THE WORLD READS WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER — 8,324,077 VISITS IN ONE YEAR

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WPCNR Common Council Chronicle-Examiner. February 3, 2003 UPDATED WITH PHOTOS: The Common Council Monday evening granted JPI, would-be developers of The Jefferson of White Plains 76 days to June 1st to pull together the $20 Million in financing they need to go ahead with their now-estimated $100 Million townhouse and luxury apartment complex at 300 Mamaroneck Avenue, demanding both copy of closing documents on the financing and a letter of credit for $500,000 to finance a Site Restoration Plan.

The council also approved the construction of a new White Plains Housing Authority Headquarters addition to 225 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, which is expected to begin construction this summer and be completed by the fall of 2004. All praised Mack Carter and the Housing Authority and the Winbrook residents and the city for working together to find a solution. “The Last Activist,” Ron Jackson was credited by all speakers for being a catalyst of the community effort

AMERICA’S FAVORITE MAYOR Joseph Delfino delivered the State of the City Address and said, “It is with great pleasure that I report to you tonight that the State of our City is strong. The Mayor set an aggressive agenda for the new year, saying he would release Phase 3 of his economic development plan within two months, containing his blueprint for completing his administration’s vision of the city.<
Photo by WPCNR News

He said he would establish a training program to prepare public safety personnel for an “unlikely terrorist event,” begin new “outreach efforts to foster better police/community relationships,” and direct new initiatives in controlling speeding.

He said he was pleased to have hired a new Commissioner of Public Safety, Dr. Frank Straub, and his two Deputy Commissioners, David Chong and Charles Jennings, whom he said bring “tremendous expertise and professionalism to our department.”

Illegal Housing Crackdown

The Mayor said he would “expand our efforts in cracking down on illegal occupancies,” announcing that “our Building Department has been working extremely hard to address this growing problem but there is more that needs to be done.”

Mr. Delfino said he would create an Unsafe Housing Task Force, that “will combine and coordinate the efforts of our police, fire officials, building inspectors, and our law department to target illegal and unsafe housing conditions.”

In another initiative, he said he would propose legislation establishing guidelines and procedures for making new affordable housing units now being constructed available for those who qualify. He said he would “look for opportunities to encourage construction of new affordable housing.”

NYPH Talks Continue Positively.

The Mayor held out the possibility of reaching an accommodation with New York Presbyterian Hospital over acquiring parkland for the city: “I have been meeting with representatives of New York Hospital to discuss the issue of parkland. Everyone acknowledges that the hospital has no legal obligation to contribute any parkland to the City. However, in meeting with the hospital, I truly believe that the hospital is interested in our community concerns and I intend to continue my dialogue with them.”

Mayor Delfino noted his administration had finally come to a decision on bringing a cancer center to White Plains by approving the New York Presbyterian Hospital proton accelerator, biotech research project.

Legal Update

That project, incidentally, continues to be on hold while Concerned Citizens for Open Space lawsuit continues the discovery process. According to George Gretsas and sources close to the case, the discovery process is waiting on Thomas Whyatt’s response to the city’s motion to Judge Richard Mollea to dismiss the case on the grounds that Concerned Citizens for Open Space has no “standing” in the matter.

Projects All Around the Town

The Mayor said he would push for decisions on whether or not to double-deck the Waller/ Maple Avenue parking lot, and what to do about repairing City Hall. He said he was leaning towards the least costly option, repairing the heating and electrical only, but said there was no consensus.

Mr. Cappelli is Coming to Town.

Delfino predicted the city would be considering a proposal for a $300 Million hotel and condominium complex on Mamaroneck Avenue and Main Street. This will be presented Friday, it was reported by George Gretsas, the Mayor’s Executive Officer when Louis Cappelli, City Center impresario, and new owner of that site is scheduled to appear before the Urban Renewal Board.

Mayor Delfino said he expected to see proposed improvements at the Galleria Mall and at the Pavilion Mall, and said he would ride shotgun over the residential project at 300 Mamaroneck Avenue.

2002: White Plains Year of Acheivement

The Mayor ran down the list of achievements totaling $1.3 Billion in new development. In 2002 alone: Two apartments were erected at 50 Main Street, with completion this Spring; tremendous progress at the City Center, due to open in October 2003; progress on the Fortunoff’s, also scheduled to open in the fall, and completion of Clayton Park, which he described as “the first residential building to be built in the downtown since 1988.”

He closed with pointing to the new Stop & Shop store opening its doors to the public, the new Youth Bureau, the ESL for Daily Living Program, made possible through a partnership between the White Plains Public Library, the Westchester Library System and Westchester Library System.

