U.S. Navy Veteran, White Plains Ray Frederick Trains for Mt. Washington Race

Posted on May 26, 2012 by John Bailey

WPCNR MAIN STREET JOURNAL. May 26, 2012 UPDATED May 29, 2012:

The Planning Department’s Ray Frederick is a Vietnam War Navy veteran, having served from 1970-76.

This year he felt compelled to undertake a gruelling effort to commemorate those comrades with whom he served in that bitter conflict, 40 years ago.

White Plains Planning Department’s Ray Frederick. Former Track and football star at New Rochelle High, and respected Fastpitch Softball Coach is pedaling to remember and respect Veterans and his former comrades in the Mount Washington Bike Race July 7.

He is devoting himself to training and doing what is considered in the cycling profession as the toughest hill climb bike race in the world. On July 7, 2012 he will be entered in a race that see him pedal 7.6 miles up Mt. Washington, New Hampshire. He describes the course has an average uphill gradient of 12.5 degrees, increasing in difficulty to 18 degrees, and finishing at 22 degrees at the top for the final 100 yards.

The shirt Ray will wear in his race to the top of Mount Washington, July 7

Ray, long considered a builder of work ethic in the softball players he has trained in hitting and prowess to the point where they have won scholarships, says:

“I am dedicating this climb to those who have lost their lives to the wars of our past. I am doing it in honor of those that have fallen. If you look up Newtons Revenge Bike Race you will be more informed of its difficulty as well as adverse weather conditions.

There are past and present veterans of foreign wars that will never forget their Comrades. Our thoughts this weekend go to all those who served both past and present. I am a Vietnam war era veteran, and honor all those who put their own lives before others for this countries future.”

We’ll be checking in with Roy as he prepares for his big run up the mountain

County Beaches,Pools Open This Weekend

Posted on May 24, 2012 by John Bailey

COUNTY SWIMMING 2012 SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED

With Memorial Day Weekend drawing near, get out your bathing suit and sunscreen and head out for some sun and a dip!

PLAYLAND BEACH OPENS THIS WEEKEND–POOL JUNE 22ND

The Memorial Day Weekend forecast for the tri-state area predicts hazy hot humid uncomfortable weather, temperatures in the 80s all three days with strong chance of thunderstorms developing in the afternoons Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Memorial Day Parade, May 31, 2005,White Plains New York, USA

Memorial Day Parade, White Plains New York USA, 2006

The White Plains Memorial Day Parade will be staged Monday at 10 A.M. in downtown White Plains.

White Plains Pools at Gardella and Kittrell Park will open June 16, according to the Department of Recreation and Parks.

BEACHES

Glen Island Park, New Rochelle – (914) 813-6720

Schedule:

· May 26 – June 21: open Saturdays and Sundays and Memorial Day

· June 22 – Aug. 19: open Wednesday through Sunday (closed Monday and Tuesday)*

· Hours: 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., with no admittance allowed after 6 p.m.

Fees:

· $4 for adults and $3 for children ages 5 to 11; children under 5 are admitted free.

· Seniors pay $2 on weekdays only (except holidays) with a valid Westchester County Senior Citizen Park Pass.

· Parking $5 — Westchester County Park Pass required for admittance.

Croton Point Park, Croton-on-Hudson – (914) 864-5290

Schedule:

· May 26 – June 21: open Saturdays and Sundays and Memorial Day

· June 22 – Aug. 19: open Wednesday through Sunday (closed Monday and Tuesday)*

· Hours: 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., with no admittance allowed after 6 p.m.

Fees:

· Swimming is free

· Parking $5 with a County Park Pass and $10 without Pass.

Playland Beach at Playland Park, Rye – (914) 813-7000

Schedule:

· May 26 – June 21: open Saturdays and Sundays only

· June 22 – Sept. 3: open Wednesday through Sunday (closed Monday and Tuesday)*

· Hours: 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., with no admittance after 6 p.m.

Fees:

· $4 adults and $3 children ages 5 to 11; under 5 years old are free.

· $3 Seniors on weekdays only (except holidays) with a Westchester County Senior Citizen Park Pass

· Park Pass not required for entry.

· Parking fees are $5 weekdays, $7 weekends and $10 holidays.

POOLS

Saxon Woods Park, White Plains – (914) 995-4480

Schedule:

· June 22 – Aug. 19: open seven days a week*

· Hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., with no admittance after 6 p.m.

· Park Pass or proof of county residency is required for admittance.

