THE WORLD READS WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER — 8,324,077 VISITS IN ONE YEAR | 2,905,611 VISITORS VISIT 8,324,077 TIMES 3 TIMES EVERY DAY IN ONE YEAR. HIGHEST ACTIVITY IN WPCNR HISTORY.White PlainsCitizeNetReporter lifted its worldwide visits from unique visitors to wpcnr.com to 8,324,077,a 1,306,419 increase in visits in one year from 7,017,658 visits to the site last year which covers White Plains and Westchester County. The 8,324,077 visits were made by 2,005,611 unique visitors who visited wpcnr an average of 3 visits a day. ON JULY 20- -2026 visitors have accessed wpcnr and made 3,072 visits an average of 1.6 visits. In the last week 33,495 individual vistors made 54,458 visits, averaging 1.6 visits. In the last month, 152,940 visitors recorded 229,338 visits (1.5 visits)

Gedney Farms Calls Town Meeting on Ridgeway Country Club Proposed Sale

Posted on April 30, 2009 by John Bailey

WPCNR SOUTH END TIMES. April 30, 2009: The Gedney Farms Association, expressing concern over the possible sale of the Ridgeway Country Club, (located in the heart of one of White Plains most desirable neighborhoods, has called a town meeting to discuss the issues and impacts of the possible sale.

The town meeting will be held Wednesday May 6 at Ridgeway School Auditorium at 7:30 P.M. The Association has announced that a representative of Ridgeway Country Club will attend as will a representative of the Westchester Land Trust, who is expected to discuss ways the property could be acquired with government assistance. The city of White Plains has yet to comment on whether it will entertain an initiative to acquire the property.

Historic Ridgeway Country Club: For Sale, $20 Million.

Winbrook Plan Afoot. Urgent.Master Devlper Sought.Multi-Use Seen.Stim $$ Sought

Posted on April 30, 2009 by John Bailey

WPCNR WEST SIDE STORY. By John F. Bailey. April 30, 2009: The White Plains Housing Authority today advertised for Requests for Qualifications for private developers with experience in public housing development in the next step in rehabilitating Winbrook, the World War II-vintage public housing project on White Plains’ West Side. The Request for Qualifications describes the Housing Authority as looking to partner with a “master developer” with experience in working with the Federal Government in developing large-scale low income housing projects.

Creating the Winbrook of Tomorrow Begins. A partial view of the buildings to be replaced while residents wait, as part of the Winbrook Rehabilitation Project. Planning the design of the project has begun.

The Request for Qualifications notes that the Winbrook development is planned to contain a mix of low income housing, assisted living housing, and commercial use, and extensive tax-friendly forms of government developer assistance and financing are expected to be made available on a project that the Department of Housing and Urban Development is described as looking on with favor.

The Request notes that each of the existing 5 Winbrook buildings will have replacement buildings built and completed with Winbrook residents being given “prority,” for the new housing.

The RFQ report obtained by WPCNR at the Housing Authority Thursday states on page 6 that a pre-development planning team has been put together to execute preliminary designs and possible development plans for the site, to wit, “a process to define preliminary needs, design concepts and plans that will guide the development process is underway.”

White Plains Commissioner of Planning, Susan Habel was asked by WPCNR if the Planning Department has been working inconjunction with the WPHA “Pre-Development Planning Team on the project, consisting of Saccardi & Schiff(planning), Warshauer, Mellusi & Warshauer (architects) and Divney, Tung, Schwalbe (engineers) and a national planning firm that executes major federal projects.

Habel, in a written statement, explained, “The Housing Authority has been working with its consultant and design team to develop a plan for the redevelopment if the Winbrook site. They have met with their residents. They are making a submission to the city for a rezoning which will be referred out at the May Council meeting and they will be scheduling meetings with a range of community groups and neighborhoods, area property owners,etc.

The Planning Department will be reviewing their proposed rezoning when it is referred to the Department.

Because of the schedule for submissions for Federal Stimulus funding, the Housing Authority mist work on a tight timeframe.”

A call to Mack Carter, Executive Director of the White Plains Housing Authority for more details of the plans for the rebuilding of Winbrook which has apparently been proceeding quietly. Mr. Carter had not returned the WPCNR call as of Thursday evening, as he was out of the office Thursday for a meeting, staff said.

The Winbrook project is the second major government-involved project to show progress. Last month the U.S. Post Office announced intentions to develop the Post Office property on Fisher Avenue with a major complex, directly across the street from Winbrook.

H1N1 Thursday Evening Briefing from Homeland Security

Posted on April 30, 2009 by John Bailey

WPCNR HOMELAND SECURITY NEWS. From Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano. April 30, 2009: Last night we heard President Obama speak directly to the country about the H1N1 virus. The President made clear that the number one priority is the safety of the American people. That’s our focus and will continue to be our focus throughout the duration of this outbreak. Every action we are taking is meant to stop the spread of the virus and to mitigate its effect on our communities. Our decisions are being made based on the best science and best epidemiology that we know, and that is informing all of our decisions here.

Prioritized states are now receiving antivirals. And let me—there has been some confusion about the difference between a vaccine and an antiviral. A vaccine is something that one takes to prevent the occurrence of a disease. An antiviral is something one takes after you’ve already become sick.

We have stockpiled in this country 50 million courses of the right kinds of antivirals for this particular flu, Tamiflu and Relenza—50 million courses. In addition, the states have another 23 million courses stockpiled, and the Department of Defense has a number of millions of courses stockpiled. From the national stockpile, we’re already moving Tamiflu and Relenza out to the states where the priority—to states that have confirmed incidents of disease, and the complete deployment of 25 percent of the relevant part of the stockpile will be out to the states by the third of May.

In addition, we are sending—in addition to the antivirals, we’re sending out gloves and masks and other similar equipment. As of this afternoon, antivirals and assets have already reached New York City, Indiana, Texas, Kansas, Ohio, Illinois, New Jersey, and of course the District of Columbia. And as I said, more continue to get distributed every day until we’re complete with the initial wave of distribution by the third of May.

We are also working with our private sector and critical infrastructure partners to make sure they’re doing what they need to do to educate their employees. And they are making sure they’re working through their own planning checklists on what to do in this type of a situation.

With respect to the borders, based on the information supplied to us by the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and the World Health Organization, our position has not changed. Customs and border patrol gents continue to watch for travelers who demonstrate signs of illness to make sure that they are taking appropriate action. We are also taking similar action at our nation’s airports. But as the President noted last night, closing the entire borders would have no benefit at this point because the virus is already present in the United States. The comparison is clear. It’s like closing the barn door well after the horse has left.

In addition, the CDC continues to issue community guidance and guidelines for what localities can do, schools, school districts can do as we go through this. If you are a parent and you may believe that at some point your school, the school or schools where your children go may be temporarily closed, be sure you have thought ahead about what you will do with your children and how you make sure that that’s appropriately taken care of.

And importantly, if a school is closed, it is not closed so that kids can go out to the mall or go out into the community at large. They’re being asked to stay home because the entire purpose is to limit containment and communication within the community. So if a school is closed, the guidance is and the request is to keep your young ones at home.

Washing hands often with soap and water, covering your mouth if you cough or sneeze, staying home if you are sick, and contacting your health care provider or doctor if you have severe flu-like symptoms are all part of the common sense that we are following.

District Retirees Double Sick Pay Money on Departure. Buyouts Use 08/09 $$

Posted on April 30, 2009 by John Bailey

WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. By John F. Bailey. April 30, 2009: White Plains Administrators eligible to retire this year are being offered $25,000 substantially more than double their payment for unused sick days they would have received, as an incentive to retire by the School District.

Civil Service Employees Association members eligible to retire are being offered $10,000 incentives going forward with the same generosity.

The incentive payments to clear the payroll of high salaried employees are being funded out of the current 2008-2009 salary line, Assistant Supertintendent for Business Fred Seiler told WPCNR Wednesday. The payments are cash incentives that replace payment for unused sick days.

Both the Administrators and Supervisors Association and the Civil Service Employees Association have approved the new “incentive” policy, eliminating payment for unused sick days in future years, “booking” the $25,000 and $10,000 payments as being out there for Administrators and CSEA employees to take with them into retirement. The$25,000 and $10,000 Retirement Incentives Policy was approved by the Board of Education Monday evening.

Seiler, asked what was the difference between unused sick day pay and the cash incentive payouts, said the maximum amount any administrator could be paid if they had not been sick in twenty years was approximately $12,500, meaning administrators opting to retire were getting double the maximum sick day payout as an “incentive” to retire.Seiler did not mention whether the CSEA employees were getting the same doubling effect.

The Assistant Superintendent for Business said the district anticipates hiring replacement administrators for perhaps some $25,000 less in salary, if the administrators retiring (five are anticipated to accept the incentives)are replaced, realizing savings in the 2009-2010 budget. Seiler left open the possibility the administrators would not be replaced. He said that by offering the incentives the district could also avoid layoffs of teachers and teaching assistants next year.

Asked what the overall anticipated savings anticipated from the incentives, Seiler said it depended on whether or not the administrators were replaced and whether savings from CSEA personnel taking the $10,000 retirement incentives would be used to rehire other personnel, preventing layoffs. The district proposed 2009-10 budget anticipates the firings of about 50 persons, including 24 teachers and 20 teaching assistants. An estimated 58 layoffs including those 44 might be possible.

Dr. Leonora Boehlert, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources, told WPCNR the $25,000 incentive for administrators to retire and the $10,000 incentive to ease CSEA members into retirement was not based on the number of unused sick days at all. She said the payments “were not pro-rated and not related to the number of sick days, only retirement eligibility.”

Boehlert, asked how many sick days per year administrators and district CSEA employees were entitled to, said in a statement, “Each contract has different amounts and calculations. The amounts are higher than the sick leave incentive for CSEA and administrators.”