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WPCNR STREETS OF WHITE PLAINS. News and Comment By John F. Bailey NOVEMBER 1, 2020 UPDATED NOVEMBER 2 WITH ACTUAL NUMBER OF VOTERS VOTING EARLY:

They were lining up to vote.

They joined the line.

The line they knew they would have to stand in for hours.

They stood, silent, forlorn, faces set in commitment waiting for polls to start counting their votes.

By WPCNR reckoning depending on how many voting machines were in the Board of Elections Polling Place, each person would each take 5 minutes to vote between checking in with the polling personnel and signing their name in the big voter rolls books, then tediously, squinting and filling out by dark pen (which had to be sanitized each time the pen was used by a voter), then had to fill in hard-to-read ballots for their choices in very teeny, tiny, little circles you had to fill in precisely within the lines.

(That was a long one sentence paragraph that hardly describes the agony of voting early in White Plains NY USA and every other of the 17 Early Voting Polling Centers.)

I reckon it will take each person in that waiting line above, hours to vote once poll opened. It has been like this all week long at the Board of Elections Polling Place at 25 Quarropos Street. About 100 persons were lined up this morning at 11:45 A.M..

This means that if you got on the end of the end of the line once polls opened and each person ahead of you took 5 minutes to vote it would take you 8 hours to vote. If each person ahead of you took 10 minutes to vote, you would not get to vote unless they kept the polls open to 9 PM,

There were no preparations for a heavy early voting turnout. There were no contingency plans that we could see last week/

“There are too many voting early.”

OK. But they were not ready for the worst case it could be. They weren’t prepared to expand hours exponentially.

Just thinking (somebody has to do it):

Perhaps they should have kept the polls open from 6 AM to 9 PM like a regular election day once they saw the giant turnouts and perhaps open maybe two more polling places in White Plains to help things out and would ease the pain.

Of course the excuse is we “had no idea the turnout would be so large.”

Well in White Plains there are 33,000 registered voters (approximately). You had one polling place that was open for 9 days for early voting(still one day to vote). This would mean that if all voted early you would have to accommodate 3,666 voters every day for 9 days. Of course there are the absentee ballots. So let’s say there were thousands of those.

Judging from the crowd waits in White Plains you were probably getting 400 voters a day voting early, and many had to come back the next day. My point is you had to have more than 17 early voting polling places in the county, not just one in a city of 57,000.

Not withstanding, you have by squeezing people into the Board of Elections which is not specious by any means, you are potentially creating a “Super Spreader, hard to social distance” environment to vote.

However the county has two venues in White Plains that could have housed a polling place in the specious County Center with plenty of room to string out 10, 20, 30, 40 voting machines and voting kiosks to space out the White Plains voters at least. All that had to be done was to cart the records over from the BOE. You could hire more elections inspectors…and run the lines either around the floor of the County Center and put the voting machined on the center stage.

Another venue could have been the White Plains Performing Arts Center Wind the lines through the seats of the theater check in in the front of the stage and have them vote in kiosks on stage and carry them over to a bank of voting machines.

I can hardly wait to see the crowds at the regular polling places in White Plains on Tuesday.

At the pace they were getting votes cast at The Board of Elections say 10 minutes for each person to vote, 5 at a time with 4 to 6 machines,(there should have been more) you’d be clearing 50 to 60 an hour. If signing-in, pen wiping, and painstaking voting filling in took 5 minutes a person, 4 machines you’d be clearing a 100 an hour (600 a day).

Westchester County has 642,976 registered voters. Seventeen Early Voting Polling Places were open for those 642,976 voters. If half decided to vote early each polling place could perhaps have to handle 18,911 voters. That is 2,000 a day. At the pace of the early voting that has taken place the 17 early voting polls could never have handled a 50% turnout.

Say 25% of Westchester voters voted early (161,000) : the 17 polling places would have have still had to expect 1,000 a day (1,052).The absentee voters would cut down on that, but by how much? Judging by the pace of the early voting process, on each of the 8 days to date, they cannot handle 500 a day.

UPDATED EDITOR’S NOTE: THE ACTUAL NUMBER OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY VOTERS VOTING EARLY WAS 138,625 ACCORDING TO MEDIA OUTLETS AFTER THE 17 POLLING PLACES CLOSED. THIS MEANS 21.6% OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY REGISTERED VOTERS VOTED EARLY.

The long lines prove that.

WPCNR salutes the intrepid voters willing to go through this incredible surreal experience (poorly planned, poorly funded, poorly decisioned as it has proved to be), to have their say in early voting.

You are the real heroes of the USA, you are making your commitment to the country, and sending a message that you care about your country what it stands for and what it has brought to the world the last 244 years: Truth, Justice and the American Way.

You are the best.

