JOHN BAILEY AND PETER KATZ
INTERVIEW
THE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY LEGISLATORS
ON
HIS DUTIES
HIS MANAGEMENT STYLE
LEGISLATION THE BOARD WILL TAKE UP FIRST
HOW THE IMMIGRANT PROTECTION ACT CAN WORK FOR THE COUNTY AND THE GOVERNMENT
THE PLAYLAND SITUATION–HOW THE BOARD WILL REVIEW IT.
THE AIRPORT DEAL WHAT THE BOARD’S OBJECTIVES ARE
WHY THE BUDGET IS BEING AUDITED BY THE COMPTROLLER
AND MORE
AROUND THE WORLD ANYTIME ON
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WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From Chairman of the Board of Legislators, Benjamin Boykin. January 18, 2018:
Newly-elected Board of Legislators (BOL) Chairman Benjamin Boykin (D) White Plains, Scarsdale and West Harrison and BOL Vice-Chair Alfreda Williams (D) Elmsford, Greenburgh, Sleepy Hollow, Tarrytown, have announced a redesigned committee structure for the 2018-19 legislative term.
The Westchester County Charter mandates that the BOL maintain two specific committees, the Budget and Appropriations Committee and the Legislation Committee. Additional committees and their membership are determined at the Chairman’s prerogative.
Following consultation with all Legislators, Chairman Boykin has assigned committee chairmanships that ensure each of the 17 Legislators will chair a committee or serve in a BOL leadership position.
The BOL Leadership positions for the 2018-2019 term are:
Board of Legislators Chair – Ben Boykin
Board of Legislators Vice-Chair – Alfreda Williams
Majority Leader – Catherine Parker
Minority Leader – John Testa
Majority Whip – MaryJane Shimsky
Minority Whip – Gordon Burrows
The BOL Committees, meeting times and Chairs for the 2018-2019 term are:
Budget & Appropriations, Mondays at 10:00AM – Catherine Borgia
Legislation, Mondays at 1:00PM – Virginia Perez
Rules, as needed – Comprised of BOL leadership
Law & Major Contracts, as needed – Lyndon Williams
Appointments, Mondays at 4:30PM – Christopher Johnson
Public Works, Tuesdays at 11:00AM – MaryJane Shimsky
Labor & Housing, Mondays at 2:00PM – Damon Maher
Social Services, 1st, 2nd, 4th Tuesdays of each month at 10:00AM – Kitley Covill
Environment, Health & Energy, Tuesdays at 1:00PM – Nancy Barr
Seniors & Constituents, 3rd Tuesday each month at 10:00AM – David Tubiolo
Parks, Planning & Economic Development, Mondays at 9:00AM- Mike Kaplowitz
Public Safety, Mondays at 3PM – Margaret Cunzio
Intergovernmental Services, Mondays at 12:00PM – Jim Maisano
All BOL Committee meetings are open to the public and are streamed live on the BOL website. An archive of previous meetings can be viewed on the BOL website as well.
Chairman Boykin said of the committee appointments, “Much of the important work of creating Legislation and performing oversight of County operations takes place around the committee table. I believe that in order for a legislative body to be robust and effective, all Legislators must be engaged and accountable. In determining the membership of each of these committees, my aim was to match the experience and skill sets of individual Legislators with the mission and objective of their committee assignments. The BOL will be taking on many critical pieces of Legislation quickly and I am confident that we have the right people and committees in place to fully and objectively review those proposals.”
Vice-Chair of the BOL Alfreda Williams said, “I congratulate my colleagues on their committee appointments and leadership positions. Over the next two years, every member of this Legislature has a tremendous opportunity to help restore the fiscal health of Westchester County and to help us return to social policies of inclusion and fairness for all of our residents.”
WPCNR THE LETTER TICKER. JANUARY 17, 2018:
One of WPCNR’s readers has passed along this report about a scam involving an unexpected delivery that cost the victim $4,000.White Plains Commissioner of Public Safety David Chong released this statement to WPCNR:
“We have not had any reported incidents of this nature. We do however ask everyone to be cognizant of who they give their credit card too. Keep an eye on your bills and have the credit company or bank notify you of any large purchases or strange purchases on any of your credit or debit cards.”
