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

French American School of New York proposed this Aligned Intersection at the entrance to White Plains High School to the right in the simulation above,  creating a North Street entrance to their proposed new 1,200 student campus to be built on the old Ridgeway Country Club property. A two lane access road would be built into former fairways (left of picture) leading into the club. Cars attempting to make a u-turn heading on North Street north, would be able to turn around in the new Ridgeway entrance drive. Student crosswalks would be built to cross the street to the bus stop and the YWCA

WPCNR SOUTH END TIMES. By John F. Bailey. September 23, 2013 UPDATED September 24, 2013 11:30 P.M. E.D.T.:

Seventy persons packed the Board of Education meeting Monday evening, most drawn to hear the French American School of New York explanation to the school board of what FASNY would request for entrance redesign and construction of  the Board to allow at the White Plains High School entrance, should a North Street entrance be accepted by the White Plains city Common Council.

The School Board saw an animation of the FASNY choice of North Street entrance to the Ridgeway property consisting of four lanes– 2 northbound with turn lanes into FASNY and the high school  and  2 south bound with turn lanes into FASNY and the high school. The new entrance drive continues deep into the nature conservancy area into the FASNY campus. There is a turnabout on the FASNY drive for vehicles heading out of the YWCA to make a u-turn and safely return north without making a u-turn in the intersection as they do now on a regular basis.

The FASNY presenter pointed out that the aligned standard intersection had been endorsed by the Westchester County Department of Public Works and the Westchester County Traffic Commissioner (North Street is a county-owned road). The presenter said FASNY feels the aligned intersection on North Street is the best option, and presently is not considering the roundabout suggestion at North Street or an entrance on Bryant Avenue as noted in the Final Environmental Impact Statement approved last week..

Common Councilman John Kirkpatrick in attendance, asked if the White Plains Planning Department and Public Works Department had approved the aligned intersection too, declined to answer the question, and said “There are still a lot of problems with the Final Environmental Impact Statement. And we are keeping an open mind.”

FASNY also presented a series of North South and East West walking trails that would allow students to walk from Bryant Avenue and Ridgeway to the high school through the former Ridgeway School. They said a mandatory busing program would cut the amount of vehicular traffic by 50% (correction from 80% that appeared previously in this report).

FASNY allowed there would be a service entrance on Ridgeway, too. FASNY also said they will stagger starting hours for their high school, middle school and elementary and nursery schools on the site to mitigate traffic impacts, showing how overlaps spread out the traffic flow.

Fourteen of 16 citizens speaking at the traditional public comment period (scheduled at every Board of Education meeting), were against the North Street entrance alternative presented and most declared there would be too much traffic impact no matter how staggered the hours were.

Interim Superintendent of Schools, Timothy Connors, above, said after the hour and twenty mintute presentation and comment period, the Board of Education would now gather more information from FASNY, and get answers to questions the Board might have. If a request is made for the Board to act on any construction taking high school property, Connors said he would make a recommendation to the Board.

WPCNR reached out to Common Council President Beth Smayda, asking what the timing of any Board of Education vote on approving or rejecting a North Street entrance to the school.

 The issues on  timing  of Board of Education action on the North Street entrance presented Monday night are, (as best as WPCNR can determine) are:

 1.)should the Board approve or reject the North Street proposal before the Council makes a Findings Statement,

2.  after the Council makes a positive finding on the FASNY project (and before the preparation of a site plan by FASNY), or

3. after a site plan is submitted by FASNY

or

4. Whether a vote would only come if a Common Council site plan approval of the project included the redesign of the White Plains High School entrance to accommodate an entrance and egress drive off North Street  leading into the now dormant fairways of the former Ridgeway Club into the new French American School of New York campus.

Council President Smayda has not yet responded.

The representatives from the school said they, if greenlighted by the White Plains Common Council would open in 2015 with construction expected complete by 2019.

WPCNR CAMPAIGN 2013. By John F. Bailey. September 23, 2013:

A local paper had the Zuber Riders Open Letter to Noam Bramson advertisement for three days before telling the Zuber Riders for Justice two words were not acceptable, WPCNR has learned. At no time prior to 6 PM Thursday was Zuber Riders told of a legal problem with the copy.

A spokesperson for the Lincoln Zuber Riders told WPCNR Sunday that a Journal News advertising executive told him  two words appearing in an advertisement “open letter” demanding an apology from New Rochelle Noam Bramson for alleged “long history of hositility towards the black community,” were objectionable and the ad could not be run with the words  “conspired” and “stopped” appearing in the submitted context.

 Mark McLean, the spokesperson for Lincoln Zuber said Loren Peterson, representing The Journal News told him about 6 PM  last Thursday evening the two words, “conspired” and “stopped”  had to be removed from the ad because, (McLean told WPCNR), the paper “was concerned about being sued.”

McLean told WPCNR he had submitted the advertisement Tuesday to run in the Journal News Friday.

McLean was frankly puzzed he said to WPCNR:

“The paper had the ad for three days, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. I gave them a check on Wednesday.  I asked ‘Is it going to run Friday? Is it going to run Friday?’  Thursday they called me  at 6 P..M. and said  it’s not going to run.”

Why an ad that was accepted for two days (almost three) then pulled out of the blue  with no time to change it is a mystery to McLean.

McLean mused that  the Bramson administration was holding a large festival and ribbon cutting for the reopening of the Heritage House affordable housing complex, a short distance away from Lincoln Park. But he said that was just speculation on his part .

McLean told WPCNR the following was the  context of the first objectionable word flagged by the Journal News, “conspired.”

“Conspired and voted twice to intentionally destroy the one single Black majority Council in New Rochelle,violating the Voting Rights Act and a Federal Judge’s Court Order.”

The context of second flagged word, “Stopped.”

“Stopped a historic opportunity to elect the first black County Executive, Ken Jenkins, the highest elected black official in Westchester.”

McLean said he told Peterson– Lincoln Zuber was willing to  change the ad, but he wanted the advertisement to run Friday, prior to the Saturday ribbon-cutting event being held in Lincoln Park Saturday. He said Peterson told him “the paper would not run the ad.”

“They were adamant about that,” McLean added.

Asked if the Robert P. Astorino campaign for County Executive had written the rejected advertisement, McLean said, “Of course not.”

Asked if the Astorino campaign had paid for the ad, McLean said “They had nothing to do with it.”

Asked if Lincoln Zuber  would change the ad and attempt to run it in the future, McLean  did not say they would, but the organization would “continue to focus on Noam Bramson’s record.”  (with the Black Community).

Janet Hasson, President and Publisher of The Journal News was sent an E-Mail by WPCNR Sunday afternoon requesting an explanation for the rejection of the original copy. WPCNR asked:

“1. Could you please give me a statement as to why the Journal News found the ad objectionable? (Any specific violations of election law, for example?)

2. Could you explain the words you wanted them, according to the Zuber press release, you wanted them to put in the ad?

3. Would you have run the ad if Zuber had made the changes?”

So far there has been no response from Ms. Hasson, or The Journal News. WPCNR placed a call to the newsroom this morning, again giving the opportunity for Ms. Hasson to give The Journal News side of why the ad was rejected.