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

WPCNR STAGE DOOR. By John F. Bailey. February 28, 2006: The Friends of the Nyacks is spearheading an effort to find a primary tenant with heavy assets, or a cash-rich cadre of benefactors and investors, or an academic or area institution to pay the rent on the old Helen Hayes Theater, itself a Nyack “destination,” to keep the doyenne of Main Street performing, instead of going dark forever. 

Milbrook Acquisitions affirmed its intention to the Mayor of Nyack, John Shields, and Debra Darbone, Chair of The Friends of the Nyacks  that Milbrook had no intention of selling the property last Friday afternoon, but the organization (which holds properties as a business),  were still willing to rent the premises for theater use. Darbone  reports an agreement was reached where  the organization and the arts community have until March 26, 30 more days,  to submit proposals to Milbrook, and the Helen Hayes Theatre Company Board of Directors. It is unclear what role the Board of Directors which plans resigning, would have in evaluating those proposals, if any. 

Last Friday afternoon, Debra Darbone, Chair of Friends of  the Nyacks, a community organization,  said she participated in a meeting  with Mayor John Shields of Nyack, Gary Kahn, Thomas Adams, and Thomas Lipuma, representatives of Milbrook Acquisitions, and Robert Gunderson, Nyack civic leader on the theater situation.

Milbrook Acquisitions, the subsidiary of Milbrook Properties, is in line to purchase the theater building for $3.7 Million from the Helen Hayes Theatre Company. The meeting produced an agreement where Friends of the Nyacks would facilitate the collection and submission of proposals and that they would have  a 30-day extension on their efforts to find an angel for the theater.

Darbone, interviewed by WPCNR, told this reporter today that the rental figure of $18,000 a month stated by Gary Kahn of Milbrook, at the public forum on the theater sale held February 15, appeared still in effect, but allowed that negotiations for any lease of the space would depend on the proposal (s) finally selected.

Darbone said the Friends of Nyacks website has guidelines for submitting proposals to rent and manage the theater on its website, and would be the conduit for submitting proposals to Milbrook and the Helen Hayes Theater Company Board of Directors. The website is at www.friendsofthenyacks.org. She said that it was not clear what role the present Helen Hayes Board of Directors would have in reviewing the proposals submitted. For any questions about submitting a proposal, Friends of the Nyacks may be reached at (845) 358-4973.

Darbone said Milbrook had no plans to sell the assets of the theatre building, and that the only equipment sold was “some copying equipment.”

O’Donnells out of the running.

Jo Baer, another community resident close to the theater situation, who is among a number of community members who have written the attorney general asking for a review, told WPCNR that it appeared that once the Attorney General office approves a contract and a judge approves it that it is unlikely the approval of the impending Helen Hayes sale will be withdrawn.

Baer told WPCNR, the Attorney General’s office has acknowledged her letter of concern, but has not told her whether or not the matter is still under review.  Baer thought that withdrawal of the approval could only occur if evidence of fraud were to service. She told WPCNR it was her opinion that there was something wrong with the 501c3 organization regulations that a non-profit would be allowed to sell their assets without making those assets available to the general public.

Baer told WPCNR that Rosie and Kellie O’Donnell who had originally offered to purchase the theater for $5 Million February 15, are not interested in renting the theater. She added that Milbrook was not allowing persons inside to view the theater.

WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. By John F. Bailey. February 27, 2006: On the eve of the first of three meetings around town to discuss infrastructure and capital improvements proposals with the public, the Board of Education indicated they were not prepared to move ahead with the proposal to build a new Post Road School for $36 Million  (more than half of the $67 Million capital projects proposal under consideration), without having a strategic plan created for the School District going out 5 to 10 years.

Board of Education members Peter Bassano, Bill Pollak, Terry McGuire, Michelle

Tratoros and Rosemarie Eller all voiced  reservations about endorsing the new school proposed project to the public in the round of public meetings beginning tomorrow evening at Ridgeway School at 8 P.M.. Board Member, Rick Tompkins was not in attendance.

Peter Bassano said demographic trends and migration patterns were not studied in preparing the architect’s recommendations, that projections were based solely on birth rates. He called for a strategic plan for the district to address those specific factors, budget trends, and the possible need for a new middle school. Timothy Connors, Superintendent of Schools, disagreed with Mr. Bassano, declaring that birth rates had been “the most reliable” method of determining facility capacities and needs. Connors warned that not providing for facilties now held out the possibility of not being able to accept students in the future.

The board decided they would present the new Post Road School proposal and the renovation of the present Post Road School as presented by the architects to the public as what the district architect had recommended, and that the board themselves does not have enough information to make a decision on how to handle Post Road School needs at this time.

Board of Education President Donna McLaughlin told WPCNR after the meeting that she did not know  when a Post Road decision, to build a new school or renovate, could or would be made. Ms. McLaughlin told WPCNR she did not think the middle school facility was that critical at this time because the district still has room at Eastview School now that the Youth Bureau is moving out of that building.

In addition, the board made clear that the infrastructure improvements totaling approximately $21 Million would be explained to the public in the upcoming series of meetings,  and the artificial turfing and improvement of the stands of  the two football fields, Parker Stadium and Loucks Field at a cost of $10 Million was still on the table as a possibility for next year. 

The Board at the close of the meeting agreed to consider hiring a consultant (The Cambridge  Group) to prepare a 10-year strategic plan for the district at the approximate cost of $15 to $18,000 a year to the district. Superintendent of Schools Timothy Connors noted that such a plan would not tell the Board whether the Post Road School project was feasible, nor would it analyze the validity of the architectural firm’s recommendations.  

Timothy Connors said that such a strategic  plan would not be effective unless there was what he called “an action plan” to implement the plan recommendations. He said that would involve hiring a facilitator to keep the recommendations of such a plan on track, and make sure they were done.

Donna McLaughlin said she felt the Board had to put the proposals out to the public to get their input on the projects.

A third meeting of the Annual Budget Committee was scheduled for March 15, in addition to the meeting slated for March 8.

The meetings in which the public is invited to hear the capital projects proposals are tomorrow evening, Tuesday, February 28, at Ridgeway School, 8 P.M.; March 7 at Post Road School, 8 P.M.; March 14 at Mamaroneck Avenue School, 8 P.M.; and March 20, a public hearing at Education House, 7:30 P.M.

Bill Pollak, asked by WPCNR when this strategic plan idea surfaced, said it evolved over the last week and that over the last few weeks it became clear that members of the board did not have enough information on the Post Road School and “it had to be stopped.”

The renovations for the nine district buildings to improve their infrastructure and the proposal to build new stands and install artificial turn at Loucks Field (at White Plains High School), and Parker Stadium appear still to be possibilities for bonding next year, and could be decided upon March 27,