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)

203 MAMARONECK AVENUE BLAZE –CONTROLLED BY WP FIRE DEPARTMENT. 12 APARTMENTS UNINHABITABLE

Posted on February 1, 2017 by John Bailey

203 Mamaroneck Avenue (on left). Fire Headquarters is second building from right.

203 Mamaroneck Avenue.

Yellow Notice banning persons from 203 Mamaroneck unless authorized.

WPCNR FIRE NEWS. From the White Plains Professional Firefighters. February 1, 2017:

Earlier today, White Plains firefighters responded to a working fire in an apartment on the 4th floor of a mixed occupancy dwelling (203 Mamaroneck Avenue).

Following an aggressive interior attack as well as dangerous conditions while ventilating a pitched terracotta-tiled roof in the snow, they were able to gain control and extinguish the flames just as they began to spread to the common attic and cockloft. One firefighter was injured and transported to the hospital as a result of the hazardous roof operations.

With Ladder 34 out of service, we relied on mutual aid from neighboring departments in order to provide relief for our men and the use of their ladder truck, a job which would’ve been undertaken by L-34 were it in service.

While we appreciate the help from our neighbors, a quick response from Ladder 34 may have provided faster relief for our other ladder crews operating and perhaps prevented our brother from being injured.

Luckily for everyone involved, the close proximity of the building to fire headquarters made for a response time of less than 2 minutes, and allowed our men to get on top of the fire before it had a chance to spread further.

This goes to show that a lightning fast response and adequate manpower are necessary to operate safely and efficiently at a fire scene, something that the taxpayers of this city deserve.

WHITE PLAINS ACT ASSERTION “FASNY PARCEL A” HAS NEVER BEEN ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE SAID TO BE FALSE BASED ON FASNY’S OWN DEIS STATEMENT

Posted on January 31, 2017 by John Bailey

WPCNR THE LETTER TICKER. January 31, 2017:

Dear Mayor Roach and Members of the White Plains Common Council,

I attach here FASNY’s DEIS page with an 1899 map clearly showing the natural streams which were later buried when the Ridgeway Country Club golf course was built atop them. Note FASNY’s own notation, “STREAM ON PARCEL A.”

You can very clearly see that FASNY’s correctly-identified “STREAM ON PARCEL D” (lower center of picture–in red outline) joins together with the stream that arises on Parcel A (in red outline, slightly to left of “Stream on Parcel D).

It then continues to flow south as one of the many streams on the FASNY property that together form the East Branch of the Mamaroneck River. Nowhere is there any reference to a “sewer ditch.”

I also attach a screenshot of FASNY’s description of this as a STREAM on p. 21 of FASNY’s DEIS.

ACT’s claim that “everyone agrees” these are “sewer ditches” is ludicrous. Does ACT really believe that Westchester Country Club, across the street from the current FASNY property, would allow an open sewer to flow across their property? It’s laughable.

Over the course of the 20th century, it was very common for human development to intentionally bury water courses of all kinds, erroneously believing that once buried, they could be forgotten. But as neighbors of the FASNY property know, there is regular flooding of all these buried streams after heavy rains, spring thaws, and so on. If ACT wants to be taken seriously, they should read FASNY’s own map and documentation of the property.

Sincerely,

Anne Bobroff-Hajal

.”

Service Employees International Union Expresses Alarm Over Gorsuch Nomination to Supreme Court

Posted on January 31, 2017 by John Bailey

WPCNR THE LETTER TICKER. From SEIU 32BJ, Trumbull Connecticut. January 31, 2017:

The following statement is from Héctor Figueroa President of 32BJ SEIU, one of the largest unions representing immigrant workers in the country:

“The discriminatory and xenophobic actions on refugees and immigrants imposed by President Trump make clear that the next justice to the Supreme Court must be willing to serve as a check on extremist and unconstitutional policies that undermine our system of self-governance and our justice system. We need a careful, thorough and independent review to ensure the American public understands the background and views of the nominee.

Together we will stand up against the nomination of any extremist, speak out for our vision for a just society, and rise up to win back an America where every family and community can feel protected by the law.”

