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WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL-CHRONICLE EXAMINER. By John F. Bailey, December 4, 2012:

 

The White Plains Traffic Department

 

Born 1979. Died 2012

 

R.I.P.

 

A funeral service was held for the nationally recognized White Plains Traffic Department Monday night.

 

The service was solemn. The fate of the Department of  Traffic was not deterred, despite the impassioned pleas of its founder and first Commissioner, Bernard Adler, who eulogized the national achievements and recognition the WPTD has earned in its short 33 year life since it was founded in the Alfred Del Vecchio administration in 1979

 

A handful of mourners showed up at last night’s public hearing, three of whom came to praise Commissioner of Traffic Tom Soyk, the certified traffic engineer who will move over to the Department of Parking under the direction of Commissioner of Parking, John Larson.

 

The Common Council voted unanimously to fold the TD into the Parking Department in the name of accomplishing efficiencies.

 

All Councilpersons except Milagros Lecuona said the move was made in light of the  efficiencies accomplished by Mr. Soyk and Mr. Larson’s joining their two maintenance forces over the past year. At no time in the short hearing did any member of the Council put a dollar figure on the savings, or how much the amalgamation was saving.   Lecouna questioned consolidating the department after only a year, and why it had to be done so fast without exploring how combined traffic and parking departments worked in other communities.

 

Bernard Adler recounted the founding of the Traffic Department in the late 1970s to address specifically management of traffic in the city. He noted in his remarks (that can be seen on the city website in the “consent agenda section”) how the traffic department designed and installed the first computer-run traffic light system that could sequence lights throughout the city, among a number of national honors.

 

He closed his remarks saying he had no doubt that as long as Mr. Soyk was Deputy Commissioner of  Parking for Transportation Engineering (his new title, retaining his present salary of $131,580 a year), he felt traffic management would be in good hands:

 

 “While Commissioner Soyk is still employed by the city, the streets will move efficiently, the planning board, zoning board and this Common Council will receive thorough and thoughtful reviews of  (traffic) matters before the city. However,  it is my considerate professional opinion that after Tom Soyk leaves, and  without a person functioning with the title of Commissioner of Traffic, the caliber of succeeding candidates will be well below the standards that the city has expected and has enjoyed these last thirty years. Without  an independent Commissioner of Traffic,important traffic innovations will languish in this city.”

 

The Mayor dismissed the notion the city would not be able to attract high quality traffic experts to serve in the city because the city is very attractive and has not had trouble doing so in the past. He also said the city is now embracing a concept he called “Complete Streets,” which he said recognizes that streets are for everyone, and not just cars, and moving cars in an efficient (“speedy”) manner. The Mayor said  it is good to move traffic well but “it makes a big difference if they hit someone.”

 

Mayor Thomas Roach noted after the hearing was closed that the city would have no trouble attracting worthy and competent individuals to fill any future  vacancy in the position.

 

In January a hearing will be held to change the zoning ordinances to reflect the responsibilities and procedures under the new arrangement.

In other action,

 

WATER RATES RAISED. $10 More a Year Average

 

The Common Council Raised water rates by passing ordinances on the consent agenda, but no one on the Council explained in the live television broadcast what the new rates were. The Mayor remarked the rates are going up because New York City is raising its rates for water, and White Plains gets 90% of its water

 

WPCNR notes that the Council backup material explains that for the first 5,000 cubic feet of water used, the rate goes up to $1.73 per 100 cubic feet for residential customers for the first 10,000 cubic feet, this is about a 6% increase from this year’s rate of  $1.63.

 

Commercial users ( who use120,000 cubic feet and over quarterly) will pay $3.27 per 100 cubic feet for the first 2,500 cubic feet and $3.66 /100 cubic feet after they exceed 5,000 square feet.

 

An example: A three-member family in a typical home paid $141 for 84 100 cubic feet units in October for the last six months. This will go up to $145 and change about a 3% increase. A complete list of  the new water rates is in the backup material viewable on the city website.