Here is their report:
Here is our reader’s report, as told to them by the victim:
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This is very clever. `I would probably fall for it if not warned. Give this wide distribution. This scam is actually very clever. Just when you thought you’d heard it all. Be very careful out there! Beware of people bearing gifts.
The following is a recounting of the incident from the victim:
Wednesday a week ago, I had a phone call from someone saying that he was from some outfit called: “Express Couriers,” (The name could be any courier company). He asked if I was going to be home because there was a package for me that required a signature.
The caller said that the delivery would arrive at my home in roughly an hour. Sure enough, about an hour later, a uniformed delivery man turned up with a beautiful basket of flowers and a bottle of wine. I was very surprised since there was no special occasion or holiday, and I certainly didn’t expect anything like it. Intrigued, I inquired as to who the sender was.
The courier replied, “I don’t know, I’m only delivering the package.”
Apparently, a greeting card was being sent separately. (The card has never arrived!) There was also a consignment note with the gift.
He then went on to explain that because the gift contained alcohol, there was a $3.50 “delivery/ verification charge,” providing proof that he had actually delivered the package to an adult (of legal drinking age), and not just left it on the doorstep where it could be stolen or taken by anyone, especially a minor.
This sounded logical and I offered to pay him cash. He then said that the delivery company required payment to be by credit or debit card only, so that everything is properly accounted for, and this would help in keeping a legal record of the transaction.
He added, “Couriers don’t carry cash to avoid loss or likely targets for robbery.”
My husband, who by this time was standing beside me, pulled out his credit card, and ‘John,’ the “delivery man,” asked him to swipe the card on a small mobile card machine with a small screen and keypad. Frank, my husband, was asked to enter his PIN number and a receipt was printed out. He was given a copy of the transaction.
The guy said everything was in order, and wished us good day.
To our horrible surprise, between Thursday and the following Monday, $4,000 had been charged/withdrawn from our credit/debit account at various ATM machines.
Apparently the “mobile credit card machine,” which the deliveryman carried now had all the info necessary to create a “dummy” card with all our card details including the PIN number.
Upon finding out about the illegal transactions on our card, we immediately notified the bank which issued us a new card, and our credit/debit account was closed.
We also personally went to the Police, where it was confirmed that it is definitely a scam because several households had been similarly hit.
WARNING: Be wary of accepting any “surprise gift or package,” which you neither expected nor personally ordered, especially if it involves any kind of payment as a condition of receiving the gift or package. Also, never accept anything
If you do not personally know or there is no proper identification of who the sender is.
Above all, the only time you should give out any personal credit/debit card information is when you yourself initiated the purchase or transaction!
PLEASE Pass this on, it may just prevent someone else from being swindled.
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WPCNR ALBANY ROUNDS. From the Office of Governor Andrew M.Cuomo. January 17, 2018:
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo unveiled the FY 2019 Executive Budget Tuesday, which continues the state’s efforts to deliver on the promise of progressive government by protecting taxpayers against devastating federal action, strengthening the middle class, cutting taxes and making smart investments in New York’s future. For the eighth consecutive year, the Budget is balanced and holds spending growth below two percent.
The robust agenda includes a number of proposals – from fighting the federal tax assault to ending the opioid epidemic by holding pharmaceutical companies accountable to investing record amounts in education – that will continue to increase opportunity for New Yorkers and ensure the Empire State continues to serve as a beacon of equality, unity and fairness for the nation.
“For the past eight years, we have restored fiscal discipline while achieving historic progressive accomplishments and strengthening middle class New Yorkers. The FY 2019 Budget builds on our strong record and continues to move New York forward, by protecting taxpayers against the federal assault, investing in education to support and train the next generation, and implementing bold progressive policies to make New York a more just and fair state for all,” Governor Cuomo said. “Together, we will continue to deliver on the promise of progressive government -even while tackling unprecedented challenges head on. We will restore citizen confidence and ensure management competence. This bold agenda charts a path forward toward a better future for all New Yorkers.”
Highlights of the FY 2019 Executive Budget: