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)

Governor Makes Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand a U.S. Senator

Posted on January 23, 2009 by John Bailey

WPCNR ALBANY ROUNDS. January 23, 2009 : Governor David Paterson appointed Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand of the 20th Congressional District (Albany area) to fill the next two years of former Senator Hillary Clinton’s senate term, as Mrs. Clinton ascends to the Secretary of State cabinet position. Governor Paterson praised Ms. Gillibrand for her courage and intelligence she has shown in her two years in congress. She was elected to the House of Representatives in 2006, defeating a four-term incumbent, Republican John E. Sweeney, in a tough, uphill campaign, and reelected last month.

Mrs. Gillibrand in her remarks expressed her admiration for Senator Clinton, she mention how she had worked on Mrs. Clinton’s senate campaign. A new mother of an 8 month old son, and an 4-year old son, Mrs. Gillibrand introduced her family at the news conference, and spoke for about 25 minutes and is still speaking at this moment 12:52 PM. She appeared confident, promised to unite both upstate and downstate in common interests and a strong speaker actually sounding like a Hillary Clinton in the making. She will assume the Senate seat Sunday, Governor Paterson said.

She said would work to pass a wide-ranging stimulus package to revitalize our economy, new investments in infrastructure a greater N.Y. share of medicaid reimbursement, and a high-speed rail transportation network

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Introduced today by Governor David Paterson

28,100 Unemployed in Westchester — 5.7% of Workforce; State:7%

Posted on January 22, 2009 by John Bailey

WPCNR MARKETPLACE. From Johny Nelson, Labor Market Analyst, New York State Department of Labor. (EDITED)January 22, 2009 UPDATED 5:25 P.M.: As of December 31, 2008, according to the New York State Department of Labor, there were 464,800 persons employed in Westchester County and 28,100 unemployed, an unemployment rate of 5.7%, up from 5.2% in November, according to statistics provided WPCNR by Johny Nelson, Labor Market Analyst with the New York State Department of Labor. In Rockland County, the unemployment rate is 5.5% where currently as of December 31, there were 145,400 employed and 8,400 unemployed.

Early today, Gustaff Herman, Deputy Commissioner of Labor for New York State annnounced in White Plains that the New York State number of unemployed persons statewide had risen by 49,300 persons to 7% in December , up from 6% in November, and 5.7% in November. Gustaf Herman, Deputy Commissioner of Labor for New York State told WPCNR that the Westchester and Putnam unemployment percentages were not broken out at this time.

Statistics circulated by Mr. Nelson to media late Thursday afternoon, report that the number of persons employed in the Hudson Valley Region which includes Westchester County, Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess, Orange, Sullivan and Ulster Counties decreased 9,500 or 1.2 percent, to 758,000 for the 12-month period ending December 2008.

Private sector employment at 758,000 is the lowest November job count since 2005. Industries that were once resilient at the onset of the recession has now begun to show some marked weakness.
Despite all the financial woes, construction had continued to perform admirably up until 4^th quarter 2008. For December 2008, the sector recorded a mere growth of 0.4 percent. For the same period last year they posted a growth of 1.3 percent and 6.3 percent the year before last.
Professional and business services sector which is highly sensitive to economic trends had also been performing well up until recent months. The sector has now begun to show signs that it’s not immune to the National recession. Employment in the sector declined by 2.2 percent. For the same period last year they posted a growth of 1.4 percent.
Meanwhile the financial crisis has begun to wreak havoc on the auto dealers in the region. Over the past year, five car dealers have closed operations as a result of tightness in credit.

Analyst observations:

Persistent economic woes- housing, credit and financial crises, along with a slew of layoff announcements at the end of 2008 and beginning of 2009 all point to a troublesome period for job seekers in the region. For December 2008, Private sector employment in the area declined by 9,500 or 1.2 percent. The construction and professional and business services industries which had been quite resilient in early 2008 have begun to show marked weakness, clearly a sign that the National recession is finally impacting the region.

Larry Schwartz, Deputy County Executive Takes Job with the Governor

Posted on January 22, 2009 by John Bailey

WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From Westchester County Department of Communications. January 22, 2009 (EDITED): Larry Schwartz, who has served the Spano Administration from the start in top positions, is leaving his job as deputy county executive to take a high-level position in the administration of Gov. David A. Paterson.

Schwartz, a resident of White Plains, will serve as first deputy secretary to the governor, reporting directly to Paterson and Secretary to the Governor William J. Cunningham III as they work to address the range of issues affecting New York State.

