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VIETNAM VETERANS WHO GAVE THE LAST MEASURE ARE REMEMBERED ON VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL DAY.
WHITE PLAINS WEEK ON THE CANDIDATES FOR COUNCIL, AIRPORT NOISE, SALES TAX BLUES AND MORE. NOW ON YOU TUBE, WHITEPLAINSWEEK.COM
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WPWeek for 3-29 has been posted
the youtube link is https://youtu.be/uNL6ezIlqF8
the whiteplainsweek.com link is http://www.whiteplainsweek.com/
WPWeek for 3-29 has been posted
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Opening Day Is the Best Day of the Year
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WPCNR Press Box. March 28, 2019:
They’re getting ready at the Big Ball Park.
Today the Bronx Bombers return to Yankee Stadium. In the honor of Opening Day, WPCNR brings back this original celebration I wrote about why Opening Day is the best day of the year
OPENING DAY is better than Christmas Day,
When you look out and know they’ll play,
Dreary gray or brilliant spring sunray
Opening Day means The Big Show is back today.
Decades past, Opening Day for fanatics starved,
Eager for sharp crack of ash on horsehide carved;
Pennants snapping in northwest winds
Top ramparts of inviting walls arches and sculpted friezes wistfully escarped.
Fans lucky to get away with ducats
Marvel at flannels sharp whites pristeen,
To play in the warm zephyrs in NY blazened caps,
Dashing specks of white warmup on the greenest green.
Motor cars pant in traffic jams on the Deegan,
Down Yawkey Way, on 35th and Shields or Waveland’s jam.
The first glimpse of storied Park,
The place where ball is played, where ghosts of Ted, Babe, Duke
Mel, Spahnie, Whitey, Mickey, Willie, Yaz, Minnie and Sandy lark.
Pay a fortune to park, pass stogie smoking old men
at the same gates for a hundred years,
Now out into the street
You go, aroma of roasting chestnuts, pungent cigars sweet,
Cries of “scorecard heah” “programs,heah” shout out, neath light towers to heaven.
Fans in cap and uniform, little boys and girls gawk in awe hoping to make the Anthem
Never seeing such sheer walls, topped with the legend “GameToday 1:30 PM.”
Clutching slim cardboard tix to Section 14 Upper Deck up to the turnstiles
Festooned with souvenirs more dear as diamonds, beyond, the lure of endless aisles.
Into press of crowd, grizzled usher,
RIPS YOUR TICKET.
Turnstile turns, clicks, and into the cathedral of ball you go
Into the rotunda greeted with magic signs dazzling the senses —
UPPER LEVELS SECTIONS 1 to 39, 2 to 40
Hawkers shout –Voices of Flatbush — colorful books in hand
“Yearbook heah,” “Dodger Yearbook here,” “Hot dog, heah,”
Assail ears! Up ramps you climb to the sign “NEXT HOMESTAND”
Walking the catwalk,sliver of blue is first look of the magic sphere
Into the sunlight splaying the vast rake of the mighty stand.
Below are baseball knights of the diamond in white hues
Cavorting, snapping throws across immaculate red clay
As majestic fungo bats — CRACK! send white spheres soaring to filling bleachers a mile away,
Bunting flutter from the deck rails red, white and true blues.
Old Glory furls on highest pole in centerfield
Colorful signage deliver the manly flavor of the only real game,
GILLETTE To Look Sharp, The Red Sox use Lifeboy, Schaefer It’s A Hit
Hey, Neighbor Have a Gansett, White Owl Cigars, Hit Sign Win Suit
From old friendly walls, to Gladys Gooding on the organ
Comfy old green scoreboard display
Today’s games in the bigs BETTER THAN CNN
CHI CLE BOS DET, CHI STL, NY WAS make you king for a day.
Two Bits for a scorecard, usher wipes your seat, ballpark fills your heart.
Penciling lineup 422B, 1 SS, 14 1B, 4 CF, 39 C, 6 RF, 23 LF 19 3B 36 P
Smell of beer, peanuts and pretzels.
Nippy air, warm rays sink into face feels nice,
Starters wheel,deal, kicking high on sidelines fueling expectancy
Men in blue, arms folded solemnly conduct the home plate regimen
Casey, Ralph , Walter, Joe,Sparky exchange lineup cards and knowing
Ground rules by heart, go over them for ritual’s sake.
Bob Shepard “The Voice of God” entones “Good afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Welcome to Yankee Stadium.”
“Please rise for the playing of our national anthem,”
Nancy Faust at organ note by note renders baseball’s theme song
Rising on the breeze, uniting do-rag and ball cap,
Fedora, ponytail and bouffant in the spirit of the great game.