 

Commissioner of Public Works explained  during the consent agenda portion of the meeting why the rates were going up:

 

“The city has had raises (from New York City) that have averaged 13% a year for the last five years and that’s certainly been my experience it’s been going on a lot longer, but we just have records for the last five years. That accounts for the majority of it.

 

We purchase almost all of our raw water from New York City and we’re at the mercy of that even though we’ve challenged  their ability to have rate increases like that (through) the coalition of a number of other communities , Yonkers, Scarsdale, Mount Vernon, North Castle . The state has said they do have the right to charge us what they feel is right in the name of conservation, so those rate increases stand  and they have absolutely nothing to do with the cost of living.

That, and there are a number of increase requirements: testing has to be done on a more frequent basis, more elaborate tests, more pathogens we’re required to look for, so the cost of that as well as a number of capital projects are contributing to this increase, and we’re still in the lowest five of the fifty water purveyors.”

 

The Daily News reported this spring the City of New York water rates have gone up because “the Bloomberg administration has pushed forward billions of dollars worth of upgrades to the city’s (New York City) water and sewer system, including building a mammoth third water tunnel and a state-of-the-art water filtration plantin the Bronx.”

 

The News also reported part of the latest round of increases to cities like White Plains to make up for $40 Million in added costs to the improving of the Croton Water Filtration Plant, that serves reservoirs and lakes upstate. The reporters were Barry Paddock and Reuven Blau.

 

Macy’s Bloomingdales Property Tax Refunds Approved.

 

Assessments Lowered Impacting 2012-13 Assessment Roll

 

The city’s two largest retailers were awarded $405,000 in property tax refunds from the city for assessments lowered  for the years 09/10,10/11,11/12 and the upcoming tax year 2012-13. This means, according to the city Assessor’s Office that the reduced assessments totaling $405,000  will come off the 2012-13 Assessment Roll, due March 1, 2013.

 

SUNRISE DETOX HEARING CLOSED AFTER TOXIC HEARING.

 

The evening ended with the controversial hearing on the CFI Inc. Sunrise Detox Center matter where CFI Inc. Sunrise is seeking a Special Permit to run a short –term residence detox program for individuals at 37 DeKalb Avenue, the former Nathan Miller Nursing Home in the middle of the Carhart neighborhood.

 

After a stormy hearing, the hearing was closed, clearing the way for a vote on the project and its needed Special Permit that could take place in January.

 

The Sunrise representatives began the hearing disputing the allegations of criminal incidents taking place at their Sterling New Jersey and Lake Worth Florida facilities, saying a law enforcement consultant investigated the complaints and found no incidents were any criminal activity affected residents around those facilities.

 

Representatives of the Carhart  Neighborhood Association, said that saying there was not any criminal activity or charges filed, may be true, but that was because the majority of call-ins to othe police from the home involved missing persons, Ken Kristol of the Carhart Association read police reports of three such missing persons incidents.

 

Mayor Roach took exception to one resident’s remarks pointing out that if this project were proposed for neighborhoods in the south end it would not have been considered. She also noted how three representatives of the CFI-Sunrise project are well-known in the city,  and have conducted business with the city for a long time. Mayor Roach defended the city considering the project:

 

“I’ll just say there’s something that’s not a joke to me which is allegations of impropriety or suggesting  that this is only being entertained because of the neighborhood it’s (going to be) in because we have to entertain any application that’s permitted under the zoning, anywhere in the city.

 

“This isn’t  us sitting in a lawn chair behind city hall just on a whim deciding to bring an application in here. That’s offensive. And it’s not fair to this council, who I know put so much time, work and effort in preserving this city. When you throw those things around,  I mean, to say something like someone contributed to a (city) charity, somehow that makes this improper? God help us if we get to the point where no one in this city can contribute to any charity because we really count on that. We have a very activist city.

 

And you know what, it’s a small city. People get know each other, I can understand when people are emotional and worry about an outcome they can seize on that. But the reality is being cordial to someone. I’ve been a trial lawyer for 26 years, I would be fighting my tail off in court, and I go out in the hallway and say to the guy I’ve just been arguing, have a nice weekend. It doesn’t mean I’m undermining my client.”

