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

WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL CHRONICLE-EXAMINER. By John F. Bailey. September 8, 2009, UPDATED 3:03 P.M. with detailed analysis of the Con Edison Certiorari in Italics: White Plains enacted its first ever  Hotel Sales Tax of 3% Monday evening by a 7-0 vote with no public comment on the legislation. The hotel tax will go into affect October 1. The tax will be collected by the individual hotels in the city which include the Ritz Carlton, the White Plains Renaissance, the Crowne Plaza, The Esplanade, and the Hyatt Summerfield Suites, and returns will be due quarterly at the end of December, March, June, September. The tax has been touted as having the potential to raise $350,000 a year.

In other action, 

The Common Council approved a 5 year site plan approval for White Plains Hospital Medical Center planned expansion. It is the longest window of site plan approval ever granted by the city, and was done as a convenience to the hospital which is in the process of fund-raising for the major expansion of the facility, which pointed out in requesting the elongated period allowed to get the project under way, that it did not expect to raise the funds to build for at least that amount of time. This was approved in a time frame of  about six months.

The Council extended for another month the hearing on the North Street Community senior condominium and assisted living project.

The council tabled a resolution generated by the Mayor’s Office to transfer $2 Million to

Salary and benefit accounts. Councilman Boykin objected because of the vague nature of the request. Mayor Delfino said this was the best estimate of the monies needed for the expected binding arbitration settlement of the fire and police union contracts. Boykin said he wanted a more specific definition of what the end of the year deficit was and who would be getting paid the funds.

Rita Malmud said, in response to Mayor Delfino’s testy response to Boykin that these transfers are done every year and are nothing new, said that this was not the case, this year, with the council rejecting a 3.75% raise for the first year of the fire fighters’ contract last December, and the city being “forced into a voluntary binding arbitration.” Dennis Power suggested tabling the matter and it was done by a vote of 5-2, with Mr.Roach and the Mayor voting “No.”

The binding arbitration has not begun yet because the council has tabled until September 24 the discussion of selection of a city labor legal counsel. At that date the transfer of funds will also be discussed. The Mayor said he refused to identify how much of the $2 Million was for union and non-union managerial personnel.

Assessment Erosion Continues

The Council approved the lowering of the assessment rolls to the tune of $782,477, resulting in a total of $359,730.40. The School District will pay approximately a $1,440,000 certiorari tax refund, based on the ratio that for every $1 the city collects in taxes, the school district collects 4.

 The bulk of the total assessment reduction was made up by a $556,587 assessment reduction granted Con Edison properties on Water Street. Con Edison receives a $208,995.70 tax refund for the years 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09, and 2009-10. 

The assessment reduction represents the total assessment decline of 35 different Con Ed-owned lots around the city with various Con Edison installations and equipment on the premises, according to Lloyd Tasch, the City Assessor.  The 35 properties were reduced from $908,000 of Assessed Value to $351,413. Tasch said an expert was hired by the city to assess the properties and fight Con Edison’s claims involving depreciation, replacement value and other categories. Tasch said the city did the best it could but still wound up with “a real hit” that will be deducted from the city Assessement Roll in 2010-11.

CVS Albany LLC at 434-452 Mamaroneck Avenue and 434-440 received a $39,881.11 certiorari tax refund and a $93,800 reduction in assessed value. Tasch said this decline in assessment were partly as a result of decreased sales

WPCNR WHITE PLAINS LAW JOURNAL. By John F. Bailey. September 8, 2009: Judge Francis Nicolai, after a 2 hour and 45 minute hearing this morning, punctuated by two 1 hour recesses, the second of which he used to review an Appellate Court decision on a similar case, directed the Board of Elections to put the name of Councilman Glen Hockley on the November 3 ballot for the office of Mayor.

Judge Nicolai said the Board of Elections did nothing wrong in denying  Mr. Hockley a place on the ballot due to Mr. Hockley’s failure to file a Certificate of Acceptance, but that it was clear that Hockley wanted to run for the office.

Nicolai taking an hour recess to review a1987 Appellate Division decision of 1987 that had ruled against an independent candidate in similar circumstances, returned to the court room at 12:10 P.M. and then dismissed County Attorney Matthew Gallagher’s citing of the 1987 Appellate court case, saying that if the courts really felt a Certificate of Acceptance was necessary they would have said so.

Glen Hockley, in the hall after the decision, said, “the people have won this day. I will never forget it.”

Nicolai discounted the question of conspiracy against Hockley by the Board of Elections, as Hockley had claimed, saying that the notice the Board of Elections claimed they sent to Mr. Hockley, which Mr. Hockley said he never received, did not specifically deal with a candidate’s need to accept the nomination of a party.

Rather, Nicolai said, the intent of the notice(a postcard) copy advises the candidate of the last day to declaim (refuse) a nomination. Nicolai sharply rebuked Hockley’s attorney, Nelson Canter for Mr. Canter’s continuing refusal to see that distinction.

Nicolai said in reviewing the Irdine vs. Sachs case of 1987, cited by the County Attorney Mr. Gallagher as speaking to the  present Hockley case, said “that case was decided on strict construction of the law…if the legislature felt it (a Certificate of Acceptance) was as important, it would have said so.”

Nicolai said, in directing Hockley’s name be placed on the ballot,  that  running for office was “a very important right that must not be denied” unless there were very extenuating circumstances.

Commissioner of the Board of Elections, Reginald LaFayette told reporters he would be consulting with Mr. Gallagher whether or not  to appeal the Judge’s decision. LaFayette said that there were other candidates who had been denied places on ballots due to failures to supply Certificates of Acceptance in a timely manner, noting a case in Lewisboro where that also was the B.O.E.’s ruling.

LaFayette told reporters that Mrs. Hockley (Melody), when she was filing Mr. Hockley’s petitions that he had told her personally Mr.Hockley had to file a certificate of acceptance. LaFayette also said he had supplied Mrs. Hockley with a large paper clip to bind Hockley’s petitions, and advised her that she had to fill in “Mayor, City of White Plains” on the petitions, as evidence of how he had cooperated with the Hockley entourage. He said he resented Mr. Hockley’s conspiracy theories, considering how much he personally had helped Mrs. Hockley when the petitions were presented.

Hockley two weeks ago had told WPCNR that when petitions were filed, the Board of Elections had never told his representatives, including his attorney, Nelson Canter, that a Certificate of Acceptance needed to be filed.

When told of Mr. LaFayette’s contention he had told Mrs. Hockley personally that her husband had to file a Certificate of Accepance, Hockley  told WPCNR this afternoon, “That’s a bald-faced lie. My attorney was standing right beside her,” as far as giving Mrs. Hockley a paper clip and fill-out advice, Hockley said, “that’s what he’s supposed to do.”