Hockley not to sue him for return of the pay he has received as a councilman (approximately $81,000 for 29 months service), that the Attorney General has declared should have been going to Mr. Delgado.

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 WPCNR PRESSBOX. Special to WPCNR From Jen Carlo. June 23, 2004: After a three game home series versus the New England Riptide in Montclair, the New York/New Jersey Juggernaut (12-7) headed to Lowell, Massachusetts today to face the New England Riptide (8-11).  The June 20th-22nd series between the two teams ended up in two-extra innings games, with a  total of  46 (the equivalent to almost 7 softball games)  innings played.  The Juggernaut ended up taking two out of three games of the series before heading to Martin Field for the first time. Tonight the Nauts prevailed in the third straight Extra Innings game, 1-0 on anothr Lisa Iancin “gamer” in the 9th in New England.

 

 Amanda Scott (6-2) and Leigh Ann Ellis (1-3) were on the mound tonight to dual it out. With no surprise, the teams went into extra innings again.  Through seven scoreless innings, both pitcher’s managed shutouts.  Scott finished the game with 9 strike outs, 0 walks, and excellent defense from the mound.

The Nauts came close in the top of the eighth when catcher Courtney Scott beat out an infield hit to the shortstop.  After Venus Taylor’s sacrifice bunt, pinch runner, Sarah Hershman, advanced to second base.  Lindsey Collins entered the game to pinch hit for Jaclyn Pasquerella, but popped out to center fielder LaDonia Hughes.  Ellis then struck out Carri Leto to end the Juggernaut threat.

 In the top of the ninth the Nauts were at it again.  With two outs, shortstop Lyndsey Klein smacked a double to left center.  With Lisa Iancin up, a passed ball by Allister advanced Klein to third base, which was the first runner to reach third base all game.  With a 3-2 count, Iancin ripped the ball down the third base line for a double, scoring Klein (RBI).  That is Iancin’s third game winning hit in the past week.

 In the bottom of the ninth, Jewett ripped a line drive to third base and Pasquerella went airbone to help her pitcher Scott get the win. 

 Amanda Scott, the Nauts ace, improves to 6-2 on the season with a league leading .62 E.R.A.  Sister Courtney Scott (1-for-4) was Amanda’s battery mate tonight.

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WPCNR CITY HALL LIMITS. June 23, 2004: Assemblyman Adam Bradley contacted WPCNR today to report that the Assembly passed the home rule resolution granting the City of White Plains request to dissolve the White Plains Parking Authority. Bradley told WPCNR that it also passed the Senate last Friday. All that is now needed to end the WPPA existence is the signature of Governor George Pataki. Bradley said he “had no idea” when that would happen.

The passage paves the way for the Common Council to create the Department of Parking which they are holding a public hearing on this afternoon at City Hall, beginning at 5 P.M.

Editor’s Note: Tonight’s Public Hearing on Creation of the Department of Parking will be televised on tape delay at 8 P.M. on WPGA-TV, Channel 75, White Plains Government Access.

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WPCNR WHITE PLAINS LAW JOURNAL. From Pace University. June 23, 2004 – Pace Women’s Justice Center  has appointed Susan L. Pollet, Esq. one of  New York and  Westchester’s most active members of the legal community, as Executive Director, effective June 28, 2004. 
 

SUSAN L. POLLET: Pollet comes to the Center after serving as an Associate Court Attorney in  the Westchester County Family Court, and has served as a Court Attorney  for the past seven years. Photo, Pace Women’s Justice Center.

Pollet is a 1979 graduate of Emory University  School of Law and a 1976 graduate of Cornell University.  She graduated as  a member of the Mortar Board Senior Women’s Honorary Society and the Omnicron Nu Honorary Society. 

She is admitted to practice in Georgia and  New York.  Susan received the 2004 Marilyn R. Menge Memorial award for  service to the Women’s Bar Association of the state of New York and to the Westchester County Bar Association. She received, also, the Joseph F. Gagliardi Award for Excellence from the Westchester County Bar Institute  for service to the court system. She is one of two employees of the ninth  judicial district (a five county geographic area) chosen in 2004. 
 
Pollet has been practicing law for twenty-five years.  She has been in private practice, she has worked in-house for a corporation, concentrating  primarily on labor and employment law issues, she has taught law at Mercy College for six years to undergraduates and paralegals, and she has worked in government.  Her dedication to the area of family law is long standing.  

While in law school, as part of a juvenile justice workshop, she prosecuted and defended juveniles in a local court.  As a practicing  attorney, she served as a Law Guardian for nine years representing  children in Family Court, as an assigned counsel in Family Court, and as a Social Services Attorney for three years handling both child protective and adult protective cases. 

