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. By John F. Bailey. April 23, 2003: City Hall released Mayor Joseph M. Delfino’s Phase III New Challenges program Wednesday which the Mayor said “puts the finishing touches”on the Revitalization of the White Plains downtown. “We’re going to address those issues people have been talking about for years, affordable housing, even storefront facelifts,” an ebullient Delfino told WPCNR today.

MAYOR’S PHASE III INITIATIVE debuts. Copies of the new vision for completion of the White Plains Downtown Revitalization Plan were released Wednesday at City Hall.
Photo by WPCNR News

The 44-page plan sets specific goals: the establishment of a new “open air” International Market to be located at the present Court Street and Main Street intersection (to be developed and coordinated by the Downtown Business Improvement District) The location suggested is the stretch of the Court Street-Macy’s side of The Galleria.

Outgoing Councilman William King’s Children’s Museum a Centerpiece.

The plan adapts Councilman William King’s call for establishment of a Children’s Museum at a location central to the Main Street-Mamaroneck intersection. The museum feasibility and location and themes are to be explored by a citizen committee to be formed by the Mayor. The children’s attraction is expected to feature “how it works, hands-on” exhibits that have proven successful in a number of cities, including Raleigh, North Carolina, Naperville, Illinois and Boston.

Toonerville Trolley Returns

The Plan brings back the trolley to White Plains, a recent suggestion by Councilman Glen Hockley. The trolley, according to the plan would establish a White Plains loop to shuttle pedestrians from the City Center, Galleria in the West End to The Westchester Fortunoff’s East End of town, and include a “college loop,” between the downtown college locations and the businesses along Westchester Avenue.

RETURN OF THE TROLLEY: Good Old Mamaroneck & Maine as it appeared in 1929. Trolley tracks can clearly be seen turning from Main Street onto Mamaroneck Avenue. The new trolley system would not run on tracks, but would emulate the colorful trolley-like conveyances in popular amusement parks and cities in tourist destinations.
Photo Courtesy of Jeffrey Schlotman by WPCNR NewsLab

Previous free shuttles the city tried in the 1990s did not work according to the Phase III report because “The concept relied on the faulty premise that shoppers from The Westchester would want to be shuttled to a downtown with vacant storefronts, dirty sidewalks, and ninety-nine cent shopping outlets.”

The aim to promote connectivity between the various attractions in the downtown, and ease the traffic flow.

The concept is similar to the pedestrian trolleys popular in Williamsburg, Virginia, and Disney World that move persons from one area to another without their having to return to their cars.

Establishment of a One Stop Business Center with Berkeley College to Bring in the Little Guys.

The Mayor’s plan calls for to reinforced “commitment to sustaining economic revitalization efforts by attracting, strengthening, and retaining White Plains’s base of small businesses and by creating employment opportunities for White Plains’ residents through its support of sustainable and viable business ventures.”

To accomplish this, the plan will attempt to establish “a one-stop small business resource center…to assist retail entrepreneurs interested in opening stores downtown and other small businesses.” The plan reports that Berkeley College “has been approached and is willing to offer a limited amount of space at 99 Church Street,” to partner with the city to create the Center.

The Center, according to plan’s vision, will recreate on a smaller basis what the Mayor’s streamlining of the development process did to drive Phases I & II of the Mayor’s Revitalization Plan. Business prospects would get information on what business permits, codes, and procedures that the city, and state require for them to come on into White Plains, and advice on how to proceed in an efficient manner. The city envisions the Small Business Administration, the Westchester Chamber of Commerce, the Senior Corps of Retired Executives and the Westchester Venture Group joining the One Stop Center effort.

The Campaign for White Plains

The plan calls for expanding the conservative promotion White Plains undertook the last three years to promote the city:

The plan aggressively calls for an “I love NY” type of advertising campaign for the city, writing, “Phase Three’s marketing effort must be more comprehensive in order for White Plains to fully take advantage of the momentum that currently exists. New retailers, corporations and realtors all need to be reached through a cohesive, professionally produced advertising campaign that highlights all the positive attributes of White Plains.”