Susan Tolchin, previously Director of Communications and Chief Advisor to the County Executive, Andrew Spano, will succeed Mr. Schwartz as Deputy County Executive. Ms. Tolchin’s position as Chief Advisor to the County Executive will not be filled. Tolchin is first in line to succeed the County Executive should something unexpected happen to Mr. Spano and he be unable to perform his duties.

The position of Director of Communications will be shared jointly by Donna Greene and Victoria Hochman, currently members of the Communications staff.

Schwartz, who originally held the title of chief advisor and then became deputy county executive in 2002, has essentially been chief operating officer for Spano, overseeing the daily operations of Westchester County government. He played a critical role in the development and approval of the $1.7 billion annual operating budget, as well as all of the County Executive’s intergovernmental operations. He also aided in the financial rescue and recovery of the Westchester Medical Center.

“I thank the county executive for giving me the opportunity to serve in county government and the people of this county,” said Schwartz. “Now I look forward to new challenges and serving the people of New York State.”

Tolchin became communications director for the county in 1998, overseeing all public information efforts and media relations. She was additionally named chief advisor to the county executive in 2002, overseeing the operations of various county offices and departments.

Before that, from 1980-1993, she was elected to seven terms as town clerk for the Town of Greenburgh, Westchester’s largest town. She has long been active in civic affairs. She is currently a member of the board of the Westchester Arts Council, the Westchester Jewish Conference and the Jewish Community Center on the Hudson.

Said Tolchin, “I thank Andy for giving me his opportunity and for having faith in me. I have been proud to work for an administration that is open and ethical and to work for a county executive who really cares about the people of Westchester. Larry and I have been more than just co-workers. We have been very close friends, and I will miss him tremendously.”

Foreclosures Rate Slowed by August Legislation in County

Posted on January 22, 2009 by John Bailey

WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From The County Clerk. (EDITED) January 22, 2009: The rate of initiated foreclosure actions slowed over the last 12 months. Westchester County statistics released by the County Clerk’s Office today show the number of initiated foreclosure actions have been steady the last two years and have kept pace in 2008 numbering 2,166 in 2007 and rising 2% to 2,206 more foreclosure actions in 2008. The rate of foreclosures continued steady, but is down sharply from 2005, and 2006. Foreclosure proceedings in the county grew 50% from 2005 to 2006 and 40% from 2006 to 2007.

Contributing to Westchester foreclosures slowing were the foreclosure reform measures signed into law last August. One part of the new state legislation requires lenders to send pre-foreclosure notices to borrowers at least ninety days before an action is started. That notice encourages the homeowner to seek help and provides contact information for local government-approved housing counselors.

“The measure not only mandates lending reforms for the future,” began Idoni, “but also provides immediate help to residents in danger of losing their homes.” And while 2008 statistics show an overall increase in foreclosure filings, they also reveal a significant drop in foreclosure actions filed in the last four months of 2008:

Filings Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total

2005 83 64 97 98 82 93 83 104 98 85 110 86 1083

2006 100 119 159 120 140 128 112 136 117 162 130 123 1546

2007 146 132 252 181 145 156 176 226 179 201 181 191 2166

2008 243 231 285 224 202 225 238 242 73 96 71 76 2206

“The slowing of foreclosure filings is good news, but Westchester residents are still losing their homes and need help,” warned Idoni. “Without proper counseling, this respite will only be temporary.” Idoni urged local residents at risk of foreclosure to contact Westchester Residential Opportunities (WRO), a non-profit housing agency with offices in White Plains and Mount Vernon.

A trained counselor can be reached at (914)428-4507 or visit www.wroinc.org for more information.

The Westchester County Clerk is the Clerk for the Supreme Court where foreclosure actions are heard. Please note that the commencement of a foreclosure action does not mean that a Westchester home will be lost to foreclosure. Filing a foreclosure action in the Westchester County Clerk’s office is the first step of a process which could result in the loss of a home or building.

If a foreclosure is granted, the home or building is sold at a foreclosure auction and the proceeds of the sale are used to pay off the loan. However, some homeowners enter into a repayment plan, secure a modified loan, refinance with another lender or sell their home on their own to avoid foreclosure. The office of the Westchester County Clerk is located at 110 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. in White Plains and is open Monday through Friday (excluding holidays) from 8 a.m. until 5:45 p.m. For more information, please call 995-3070 or visit www.WestchesterClerk.com.