THE WORLD READS WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER — 8,324,077 VISITS IN ONE YEAR | 2,905,611 VISITORS VISIT 8,324,077 TIMES 3 TIMES EVERY DAY IN ONE YEAR. HIGHEST ACTIVITY IN WPCNR HISTORY.White PlainsCitizeNetReporter lifted its worldwide visits from unique visitors to wpcnr.com to 8,324,077,a 1,306,419 increase in visits in one year from 7,017,658 visits to the site last year which covers White Plains and Westchester County. The 8,324,077 visits were made by 2,005,611 unique visitors who visited wpcnr an average of 3 visits a day. ON JULY 20- -2026 visitors have accessed wpcnr and made 3,072 visits an average of 1.6 visits. In the last week 33,495 individual vistors made 54,458 visits, averaging 1.6 visits. In the last month, 152,940 visitors recorded 229,338 visits (1.5 visits)

WP Little League Requires In Person Parent Signups Jan 12 & 19

Posted on January 3, 2002 by John Bailey

Special to WPCNR:The White Plains Little League will conduct In-Person Registration for children, ages 5 to 15, who want to play in the 2002 WPLL on Saturday January 12 and Saturday, January 19.

Registration will take place at Ridgeway School Cafeteria from 9 AM to 3 PM, both Saturdays. Registrations will not be accepted at the Department of Recreation and Parks, or be accepted by mail, as in previous years.
The Registration fee is $65, or a maximum of $150 for a family of three or more. Scholarships are available, based upon need. Parents registering their children should bring proof of residence in the form of a utility bill, or driver’s license. Children who played last year will be on our records, so there are no complicated forms to fill out.

It is important, in order to achieve orderly composition of teams that parents register their children on those two days. Registrations will only be accepted in-person on January 12 and 19. If registration is missed, you will be placed on a waiting list, and subject to a $35 late registration fee, in addition to the $65 fee.

White Plains Bravest Choose New Leader

Posted on January 2, 2002 by John Bailey

The White Plains Professional Firefighters have elected Jim Donahoe as their new President, replacing Adrian Scapperrotti, according to WPCNR Fire Department Correspondent, Duncan MacRae. MacRae reports Mr. Donahoe edged out Scapperrotti by one vote.
Duncan MacRae, White Plains Firefighter, reports to WPCNR that Donahoe took the reins of the firefighters union as of January 1, by virtue of one vote in a secret ballot that was recounted three times. Donahoe was previously Scaperotti’s Vice President.

Asked about Donahoe’s plans for the firefighters union, McLain writes,

“He wants to become more personally involved with the membership. He wants to be a physical presence rather than a voice on the other end of the phone or the sender of a fax.”

McLain was asked his own personal reaction to the departure of John Dolce, previous Commissioner of Public Safety, and what it might mean for the department, he writes,

“Well as we all know John Dolce was ‘Public Safety’ to a lot of people and politicians in town. He lost a bit of his luster with some politicians when he didn’t support pay parity for police and fire. With his retirement, we hope that the city leaders can look at the structure
of the Public Safety Department.

McLain continued, “A separate police and fire commissioner are definitely needed. The demographic of this city is changing with its skyline. It would be in the best interests of the citizens if this were to happen and it wouldn’t cost a dime.”

Downtown Gala Sold Out. Dance, Ball & Fireworks “Beautiful”

Posted on January 2, 2002 by John Bailey

Special to WPCNR: The New Year’s Eve Gala staged by the White Plains Downtown Business Improvement District was a complete sellout and success according to BID spokesperson Darlene Gardner Wednesday morning.
She reports 175 persons officially attended the dance, buffet, and ball drop celebration held underneath the “Big Top Tent” erected, complete with dancefloor, reception area and rest rooms on Mamaroneck Avenue Monday evening, enough, she said to cover the expenses of the event.

“It was like being at a wedding,” Ms. Gardner told WPCNR today. “You had a vestibule, a place to hang your coats, restrooms, but you’d look out the windows of the tent, and see you were on Mamaroneck Avenue.”

Ms. Gardner described the actual ball that was dropped from White Plains Fire Department’s largest Hook N Ladder as “a beautiful thing,” and said the fireworks launched from the Cappelli City Center were “a once-in-a-lifetime show.”

She said people called most of Monday, but the number of attendees were held at 175. She anticipates that the event will be staged again next year. Ms. Gardner said the avenue attracted a large crowd for the ball drop and fireworks by midnight and that it was well attended by city officials and dignitaries from City Hall and the community.

SPANO, BRONZ AND ABINANTI URGE PRESERVATION OF TAXTER ROAD PROPERTY

Posted on January 1, 2002 by John Bailey

Special to WPCNR:County Executive Andy Spano and County Legislators Lois Bronz and Tom Abinanti today pledged the county’s support to help preserve 200 acres of land in Greenburgh that represent the last major parcel of open space in Southern
Spano said he would work in partnership with the state, the Town of Greenburgh and land preservation groups to purchase the Taxter Ridge property on Taxter Road as part of his administration’s open space preservation program.

“As we have done with the Gaisman Property in Greenburgh, Hilltop Hanover in Yorktown and Davids Island in New Rochelle, we will work in partnership with local government, the state and others to preserve this environmentally sensitive property for future generations,” said Spano. “This is an especially important piece of land because it is one of the last really large parcels in what is a mostly developed area of the county. We should not miss out on an opportunity to save this property from development.”

Bronz and Abinanti, who represent Greenburgh, said local residents were deeply concerned about the future of the Taxter Ridge Road property.

“Adding Taxter Ridge to the acres of green space demonstrates this administration’s commitment to preserving the environment,” said Bronz. “This property has trees, streams and wildlife that is not found anywhere else in this county. It is an important asset to Greenburgh and Central Westchester. Preserving Taxter Ridge is essential to helping to maintain our quality of life in Westchester.”

Abinanti said, “Once again Westchester County is rescuing must-save open space. Preserving Taxter Ridge is crucial to the continued environmental health of Greenburgh and all of mid-Westchester.

“Development on the Taxter Ridge site would destroy environmentally significant open space and pour traffic down Taxter Road into the already overwhelmed 119-9A intersection.”

A haven for amphibian, reptile and dozens of species of birds, the Taxter Ridge property bordered by Route 9 is currently owned by the Unification Church.

The Trust for Public Land and the Westchester Land Trust have taken an option on the property through the middle of next year, but area residents, who have so far raised more than $25,000 to help preserve the property, fear that it will be developed if a permanent arrangement is not negotiated soon.

While no purchase price has been named for the property, Spano said he was hopeful that a deal could be negotiated as it has in similar circumstances across Westchester.

Upon taking office in 1998, Spano made a $25 million commitment over five years to open space acquisition for passive recreation. Under his new Legacy initiative, announced in his last State of the County address, he doubled that amount to $10 million a year over a five-year period, also including funds for active recreation such as ball fields.

So far more than 2,300 acres of open space has been preserved with county government assistance since Spano took office. This includes the Gaisman and Glenville Woods properties in Greenburgh, the Hillpoint Property in Cortlandt, Hilltop Hanover in Yorktown, Davids Island and Glenwood Lake in New Rochelle and the Haibershaw property in Yonkers among others.