WPCNR ALBANY ADVOCATE. From Assemblyman George Latimer. February 18, 2006: Westchester residents are invited to attend and speak out on the proposed 2006-07 New York State Budget at a public hearing sponsored by Assemblyman George Latimer. The Public Hearing will be held on Thursday, March 2nd at the Port Chester Village Courtroom, 350 N. Main St., in Port Chester, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Attendees may testify for up to five minutes on any aspect of the State
budget proposal; written testimony will also be accepted at the hearing
and over the ensuing week (until Friday, March 10th). The Governor’s
proposed budget totals approximately $110 billion; budget highlights may
be viewed on the Assembly website at www.assembly.state.ny.us.
Assemblyman Latimer is holding the hearing for the second consecutive
year to bring local residents’ opinions into the budget process. “For
the years I served as a City Councilman and County Legislator, local
budget hearings were an automatic part of the process. You ought to
listen to what people think and feel, even when input is contradictory.
There is, however, no formal mechanism for that to happen on the State
budget – so last year in Mamaroneck, and this year in Port Chester, I’m
inviting all those who choose to come to comment as they see fit”.
No appointment is required; speakers will be heard on a first-come,
first-served basis, with a few exceptions made for unique circumstances.
Latimer will be hold the hearing open for four continuous hours to
accomodate those who attend. Other state legislators have been invited
to attend as well.
For further information, contact Assemblyman Latimer’s office at
777-3832.
Bank Robbery Foiled by Employee Tail, Minutes After Commerce Bank Job.
WPCNR POLICE GAZETTE. By John F. Bailey. February 17, 2006.: White Plains Police arrested a White Plains woman and charged her with bank robbery Thursday evening, within twenty minutes after she allegedly passed a note to a teller at Commerce Bank on Mamaroneck Avenue, approximately 7:20 P.M..
The woman, according to police, had passed a note to a teller at the bank, which said she had a gun and demanded money. The teller complied, Police spokesperson, Martin Gleeson told WPCNR today, then said the police were aided in making an arrest when an employee from the bank followed the suspect out of the bank and down the street, observing the direction she took leaving the bank.
Gleeson said the police do not recommend following perpetrators, because the employee had no way of knowing whether the suspect actually had a weapon. Gleeson said the bank called 911.
White Plains police were there in minutes, he said and Sergeant Brian Fuller of the White Plains Police with other units assisting, apprehended and arrested Anisa Gasparro of 235 South Lexington Avenue, 26. She was arrested on a charge of Robbery in the First Degree. Gleeson said no weapon was found when Sergent Fuller made the arrest, and that approximately $1,100 was recovered.
Gleeson said he did not recall when the last bank robbery occurred in the city, but it is the first in sometime.
Solid Waste Commission Rules Amodio’s Not a Waste Transfer Station.
WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. February 17, 2006: The Westchester County Solid Waste Commission determined Wednesday afternoon, that Amodios, the garden center long a target of neighborhood complaints on Mamaroneck Avenue for alleged soil treatment operations, is not a waste transfer station.
Councilman Glen Hockley, interviewed by WPCNR, reports that the Westchester County Solid Waste Commission ruled in favor of the Mamaroneck Avenue based garden center in White Plains, Amodio’s, Wednesday afternoon at a public hearing, finding that Amodio’s did not based on the observations of a consultant, in their opinion fit the definition of a waste transfer station. Had they determined it was, Amodio’s would have had to ante up $20,000 in licensing fees, Hockley said.
Hockley said the City of White Plains lawsuit against Amodio’s seeking a court-ordered “cease and desist” ruling, was on going and now in its “discovery stage.”
A group of White Plains neighborhoods adjacent to the property had presented evidence to the Solid Waste Commission suggesting that Amodio’s be declared a waste transfer station because of alleged and documented (via pictures) on-going soil and debris treatment procedures being conducted there for a number of years.
Consultant Watches for 4 Hours.
Hockley said the Commission employed a consultant he named as Hawthorne to make a report. Councilman Hockley said the commission said that Hawthorne observed Amodio’s operations for a total of four hours and reported they saw no rock-crushing equipment.
Hockley reported that the Commission advised the attendees at the hearing that there were sixteen other garden centers around Westchester County that had other operations conducting operations similar to Amodio’s. Commissioner Lombardi, Hockley said, advised the audience at the hearing that Amodio’s was a White Plains problem, and not the purview of the Commission.
WPCNR observes that if other garden centers are reclaiming soil from tainted soil, that perhaps the county is missing out on close to half a million dollars in licensing fees for those sixteen properties.
Hockley said he was very upset at this attitude, and told the Commission members that “with all due respect, you have to be blind.”
The Councilman advised WPCNR that the Rosedale Neighborhood Association, the Saxon Woods Neighborhood Association and the Hillair Circle neighborhood associations have complained about these ongoing operations which the Councilman alleged to rockcrushing, soil treatment, regular deliveries by large trucks, and a sulphorous stench emanating from the property.
Had the commission ruled that Amodio’s was a waste transfer station, it would have helped White Plains in its parallel suit which Hockley says claims Amodio’s is violating the zoning rules for that area.
Rita Malmud’s Address on the State of the City.
WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL CHRONICLE-EXAMINER. February 16, 2006: Because Rita Malmud’s traditional “rebuttal” to Mayor Joseph Delfino’s State of the City speech on February 6 was not cablecast because of a failed laser at Government Access Television in White Plains, WPCNR reprints it here. The Common Council meeting is being televised nightly at 7 on WPGA TV, White Plains Government Access, Channel 75, “The Voice of White Plains.”