The campaign objectives will be to attract new office tenants to attack the 17% office vacancy rate; convincing “name brand retailers” to locate to the downtown; and enticing new residents to the White Plains housing market.

The media envisioned include a city sales brochure, a multi-media video/CD rom presentation, expansion of the city website, exhibitions at trade shows and advertising in business publications.

To accomplish this the plan calls for the hiring of an advertising/marketing agency to create and produce the campaign. The campaign is planned to be paid for by seeking “outside funding from interested parties to help defray costs.” The cost of such a campaign is estimated by the plan at between $50,000 and $80,000.

Facelift for South Lex and West Post Road for the Future

The Mayor’s plan calls for turning attention to doing for the South Lexington Avenue, West Post Road corridor what the Streetscapes campaign is doing for Mamaroneck Avenue.

“Downtown corridors such as the South Lexington Corridor must be positioned to share in the benefits of the City’s reinvestment initiatives,” the plan states.

The city will form a “Neighborhood Strategy Area Program” Plan, by working with the White Plains Housing Authority, Winbrook residents, area businesses including White Plains Hospital Medical Center and the automotive dealers “to address the opportunities in the South Lexington Corridor.

The plan is envisioned by the Mayor to improve the infrastructure, address quality of life issues and provide funding for building improvements and social serviced programs.

Immediate objectives of the NSAP Plan will evaluate existing conditions, assess economic and social conditions, including public safety, community services, and quality of life issues.

On the priority punch list are: upgrading the sidewalks, lighting, receptacles and street conditions, the building facades, with expanded Public Safety presence, and job training and employment services.

Improvement of Facades

The aging exteriors of the balance of Mamaroneck Avenue are targeted by the Community Development Rehabilitation Program. The plan will make efforts to encourage landlords to seek free advice and consultation from architects specializing in “downtown streetscape enhancement,” paid for by the Community Development Program.

The city also plans to amend its signage and building façade regulations to “allow for greater creativity in design.”

Beefy Role for BID

. The plan maps a more involved “beefed-up” role for the Downtown Business Improvement District (the “BID”). The BID is being called upon to not only take an active role in developing the International Market attraction, but expand its role to include “a gum busting campaign” to remove gum from sidewalks, a “Passport program” to promote the downtown to new residents and encourage pedestrian activity.

The BID is assigned to make downtown a lingering place with on-going street entertainment attractions, and entertainment programming of the Main-Mamaroneck Plaza.

Market Monitoring.

The BID is charged with conducting ongoing analysis of the BID area retail mix “to determine how properties might be better integrated;” and is expected to interface with the city’s mall managers to “encourage greater exchangeability and connectivity between the downtown and the malls.”

On the issue of parking, the city is suggesting exploration of a “Valet Parking” service at city-owned parking garages.

“The Case for Connectivity”

The thrust of the Phase III plan is aimed at connecting the malls, The Galleria, City Center, White Plains Mall, White Plains Plaza, The Westchester and Fortunoffs and Bloomingdale’s and businesses in the downtown together:

“the City should create a system of connectivity that will link each of the new power centers with the existing downtown and retail infrastructure in order to create a new synergy within the downtown.”

The city calls this “the Mall Meets Main Street trend,” and Phase III is aimed at creating a “walkable” community, with “consumer sharing between retailers, and mass transit to create a downtown macro power center that adds value to the existing downtown small retailers, shopping complexes, downtown apartments and the City as a whole.” In the conclusion of the plan, a choice is offered,

“White Plains is currently at a crossroads. With tremendous momentum on its side, the City can either capitalize on that momentum to reach the finish line or it can slow down and/or reverse course in favor of a vision that no longer fits within the framework of a progressive suburban City.”

To find out how you can receive a copy of Phase III, New Challenges contact the Mayor’s Office at 422-1411.