Recreation Upgrade

In 2002, he noted recreation achievements: acquisition of the Lakefront property on St. Mary’s Lake for a lease of $1 a year, the city’s first waterfront park, and cited numerous other improvements to parks. The Mayor said the city planned to have the new Liberty Park on Silver Lake opened by the summer for boating, fishing and passive recreation.

The city’s chief executive said 2002 also saw two other key projects the city has needed get under way: renovation of the Main-Mamaroneck fountain, and the Performing Arts Theater for a cost not to exceed $7 Million, paid for bonds paid by city parking revenues, county , Federal and state dollars, and “no money will be used from City property taxes to pay for either project.”

Bouquets from Mayor Delfino

The Mayor threw out many bouquets tonight for 2002 progress. He praised the Business Improvement District for its cooperation: “This strong relationship has been invaluable and it is hard to imagine any downtown succeeding without the City and the BID working together hand-in-hand. Having looked at other cities nationally, we have found that adversarial relationships between a BID and its City are symptoms displayed by failed downtowns and I am thrilled at the example that we have set here in White Plains and I would discourage those who look to create conflict where none exists.”

He shared credit with the Common Council, magnanimously: “To my colleagues on the Common Council, I would like to once again thank you for all your service to this community. Each of you, in your own way, have put in a tremendous amount of time and effort…When we put aside partisan politics and do what’s best for our community, great things happen. When we look at each other as colleagues and not as competitors, we foster an environment of progress and positive change. And I would encourage each and every one of you to stay focused on our joint objectives without being distracted by the same handful of partisans who prefer political infighting and animonsity over progress. There is no question in my mind that if we stand united, we will continue to break new ground and flourish as a city.”

Columbia Crew Remembered

The Mayor opened Monday evening’s meeting with the White Plains Police Honor Guard salute to the perished crew of the space shuttle, Columbia. The Reverend Jacob Stukes saying a somber and appropriate Invocation.

THE WINBROOK-HOUSING AUTHORITY COALITION, celebrates the approval of the new White Plains Housing Authority on the Winbrook campus. The group includes, Bernard Arnold, far left, the architect, Al Pio, second from left, chief superintendent, (hero of the Windbrook gas pipeline leak incident), far right, Susan Habel, Commissioner of Planning, and second from right,
Mack Carter, Executive Director of the Housing Authortiy. Ron Jackson, who is recovering from an illness could not be present, but was praised by all as a key component of the compromise which made the new headquarters approval possible.
Photo by WPCNR

The Mayor recognized Vincent Longo, Senior Code Enforcement Officer of the Department of Building as Employee of the Month, a man who has lived all his life in the city, had a 30-year career in the construction business, with the last 5 years being with the White Plains Building Department. The Mayor saluted him for being the lead code enforcer on the Bank Street Commons project, Clayton Park, Fortunoff’s, and the Pace University Judicial Training Center. The Mayor praised him for “making a difference in this city” with his “excellent communications skills and congenial personality.”

EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH,
Mr. Longo, taking the microphone said he had seen White Plains grow from when Mamaroneck Avenue went from two-lanes, and had five movie theaters. “It’s looking good and going to look better.” He said there was “a great bunch of people in the building department and safety is the number one priority when you come in (to the department.) I’m proud to be here to be one of them.”
Photo by WPCNR News

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WPCNR’S AMY PAULIN’S ALBANY From Assemblywoman of the 88th District, Amy Paulin. (EDITED)February 3, 2003:Assemblywoman Amy Paulin announces today a new law she supported making identity theft a felony level crime punishable by up to seven years in prison and gives victims the opportunity to seek legal recourse.
Recent identity theft crimes in Westchester County have made us aware of how easy it can be for someone to steal our most personal information. Over 750,000 cases of identity theft occur in the United States each year. This crime costs billions in damages to both consumers and the financial industry.”

This month, a Bronx woman was accused of trying to use another woman’s identity to steal $2,800 from a bank in Rye. In addition, a former H&R Block employee working from that organization’s White Plains office was accused of stealing the names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth and addresses of at least 27 customers.

Identity theft occurs when someone uses personal identification information about another person – including a Social Security number, name, or credit card number – to apply for credit, open bank accounts, or make unauthorized purchases.

In the past, financial institutions, such as credit card companies or banks, were legally considered the sole victims of identity theft – leaving consumers with ruined credit and no means of rebuilding their financial reputation. This law provides legal protections to both the credit institution and the card holder.

Westchester residents can protect themselves from identity theft by not giving out personal identification information – such as their maiden name, mother’s maiden name, or Social Security number to persons or companies they’re not familiar with; keeping items with personal information in a safe place; and destroying ATM, credit and debit card, and bank receipts. Check your credit report annually to ensure that they have not fallen victim to credit card fraud.

