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

COMMON COUNCIL-CHRONICLE EXAMINER. By John F. Bailey. September 19, 2007: Councilmembers Benjamin Boykin and Dennis Power turned a cold shoulder to Super Developer Louis Cappelli’s e-mail circulated offer to Council President Rita Malmud last week. Cappelli offered to keep everybody’s favorite diner, The Corner Nook in business and find them a new location, if the council would extend his deadline to provide affordable housing units at the Nook site, which he needs to build and finish to open the second tower of his Ritz-Carlton Westchester complex

Will the Council put The Nook First? Cappelli’s Extension Plea to Keep the Nook in business needs 4 Councilpersons for approva.

Cappelli has pointed out that the only reason The Nook must go is because he has to demolish it starting November 1  to build the Affordable Housing he owes by August 8, 2008 to open his second residential/office tower. Cappelli is planning on moving his Valhalla headquarters to that tower.

In discussing Mr. Boykin’s new philosophy of White Plains having “the right development at the right time,” WPCNR queried Boykin as to whether the Council would consider Louis Cappelli’s request for an extension of the time Cappelli had to complete his affordable housing of 41 units at 240 Main Street, so Mr. Cappelli could keep The Corner Nook in business and find the sentimental diner a new place in White Plains.

Boykin hedged, saying, “We are looking forward to the affordable housing that is owed to us by the owner of 221.”

WPCNR gently suggested that Cappelli had made an offer through an e-mail to Rita Malmud, and would the Council consider the extension to Cappelli to save the Dimitrakakis’ family’s livelihood. Boykin was steadfast, “I’ve seen the e-mail, I’ll have no response to that other than to say the developer owes us 41 units of housing and we look forward to getting that getting the housing in the very near future.”

WPCNR persisted for an answer, “So you don’t know whether you’ll entertain it or not?”

Boykin repeated “We look forward to getting the housing in the very near future.”

“That’s a no? ” I asked striving for clarification.

“He owes us 41 units of housing, there’s been no change to that,” Boykin said.

 CNR politely noted there was an offer on the table, “Whether or not you extend him (Cappelli) or not, that’s his offer.”

Boykin said, “We do not entertain anything (meaning Cappelli’s offer) unless it comes through the legislative process.”

I asked what Mr. Cappelli has to do.

“Does he (Mr. Cappelli) have to file an amendment , legislation or something (before you’ll — the council will consider it)?”

Boykin: “That’s part of what the process would be.”

WPCNR followed up, “So you expect a formal declaration from his…?”

Boykin thundered, “I will not entertain any extension of Cappelli. We’re looking for the 41 units of housing, period. End of story.”

4 for  the Nook

Now that Councilman Arnold Bernstein is a lame duck Councilman until December 31 the Mayor, Bernstein and Councilman Glen Hockley could conceivably vote the extension, and it would take either Ms. Malmud, Mr. Boykin, Mr. Roach or Mr. Power to be the compassionate swingman to keep The Nook in business, without a break while Cappelli, as he said he would, worked with the Nook to find him another place.

WPCNR CAMPAIGN 2007. Post Election Reaction. Gathered by The CitizeNetReporter.  September 19, 2007: Post triumph interviews at Dunne’s Pub , Democrat Headquarters, by WPCNR with Nominees-elect Milagros Lecuona and Dennis Power yielded promises that the council was going to be slowing down and taking a closer look at development and would reassert control over the direction the city takes in the future. When pressed for what their vision of the city is, Power said citizens would be involved extensively in the formulation of that vision and the council would, he hoped, not be building White Plains from now on based on outsider’s desires to build what they want in White Plains. 

 Milagros Lecuona  and Dennis Power, victors in the Democrat Primary in White Plains last night,  together voiced  the hope that the Democrats’ “Vision for White Plains” and that the concept of “Balanced Development” would evolve. Lecuona said she was going focus hard on development with her professional expertise in architure and planning.

I asked Milagros Lecuona what she hoped to do to prepare for the Common Council, (assuming she’s elected in November):

Milagros Lecuona: “Thank you very much for those encouraging words, I hope so.  I don’t think I’m going to be anything different than I have been until now, which is being a professional and working and listening to the people and what they’re needs are, and I am part of it so I am very aware of it all the years I am living in White Plains.  I am going to try and use my professional experience and my involvement in the community for the best of everybody.”

I asked what she felt this vote for her means for the people of White Plains, she added,

ML:  “This vote means a lot for the people of White Plains, this is kind of a referendum on the way the development and the concern for the development of the city is going, and it is the type of work that I am going to be focusing on.”

Asked if she was going to be asking sharp questions of developers touting projects, Lecuona said, “Whatever.”

Dennis Power right on Boykin just 36 votes behind him, with 1,602 votes said, “The people have spoken.”

WPCNR asked him if he thought the election (in November) was in the bag for the trio. ( Power, Lecuona, Boykin, Robert Stackpole, Robert Levine, Anthony Pilla,Cass Cibelli, Augie Zicca and Candyce Corcoran will be contending in the November general city election for the three council seats.)

“Oh no,” Power said, “November 6 is when it’s over, not before. There are a lot of issues to be addressed in the city ofWhite Plains. I think we’ve begun addressing them tonight. The people have spoken in terms of the direction we should be going.”

Power Interprets Direction

CNR encouraged Mr. Power to explain what that direction is: “It’s careful deliberation, responsible consideration of issues, whether it’s development, whether it’s affordable housing, sales tax all those kind of things you have to look at things and make sure we do our due diligence before we just kind of blow it out.”

Power expanded: “ I’m just pleased the people have made a  — or at least the Democrats (about 1,650 of 13,500 registered Democrats) have decided they want to have considerations of the residents come first as opposed to having developers and others design the future ofWhite Plains.  I think this is one of the biggest issues in White Plains this year in that people said you know what we’ve got this conflict, this future of suburbia and urban development. I think we’ve got a thriving downtown. People have said let’s craft a balance between the two, because if not, decisions are going to be made for us and the suburbia that we know will be forever gone. ”

WPCNR asked what does balance mean?

Power said “It (balance) is going to develop over a period of time. It means making careful decisions. It means not making snap decisions, just knee-jerk reactions. It means we have to consider things and that we have to be more in control of things, as opposed to instead of just being dealt and reacting to.”

WPCNR asked Power how is the council going to stay in control of things when you (the council) don’t know what you want to do to the rest of the town, do you agree with the West development for example?

Power fielded that one this way:  ‘What it takes, what it means is that you work listening to the people, involving people in decisions, involving planning groups and not just reacting to decisions about who else wants to develop the city of White Plains. So it’s going to be careful deliberations. It’s going to evolve over the course of time and it’s going to be a lot of good things coming together. It’s not going to be a knee-jerk reaction to what some people want for the City of White Plains. I think basically tonight the people have spoken and they’d like some careful deliberation as to where the vision of White Plains goes.”

 Candyce Corcoran, who gathered 694 votes, who will be on the Conservative Line in the November election vowed, “First I would like to thank the1300 White Plains residents who signed my petitions and those citizens who believed enough in me to come out to vote. As any sports fan knows, they do not call a game at halftime. We still have another half to play in the general election. I graduated from White Plains High School, and we are known as the Tigers. Tigers never give up and quit. The campaign still goes on.”

Arnold Bernstein, finished  fourth and has no line on the November ballot at this time. When WPCNR arrived at his headquarters for postmortem, he had already left the building.