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

WPCNR CRISIS CHRONICLE. From the Office of New York Senator Hillary Clinton.(Edited) September 22, 2008: Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton met  Monday with New York Federal Reserve Bank President Tim Geithner to discuss needed steps to address both the market crisis and its impact on New York. Senator Clinton outlined principles for action that would offer relief to homeowners, stabilize the markets, and provide broader economic reform.  Senator Clinton today also welcomed news that the Treasury Department has acknowledged the need to provide mortgage relief to some homeowners and is considering providing equity in bailed out companies to taxpayers, but underscored the necessity of bold and comprehensive action to rescue both Wall Street and Main Street.

“I am encouraged by reports that the Treasury Department is beginning to recognize the imperative of providing immediate relief to homeowners facing foreclosure and is considering some share of equity for the American people so that they have an interest in the companies rescued under the Treasury’s proposal.  I will continue to brief the Treasury Department and my colleagues on my proposals which can serve as a basis for these initiatives. “

 “As currently written, the administration’s proposal does not go far enough in providing the real reform we need to rescue both Wall Street and Main Street. I have outlined the principles I think must guide our efforts to restore confidence in our markets and provide broader economic reform. In discussions with Congressional leaders, administration officials, and financial leaders in the days ahead, I will continue to champion these principles as well as the needs of New Yorkers impacted by this crisis,” Senator Clinton said.

Following her meeting with President Geithner, Senator Clinton made a brief statement. A transcript of the Senator’s comments follows.

 Senator Clinton: “As you know we face a very serious set of challenges to our economy and to our financial system. I’ve just discussed a number of those in a meeting with New York Federal Reserve President Tim Geithner, and talked with him about some of my concerns over the current proposal from the Treasury and ways that it can be strengthened. Today I’m focused on the steps that I believe we need to take right now to stave off further turmoil in the short term and address the root causes of this crisis shortly thereafter.

 As a senator from New York I am especially concerned about the economic impact on our city and state – tens of thousands of good, hardworking people have already lost jobs or are fearful of losing them and tens of thousands more are threatened. Now for two years I have called for action as millions of homeowners have fallen into default and the securities backed by these mortgages have plummeted in value – revealing deep cracks in the foundation of the credit markets, igniting a financial crisis, and jeopardizing the stability of the American economy.

These warnings have been ignored for too long and the consequence of that was last week’s emergency announcement. As the Senate considers the proposal by Treasury Secretary Paulson at a cost of $700 billion at least, I’m outlining a series of principles that must be part of broader economic reform as we stabilize markets after eight years of failed policies which set the stage for this crisis.

            I’ve been calling for sweeping intervention to restore the normal functioning of the markets and bring us back from the brink. Now regrettably, the Treasury Department’s plan may be necessary but let’s be clear – this is not a silver bullet and should not be considered as one. Much more needs to be done to address the housing crisis, which is at the root of the current financial crisis, which is at the root of the economic crisis. We have two million homeowners underwater with negative equity and trillions in mortgage debt and millions more with adjustable rate mortgages ready to reset in the next two years – that is a clear and present danger not addressed in the Treasury’s proposal.

Mortgage Modification– Out of the 1930s Proposed

So I’m highlighting one of my key principles and proposals – we need a significant mortgage modification effort that directly helps families with troubled mortgages stay in their homes and stave off foreclosures. This effort should be proportional to the market intervention to prevent a worsening home mortgage crisis and should be embraced with the same sense of urgency.

I spoke with Chairman Barney Frank yesterday and today I know that he has also joined the call for mortgage modification to be part of this proposal. I also was the first, along with Chairman Frank, to propose a modern day Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) – that was created in 1933 during the Great Depression – the original HOLC saved one million homes and returned a profit to the Treasury.

Now with today’s homeownership rate a modern day equivalent could roughly save three times as many homes and more importantly stabilize the housing market which is part of what we have to try to do in the weeks and months ahead. Taking action now to prevent a deepening crisis in the credit markets is an essential step one but this will only work if there is a step two that focuses on action in the home mortgage markets on the behalf of borrowers which will strengthen lenders and the broader credit markets.      

I also think it’s essential that we begin now to work on an updated regulatory framework that should be on the desks of Congress as soon as we possibly can get to it after the election. I’ve discussed this plan with the Treasury Secretary and others in the administration as well as Congressional leadership and I’m calling on Congress to immediately begin considering legislation to create a new entity modeled on the HOLC. We have been reactive for too long, it’s time now to look to the future and be decisive.

But let me just conclude by saying this, I have absolute confidence we will weather this crisis. I am optimistic about the American economy and about our strength as a nation. But we need good, smart, effective leadership in the private sector as well as the public sector. It is no longer something to talk about – we have to begin acting. But we have faced difficult situations before, we have weathered them and we have come out stronger and we will again if we now start taking the right action. So I appreciate Secretary Paulson’s unprecedented proposal for the intervention he’s proposing – but it must be seen as a part of a larger whole that we have to step up and begin addressing immediately. So thank you very much for what you all do here every day for the American economy and for all of us to have more prosperity.”

WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. By John F. Bailey. September 22, 2008: The City School District and Deborah Raizes of Hazard, Young  and Attia, will hold the third of community input sessions tonight designed to determine an ideal profile of the kind of executive White Plains parents and citizens want in considering whom to select for the 2009-2010 Superintendent of Schools. (Present Superintendent Timothy Connors is retiring in June 2009, after seven years.) The community session will be held at White Plains High School at 7:30 P.M. in building B-1.

Superintendent Profiling Taking Place at Bethel Baptist Church last week. Session three is at the High School this evening. All welcome.

The first two sessions so far were held at St. Bernard’s Church (after church), and at Bethel Baptist Church, conducted by Deborah Raizes, above, shown Monday evening at Bethel Baptist, who spearheaded the last search in 2002 which brought Mr. Connors to the district. In the first session, the St. Bernard’s crown indicated they wanted more advanced classes for Hispanics and minorities, which was echoed by the 35 African-American attendents at the Bethel Baptist meeting.

The Bethel Baptist meeting held last Monday, was more critical of the White Plains teachers’ collective abilities to get the most out of minority students, Hispanic and African-American, saying preconceived notions existed, though  the group agreed the district teachers were on the whole very good – though help was not as easy to get if students were minorities. Hispanic parents were happy with the district, and insisted their children wanted to learn English and thought that was important, Ms. Raizes told WPCNR

So far the commentary from both meetings, though praising Mr. Connors’ ability to reach out to the communities, called for a new Superintendent who had experienced with minorities-dominated district like White Plains, with a track record of closing the achievement gap. A majority of African-American parents said a new Suprintendent had to concentrate on doing more at closing the performance gap of their youth.

Individuals painted cases, naming Ridgeway School, in particular as a place where if you were an underperforming minority you were “labeled” and did not receive the attention needed to upgrade performance, while if you were performing well as a minority student, you were encouraged. More  ability to single out and make more of an effort , a handful of speakers said, has to be made with underperforming minority youths in the elementary schools.

Only one parent brought up the need for a new Superintendent to be more sensitive to the growth of the school budget.

The session begins this evening at 7:30 P.M in B-1 at White Plains High School