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WPCNR WHITE PLAINS VARIETY. February 3, 2003:The weekly city news roundup show, White Plains Week brings White Plains up to date on how Governor George Pataki’s suggested 2003-04 Budget cuts in funding Education will impact the White Plains City School District Friday night. The All-Night News Boys will also update the Indian Point Mexican standoff, report on the White Plains Police Department’s Dr. Frank Straub’s security conference of last week.

THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING PATAKI DOLLAR will be examined Friday night by Alex Philippidis, Editor of Westchester County Business Journal, James Benerofe of SuburbanStreet.com, and John Bailey of White Plains CitizeNetReporter, beginning at 7:30 PM on The Spirit of 76, WPPA, White Plains Public Access Television. The program appears every Monday at 7 and Fridays at 7:30 on Channel 76, the White Plains Channel.
PHOTO BY WPCNR ENTERTAINMENT

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WPCNR’S JOHN BAILEY AND THE NEWS. February 1, 2003: Saturday’s fatal Columbia Space Shuttle accident killing all 7 astronauts aboard when the historic spacecraft broke up over East Texas at daybreak Saturday morning begins a period of national mourning.

The expected media speculations have started, guessing at the cause of the reentry that went bizarrely, awfully wrong.

The truth is the civilized world takes absolute scientific miracles for granted. We do not appreciate the courage and skills of the men and women creating the future.

Those of us with cell phones, internet connections, high-speed trains, satellite communications and entertainment (all products made possible by the space program), do not realize the magnitude of daring achievements that you and I have come to accept to be executed like clockwork.

I first learned of Columbia’s fate late Saturday afternoon when my wife mentioned that instead of sports programming being videotaped on our television, there was coverage of a live NASA event on ABC.

(Incredibly, the radio station I had been listening to on the way from a sports clinic had not reported any hint of the accident. That station was Z-100, the most listened-to station in the New York metropolitan area. America Online also on their first up page did not mention the missing craft as of midday. That kind of communications misjudgment is sad.)

As I watched the close of Mr. Jennings’ coverage at about 3 PM, he signed off with no recap, no names of astronauts, and some parting words about what he thought was the cause of the disaster.

I’ll say what he should have said.

Columbia’s seven astronauts who died were Columbus, Magellan, Cook, Lewis, Clark, the Wrights, Lindbergh, De Laroche, Earhart, Markham, Chaffee, Grissom, White, Gargarin, Komarov, the Challenger Crew, the crew of Soyuz 11. They are the hundreds of brave men and women who went into the unknown.

They are the people who trust in their ability and their vessel to expand the world’s horizons, to know the unknown, whose legacies build a better world. Whose deeds inspire and achievements are the catalyst for more achievement.

From Cook’s fragile vessel which sailed the Pacific, to the marvel that was the Columbia, the captains courageous who sailed the Roaring 40s, blazed the Oregon Trail, discovered how to fly, and flew the oceans, journeyed to the stars, knew the risks they were taking.

It is trivializing their courage, their skills, and the difficulty of what they did and wanted to do, to concentrate on the causes of their failure, as if knowing the cause will make their loss acceptable.

The Magnificent Seven

I do not know Columbia’s Magnificent Seven. I just see their smiling faces in their photograph, and I regret the loss of every one. They had achievement on their faces, pride in their demeanor. Their eyes shown with the glow of being alive and striving to do the great things they set out to do.

Civilization has been created because of people like the crew of the Columbia’s Magnificent Seven.

The Columbia itself had flown 26 missions since launching in 1981. It was guided and outfitted with the best 2003 communications and equipment had to offer. Not like Captain James Cook’s bark, Endeavour, a 100-foot ship powered by sail that conquered the “space” of his time, the Pacific Ocean. It was the Columbia’s Magnificent Seven’s Endeavour. They were tracked, they were backed up, but they perhaps more than anyone here on the ground knew the high dangers of the shuttle mission.

Liftoff, as their predecessors, The Challenger crew fell victim to, is fraught with risk. Reentry, which needs to be negotiated at precisely the right angle of attack, is equally risky. Soyuz 11’s spacecrew of Dobrovolskiy, Volkov, and Patsayev died in 1971 on reentry, when the Russian cosmonauts took too long to descend.

No guarantees in real life. Machines sometimes run out of miracles.

The magnificence of the explorers’ sacrifice and dedication, is that they except the risk of “the endeavor.”

They accept the challenge, bear it alone, seizing challenge with an indomitable spirit and confidence, facing death when it comes with the satisfaction that they made the effort, and I suspect analyzing, coping, trying to fix it until the end.

Columbia’s Magnificent Seven, after 16 days in space, are gone now. My sorrow is with their families who will miss these Magnificent Seven, and who know in their hearts that they died trying to reach the pinnacle of their aspirations.

They are only human.

