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

WPCNR MR. AND MRS. AND MS. WHITE PLAINS POLL. September 30, 2010:

With the announcement this week that Ridgeway Country Club is again being put up for sale at a price reduced from the range of what the club was marketed for last year at this time, 128 acres in the heart of White Plains is again available to the highest bidder.

The property is a steal for the developer willing to go through the hoops that the City of White Plains is sure to make any buyer jump through in order to develop the property (adding condominiums, golf course private homes), considering the city’s insistence that it is environmentally sensitive property and subject, most likely to a SEQRA review it would take years to develop the property.

This raises the question of the new White Plains CitizeNetReporter Poll:  

At a price tag of $13.5 Million ($100,000 an acre with buildings, pool, tennis courts), that CB Richard Ellis properties is marketing the property at — whether Westchester County could simply step in and buy this gem of an historic golf club. After all, the county legislature voted to buy a building for $13 million in change to house voting machines. Acquiring Ridgeway ready to go for less than the $18 Million the county spent to build its Hudson hills Course, would seem a no-brainer for the county Department of Parks and Recreation, and County Executive Rob Astorino would earn gratitude of nervous Gedney Farms residents.

The reduced price represents an opportunity for the city, too. The city has the debt reservoir to buy the club. It could even house the Department of Recreation and Parks there should they so choose, and run the club as a public course as a self-liquidating thing, Anyway that would have to be worked out.

The city decries the idea of the property being developed, of course. But with the price dropping like a rock, the city might very well consider purchase of the property.

What do Mr. and Mrs. White Plains think.

 

 

WPCNR UP IN THE AIR. By John F. Bailey. September 29, 2010 UPDATED SEPTEMBER 30,2010:

 

The Southwest Airlines announcement that it will acquire AirTran (Westchester County Airport’s flight leader), may enable Westchesterites to fly coast-to-coast and border-to-border on one airline direct from Westchester County. The merger is subject to anti-trust review by the Justice Department, and is predicted to take two years for closing, according to remarks made at a news conference in Dallas Monday. You may review the transcript of that news conference at http://www.swamedia.com/releases/79bac32b-8aee-321d-3612-5d004ca09314

 

AIRTRAN 717 TAXING TO THE TERMINaL DOME AT WESTCHESTER COUNTY AIRPORT IN AUGUST. SOUTHWEST AIRLINES WILL MERGE WITH WESTCHESTER’S NUMBER ONE FLIGHT LEADER OPENING UP PERHAPS ATTRACTIVE DESTINATIONS TO THE WESTCHESTER TRAVELER.

 

 

The merger may also put further strain on the overcrowded Westchester Terminal and chronically packed parking facility at the county airport depending on how Southwest changes the destination mix of their flights.

 

Spokesperson for Westchester County Donna Greene told WPCNR  the terminal will not become more crowded than it is, because the number of person who can be in the terminal at any one time is regulated.  She is checking on the details of the policy for WPCNR. Ms. Greene said the overcrowding of the parking facility is caused by extended stays of persons who park at that facility and stay for a week or more.

 

 

Greene said that the number of flights from the airport remains set, but the airlines that own the “flight slots” can vary the destinations of their flights with clearance from the airport. WPCNR expects Southwest Airlines when they merge operations with AirTran and take over that airline’s slots will possibly change the mix of flights to far flung destinations across the country, perhaps non-stop. WPCNR has a call in to Southwest to see what their plans might be.

 

RUNWAY 34 APPROACH AT COUNTY AIRPORT. 

 

RUNWAY 16 APPROACH AT COUNTY AIRPORT.

 

Greene told WPCNR  the airport cannot add a third runway to accommodate possibly larger aircraft. Currently the airport runway 34/16 can accommodate 737s.

 

She also said the airport could not at this time expand to a second terminal.  She also ruled out the county putting a hotel at the airport or expanding the airport facilities.

 

Greene was getting answers from the airport on the specifics of the terminal occupancy policies, frequency of flight intervals and the number of flights AirTran now runs out of the county airport.

 

AirTran currently flies to Atlanta, Orlando, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, and Fort Myers from Westchester County, but flies 700 daily flights to 52 destinations from its hub in Atlanta, where it is the second largest carrier.