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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. By John F. Bailey. April 23, 2003: Eyde McCarthy, City Assessor will be testifying in Albany today in attempt to get the state to raise their “Equalization Rate,” which has within the last two days derailed the smooth path to adoption of a City School Budget. Richard Lasselle, Assistant Superintendent for Business announced this bit of unpleasantness last night at the Board of Education meeting at Education House , saying the school tax rate on the proposed budget would rise from 7.3% to 7.8% under the new Equalization Rate imposed by the state.

This would raise the school tax of the average White Plains home accessed at $15,000 from $358 to $376 (per $1,000 of accessed valuation).

A LETTER FROM THE ASSESSOR made public at Tuesday evening’s meeting, confirmed to the School District Tuesday what Ms. McCarthy had previously anticipated that the state would lower the Equalization Rate.
Photo by WPCNR NEWSLAB

McCarthy, Lasselle said, would be pleading the city’s case to raise the equalization rate back up closer to 6.47%, the 2002 rate. The drop in Equalization Rate to 4.67%, Lasselle said, was due to the fact that the state claims the city accessed the city’s Special Franchises (utilities and city infrastructure) at too low a value. McCarthy, Lasselle reported is going before the state Office of Real Property Services to argue that the vast majority of utility and infrastructured properties are accessed at a rate closer to 6% than 4.67% which the state has set.

In a letter to the School District received Tuesday, Ms. McCarthy confirmed to the district that the lowering of $1,000,000 in Special Franchise values, reduced the final Assessment Roll by $2,600,000. McCarthy’s letter said “the City is arduously working to challenge the Equalization Rate with the intent of correcting the measure of our municipalities’ full value.” McCarthy notes in her letter, that “Despite the fact that the Office of Real Property Services took into consideration new inventory and depreciation when establishing the 2003 full value ($214,216,124), the considerable drop in the equalization rate served to substantially reduce the Special Franchise assessment that appears on the (city’s) final Assessment Roll.”

School District Holds Off Fixing the Tax Rate at 7.8% Until Albany Veto Override Vote

Lasselle reported that both houses of the state legislature appear ready to override Governor George Pataki’s veto of the legislature proposal to move up the date for statewide school budget elections to June 3. The legislature vote to override, according to Lasselle is Monday, April 28. Lasselle said he is also hopeful the district may receive more school aid, which could lower the tax rate as well. Therefore, his recommendation is to wait before the district fixes the levy at 7.8%.

The Assistant Superintendent for Business added that the district is holding off printing required budget notifications until the tax rate is finally fixed.

Election may move up.

The possible moving up of the school budget election to the third of June would also move up the Board of Education Elections. Currently, according to Michelle Schoenfeld, Clerk to the Board, have five persons interested in running for the four seats: incumbents Donna McLaughlin, Michelle Tratoros, and Peter Bassano, and first-time challengers, Nancy Brady and Terence McGuire. Other interested challengers have until April 30 to put in their petitions of 100 signatures.

The Equalization Rate is a percentage assigned by New York State to equalize assessed value and actual market value.

The proposed School Budget for 2003-04, remains the same: $134,632,632, a year-to-year increase of 6.1%. However, unless Ms. McCarthy can make a convincing case for the city’s Equalization Rate, the School District will be forced to raise the tax rate to 7.8%.

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WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From Westchester County Department of Communications. (EDITED) April 22, 2003:Saying this is not the time for the county to be losing police officers, County Executive Andy Spano has proposed using overtime savings to restore 30 police jobs that were slated to be cut because of a loss of state funding. The plan is to shift the 30 police officers to Westchester County Airport and county parks to fill needs there, saving the County overtime costs they will otherwise have to pay.

Spano proposed that the county use $1.2 million in funds budgeted for regularly scheduled police overtime to pay the officers who will be shifted off the parkway to other locations such as county parks and the airport. New security requirements at the airport have forced the county to pay more overtime to make sure shifts are covered there and elsewhere. The added officers will eliminate the need to pay others overtime. The Board of Legislators will meet on April 28 and is expected to approve the proposal at that time.
If the Jing Returns

The County Executive said if the state does restore the funds, the officers would be shifted back to patrols on the Bronx River, Hutchinson River and Saw Mill River parkways – all state-owned roads. In the meantime, state police will take over those patrols as of April 30.