They tried their best, achieved their best, and experienced what they longed to experience. They dared to live the great adventure.

Not all of us have the courage to follow our longed-for adventures and make them real. You can watch movies that attempt to give that experience by transference. That’s why, I believe, you and I take it so personally when we lose heroic personalities of our time. We wonder what they are like. We glorify them, rightly so.

Follow Me! They Say.

I wonder how those Magnificent Seven felt, how satisfying it must have been, to be at your best, doing what you love, coping with the risks.

The Columbia Crew is the Miracle.

In reality it is not machines that conquer, it is the intrepid personalities, each unique, each contributing, who perform the miracles with God’s help. That they fall short is an example to us, not to take ourselves, our fates, or our existences for granted.

This is true of the everyday people we take for granted: the firefighter, the policeman, the train engineer, the airline pilot, the construction worker. All are highly trained disciplined workers, executing precise tasks for which the non-expert has no feel or understanding . What makes for the desire to achieve? What is out there or up there that leads them on?

The Feel of the Unknown

I took Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s biographical adventure diary, Listen! The Wind down from the bookshelf. She was the young bride of the aviator-pioneer, who navigated for him and ran his radio communications on his many exploratory flights around the world. In a passage she describes a night flight over the ocean, in which she was operating the radio for her husband Charles, who was at the controls. Mrs. Lindbergh is describing the feelings she had as she tries to tune in the South American coast at sea in the dark of night in 1933, seventy years ago. The feeling, the courage of the adventurer, the explorer has not changed

Night was the hardest. It would be all right once it was day. I kept saying…We began to hit clouds. I could tell without looking up, for the plane bumped slightly from time to time, first one wing down and then the other. And the moon blackened out for short periods. Then for longer periods. I could not see to write my messages. I stiffened, dimly sensing fear – the old fear of bad weather – and looked out. We were flying under clouds. I could still find a kind of horizon, a difference in shading where the water met the clouds. That was all. But it seemed to be getting darker. Storms? Were those clouds or was it the sky? We had lost the water. We were flying blind. I turned off the light quickly (to give my husband a little more vision), and sat waiting, tense, peering through the night. Now we were out again. There were holes through which one could see the dark sky. It was all right, I felt, as long as there were holes.

Daybreak—thank God—as if we had been living in eternal night—as if this were the first sun that ever rose out of the sea.

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WPCNR’S ADAM-IN-ALBANY. By New York State Assemblyman Adam Bradley of the 89th Assembly District. January 31, 2003:
Assemblyman Adam Bradley of White Plains today criticised the governer’s proposed cuts to education saying it would reduce academic standards, increase class sizes and boost property taxes. Here is Assemblyman Bradley’s commentary in which he details exactly how much towns from the 89th from Katonah to White Plains would be cut:
The state must make some tough choices to solve our budget problems this year, but cutting education is absolutely the wrong choice. The governor’s budget ax strikes a serious blow to education this year that could adversely affect our children for years to come.

The governor’s 2003-04 budget plan calls for a $4.4 million reduction in state aid to local elementary and secondary schools in the 89th District. Without adequate state aid, our schools will be forced to cut essential educational programs, lay off teachers and increase local school taxes.

School districts in my Assembly district would be hit particularly hard by the governor’s cuts, including:

·White Plains City School District would lose nearly $1.7 million;

· Katonah-Lewisboro Union Free School District would lose nearly $816,000;

· Bryam Hills Central School District would lose nearly $406,000;

· Chappaqua Central School District would lose over $372,000;

· Harrison Central School District would lose nearly $357,000;

· Valhalla Union Free School District would lose over $190,000.

Hidden Tax Increase

The governor’s budget is really a hidden tax increase. He promised his budget wouldn’t create any new ‘job-killing’ taxes, but that’s exactly what it does. Not only will the governor’s education-killing cuts cheat our children of a quality education, they’ll slap local homeowners with much higher property taxes because school districts will have to raise money to make up their revenue losses.

I also take issue with the governor’s proposed $1,200 SUNY tuition increase that will force the typical SUNY Purchase undergrad to pay $6,113 a year in tuition and mandatory fees, and his plan to cut the Tuition Assistance Program by 33 percent. In addition, he’s cutting our community colleges’ base aid by 15 percent, or $345 for each student – which will also drive up tuition costs and local taxes on homeowners and businesses.

Anti-Education

The governor’s proposals are simply anti-education. Raising SUNY tuition by $1,200 and cutting tuition assistance is cynical and mean-spirited. It only hurts middle- and lower-income families, and students who are least able to afford the price.

These difficult fiscal times require some tough choices, the governor made the wrong choices — preventing students from obtaining a quality, affordable education is shortsighted. My commitment to education is to prepare students for the future and provide them with the tools necessary to promote economic growth, not to take these tools away from them.