Grass is never greener on opening days
Strikes are louder, long drives electrify alleys
Beers with whiter than white high creamy heads, Taste crisp cold mellow best brew you drink all year
Smashes laser through short in the gap in raucous rallies
Magicians without wands start 6-4-3s, (if you’re scoring at home)
Backhand sure hits losing their caps
“Oh what a play”s crackle on WGN with “CUBS WIN!”‘S
Jack and Mel, Vince, Red, Curt and Murph , Gussie, Marty, John and Suzyn , Ernie, The Gunner, are back at mikes turning mundane days
Into joy with a ninth inning elixir and “happy recaps”
Thunderous ROARS accolades the 2-out winner again creating big kids’ grins.
Three for the White Plains Common Council: Andrew Custodio, AnnMarie Encarnacao, Brian Peroni
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Andrew Custodio,
AnneMarie Encarnacao
Brian Peroni
WPCNR CAMPAIGN 2019. Special to the CitizeNetReporter. March 27, 2019 UPDATED 5 PM EDT:
Brian Maloney, Chairman of the White Plains Republican City Committee announced to WPCNR Thursday evening that the Republicans have nominated three candidates to oppose Democratic Nominated Candidates for Common Council, Nadine Hunt-Robinson, Victoria Presser and Jennifer Puja.
Maloney in a telephone message left with WPCNR said the Republican Challengers are:
Andrew Custodio, an engineer by profession and currently Co-President of the Council of Neighborhood Associations who ran for council in 2017 on the Republican Reform party.
He and his wife chose a home in White Plains five years because they liked the combination of suburban and urban in White Plains. He grew up in Sleepy Hollow and his wife grew up in New Rochelle and they have settled in the middle of the county, White Plains.
He worked for the Westchester County Department of Public Works when first out of college, then moved into the engineering and project management field with the WSP engineering firm which has 500 offices in 40 countries.
His reasons for running are that he wants to help small businesses come to White Plains because he is not happy with the vacant storefronts downtown. He suggests a program to attract small businesses to White Plains, not just big developers. He has a website, andrewcustodio.com
AnneMarie Encarnacao, a local realtor and owner of her own insurance agency, who will be running for council a third time. She tells WPCNR, “I will run to the last breath in me till I get elected, I truly want to be Mayor one day! I want to spread kindness,.”
“My two pet peeves are parking and littering, homeless shelters .address senior housing, homeless people. Parking is my biggest pet peeve, the main cause of empty storefronts. My palm card of five years ago still addresses those same issues.”
Brian Peroni, of White Plains, owner of Arthur Avenue Wood-Fired Pizza in Pleasantville NY told WPCNR he has been in the food service and catering business for forty years. He was director of puchasing for the Beach Point Club in Mamaroneck for 25 years. He decided to run because he wanted to “give back” to the community.
He wanted to participate in the Common Council to address parking in White Plains, “it’s a big issue.”
He says building is getting a little “too much,” and wants to explore tax incentives for smaller businesses who want to come into White Plains downtown.
FARERI ASSOCIATES PRESENTS ITS NORTH 60 BIOTECH CAMPUS PROJECT TO MOUNT PLEASANT PLANNING BOARD. APPROVAL PROCESS STARTS.
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WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From Fareri Associates. March 27, 2019:
Plans to transform a vacant 60-acre site adjacent to the Westchester Medical Center into an innovative bioscience, technology and lifestyle campus has taken a major step forward in the approval process for the $1.2 billion project which has been in the works for nearly a decade.
Representatives of Fareri Associates recently made a presentation to the Mount Pleasant Planning Board about the project known as the North 60. The Planning Board is expected to schedule a public hearing on the project’s scoping document in May.
In conjunction with the start of the approval process, Fareri has launched a project website providing background and details about the project, thenorth60.com. The website will be updated to reflect the latest information abo the project and the review process.
The project’s approximately three million square feet will include biotech-medical technology space, research and medical office space; neighborhood-style retail space; a hotel with conference facilities; a health and wellness center and structured parking. The first phase of construction, including essential infrastructure, is expected to begin in the fall of 2020.
The North 60 campus will be designed to create a true sense of community, with a pedestrian-friendly Main Street lined with shops, restaurants with outdoor dining, landscaped plazas, pedestrian bridges and bikeways connected to a regional bike network.
The project will also include
a first-of-its-kind Children’s Living Science and Learning Center. Along with
creating a dynamic educational experience focused on influencing behavior and
minimizing future health risks for both children and adults, this unique
facility will provide career training and job readiness programs in the bio-tech
and research fields for area residents.
