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WPCNR CITY HALL CIRCUIT. From the Mayor’s Office. (EDITED) September 24, 2012 UPDATED 7:50 P.M. PHOTO Published October 25. 2012:

Mayor Thomas M. Roach today announced that he has selected a new Commissioner for the Planning Department, Elizabeth Cheteny.  Ms. Cheteny’s appointment will be on the Common Council’s October 1^st agenda for approval.

Ms. Cheteny has had broad experience in the field of planning. She has worked in the public and private sectors; for governments, not-for-profits and in academia. As a senior land use planner and economist with more than 25 years of experience, Ms. Cheteny has directed planning projects involving municipal and institutional comprehensive planning, zoning, environmental review, as well as historic, scenic, and open space preservation.

Ms. Cheteny spent the majority of her career (fifteen years and eight months, according to her resume), with the environmental consulting firm, AKRF, Inc., rising to the position of Vice President, before leaving for an academic position at the University of Buffalo in 2004.

AKRF is a firm White Plains has commissioned for years as environmental consultants. AKRF consulted extensively on the formulation of the closure plan, recently begun by the City of White Plains on the Gedney landfill.

For the last year and a month, Ms. Cheteny served as the Environmental Program Manager for the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, at which she directed all aspects of the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) of a new clinical science center proposed for the campus. 

Prior to the Roswell post, from April 2004 to June 2010, Ms. Cheteny served as Director of Planning for the Urban Design Project, a center in the School of Architecture and Planning at the University at Buffalo the State University of New York. She was also a Vice President at the environmental and planning firm, AKRF, working in their offices in New York City and Westchester County, and eventually, opening and managing their western New York office.

Ms. Cheteny has extensive government and not-for-profit experience as well. She is a former trustee in the Village of East Aurora, NY; she co-founded the Western New York Southtowns Scenic Byway; and is a board member of the Chestnut Ridge Conservancy and Western New York Land Conservancy. Several of her projects have received awards from the American Planning Association, including the Olmstead City – Buffalo Olmstead Park System: Plan for the 21^st Century and the Niagara Falls Main Street Plan.

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Ms. Cheteny has led economic revitalization studies for municipalities around the state. She has managed a number of environmental impact statements (EISs) for large-scale projects in the New York City metropolitan area, and conducted numerous socioeconomic and fiscal impact studies on development proposals, tourism-related projects, and recreational projects.

Mayor Roach said, “Betty Cheteny brings an extraordinary breadth of experience to the City’s Planning Department. Whether working with municipal governments, academic institutions, health care institutions or private sector clients, Ms. Cheteny has brought a thoughtful and informed approach to planning. Her collaborative nature has enabled her to work successfully with community organizations and other stakeholders on a wide variety of projects. I believe that Ms. Cheteny will build on the strengths of our Planning Department and help White Plains continue to move forward in a dynamic, smart and progressive fashion.”

Ms. Cheteny holds a Bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and a Master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Her salary will be $144,330.

WPCNR ENTERTAINMENT NEWS. By John F. Bailey. September 24, 2012 UPDATED Sepetember 27, 2012 5 P.M. E.D.T.: 

The White Plains Department of  Public Safety  is working closely with Microsoft Corporation for Microsoft’s free concert Saturday night presenting Lenny Kravitz. 

The concert is being held simultaneously with Columbus Day events adjacent to the concert area at the upper field behind White Plains High School at 7 P.M. Saturday night.

Persons are advised that Admission to the open air concert by Mr Kravitz  is limited exclusively to those who pick up wrist bands at the opening of the new Microsoft store in The Westchester the previous day, Friday, September 29, beginning at 10 A.M.

The concert according to Supertintendent of  Schools, Dr. Christopher Clouet is free, and Microsoft is paying the school district a rental fee for the field. It will not be held at the Loucks field, Clouet told WPCNR.

Commissioner of  Public Safety David Chong advised WPCNR Sunday the city is ready for the dual events:

“Public Safety as well as all City Agencies have worked closely the past few weeks with the promoters of this event.

Public Safety has handled events this size and larger, examples would be New Years Eve, the Independence Day Fireworks, Saint Patrick’s Day parade, and the Thanksgiving Turkey Bowl.

There will be a sufficient detail of Officers assigned to the event for Traffic and Crowd control.

The events organizers have hired a large (private) security force that will work in coordination with Public Safety.

Only persons with tickets (wrist bands)  will be allowed into the concert and private security will manage the screening of concert attendees. We expect that the event will be a success and we also expect the concert attendees to be well behaved.

We would like to announce that traffic is anticipated to be heavy in the area around the High School before, during and after the concert. People can expect some traffic delays so if you do not have business in the area of the High School on Saturday evening, we recommend that you choose an alternative travel route.

The Columbus festival will also be taking place at the other end of the High School complex during the same times as the concert.

The Department of Public Safety will be well staffed and prepared for these events.”