THE WORLD READS WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER — 8,324,077 VISITS IN ONE YEAR | 2,905,611 VISITORS VISIT 8,324,077 TIMES 3 TIMES EVERY DAY IN ONE YEAR. HIGHEST ACTIVITY IN WPCNR HISTORY.White PlainsCitizeNetReporter lifted its worldwide visits from unique visitors to wpcnr.com to 8,324,077,a 1,306,419 increase in visits in one year from 7,017,658 visits to the site last year which covers White Plains and Westchester County. The 8,324,077 visits were made by 2,005,611 unique visitors who visited wpcnr an average of 3 visits a day. ON JULY 20- -2026 visitors have accessed wpcnr and made 3,072 visits an average of 1.6 visits. In the last week 33,495 individual vistors made 54,458 visits, averaging 1.6 visits. In the last month, 152,940 visitors recorded 229,338 visits (1.5 visits)

Sing Sing Prison Museum Launches. Fund Raising Drive for $650,000 in matching funds from State sought to Renovate, County may contribute.

Posted on February 15, 2018 by John Bailey

Site of planned Sing Sing Prison Museum: former power house serving the prison. Plans for the 2025 targeted opening were announced today in Ossining.

WPCNR County Clarion Ledger. By John F. Bailey. February 15, 2018:

Just outside Sing Sing Prison this afternoon County Executive George Latimer, the Mayor of Ossining, Assembly woman Sandy Galef and other dignataries announced a $25 Million to $30 Million project to create a museum of prison history, focusing on Sing Sing Prison which is approaching its 200th anniversary of its founding in 1825.

The project seeks to renovate the abandoned power house (adjacent the entrance to the prison) into a 4 story museum.

The project, Latimer said, would generate 135,000 visitors to the facility and the town of Ossining, generating 230 full-time jobs, plus construction jobs. The Mayor of Ossining, Victoria Gearity (left) hailed the project as bringing a halo affect of jobs and revenue to the city. Sandy Galef, Assemblywoman, right, thanked Mr. Latimer for throwing the County support for the project. Latimer said the county may contribute funds to the project, depending on how the county budget unfolds in 2018.

The project director said the museum would contain memorabilia and exhibits of the Sing Sing past, including a model of an electric chair; uniforms of guards and prisoners, typical cells, and lecture halls.

There would be a movie theater that would exhibit prison-based films. He also said there would be exhibits emphasizing the rehabilitation of prisoners that has made Sing Sing a model of incarceration success with a recidivism rate of released prisoners, just 4% compared to other prison average of as high as 70%.

Sing Sing Prison Museum expects to renovate the rusted girders and railingless stairways leading to its upper floors and replace windows of the old power house by the beginning of 2019. By the end of 2019 they expect to complete design and exhibit plans. The project is expected to be completed tentatively in the beginning of 2025.

A major feature of the museum will be restoration of the original 1825 cell block shown here in the heart of the Sing Sing complex, which will be connected to the museum building,

Ms. Gold said the cost of the project is expected to be at least $25 Million or higher.The County Executive said the county might contribute financing to the project depending on how the county financial status evolves.

The wall of Sing Sing Prison today.

SATURDAY AT 7 PM AND ON THE INTERNET NOW–JOHN BAILEY INTERVIEWS WHITE PLAINS NEW SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS ON THE BUDGET, DIRECTION OF THE SCHOOLS, NEW INITIATIVES ON FIOS CH. 45 AND ALTICE CABLEVISION 76

Posted on February 15, 2018 by John Bailey

DR. RICCA DISCUSSES HIS FIRST 7 MONTHS AND WHAT’S AHEAD

At 7 PM SATURDAY NIGHT

on FIOS CH 45, ALTICE CH. 76

AND ON YOU TUBE AND WHITE PLAINS WEEK DOT COM WORLDWIDE INSTANTLY

YOU TUBE LINK: https://youtu.be/nQ1FN2pxvEA

WhitePlainsWeek.com link is

http://www.whiteplainsweek.com/

www.wpcommunitymedia.org

The upcoming School Budget

Review of test evaluations at all grades

His take on the State Assessment Test Issue

The future of the District, Budget Growth Issues

and more

Catherine Borgia and Unions Rally. Will Introduce Paid Sick Leave Bill. Formula Would Have Employees Earn Days of Paid Sick Time By Hours WORKED going Forward. Retroactive Service May be Considered.