Fees:

· $6 for adults, $4 for children 12 and under, $4 for seniors on weekdays only (includes parking)

The Brook at Tibbetts Brook Park, Yonkers – (914) 231-2865

Schedule:

· June 22 – Aug. 19: open seven days a week*

· Hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., with no admittance after 6 p.m.

· Park Pass or proof of county residency is required for admittance.

Fees:

· $8 for adults, $5 for children under 12, and $5 for seniors weekdays only

· $5 parking Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Willson’s Waves at Willson’s Woods Park, Mount Vernon – (914) 813-6990

Schedule:

· June 22 – Aug. 19: open seven days a week*

· Hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., with no admittance after 6 p.m.

· Park Pass or proof of county residency is required for admittance.

Fees:

· $8 for adults, $5 for children under 12, and $5 for seniors weekdays only (parking included)

Playland Pool at Playland Park, Rye – (914 813-7000

Schedule:

· June 22 – Aug. 19: open Wednesday through Sunday (closed Monday and Tuesday) Hours: 11 a.m. – 6:30 p.m., with no admittance after 6 p.m.

Fees:

· $6 adults, $5 with a Park Pass; $4 children 12 and under, $3.50 with a Park Pass; children under 5 are free.

· Seniors with a Westchester County Senior Citizen Park Pass pay $3 on weekdays only (except holidays).

· Parking fees are $5 weekdays, $7 weekends and $10 holidays.

*Schedule changes Aug. 20. Check for updates at westchestergov.com/parks.

SEASON SWIM PASS

County Park Pass holders are eligible for a Season Swim Pass, which allows unlimited entry to Glen Island Beach and all pools except Playland throughout the season. Fees are $250 for a family, $100 for individuals, and $75 for seniors. It can be purchased at all pools (except Playland) or at Glen Island park. For Family Pass, all members must be present at time of issue.

For public bus transportation availability, visit www.westchestergov.com/beelinebus.

County Opens Kensico Dam Traverse for Pedestrians, Bicyclists.No Motor Vehicles

Posted on May 24, 2012 by John Bailey

WPCNR County Clarion-Ledger. From the Westchester County Department of Communications. May 24, 2012:

Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino and New York City Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Carter Strickland today reopened Kensico Dam Road for recreational access. Visitors to the Kensico Dam will now be able to enjoy views from the top of the structure while walking, jogging, in-line skating, or bicycling. This is the first time the roadway has been open for public access since 2005 following a $42 million restoration.

The road, which runs across the top of the dam, has been closed to traffic off and on since Sept. 11, 2001. The road closed permanently to vehicles in 2002 and then closed to pedestrians in 2005 to begin the rehabilitation work.

“I know the public will enjoy having access once again to this beautiful landmark,” Astorino said. “Kensico Dam Plaza is a vital public space in Westchester, where each year tens of thousands of visitors enjoy exercising, gathering with friends on the great lawn, celebrating at heritage festivals, and much more. Reopening the roadway will further expand the recreational opportunities that make Westchester a great place to live and visit.”

The Kensico Dam stretches between West Westlake Drive and Route 22, measuring 1,843 feet in length and 307 feet in height. As a Public Access Area, the walkway will not require a DEP Access Permit and will be open seven days a week from dawn to dusk.

“Reopening Kensico Dam Road will give local residents and visitors a wonderful opportunity to spend time outdoors with family and friends, enjoy the spectacular views of the Kensico Reservoir and the surrounding area while taking a leisurely stroll or going for a jog or bike ride,” Strickland said. “DEP continues to expand public access for recreational use to benefit our neighbors, while at the same time protecting the drinking water supply of over nine million New Yorkers. I thank County Executive Astorino for partnering with New York City to expand recreational access to residents in the community.”

The $42 million rehabilitation work, which was paid for by DEP and began in 2005, included cleaning and repairing the spillway, acid washing the facade and colonnades, and replacing the colonnade roofs, the gate house, and the valve chamber that controls the flow of water through the dam. There was also repair of pavilions, colonnades, terrace, and fountains as well as installation of new technology to remotely operate equipment. Drains and drainage systems were restored, electrical equipment was replaced, heating and ventilation systems were installed, ornamental fencing was replaced, and landscaping was performed. The rehabilitation work was completed in December 2011.

The Kensico Reservoir was placed into service in 1915 and at full capacity can hold up to 30.6 billion gallons, serving as a terminal rather than a collecting reservoir. It receives most of its water from the city’s west-of-Hudson reservoirs through the Catskill and Delaware aqueducts, and serves as the last stop for water before it flows into the Hillview Reservoir in Yonkers for distribution in New York City.