ACT-FASNY DEVELOPMENT SUPPORTERS…SAY DRAINAGE DITCH IS NOT ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE.

Posted on January 31, 2017 by John Bailey

WPCNR THE LETTER TICKER. From White Plains Neighbors Act. January 31, 2017:

Dear Mayor Roach and Members of the Common Council,

As members of White Plains Neighbors ACT, many of us living in or around the failed Ridgeway Golf Course, we feel compelled to respond to the continued negative campaign and outright lies against the School and Park, as evidenced by the recent letters to the Council by the Gedney Association and their followers.

Their latest ridiculous claim is that an open sewer ditch on the other side of Ridgeway – not even on FASNY property – would make FASNY’s reduced alternative plan a designated environmentally sensitive site, thus requiring a supermajority vote. This is truly a desperate, “last-ditch” effort to stop the creation of the School and Park.

If sewer ditches indicated environmentally sensitive sites, the entire City would be declared an environmentally sensitive site. This makes no sense.

It is important to note that the Gedney Association speaks for a limited number of the thousands of White Plains residents who live in this area. The majority of our community, and the City at large, strongly believe that the Common Council, as they did in supporting the Settlement Stipulation for a reduced School, should put this matter to rest, and approve the current plan to build the School.

The reduced plan will only build on 29 acres of the former 130 acre former Ridgeway Site, as well as include a 51 acre publicly accessible nature park at no cost to the City. We think this would be an incredible asset for our City – as do our thousand plus supporters.

The White Plains Planning Board, Design Review Board, and Transportation Commission all reviewed the revised, reduced scale project and all three agencies unanimously recommend approval by the Common Council.

If the Gedney Association’s ridiculous ditch argument were entertained, it would return this matter to the Courts and destroy the settlement agreement and recommence the expensive litigation.

The City already voted 6-1 in its prior SEQRA Findings, and other public documents produced during the prior SEQRA review, that there were “no sensitive environmental features or their established buffer areas” on Parcel A of the FASNY site.

Nothing has changed on or off the FASNY site, except that their project is smaller with lessened impacts. If the City backtracks now on its prior determination, it would open the City and its taxpayers to enormous legal liabilities and damage claims.

More importantly, the City’s own records label this feature, again not even on FASNY’s property, as an open drainage “ditch.” A copy of the City’s own map is attached. Manual pdf This ditch runs under the Ridgeway Golf Course in City storm sewer pipes, crosses under Ridgeway, opens for 60 feet or so on the Westchester Hills Golf property, and discharges back into underground storm sewer pipes on Westchester Hills.

Everyone agrees that it carries mostly storm-water from the City streets. It is not a “river, stream or brook” or other similar “flowing water course,” which were meant to be protected in the City’s environmental statutes. This whole topic is ridiculous and is another example of the Gedney Association’s “war of attrition” against this School.

Finally, we are aware that the City regularly does not apply these provisions where roadways separate the various parcels such as Ridgeway in this case.

This latest claim by the Gedney Association is not about protecting the environment. This is about the battle by a few to kill the School and Park, keep WPHS foot traffic out of their neighborhood, and continue this losing litigation, which has already cost the City’s taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars. The Gedney Association’s lawsuits and motions continue to strike out – they are 0 for 3 in the Courts. When will the insanity stop?

We also want to note that Neighbors ACT supporters include a significant number of us in the Gedney area who do not agree with the intransigent nature of the Gedney Association leadership. These ACT Gedney residents favor the FASNY project and feel that the Gedney Association does not represent us or our views.

We trust that the Common Council will see through this absurd “last ditch” effort by the Gedney Association – as the rest of your taxpayers do – and vote to end this unfortunate stain on the City’s reputation and Budget. To backtrack on your own Environmental Findings and convert this property to an Environmentally Sensitive Site, when lawyers in ACT tell us at best that it is probably a question of ambiguous statutory language, is to invite continued and more intense litigation at taxpayer expense as we enter the upcoming election cycle.

Respectfully,

The White Plains Neighbors ACT Communications Team