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WPCNR WESTCHESTER WINGS. May 20, 2007: County Executive Andy Spano notified the Federal Aviation Administration  this week, that its latest proposal to reroute planes operating at Westchester County Airport is still unacceptable and must be changed.

 

WESTCHESTER COUNTY AIRPORT APPROACH FROM THE NORTH: A noted aviation expert analyzing the FAA rerouting plans told WPCNR there would be more traffic routed over Fairfield County in Connecticut and Northern Westchester from Westchester County Airport,  but more impact on the County would be from rerouting of arrivals and departures to LaGuardia.

Spano criticized the lack of advance notice to review the new plan, charging the FAA failed to release “detailed” information needed to fully understand and comment upon the noise impacts until May 9, two days before the comment period closed. (County consultants informed the county they needed another month to evaluate the “voluminous (new noise mitigation ) data” the county had been given by the FAA May 9.)

Demands new Environmental Impact Study

In his letter, the county executive complains that the FAA is focused on comparing its first plan to its second plan – as opposed to comparing the latest plan to current flight routing. Spano urged the agency to “return to the drawing board and prepare a supplement DEIS (draft environmental impact statement) that addresses and clarifies all relevant issues. He also requests an extension of the comment period – something the FAA has so far failed to do,” according to the county news release.

In a statement, Spano said, “To not issue a supplemental DEIS and to not extend the comment period is disgraceful.”

In April 2007, the release reports, “the FAA issued a Noise Mitigation Report for the New York/New Jersey/Philadelphia Metropolitan Airspace Redesign project and announced it was  proposing the  “2001 Integrated Airspace Mitigated Preferred Alternative Variation with Integrated Control Complex (ICC)” as its preferred alternative. It allowed one month – until May 11,2007 – for public comment. It has indicated it will not issue a Supplemental DEIS.”

Spano complains – “the proposed reassignment of air traffic could undo decades of hard work, public understanding and good will and is unacceptable.”

Pilot and Aviation Safety Analyst Looks at Plan

WPCNR turned to Peter Katz, national aviation columnist, publisher of the international monthly report on aviation safety issues, Aviation Monthly,  who is a private pilot flying  out of Westchester County Airport, intimately familiar with county airport patterns. He is a former network correspondent, and co-anchors White Plains Week, the incisive hard-hitting weekly news roundup show on Channel 76 in White Plains. WPCNR asked Mr. Katz to clarify what is at stake. Mr. Katz notes this is standard FAA procedure:

“Spano’s position as stated is correct. What the FAA has released is highly complex. The FAA’s pattern typically has been not to allow adequate public comment periods when it makes a proposal. In most cases, when there has been an outcry from those who would be affected by the proposal, the FAA relents and extends the comment period.

Not releasing vital information until two days before the public comment period ends, as Spano alleges the FAA has done, is not tolerable. I have not attempted to independently verify that claim.

Of course, the poetic justice in this is that Spano finds himself complaining that government is trying to shut folks out of the decision-making process and that government needs to be more open with its information and listen to what people have to say. Where have we heard that complaint before?”

Katz on the FAA intent on the rerouting:

“I have tried to review and understand the FAA’s noise mitigation documents. They are complex. You have to look very hard to see if there are omissions, lies, or errors. None of it is written for the lay person.

Understanding from the documents exactly what are the proposed changes in routings for arrivals and departures at all of the affected airports (not just Westchester) is difficult. In some cases, headings (course direction based on the compass) are changed only a few degrees from what is currently being done. In other cases, increased use of less desirable navigational aids is proposed – such as, use of an LDA (Landing Directional Aid) for a certain approach to LaGuardia, instead of the much better ILS (Instrument Landing System).

New Routing over affluent Fairfield County and Northern Westchester

In Westchester’s case, the proposal includes changing certain departure practices to keep aircraft further away from airspace used by Newark. It looks as if more airplanes using Runway 16 (South South East Direction 160 degrees) for takeoff to the south would be turned to the east, then north, then west, (circle to the east, going over a big part of southwestern Fairfield County and northern Westchester County).

Westchester County Airport Approach Into the South (Runway 16): Aircraft taking off South and circling east would fly over the southern shore of Long Island Sound and the communities of southern Fairfield County, Connecticut to the left of your picture Stamford is on the horizon.  Kensico Dam is in the foreground above command console of the aircraft.

Westchester residents also would be affected by changes made to arrival routes into LaGuardia. I think this would be the biggest impact, since the airplanes are larger and more frequent than at Westchester. In the case of Westchester arrivals/departures,  it looks as if there would be little to no effect on overall noise levels, though some noise impact would be shifted from one area to another.”

