WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER SETS RECORD VISITS FOR YEAR 7,017,658 VISITS! 2,098,003 VISITORS MADE 6 VISITS A DAY EVERY DAY. 63,330 UNIQUE VISITORS MADE 133,730 VISITS IN DECEMBER. WPCNR AVERAGED 17,284 VISITORS A WEEK, VISITING 31,270 TIMES.

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WPCNR INSIDE THE WORKSESSION. By John F. Bailey. January 28, 2019:

Mayor Tom Roach and the Common Council agreed to televise all Citizens to Be Heard segments at future monthly Common Council meetings.

The Mayor said there were no state laws requiring a vote to televise public comment periods, and since there was no mention of Citizens to Be Heard in the City Charter, the council could just do it. The Mayor issued a set of Guidelines that would be followed during the televised sessions which he said were very similar to the way the CTBH session is now.

The Mayor expanded on the bringing cameras into City Hall by announcing work sessions like this evening’s session would be moved into the large Common Council chamber and also televised with microphones for each of the Common Council members. He said the setup would be similar to the Planning Board set up. It was also suggested by several councilmen that the Zoning Board of Appeals also be televised.

WPCNR will publish the guidelines prior to next Monday’s first televised live Citizens To Be Heard

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WPCNR HEAT. By John F. Bailey. January 26, 2019: Mack Carter, Executive Director of the White Plains Housing Authority, has issued an exclusive statement to WPCNR on the News 12 television report aired Wednesday evening interviewing tenants of 86 Dekalb Avenue, White Plains, a Housing Authority Building. News 12 had reported residents as being without heat for 3 weeks. WPCNR asked Mr. Carter Thursday to clarify the situation at DeKalb.

Saturday afternoon, Mr. Carter issued the following letter to WPCNR. In it, Mr. Carter says the building has not been without heat at anytime since this heating season began. He says only one heat complaint has been filed and that was last Monday evening (when the temperature in White Plains was 4 degrees F. The complainant’s apartment rooms temperatures were 70 in the living room and 73 in the bedroom.

“We were not aware of any instance in which apartment temperatures dropped below code minimums,” Mr. Carter’s letter states.

Mr. Carter writes in the letter that the “two computerized boilers may have been under strain while trying to balance outside/inside temperatures.”

He reports “The management has been working this week with several HVAC and plumbing contractors in an effort to improve the performance of the two boilers.”

The City of White Plains Department of Building code requires that “Every owner and operator of any building who rents, leases or lets one or more dwelling unit, rooming unit, dormoitory or guestroom on terms, either expressed or implied, to furnish heat to the occupants thereof shall supply heat during the period from September 15th to May 31st to maintain a temperature of not less than 68 degrees Farenheit in all habitable rooms, bathrooms, and toilet rooms.

The County of Westchester Code requires heat as follows:

The season begins Oct. 1 and ends May 31. However, whenever temperatures fall below 55 degrees
Farenheit, the inside temperature should be 68 degrees between 6 A.M. and 10 P.M. If it’s not, then you should call your building superintendent.

NO RESIDENTS OF DEKALB WENT TO COUNTY FOR TEMPORARY HOUSING.

WPCNR asked Catherine Cioffi, Westchester County Director of Communications whether any 86 Dekalb residents had come to Westchester County for temporary shelter because of the alleged low temperatures at 86 Dekalb. Ms. Cioffi consulted Kevin McGuire Director of the county Department of Social Services, and he reported none. Here are Mr. McGuire’s answers to WPCNR questions;

I checked with my staff.  We have had no persons coming to us from this address for assistance.  Let me see if I can answer the questions below:

1. Does the County have a shelter where residents could go or capacity for all the residents?  Residents are free to come and apply for services at any office of the Offices of the Westchester County Department of Social Services.

2. Would the County shelter the heatless in hotels for the time being?  No.  Generally, relocation in such instances are usually handled by the landlord.  People may also be temporarily helped out by the American Red Cross.

3. Does the county have any information on heat restoration to 86 DeKalb?  No, that is a question best directed to the City of White Plains government. 

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ON WHITE PLAINS TODAY ON PEOPLE TO BE HEARD, THE COUNTY’S MOST RELEVANT INTERVIEW PROGRAM,

THE MAYOR DISCUSSES PROGRESS OF THE CITY’S NEW DEVELOPMENTS, WHAT’S NEXT AT THE WHITE PLAINS RAILROAD STATION PARCELS, RED LIGHT CAMERA PLANS THIS YEAR, THE FASNY AFFECT ON FUTURE WHITE PLAINS APPEAL, THE NEW BUDGET DIRECTOR AND MORE.

EXCLUSIVE ON PEOPLE TO BE HEARD.
ANYTIME AT

YOUTUBE

https://youtu.be/Rq5mhRODrdQ

the whiteplainsweek.com link is

http://www.whiteplainsweek.com/

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WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From the Westchester County Department of Communications. January 23, 2019 updated 10 P.M. E.S.T.:

The Westchester County Executive, George Latimer, this afternoon published this statement on the Con Edison decision to put a moratorium on natural gas connections to new developments in certain areas in March. Here is his statement:

“Here in Westchester County we are committed to creating an environment that is nurturing to business and development.  We have learned of Con Edison’s temporary moratorium on gas service to new development, and we are concerned about this occurrence. 