In January, Westchester County Executive George Latimer signed a 99-year lease for the 60-acre site which is owned by the County. Fareri plans to combine the North 60 property with 20 acres of adjoining land already owned by his firm.
When fully developed, the North 60 is expected to generate an estimated $9 million in annual real estate taxes to the County, Town and Mt. Pleasant School and Pocantico Hills School Districts. The project will also generate an estimated $7 million in new annual rent to the County. Fareri is prepared to fund infrastructure improvements and enhancements required to develop the site, including sewer, water, storm-water run-off, traffic, safety, wetlands and other environmental issues.
The North 60 is expected to have a natural symbiotic relationship with the nearby Westchester Medical Center and the New York Medical College’s Biotechnology Incubator offering opportunities for a range of collaborations. The North 60 is also in close proximity to Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, a leading biotechnology company in nearby Tarrytown.
The project will create more than 4,000 new construction jobs and 8,000 new permanent jobs, from entry-level to professional employment opportunities. It will also create career opportunities for students in the emerging bioscience field by forming partnerships with nearby Westchester Community College, Pace University and New York Medical College.
County Executive George Latimer Will Wait Until Actual Marijuana Legislation is Passed and Signed by Governor Before assessing Impact on County Drug Policies.
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WPCNR County Clarion-Ledger. From the Westchester County Department of Communications. March 27, 2019:
The Westchester County Executive George Latimer issued an interim statement on proposed legalization of marijuana yesterday, now under discussion in the state legislature. He indicates he is going to wait and see what final legislation is passed and signed by the governor before considering how to apply the law in Westchester County and communities. Here is that statement:
“The New York State Legislature and Governor Andrew Cuomo are currently contemplating legalizing marijuana for adult use. While it is unclear if the proposal will pass now, or at a later date, some neighboring counties have already declared they will be “opting out.”
While I respect their decision to draw a line early on, here in Westchester County I prefer to wait. We need to wait and see what becomes law, and in what form. Further, it is possible, that there may not be an opt-out clause in a final document.
“While opting out may be a provision of the final bill, it should be noted that it does not affect the legal use or possession of marijuana in the County. The impact that it will have is to prohibit the sales or cultivation of marijuana within that county.
“The issue is being intensely debated in the community at large, with both pro and con arguments raised. That advocacy should be directed to our state officials, who have the sole authority to pass or deny legalization or decriminalization.
“Should the measure pass this year, and should a County opt-out provision be included in the law, our Administration and the Board of Legislators will meet to determine how to handle our role in the matter. Until then, we welcome all opinions and arguments on either side, as befits our policy of inclusion of all public input.”
NEW YORK MUST STOP PREVAILING WAGE LEGISLATION
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WPCNR THE LETTER TICKER. Oped from Marsha Gordon and John Ravitz, Westchester Coalition for Smart Development and the Business Council of Westchester. March 26, 2019:
With the shock of Amazon’s decision to abandon its plan for opening a second headquarters in New York still fresh, New York State now is facing another decision with the potential to be even more damaging to the State’s increasingly fragile economy. It’s called Prevailing Wage legislation and it is a construction project killer.
Both the Assembly and the Senate have included Prevailing Wage language in the new State Budget scheduled for adoption by April 1. If passed, this legislation, that is strongly backed by the construction labor unions, would require that any development project receiving state funding assistance would be required to the pay prevailing wages for all construction labor. The requirement, which would apply to private development projects as well as projects built by not-for-profits including hospitals and colleges, would increase labor costs by 30 percent or more.
What would this mean? However well-intentioned, instead of helping construction workers, it’s a job killer. In simplest terms, any project receiving financial assistance would pay union wages for all work. While laudable on the surface, the consequences are far-reaching and would bring a large percentage of the major construction projects planned in communities across the state to a standstill. The most severe impact would be on urban downtowns such as in Yonkers, New Rochelle and White Plains that are on the cusp of unprecedented revivals after decades of little or no new investment.
Why? Without state subsidies, the vast majority of projects being planned in urban downtown locations will simply not be built. State and municipal subsidies provide the financial cushion to make these costly construction projects financially viable. The vast majority of the affected projects are residential, meaning much needed new housing at all levels, including affordable housing built by non-profit groups, could not move forward.
The significantly increased labor costs resulting from the proposed legislation would be particularly harmful in Westchester where residential rents are considerably lower than in New York City.