 

 

 

WPCNR Common Council Chronicle-Examiner. By John F. Bailey, May 17, 2007: As predicted by WPCNR and White Plains Week months ago, the Common Council approved the building of 55 Bank Street today, a $260 Million development of two apartment towers 24 stories each, including 429 market rate apartments and 107 units of affordable housing (rentable to earners making 60%, 80% and 100% of median income ($73,000) on the present city municipal parking lot adjacent Bank Street Commons.

City Commissioners and appointed officials were given a 4% raise by the Common Council, but the Council declined to award themselves 4 per cents, and denied the Mayor a raise.

The Bank Street Job

 2 Buildings Built on city Commuter Parking Lot, 29 Stories each, 272 feet tall, 536 Apartment Rentals, 109 “below market,”costing $260 Million Approved Thursday Evening at this week’s second Special Meeting of the Common Council.

 The LCOR Bank Street project now moves to the site plan stage – with no date set for groundbreaking. The first payment for the land, $6 Million, is due by June 30. The agreement eliminated the controversial Plan B option where if the 107 units were scaled back to 32 for failure to receive tax abatement – LCOR would pay the city $8 Million for the land.

Instead, the city has agreed to a repurchase option to protect LCOR’s interest:  if tax abatement to the sum of $39 Million or $29 Million, depending on who is figuring it, the county or the city, is not approved by the city by January 15 2008, the city would have the option to buy back the property from LCOR at fair market value but no less than the $6 Million LCOR will have paid. The Repurchase Option, cynics were saying after the meeting is an interest-free loan to the city to help them balance the budget. LCOR would have right of first refusal if the city were to offer the land to anyone else after the city had repurchased it. The Repurchase Agreement gives LCOR leverage, should they find the project unbuildable for some reason

After the initial LCOR $6 Million payment this June 30, the balance of the purchase price for the city municipal parking lot of  $9,500,000 will not be fully paid to the city until June 30, 2010. The sum of $5 Million will be paid by June 30, 2008; $2.25 Million paid on or before June 30,2009; and the final payment of $2.25 Million paid June 30, 2010.

Mayor denied a Raise

In the discussions on raises for 34 appointed city employees, including the Director of Information Services,  Commissioner of Building, Commissioner of Recreation and Parks, Commissioner of Planning, Commissioner of Parking, Commissioner of Traffic, Executive Officer, Personnel Officer, Library Director, City Clerk, among the Commissioners watching intently currently on the payroll, the council approved raises of 4% across-the-board, totaling $174,565, plus $2,531 in Medicare Costs and $17,457 in additional retirement costs.

The council split on whether to give raises to themselves and the Mayor. Glen Hockley and Arnold Bernstein felt the council has worked very hard this year and deserved the 4% raise. Dennis Power, Rita Malmud, Benjamin Boykin, and Tom Roach, who was not present but conveyed his impressions to Mrs. Malmud, earlier, she said felt elected officials should not receive a raise.

The Mayor learning he was not going to receive the $5,835 raise that 4% would have given him, took it like a man, very gracefully.  The Mayor noted that the total savings by eliminating council raises and his raise was only $9,000 on a $154.7 Million budget, but said if that was what the council wanted, “whatever you want to do.”

Mr. Hockley, joining in the council’s spirit of self-sacrifice and aggressive budget restraint, suggested the Council President’s stipend be reduced, as a further gesture. Mrs. Malmud, the Council President, ignored the suggestion.

The $9,000 cut was the only cut the Common Council made in the city budget. The Common Council will continue to be paid $36,471 a year, with the Common Council President earning $38,971. The Mayor will continue at this year’s salary of $145,881.

Mayor Uses School District Salaries as Selling Point.

In justifying the 4% increase for his appointed staff the Mayor, made pointed reference to the recently published salaries of the White Plains City School District Administration. He noted that one of the two Middle School Principals at $173,134 makes more than the City’s Commissioner of Public Safety, Dr. Frank Straub, who with his new 4% raise will make $165,236, the highest paid city official.

As a selling point to support his call for 4% raises, the mayor passed out copies of the listing of School District Administrator’s salaries to the Common Council.

Cappelli thinks it Over.

The Council was set to approve the 23 affordable apartments in the City Center Municipal Garage, when the developer, Louis Cappelli, through a spokesman asked the resolution be withdrawn, because, according to Paul Wood, city Executive Officer, Cappelli thought he might be able to “do better” than the HUD guidelines in subsidizing the heating costs for the affordable apartments. Wood said Cappelli wanted to look at it a little more. The 23 units are being proposed by Mr. Cappelli to enable him to open the Ritz-Carlton Westchester Hotel on time in September, by which time the 23 units associated with that development are to be built, according to council approval of the 221 Main project.