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WPCNR STAGE DOOR. From the White Plains Performing Art Center. October 28, 2020:

With the official announcement from its owners announcing the permanent closure of Westchester Broadway Theatre Monday, the holders of tickets to cancelled WBT productions were told their tickets would be honored by White Plains Performing Arts Center. Here is how this program works from the White Plains Performing Arts Center website:

WBT TICKET EXCHANGE POLICY

WPPAC plans to provide the following service to WBT Patrons. The WPPAC is receiving no remuneration of any kind for performing this service. The WPPAC is doing this as a service to the theatre community, to honor and preserve the legacy and groundbreaking history of Westchester’s first professional regional theater. This is an EXCHANGE program ONLY. WE CANNOT OFFER ANY ASSISTANCE WITH OBTAINING REFUNDS.

PLEASE NOTE: The WPPAC is currently not open as per state mandate and the Box Office is open only sporadic hours at this time. The best way to contact them is via email at boxoffice@wppac.com

When the Governor does allow the White Plains Performing Arts Center theater to reopen, we expect to have our occupancy restricted when we begin performances again. You may want to wait to make your exchange until a full slate of performances are being offered to give you the most options.

WPPAC will honor WBT outstanding tickets under the following terms:

1. WPPAC will offer 1 ticket to a WPPAC production for each 1 ticket exchanged from WBT. Gift certificates will be exchanged for however many tickets are on the gift certificate. This offer also applies to redeemed Local Flavor certificates only. WPPAC is not a dinner theatre so no dinner or other concession items are included. We are only making this offer to cover the entertainment portion of the ticket.
2. WPPAC’s offer is made for paid reservations using subscriptions and single tickets for performance dates past March 12th, 2020.  We will also accept gift certificate/cards that have not expired as of March 12th, 2020.
3. WPPAC will try to accommodate the group ticket holders, but each group leader must speak with the box office directly to see what options might be available. If you have paid for tickets to come with a group you must contact your group leader. Only group leaders can exchange tickets.
4. WBT tickets or gift certificates MUST be brought or mailed to the WPPAC Box Office for any exchanges to take place. We cannot assist with lost gift certificates. If your ticket order was held at the WBT Box Office for will call, you will need to speak or email directly with a WPPAC ticket agent. Please provide the following information when emailing or calling:

• The name the booking was made under
• The date of the show and number of tickets
• Whether you have the physical tickets in hand or you were supposed to pick them up at the box office
• What new performances you might be interested in attending

5. WPPAC will offer WBT ticket holders the opportunity to exchange seats at the sole discretion of the WPPAC Box Office.

6. WPPAC’s offer to redeem WBT tickets will remain in effect for events thru December 31, 2022.

7. The WPPAC offer is based on availability. Availability may be limited at the discretion of the WPPAC and state regulations/restrictions.

8. This ticket exchange program does not include complimentary tickets, coupons, vouchers, special promotions, trade or charity gift cards.

9. ALL EXCHANGES WILL BE FINAL.

FOR ALL FUTURE UPDATES

CLICK HERE

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WPCNR CAMPAIGN 2020. From Chairman of the Board of Legislators Benjamin Boykin. October 28, 2020:

The Board of Elections has announced that early voting hours are being extended as follows: .Wednesday, October 28, 2020 – 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, October 29, 2020 – 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, October 30, 2020 – 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, October 31, 2020 – 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. except Mt. Kisco Memorial Complex – Special Hours due to Halloween event: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, November 1, 2020 – 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. The early voting locations are: Eastchester Public Library, 11 Oakridge Place, Eastchester Dobbs Ferry Village Hall, 112 Main Street, Dobbs Ferry Greenburgh Town Hall, 177 Hillside Avenue, White Plains Veterans Memorial Building, 210 Halstead Avenue, Harrison Pound Ridge Town House, 179 Westchester Avenue, Pound Ridge Mamaroneck Town Center, 740 W. Boston Post Road, Mamaroneck Mt. Kisco Memorial Complex at Leonard Park, 1 Wallace Drive, Mt. Kisco Mt. Pleasant Community Center, 125 Lozza Drive, Valhalla Mt. Vernon City Hall, 1 Roosevelt Square, Mt. Vernon New Rochelle City Hall Annex, 90 Beaufort Place, New Rochelle Joseph G. Caputo Community Center, 95 Broadway, Ossining Peekskill Nutrition Center, Neighborhood Center, 4 Nelson Avenue, Peekskill Somers Town House, 335 Route 202, Somers Westchester County Board of Elections, 25 Quarropas Street, White Plains Grinton I. Will Library, 1500 Central Park Avenue, Yonkers Riverfront Library, One Larkin Center, Yonkers Yorktown Cultural Center, 1974 Commerce Street, Yorktown Heights During the early voting period, registered voters may cast their ballots at ANY of the 17 designated early voting locations.On Election Day, Tuesday, November 3, Voters MUST use their assigned polling locations.  To look up your Election Day polling location visit the New York State Board of Elections at https://voterlookup.elections.ny.gov/ or the Westchester County Board of Elections at https://citizenparticipation.westchestergov.com/find-polling-place.

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WPCNR THE LETTER TICKER. From the Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. October 27, 2020:

Dear John, 

Our country is seeing a surge in COVID; there have been almost half a million new confirmed COVID cases in the US in just one week.