In Westchester, more than 30 prominent development company leaders have joined with the Business Council in forming the Westchester Coalition for Smart Development to present the facts about the unintended consequences of the proposed legislation. We have met with the entire Westchester legislative delegation, as well as other leaders in Albany to promote an open public dialogue before passage of this far-reaching legislation. We have also joined with the Business Council of New York State in this effort.
We need look no farther than Yonkers to see the consequences of requiring Prevailing Wages. For 18 months the City’s Industrial Development Agency (IDA) imposed the requirement for any project it funded. What happened? The additional labor expense was far greater than the IDA benefits would have been. The net result? Not a single major proposal came before the IDA during that period.
We have no opposition to union labor. In fact, most major projects employ some union labor. But requiring all construction projects receiving public financing of any kind to pay union wages will effectively assure that most of the projects won’t move forward. That is certainly not an outcome that anyone wants.
We strongly urge that the Prevailing Wage legislation proposals be put on hold until a thorough and thoughtful discussion of all consequences takes place. New York State cannot afford to do otherwise.
Marsha Gordon, President & CEO
John Ravitz, Executive Vice President & COO
The Business Council of Westchester
SLOW FADE: WP SALES TAX $$ DECLINE 6 OF LAST 8 MONTHS, $1 MILLION
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Slow Fade: WP Sales Tax Revenues Decline in 6 of Last 8 Months, Down 2.7%, $1 Million
County Sales Tax Dollars Up in 6 of last Months. Up 4.5% 1st Two Months of 2019.
WPCNR QUILL & EYESHADE. From the New York State Department of Taxation & Finance with analysis by John F. Bailey. March 26, 2019:
White Plains is in a slumping economy.
Perhaps March with its inclement weather and March Madness will turn things around.
It has to, because after 8 months of the city fiscal year, the city has earned $33,038,728, $929,896 behind the 2017-18 pace, a 2.7% decline. White Plains sales taxable activity has declined almost 5% below the inflation rate which is about 2%.
Meanwhile, Westchester County is 4.5% ahead the first two months of its new fiscal year, the county economy has grown for the 7th straight month and maintained its average of approximately 5% growth each month. That is more than double the inflation rate.
White Plains, as it plans its 2019-20 Budget, should be concerned.
If White Plains pulls in last year numbers the next 4 months it will receive $49.147 Million in sales taxes.
If the 3% declining rate is continued over the next 4 months, the revenue will erode to $48.664 Million in sales tax receipts.
With labor negotiations in mind, where a 3% increase is expected to be lobbied for by all unions, in line with the precedent the county set in its negotiations, a 3% decline in sales tax revenues (that fund White Plains year to year raises in the payrolls)—
This six month slow fade is worrisome.
TIGER CLUBS EXPLODE 14-3 ON OPENING DAY ON FRIGID O’DONNELL’S BLUFF
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“We have quite a number of tough games but the girls have been working hard. This is the youngest team I have ever had; 5 Frosh, 4 Sophs, 2 Juniors and no seniors.” THEY WON THEIR OPENER IN A THRILLER, 14-3.
WHITE PLAINS POLICE COMMANDERS OF CRISIS NEGOTIATION, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, TRAFFIC POLICY APPEAR AT CNA APRIL 9
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| COUNCIL OF NEIGHBORHOOD OPERATIONS PRESENTS W |
| April Monthly Meeting: The White Plains Police Department The April Meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 9, 2019 at 7:30 pm at Education House, 5 Homeside Lane, White Plains, NY. Our special guests will be Captains Spencer, Kralik, and Murphy. Captain Spencer is a 19-year veteran recently promoted to captain, and has worked in patrol, special operations, community advocacy and strategic initiatives. He is currently community liaison and commander of the crisis negotiations team. He became a sergeant in 2005 and lieutenant in 2009. Captain Nicholas Kralik is a second generation White Plains Police Officer who has been serving the city since 1981. He is currently the Commanding Officer of Special Operations, which encompasses the Traffic and Emergency Services Divisions. Over the past three decades he has held various positions within the department. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 1998 as a Patrol Division commander. Captain Michael Murphy is a 31 year veteran of the Department. His current assignment is as Commanding Officer of the Patrol & Special Operations Division where he oversees the Patrol Division, Emergency Services Unit, Neighborhood Conditions Unit and K-9 Unit. During his career, he has been assigned as the Commanding Officer of the Traffic Division. Captain Murphy is also a 2006 graduate of the 226th Session of the F.B.I. National Academy. All three captains will take about their operations. Please come with questions and suggestions. You’re sure to enjoy the dialog. The meeting is open to the public — bring your friends and neighbors — and will start promptly at 7:30 pm. Light refreshments will be served. |