“However, before we draw conclusions we must learn more about the situation.  We have requested a meeting with Con Edison officials and hope to bring to the table local, state and federal officials to discuss this matter.  We need to understand what led to this moratorium, how the calculation for gas is made, how many customers exist in each municipality, which slated projects are in jeopardy, which are not, the duration of the moratorium, how that calculation was determined, an overview of the regulatory process, and Con Edison’s plan for developing and implementing alternative energy sources.

“We have many questions, and are expecting Con Edison will be able to shed light on this very serious prediction. We will keep the public abreast of any developments and the outcome of the meeting.”

WPCNR asked the Department of Communications if the meeting with Con Edison would be open to the press and I was advised, “No, it will not.”

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WPCNR NORTH BROADWAY NEWS. From a White Plains CitizeNetReporter. January 23, 2019:

The North Broadway Civic Association will discuss the recently released report of VHB, the city-engaged soil testing firm that recently completed a soil testing of the former Good Counsel property at 52 North Broadway, where a developer is planning an apartment complex of some 400 rental units (see overhead plan of the site below.

The area in dispute appears in the upper righthand corner of the property. The apartments are represented by the curved buildings .

The report finds the site is contaminated well above NYDEC acceptable levels. The North Broadway Civic Association Board will discuss the report this evening at 7:30 P.M.

The report says:

Conclusions and Recommendations Re: 52 North Broadway: Based on the results of the subsurface investigation performed by VHB (soil testing firm) and its subcontractors at the subject property, the following conclusions and associated recommendations are presented herein:

Fill Investigation: The VOC acetone was detected above NYSDEC Part 375 UUSCOs in two (2) of the 11 boring locations. SVOCs were detected at concentrations above NYSDEC Part 375 RUSCOs in four (4) of the 11 boring locations. SVOCs were detected above NYSDEC Part 375 UUSCOs in three (3) of the four (4) aforementioned boring locations. No additional SVOC exceedances were detected. Pesticides above NYSDEC Part 375 UUSCOs were detected at two (2) of the 11 boring locations. Metals were detected at concentrations above NYSDEC Part 375 RUSCOs in one (1) of the 11 boring locations. In addition, five (5) boring locations (including the aforementioned boring location) exceeded NYSDEC Part 375 UUSCOs for metals concentrations.

 Based upon field observations during the Phase II ESA field activities and the corresponding laboratory data, backfill of poor quality/C&D material generated during demolition was used to fill the former athletic field. To comply with the NYSDEC’s most conservative soil criteria for residential use (UUSCOs), the existing backfill material is not considered satisfactory and it may be necessary for same to be removed from each applicable building footprint. Regardless of environmental impacts and the eventual plan for addressing the removal and/or capping of environmentally impaired soils, the generation and disposal of surplus soils should also be considered. VHB anticipates that surplus soils will likely be generated due to the proposed site redevelopment activities, and there is a potential that geotechnical specifications will require additional excavation/removal of the backfill. Off-site disposal of surplus soils should be considered due the impairments detected.

 Soil Cap Sampling: No VOCs or SVOCs were detected above NYSDEC Part 375 UUSCOs in any of the three (3) soil cap sampling locations. The pesticide 4,4’-DDT was detected above its NYSDEC Part 375 UUSCO at each of the three (3) boring locations. The metals lead, zinc and/or mercury were detected at concentrations above NYSDEC Part 375 UUSCOs in two (2) of the three (3) boring locations.

PCBs were not detected at concentrations above NYSDEC Part 375 UUSCOs or RUSCOs in any of the soil cap samples. Based upon the laboratory data, impaired soil was used to cover the geomembrane. As such, VHB recommends either removing these soils in their entirety or capping them with impervious materials or a minimum of two-feet of clean cover.

Soil Vapor Sampling:  Based upon the results of the soil sampling, VOCs were detected at the target depth of four (4) – five (5) feet bgs. Several VOCs were detected above the NYSDOH 75th percentile for Indoor Air concentrations.

 VOC compounds were detected at actionable concentrations that are subject to the NYSDOH Soil Vapor/Indoor Air Matrices. Soil vapor samples SV-1 and SV-4 detected concentrations of VOCs that are subject to the NYSDOH “Identify Source and resample or Mitigate” category.

 Considering these VOC concentrations and the proposed site redevelopment for multi-family usage, at a minimum, VHB recommends that a sub-slab soil vapor barrier be incorporated into the building design(s) for basements and/or slab on-grade construction areas above occupiable spaces. However, based upon the number of detections at the NYSDOH 25th percentile and 75th percentile, a more conservative and recommended approach for design would be the development and incorporation of an active sub-slab depressurization system(s) beneath occupiable building spaces.