 

The final speaker living for seven years at 24 Carhart Avenue, took up the matter that from the standpoint of why would the city entertain putting the project in the neighborhood. He said he was so proud of the way the city responded to the hurricane October 29, that the Mayor had spoke of at the top of the Council meeting,  “ I was so proud of it, but at the same time, I can’t  even imagine that we are entertaining to put such a detox….”

 

The Mayor interrupted him talking over him, “Understand we have a legal obligation (unintelligle).Let me just say something I don’t take this personally. I understand your frustration, your concern. When we  take office, we raise our right hand and we swear to uphold the Constitution of the United States, the State of New York,and the Charter of the City of White Plains,and we mean it. Part of that is to entertain applications that we legally have to entertain. What I’ve tried to do is create a hearing environment in which the neighbors and proponents of the application can be heard in a civilized atmosphere.

 

It’s surprising to me after what I’ve just said that you would say you can’t  be believe we are entertaining it. Well I don’t know where to go with that.”

 

The citizen attempted to explain:

 

“I’ll continue with that because that is the appearance what the citizens of  White Plains are getting it…and that’s what I’m conveying to you.”

 

Then Council President Beth Smayda interrupted the citizen again, overriding him saying,

 

“I think if we weren’t doing it in public then you may have something to complain (about) but this Mayor and this council is very committed to abiding by the charter and  we are legally bound to review applications and we’re doing them in public. I hope there isn’t any intimation that that is not the case.”

 

The citizen was not to be deterred, responding:

 

“There is no such intimation. What we want to point out  is the fact that we talked about Sandy, we talked about city is committed to residents there. At the same time there was a national disaster and here is a human-made disaster (the detox center) that is supposed to happen when we are going to put a detox center right there in a residential neighborhood.

 

In the example what was given was, there were two houses next to the facility in Florida. Two houses, two familes? There are nearly a  thousand houses in that (Carhart) Neighborhood which are a stone’s throw away. So that (Sunrise) comparison of two houses is totally out of order.”

 

The Mayor then asked, “Anyone else?”

 

Bill Null, the Sunrise attorney came to the podium, and reminded the chamber that the Sunrise proposal  for the community residence was a permitted use subject to a special permit, meets the definition of the city building code and of the zoning ordinance. He said the neighborhood’s contention that drug addiction and alcohol addiction are not disabilities is not correct, citing  under New York Mental Hygiene Law Section 103, definitions,  a mental disability “means mental illness, mental retardation, developmental disability, alcoholism, substance dependence, or chemical dependence.”

 

He noted: “So this is a facility that is legally treating disabled individuals  under the zoning ordinance.”

 

WPCNR WATCH ON THE RIVER. From Caren Halbfinger, the Westchester County Department of Health. December 4, 2012  (EDITED):

 

 The advisory cautioning against contact with the Hudson River in Westchester was lifted today by the Westchester County Department of Health.

People who use the Hudson River waters for recreational purposes, namely swimmers, boaters, kayakers and windsurfers, are free to resume direct contact with the water.

The advisory had been issued as a precaution during Super Storm Sandy on Oct 29, after the Yonkers Joint Wastewater Treatment Plant was shut down to protect equipment and for the safety of employees. The plant was flooded and sustained heavy damage as a result of the storm.  The plant began achieving secondary wastewater treatment on Nov. 22 and test results of the plant effluent demonstrate that the effluent limits are being met. Although the plant is fully functioning, repairs are ongoing and are expected to cost $12.65 million.

 

(Editor’s Note: The Health Department told WPCNR that from 80 million to 100 million gallons a day of partially treated sewage (screened, chlorine-treated only) was fed into the river during the 36 days the plant was undergoing repairs. WPCNR estimates about 2.8 billion to 3 billion gallons of substandard effluent (below Environmental Protection Agency approved levels) were released into the Hudson since October 29.)