Since 2003, DEP has significantly expanded the amount of city-owned water supply lands open for recreation to 108,000 acres — more than double the amount available in 2003. Of the 108,000 total acres open to recreation, 75,000 are land and 33,000 are water. In 2011, DEP opened approximately 6,600 acres of land for recreation over the course of the year. Expanding recreational opportunities in the watershed along with operating and maintaining New York City’s network of dams are two of the Operations goals outlined in Strategy 2011-2014, a far-reaching strategic plan that lays out 100 distinct initiatives to make DEP the safest, most efficient, cost-effective, and transparent water utility in the nation. The plan is available on DEP’s website at www.nyc.gov/dep.

DEP manages the city’s water supply, providing more than one billion gallons of water each day to more than nine million residents, including eight million in New York City, and residents of Ulster, Orange, Putnam and Westchester counties. This water comes from the Catskill, Delaware, and Croton watersheds that extend more than 125 miles from the City, and the system comprises 19 reservoirs, three controlled lakes, and numerous tunnels and aqueducts. DEP employs nearly 6,000 employees, including almost 1,000 scientists, engineers, surveyors, watershed maintainers and others professionals in the upstate watershed.

WINBROOK HUD FUNDS DRY UP.TAX CREDIT FUNDING SOUGHT. DESIGN CHANGED. YEARS AWAY

Posted on May 23, 2012 by John Bailey

WPCNR THE HOUSING NEWS. By John F. Bailey. May 23, 2012:

The Common Council Special Meeting Monday night brought news of a setback in the much anticipated Winbrook Revitalization Project in collaboration with HUD.

Larry Sallee, Chairman of the White Plains Housing Authority told the Council that HOPE VI Housing and Urban Development funding had dried up, and though HUD is still very “enthusiastic” about the project, HUD will not be funding the $200 Million project.

Instead the plan to replace the five Winbrook World War II public housing buildings will be executed as funds become available from the private sector, through tax credit instruments. Mr.Sallee expressed hope the City of White Plains would participate.

Mack Carter, Executive Director of the Authority said that the first floor of the first replacement building, housing the Community Education Center, a $5 Million project, with HUD supplying $3.5 Million and the city $1.5 Million will be built first, hopefully beginning in 2013. Carter told WPCNR the first building would require approximately $30 Million in financing.

Architect rendering of first new building in the “New Winbrook,” on the corner of Quarropas and South Lexington Avenue.

Carter assured WPCNR that Avalon Bay and Jonathan Rose Associates were still developer partners in the project, but apparently, according to Mr. Sallee, not putting up equity in the beginning construction at this time. The Department of Housing and Urban Development had until this week been touted as the bankroll for the project.

Attorney William Null went through a totally new concept for the first building (containing the Education Center) with 103 living units on the corner of Quarropas and South Lexington Avenue for the Council. The new design eliminates the original conception (presented in 2009) of a wrap-around cohesive, continuous street front with buildings connected, along South Lexington, Quarroppas and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

From the information presented, it appears the new replacement structures will not be connected and instead, be free-standing in the complex similar to the way they are today, but newer, bigger, attractively designed. Null said that 93 of the present 450 Winbrook residents would be moved to the first new building whenever it is completed. The present Winbrook residents would have first priority on new housing. Null said the overall project would have 1,400 units, with 450 committed to the present tenants.The decision as to which presently standing Winbrook building would go down first has not been made.

Councilman David Buchwald and Councilwoman Milagros Lecuona questioned how moving residents from one building could produce a mixed income project as originally envisioned three years ago.

Terry Walton of the Housing Authority, said Winbrook residents from all 5 Winbrook buildings, who pay a mix of rent amounts ranging from the lowest to up to $2,000 a month would be interviewed as the first occupants of the new building. Under this pick-and-choose system, purely voluntary, Walton stressed.

WPCNR notes this would mean that some residents from the first building to be demolished would have to move out of and into another Winbrook building (or other location) as an interim living location, (when the first new replacement building is completed whenever that happens). In this manner, the first new building presumably would have an income mix promoting mixed income open market housing as the original Winbrook Rehabilitation project envisioned.

Michael Divney, handling the overall planning of the project showed a diagram of the entire site, indicating 7 develepment lot locations of the new buildings and a rebirth of a closed street, accessing Post Road from Fisher Court. When questioned by Lecouna about the capability of the present city infrastructure to handle the 1,400 resident capacity of the envisioned complex, Divney said that would be forthcoming