White Plains Common Council President, Rita Malmud. Photo, WPCNR News Archive.
February 2006 Comments on State of the City
Thank you, Mr. Mayor for this opportunity to expand upon your remarks on behalf of the 6 Councilmembers: Arnold Bernstein, Ben Boykin, Bob Greer, Glen Hockley, Tom Roach, and myself. We also see a City that has much to be proud of and is a terrific community in which to live, work, shop, and spend our leisure hours.
First and foremost in all City actions must be the preservation or enhancement of the quality of our residential neighborhoods and our local suburban lifestyle. Each and every legislative action we take must reinforce our safety, the visual attractiveness, the cleanliness, the energetic downtown surrounded by quiet residential areas, and all the different things that add up to a healthy and supportive environment. We are an inclusive and diverse community that wants to stay that way. We want to continue to offer an impressive array of recreational and youth services, a senior center and a Performing Arts Center, services and opportunities for those with special needs, and financial help to those most in need so that all can enjoy City programs.
White Plains has been blessed recently with a bevy of development opportunities that has changed our downtown into an exciting destination for residents and visitors alike. Our challenge now is to manage this new growth, with particular attention to traffic patterns. We do not want vehicular activity overwhelming our pedestrian as well as other drivers. Remember, those driving to WP soon turn into parkers and walkers. Our downtown must be easily walkable in order to project a friendly and inviting scene. And parking must be easily and inexpensively available. With this framework in mind, we are enthusiastic about the idea of a downtown trolley that can relieve congestion.
As part of rebuilding a modern downtown and preserving residential quality, we must continue to monitor potential improvements in building methods and our own Building Code so that we can have the absolutely safest, most efficient, and healthiest WP. As an example, I want to bring to your attention the efforts of Councilman Tom Roach in pursuing legislation requiring low sulphur emission in large construction vehicles. We need to look at green roof strategies for our large new buildings. We need to re-examine how environmentally sensitive land features on any lot affect the amount of buildable space on that lot. We need to be at the cutting edge of new ideas that give us a better environment.
Necessary revitalization of the Lexington Avenue area near Post Road and Quarropas Street is now being discussed. Residents of that area (Winbrook especially) need to be consulted at the very earliest opportunity. Nearby businesses, civic organizations, non-profits, and religious institutions should also be included at the very beginning of planning. We look forward to hearing their input and incorporating it into an even better and more beautiful neighborhood.
Our three hospitals properties (the former St Agnes, NYPH, and WP Hospital) are significant land owners and developers. Hospital management, their revenue stream, and the method of delivering their services have changed dramatically over the last few years. We want to work with them in a cooperative and timely fashion, ensuring the best possible medical care to White Plains while also addressing any typical developer or expansion issues such as traffic and parking and general community character.
Affordable housing is one of our most complex issues today. It is easy to focus solely on new units. But making sure that our large number of existing affordable units remain in good and livable condition is an important part of supplying local affordable housing. What good does it do to build 10 new units, if 10 old units deteriorate and become uninhabitable? Our City’s efforts to supply help, expertise, and low interest loans to maintain our important supply of existing affordable units remains every bit as important today and tomorrow as it was yesterday. Another component of affordable housing and maintaining existing units is vigorous code enforcement. Too often affordable housing units are owned by absentee landlords. We must challenge landlords with truly burdensome penalties when unfit buildings are allowed to exist. Neglected building safety and overcrowding frequently lead to fires and loss of apartments and homes and endanger their neighbors. Vigorous enforcement is mandatory, while also respecting everyone’s privacy rights. As to new affordable units, we must re-examine our 6% number of affordable units required in large new apartment buildings to see if a larger percentage can be imposed without discouraging new housing construction.
We must not limit ourselves to only this method of building new affordable units. By working with other levels of government and other financing entities we can see development of still more new affordable units.
Interdependency with other levels of government is a fact of our life. Oftentimes decisions by higher levels of government have a profound affect on our City. By promoting discussion of impending legislation or solutions to existing issues with our elected representatives at the federal, state, and county level we will be positioning ourselves to lobby better on our own behalf. We suggest the seven members of the Common Council hold annual meetings with each of these groups of legislators to further our opportunities and goals.
Our City financial picture is strong. An important element of that continues to be our sales tax, which accounts for roughly 40% of our revenue stream. We are a regional business and shopping center supplying the needed services and infrastructure to maintain these commercial entities. As a result, we need NYS to make our sales tax rate permanent, rather than to apply to them every 2 years. We have demonstrated year after year after year ‘ in good economic times and bad ‘ that this sales tax is a relatively stable and important source of annual income to the City.
Public accessibility is essential to good government. Technology permits us to bring important local legal documents online and easily available to the public. We urge the administration to begin immediate planning to get our Zoning Ordinance online, to be quickly followed by the Charter, Municipal Code, and Building Code. For an appropriate fee, these documents should also be available on paper .
We are pleased to receive tonight the final report from the City’s Comprehensive Plan Committee. After both the Council and the public have had a sufficient amount of time to review the Committee’s report, a public hearing needs to be held to hear the public’s comments. Then the Council can decide what changes should be made to our Comprehensive Plan. Those potential changes should be published and still another public hearing held to offer the public an opportunity to critique the Council’s suggested changes. Finally, the Council should vote on additions or deletions to the Comprehensive Plan.
We thank you, Mr. Mayor, for giving the public insight to your views on the State of the City and allowing us to amplify on that.
Rita Malmud
Council President