While the number of new cases per 100,000 residents in New York remains low relative to other states, New York State is not in a hermetically sealed bubble.  

COVID is still here and continues to spread in communities in New York, particularly when people do not follow the safety protocols in place to control the virus. We continue to see outbreaks linked to mass gatherings at houses of worship, at weddings and funerals, and other events where too many people gather. 

We cannot let our guard down and risk sliding backward in New York. We all must remain vigilant as the weather gets colder and as we are up against “COVID fatigue.”

Stay NY Smart: Wear a mask, socially distance and follow the public health guidance. It’s there to save lives. 

Chart of the Day: The statewide test positivity rate (the orange line) remains under 2 percent. Here’s what else you need to know tonight: 

1. California has been added to New York’s Travel Advisory. Individuals traveling to New York from California must quarantine for 14 days upon arrival in NY. Massachusetts meets the criteria for the travel advisory but due to the region’s interconnectedness, quarantine is not practically viable. As such, New York highly discourages non-essential travel between Massachusetts and New York to the extent practical. See more info here. 

 2. The positivity rate in the “micro-cluster” focus areas was 3.65 percent yesterday. The statewide positivity rate excluding these areas was 1.53 percent. Of the 111,618 tests reported yesterday, 1,991, or 1.78 percent, were positive. There were 1,083 total hospitalizations. Sadly, we lost 15 New Yorkers to the virus.

  3. SUNY will require on-campus students to test negative for COVID-19 before leaving for Thanksgiving break. That means SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities will test about 140,000 people over a 10-day period leading up to Thanksgiving break. Per the policy, colleges in the SUNY system should schedule tests as close as possible to students’ departure date. “I want to thank our students for the phenomenal effort during these difficult times as well as SUNY health policy experts for helping us create this guidance that ensures a safe wind down of the fall semester,” said SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras. 

 4. The MTA will begin a voluntary COVID-19 screening program for frontline transit employees. Under this new initiative, free COVID testing will be offered at field locations and medical assessment and occupational health services centers to frontline NYC Transit, LIRR, Metro-North and Bridge and Tunnels employees. Up to 2,000 frontline MTA employees will be screened per week under the initial phase of the program. Read more here.  

Tonight’s “Deep Breath Moment”: A Pulitzer Prize-winning composer is giving Central Park its own soundtrack. Composer Ellen Reid has written new music for an app called Soundwalk that is intended especially for visitors of Central Park. The app uses GPS to know where you are walking in the Park — and what you hear on your headphones changes depending on the route you take. In this way, the listener becomes a composer too. The music for this immersive auditory experience includes 25 different nature-inspired themes, recorded by members of the New York Philharmonic, among others.  If you were forwarded this email, you can subscribe to New York State’s Coronavirus Updates here. 

Ever Upward, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo

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WPCNR STAGE DOOR. From the Westchester Broadway Theatre. October 26, 2020:

The Westchester Broadway Theatre will close its doors after 45 years of business due to COVID 19. The work that WBT has done over the years has been truly historic and will go down in history, not only in Westchester, but in the theatre industry as New York’s longest running Equity theatre.

Over the years, WBT has produced 217 musicals, hosted numerous concerts, benefits and fundraisers, employed 5,000 theatre professionals, many who have gone on to Broadway and beyond, and served over 6 million customers. 

As the world has been plugged into an intense emergency; we have determined there is no way we can reopen when the ban is lifted on live theatre.

Dinner- theatre, because of social distancing requirements, will be the last entertainment category to be given permission. Our landlord does not want to continue supporting our lease.

Sadly, the interior is to be destroyed and the building turned into a warehouse.

“It is with a great sadness that we say goodbye. We wish you much good will in the future. We will miss you!” said Bob Funking, Bill and Von Ann Stutler, founders of the Westchester Broadway Theatre, in a letter to employees. 

The art of presenting live theatre is one of NY State’s largest industries. It has been greatly affected by the pandemic leaving many shows on hold, 12 million people out of work, and numerous patrons with outstanding tickets to shows. 

However, Westchester residents will still have a professional Equity theatre in their backyard to attend when restrictions are lifted.

The White Plains Performing Arts Center, which is located in downtown White Plains, has used this down-time to make many new renovations to accommodate the “new world of theatre” when Governor Cuomo authorizes theaters to reopen. Everything from air purification systems, to advanced cleaning solutions and social distancing has been put in place. 

“As someone who grew up seeing and working on shows at WBT, it’s with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our colleague. The work they have done over the years was remarkable. When we heard of this news, we knew we had to do something to not only honor their legacy but also make sure we keep professional theatre alive in Westchester. We are honored to have the torch passed to us at White Plains PAC to take on that task!” said Stephen Ferri, White Plains PAC’s Executive Producer. 

White Plains PAC has generously offered to try assisting affected WBT ticket holders by honoring outstanding tickets and gift cards for a future WPPAC show. This will be a way to give back to the community and keep the industry alive; as well as fulfill the outstanding obligations to patrons. Eligible patrons will be contacted in the coming weeks with details about the exchange program.

WBT Staff