Posted on February 14, 2018 by John Bailey

Legislator Catherine Borgia (in red jacket left of podium) with Legislators, Nancy Barr (Port Chester and County Chair of the Board of Legislators, Benjamin Boykin, behind podium, leading raucous rally in the Michaelian Building rotunda today in White Plains, NY USA

WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. By John F. Bailey. February 14, 2018:

County Legislator Catherine Borgia and numerous labor organizations representing some 70,000 transit bus monitors, custodians, and other job positions announced she would reintroduce her paid sick leave bill that was held in committee last fall by the Astorino administration.

The bill, if passed, would make it law that businesses with more than 5 employees and offering no paid sick leave would have to count the number of hours per week an employee worked and total them up to provide paid sick days for the employee.

The bill allows an employ to accumulate one hour towards a paid sick day for each 40 hours worked. If the bill as constituted became law, if an employee did not without paid sick leave, he or she would for each 40 hours worked earn an hour of a paid sick day.

WPCNR asked Ms. Borgia how many paid sick days would be earned if an employee worked 50 weeks with approximately 40 hours a week.

The employee would have earned 5 full sick days with pay, Borgia told WPCNR.

She told WPCNR the bill may change in committee to build in a retroactive feature, that loyal employees could use past work history to earn paid sick days more quickly.

Currently the bill does not include any retroactive service “credit.”

The news conference featured employees telling of their need to stay home to tend sick children and their loss of pay, and possible loss of job.

Chair of White Plains Board of Ethics, Critic of Mayor’s Choice of City Judge, Removed from Ethics Board

Posted on February 14, 2018 by John Bailey

WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL CHRONICLE-EXAMINER. By John F. Bailey. February 14, 2018:

It was the number one item on the Common Council Agenda of February 5, it read:

“Communication from Council President recommending the appointment of David Schiff, as Chair of the Board of Ethics to a term which will expire on December 31, 2021, and appointment of Rev. Gregory Smith, and the re-appointment of Damon Amadio, Nancy Barry and Larry Delgado to terms which will expire on December 31,2019.”

It appeared routine. But it was, as it turns out, the appointments of a new Chairman, David Schiff (in effect, removing then current Chairman, Mark Elliott) and appointing a new member, Reverend Gregory Smith, replacing Mr. Elliot on the Board.

Mr. Elliott throughout last year had criticized the Mayor for appointing Elizabeth Schollenberger to the City Court, instead of other recommendations for the judgeship of the City Judicial Review Committee charged with making recommendations of judicial candidates for the empty post. Elliot had noted in his criticism that Ms. Schollenberger was the former head of the City Democratic Committee who had long championed Mr. Roach and was his Campaign Manager. Mr. Elliot’s e-mails criticizing Mr. Roach for appointing Schollenberger, long a political ally, had been sent to many persons in the city and covered by

During the Common Council meeting announcing the Board of Ethics changes, effectively removing Mr. Elliott from the Board, there was no mention of Mr. Elliott’s years of service on the Board or any public thank you for those years of service, or any mention of his dismissal from the Board.

The announcement came as a surprise.

One councilmember told WPCNR, the change was not announced to the Council before the agenda was released, and they only noticed it when Elliott’s name was not on the reconstituted board of ethics.

WPCNR contacted Mr. Elliott to see if he was still a member of the Board, after noting his not being mentioned in the agenda, I believed, at the time, he was still on the Board:

Mr. Elliott issued this statement to WPCNR:

“John:

I am no longer a member of the City’s Board of Ethics. I was not reappointed to the Board. I did not resign. The Mayor’s office did not inform me in advance of their plans.

I am very honored to have served the Board for approximately 19 years. Among other things, our Board made history when our charges led directly to the resignation of Mayor Adam Bradley.

I hope that the new Board member and the new Chair will uphold the tradition – established by such fine public servants as the Honorable Larry Delgado and Nancy Barry – of deciding ethics matters based on the law and the best interests of the City without regard to partisan or political considerations.”

White Plains residents will remember after Mr. Bradley resigned in 2011, then Common Council President Tom Roach became Acting Mayor.

Mr. Roach defeated Robert Hyland in a Special Election and Roach became Mayor to fill out Bradley’s unexpired term of 2 years and 9 months.

In 2013, Mr. Roach defeated Republican Cass Cibelli and was reelected for a full 4 year term in 2013.

Roach again was reelected for a second 4 year term in November, 2017, after defeating Councilwoman Milagros Lecuona in a September primary and then defeating Ms. Lecuona, running on the Republican ticket in the General Election.