The police jobs were originally scheduled to be eliminated March 30, but Spano asked the Board of Legislators for $215,000 to keep the 30 officers on the payroll for another month in the hopes that the state would come up with the funding, but that did not happen.

“I am still hopeful that we can work something out with Albany, but I do not want to see us lose these officers,’’ he said.

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WPCNR White Plains Police Gazette. April 21, 2003: Commissioner Dr. Frank Straub announced to WPCNR that the Public Safety Department has appointed Eve Monroe to perform the duties of Confidential Intelligence Specialist.

In her position, according to the Department of Public Safety job description, Ms. Monroe, will be responsible for making assessments on counter terrorism and threat evaluation and bringing them to the Commissioners’ attention. She will advise on new technologies to assure the WPPD will be equipped with the best intelligence, policing and fire protection.

Will Conduct Investigations.

In her assignment, Ms. Monroe will be called upon to conduct or take charge of “highly confidential investigations” in the field of intelligence gathering and “integrity issues” involving the police department. She is expected to be the Police and Fire Department’s first legal resource in analysing intelligence data, analyzing published legal opinions involving police procedures and new and existing legislation to “identify critical implications (for the PD), underlying causes and impact on operational objecties.”
On the Job

Ms. Monroe came on board April 7, and is a lawyer, previously in private practice. Prior to that, she was with the New York Police Department Legal Bureau, the arm that advises the NYPD on investigations,legal positions, procedures, responsibilities, and liabilities. She has also served according to Dr.Straub with the Orange County District Attorney’s office.

Last week, Ms. Monroe was not available at the Police News Conference because she was attending a conference on terrorism in New York. She also observed the Evacuation Drill conducted involving Indian Point last week.

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WPCNR PRESS BOX. By John F. Bailey. April 19, 2003: The Westchester Wildfire brought United States Basketball League Pro Basketball to White Plains Saturday night and made it an artistic though sloppy success, 110-100 over the Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs before 2,435 fans. An electrifying 3-pointer from the corner by Reggie Jessie with a second remaining in the Third Quarter took the bark out of the ValleyDawgs, giving John Starks club a 9 point lead after three stanzas that took the energy out of the Pennsylvania Club.

SPINNING TURNING IN THE PAINT, Lance Williams launches two of his 24 points to lead the Wildfire in a key stretch in the Third Quarter Saturday night at the County Center. Number 3 is Zach Marbury. Number 42, Kris Hunter.
Photo by WPCNR Sports

Following Jesse’s shot, the ValleyDawgs played as if in a stupor, allowing the better conditioned Wifldfire to run the floor at will and build an 18-point lead in the first 6 minutes of the third quarter.

The Wildfire held a 77-71 lead with 11 seconds to go in third quarter, when Wildfire Head Coach John Starks, looking like a dynamic sartorial mix of Lennie Wilkins and Pat Reilly, his former mentor, drew up a play. The Fire inbounded swung the ball swiftly around the perimeter into the top of the key to Zach Marbury and as the Dawgs moved to stop Zach’s shot he slung the ball to Reggie Jessie in the far corner with a second left and Jessie drained it for an 80-71 lead, it was the dagger in the heart.

The play was vintage John Starks from his Knickerbocker glory days, when Starks had that ability to drill one to turn around a game. And Mr. Starks looked just like Pat Reilly when he was drawing it up in the huddle.

MUSCLING INSIDE IN THE PAINT, Kitwana Rymer challenges for two in the first half at the Center Saturday night. The Wildfire front line of Lance Williams, Kevin Freeman and Rhymer outmugged and outbounded the Dawgs all evening, pouring in 48 of their 110 points in the paint, and outbounded the Dawgs, 59-48.
Photo by WPCNR Sports

Run, Gun, Turn it Over.