She has participated in multiple legal training programs.  She is a published author of more than twenty-five legal articles in the New York Law Journal and periodicals about family  law, employment law and related issues.  She has drafted many decisions  and has settled multiple cases daily in conferences as a Court Attorney.
 
Dynamic next stage. 

In making the announcement, Pace Law School’s  Executive Director of Academic Programs, said “I am excited about Susan  Pollet’s acceptance of Executive Director of the Pace Women’s Justice
 Center.  Susan brings an impressive list of qualities vital to the Center’s future.  These include abundant energy, great enthusiasm, leadership experience, wide recognition in the legal community,
 intellectual curiosity and a passion for the work of the Center. Her  appointment will enable the Center to continue building upon the creative vision initiated by Vicki Lutz.” 
 
Service. 

Susan Pollet served on the Ninth Judicial District Task Force on Reducing Litigation Cost and Delay established by Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye. Pollet has been a Vice President of the Women’s Bar Association of  the State of New York, and has been a State Delegate since 1997.  She served on the Domestic Violence, Nominations and Legislative Committees, Co-Chaired the Legislative Committee for two years and currently Co-Chairs the Children’s Rights Committee. 
 
Pollet began her involvement with the New York Women’s Bar Association in the early 1980’s, serving as Chair of its Publicity Committee.  After moving to Westchester County, she became involved in the Westchester Women’s Bar Association in the late 1980’s.  She served as  President of
 the Westchester Women’s Bar Association, and as Vice President, Treasurer, Recording Secretary, as Chair of the Placement Committee, as a member of the Committee on the Legal Rights of Children and as a member of the  Committee on Lawyering and Parenting.  She prepared the Souvenir Journal,  Chaired the Annual Dinner for two successive years and served on the
 Nominations Committee for many years. 

She served as Co-Chair of the Legislative Committee, and then its advisor, is a member of the Past President’s Committee, and currently Chairs the Archive & Historian Committee.  She served on the Committee for the Joseph F. Gagliardi Award
 for Excellence and the Assigned Counsel Panel for Family Court of the Westchester County Bar Association.  She serves as a trained legal facilitator in the P.E.A.C.E. Program (Parent Education and Custody Effectiveness), to which parents are referred by judges, provided at the
 Westchester County Courthouse.

Affiliations.

She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Westchester Children’s Association.  She has served on Governor Pataki’s Lower Hudson Valley  Advisory Council to the Division for Women.  She serves as a Cornell  University Alumni Admissions Ambassador, interviewing prospective students and writing evaluations.  She has served on the Board of Directors of the League of Women Voters, the Chappaqua Children’s Workshop, and the Pleasantville Children’s Center.  She has served on the nominating committee of Temple Beth El of Chappaqua.  She has participated in
 multiple educational panels as an organizer, moderator and panelist.
 
Center Expansion.

Susan L. Pollet, Esq. replaces Victoria L. Lutz, Esq.,  who has become the Executive Director of Crossroads, a safe-house for battered women and their children in Fort Collins, Colorado. Under Lutz’s leadership, the PWJC has grown exponentially.  During her eleven years at the Center, Lutz worked tirelessly to provide the best possible direct legal representation to thousands of victims of domestic violence. Lutz initiated numerous programs and services including; the Family Court Legal
 Program, Project Assist and Deter, The Westchester Division, Sexual Assault Programs, and the Teen Dating Violence Institute. 
 

 The Pace Women’s Justice Center was founded in 1991 by Michael G. Dowd, Esq. as an educational center for training attorneys in matters of  domestic violence.  Initially staffed by one attorney and an assistant, the Center now employs 13 attorneys and three support staff.

The Center has sites in both White Plains and Yonkers Family Courts.  Since 1999, the Center has offered direct legal representation to thousands of battered  women through its Family Court Legal Externship Program. This first of its  kind program allows law students, under the supervision of Center attorneys, to interview battered women, draft and file petitions for orders of protection and custody, and represent clients in court. 

Through Project Assist and Deter, Center attorneys accept referrals from Westchester County police departments on a 24/7 basis.  The Westchester Division provides legal information and referrals through a telephone help-line. Center attorneys respond to over 1,200 calls per year through this help-line and provide information on a range of topics such as divorce law, elder law, domestic violence law, child support and child custody laws as wells as sexual and employment discrimination laws. 

The Center has also expanded its training into such areas as Sexual Assault, Gender Violence, Sex Discrimination, Stalking, and Teen Dating Violence. Through these programs, Center staff train attorneys, judges, law enforcement officials, advocates and medical professionals as well as high school and middle school students.