The Turnovers were atrocious in this game with the Wildfire losing the ball 28 times to Pennsylvania’s 22, according to the official stats, and they must have been being generous. It seemed to this reporter that each team lost the ball about 10 times each, each quarter, that’s how wild the play was.

There were few set plays, no such thing as a slow down, and frankly, when the Wildfire turned on the defense in the first 5 minutes of the game and for 10 minutes in the last 5 minutes of the third quarter and first 5 minutes of the 4th, Pennsylvania was outmatched.

Starting like Wildfire

The Wildfire started well, like Wildfire, running, swatting and pestering the Dawgs out of their sneakers to a 15-5 lead in the first five minutes, mostly with that swarming muscling churning defense in the lane I was talking about. Reggie Jessie, Vonteego Cummings used their quickness to great advantage.

The Dawgs regained their poise and the Wildfire lead by 2 at the half, 47-45.

In the Third Quarter, Williams, Freeman and Rhymer had their way inside (the Wildfire scored 27 “second chance points” the entire game) and built a 6 point lead during the last half of the third period, sealed by Reggie Jessie’s “Starks Dagger.”

A Calmer, Gentler Low Key John Starks

How did John Starks coach? He barked at his players, watched the game intently, called few timeouts, but when he did the team responded. He was not animated and gesticulating like Pat Reilly, but more like Lennie Wilkins, the Atlanta Hawks coach. His players seem to like him, and the players seem to like each other.

Starks substituted well, and has instilled a swarming, pestering defense of very quick-handed, brutal big men, with outstanding athleticism, when they wish to play hard dee, they can and the Dawgs were not prepared for it.

Team Starks

You can see a lot of the personality of John Starks the player in this team. A fire for the basket, an urge to shoot, and the ability to be absolute pests on defense. But they are big and quick.

The Wildfire can score, too. They had six men in doublefigures. Lance Williams poured in 24 with 11 bounds, Kevin Freeman, 23, and Von Cummings, 18. Cummings and Zach Marbury give Starksfquick, run-the-floor, coast-to-coast gunners who can find the open man and work to whip it to him, when they are denied.

Winning Madly

There were not a lot of set plays. The Wildfire is to put it tastefully, an “improvising team.” They create plays off the defensive boards firing and pushing the ball up at every opportunity, But unlike the Knickerbockers’ sorry experiment at this several years ago, they have the ability to get back and play dee when they have to. And they do not get tired. They are well-conditioned, too. So be prepared for the turnovers, gang. Itt was very entertaining, fierce basketball, the trademark of John Starks as a player — perhaps the most passionate Knickerbocker ever — when the Knicks were “Da Knicks.”

JOHN STARKS NOTCHES FIRST WIN AS A HEAD COACH: Mr. Starks, with back slightly turned in pearl gray suit, partially hidden to the left of Zach Marbury, after just receiving congrats and a win-hug, leaves the court. Ed Pinkney in the black turtleneck is facing the camera.
Photo by WPCNR Sports

Embers

The Wildfire’s next game at the County Center is Friday night at 7 PM against Texas…The Wildfire shot 40% from the floor, canning 37 of 84 shots…A testimony to the bang ’em, slam ’em board play was the 70 fouls called, a number of them charges…The Dawgs manufactured 23 points off Wildfire turnovers…The Wildfire bench lead by Zach Marbury with 13, Reggie Jessie with 10 and Rod Grizzard with 11 doubled the output of the Pennsylvania bench, 34-16…a key factor in the Dawgs tiring in the opening of the fourth quarter…Great postgame stats were provided instantaneously by the Wildfire Sports Information Team…The Wildfire Dancers from the White Plains City Center Dance on East Post Road made the New York Knicks City Dancers look slow, old and out of energy…of course the Wildfire Dancers are all under 12 years old and really entertaining…they got the biggest hand of the night with their appearances in each of the four quarters. These kids can really shake a tail feather…so can the Wildfire.

THEY LIKE TO MOVE IT, MOVE IT: The Wildfire Dancers, from City Center Dance, perform during a timeout, and dazzle the crowd.
Photo by WPCNR Sports