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. | WHITE PLAINS WESTCHESTER DAILY NEWS SERVICE VISITS SINCE 2000 A.D. 25TH YEARl REPORTING THE NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW News Service Since 2000 A.D. 2026 WILL BE OUR 26TH YEAR OF COVERING WHITE PLAINS NEW YORK USA . John F. Bailey, Editor (914) 997-1607 wpcnr@aol.com Cell: 914-673-4054. News Politics Personalities Neighborhoods Schools Finance Real Estate Commentary Reviews Policy Correspondence Poetry Philosophy Photojournalism Arts. The WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER. TELEVISION: "White Plains Week" News Roundup, 7:30 EDT FRI, 7 EDT MON & the incisive "People to Be Heard" Interview Program 8PM EDT THURS, 7 PM EDT SAT on FIOS CH 45 THROUGHOUT WESTCHESTER AND, ALTICE OPTIMUM WHITE PLAINS CH 1300 Fighting for Truth, Justice and the American Way. TOP 10 VISITORS FROM AROUND THE WORLD :1. USA. 2.BRAZIL3.VIET NAM 4. CHINA 5. JAPAN 6.UK. 7.CANADA. 8.INDIA. 9.AUSTRALIA 10.IRELAND 11.GERMANY 12..ARGENTINA 13.BANGLADESH 14.RUSSIA. 15.NEWZEALAND. 16. FRANCE. 17.MEXICO. 18.UKRAINE. 19.SOUTH AFVRICA. 20. IRAQ.

Pauline Oliva, Councilwoman, Advocate for the Less Fortunate, Dies

Posted on November 3, 2017 by John Bailey

WPCNR MILESTONES. From the McMahon, Lyon and Hartnett Funderal Home website:

Pauline C. Oliva, a lifetime resident and longtime civic leader of White Plains passed away peacefully on October 31, 2017 at the age of 91. She was proud of her Irish and Lithuanian roots and was the daughter of two immigrants Alexander and Mary Johnson. She was predeceased by her husband of 66 years Patrick, and her beloved brothers Vincent, Charles, and Edward.

Pauline is survived by her three children, Patricia Lynn, Edmond (Margit), and Thomas Oliva, three grandchildren, Marland (Julia) Oliva, Lillian (Stephen) Rasulo, Edmond T. Oliva, and three great grandchildren. She also leaves behind her loving sister-in-law Angie Johnson and several nieces, nephews, cousins and their families.

Pauline was a graduate of White Plains High School and later earned a degree in Labor Studies from Empire State College. Pauline worked in government service for more than 30 years, first with the New York State Department of Labor and later for the Westchester County Department of Planning, where she served as the Program Director of Section 8 Housing Programs.

She was a longtime member of the White Plains Beautification Foundation, White Plains League of Women Voters, Women’s Club of White Plains and White Plains Hospital Center Auxiliary and a past President of the Battle Hill Neighborhood Association. Pauline served on Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church Parish Council. She was a lifelong Democrat and until her death was an active member of the City of White Plains Democratic Committee.

Pauline was elected to two terms on the White Plains City Council serving a term as Council President. A reelection endorsement by a local newspaper described her as “…the shining star on the Common Council because of her work for quality neighborhoods and her many other innovations.” Her legacy on the Council as well as in life was as an advocate for the less fortunate.

As an animal lover Pauline was a parent to many cats and dogs. She found time to be an outstanding cook and baker with the help of her Italian mother-in-law who shared many of her original recipes. Pauline loved to garden and cheer on the New York Yankees. She was always willing to step up and volunteer and coached her sons’ Little League teams when no one else would.

Pauline received the City of White Plains Human Rights Distinguished Service Award and the Rotary Club‘s Paul Harris Fellowship Award. She was inducted in the White Plains High School Hall of Fame and received the White Plains League of Women Voters’ award for dedicated community involvement.

With all of these accomplishments, Pauline was best known to White Plains residents for her warm and welcoming personality, her modesty and compassion, beauty and great sense of humor. She is already missed by her devoted family, and her numerous friends, colleagues, and neighbors.

Contributions can be made in Pauline’s memory to the White Plains Beautification Foundation (PO Box 1614, White Plains, 10602) and Forgotten Felines (PO Box 430, Valhalla, 10595).

Visitation will be Friday from 2-4 & 6-9pm. Mass Saturday at 10:00am at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church with interment to follow at Mt. Calvary Cemetery.

McMahon, Lyon & Hartnett

491 Mamaroneck Ave

WESTCHESTER COUNTY SALES TAX $$ ON TRACK TO WIPE OUT $15 MILLION SHORTFALL THAT ASTORINO AIRPORT LEASE DEAL WAS CREATED TO CLOSE. WHITE PLAINS SALES TAX DOWN 3.9% IN ITS FIRST QUARTER–RETURNING TO ITS ERRATIC PATTERN

Posted on November 2, 2017 by John Bailey

WPCNR QUILL AND EYESHADE. From the New York State Department of Finance, reporting by John F. Bailey. November 3, 2017:

On the eve of County Executive Robert Astorino’s schedule to submit his 2018 budget, 4 days before the County Executive election, the county coffers are brimming with a solid nine month gain in County Sales Tax Dollars of 3.4%, creating a very handy windfall of $12.8 Million through nine months.

The county is throwing up record numbers.

The County has made $389,545,503 in sales tax coin, $12,788,989 more moola than the county had in 2016 after three quarters ($373,756,520 in 2016).

Mr. Astorino does not need the airport deal as a deficit closer.

This means Mr.Astorino could withdraw the airport deal entirely. He devised the airport lease to make up the deficit caused by over optimism in 2015 in predicting a 14% increase in sales taxes for the 2016 budget (a wild guess that was approved by the Board of Legislators).

He does not need it.

He almost has it in hand this month.If he says he does, he should pay attention to these figures. How can he justify a 40 year deal for a one year deficit that’s being erased? Funny the County legislators aren’t questioning him on it.

The Astorino Airport Lease Deal devised this year would deliver $15 Million up front whenever it is agreed to, (or any deal the Board of Legislators chooses to support) to cover that $15 million dollar “overoptimism,” followed by payments for 40 years. The $15 million “budget gap” is rapidly being closed by the robust sales tax receipts across the county, gaining monetary momentum the last three months.

Let’s pay attention what this means:

If the county now sitting on $389,545,503 in sales taxes receives the tax receipts it received last year in October($40,724,262) November ($40,041,594) and December ($51,355,703) to close out 2017, it will finish the year with $15,788,963 more in sales taxes ($521,667,062) compared to the 2016 figure of $505,878,099.

Isn’t that nice?

That’s a 3.1% increase in sales tax receipts.

If the receipts go up 3.4% the rest of the way for the county, an additional $4.5 Million may roll in, creating a $20.3 MILLION sales tax increase, more than enough to wipe out the wildly optimistic increase predicted for 2016 that was just unfounded. How sweet it is.

There is no joy two blocks away from the Michaelian Building at White Plains City Hall. The county rise in retail/restaurant spending is not being spent in White Plains, New York, USA.

September Sales Tax receipts in White Plains declined $1.2 Million to $3,706,161 from the robust $4,904,462 Million in August.

Unfortunately the news on sales tax revenues in White Plains are not keeping pace with its wild $4.7 Million August greeted by this reporter with hallalulias. Turns out it was fool’s gold.

They should be shaking their heads in the bunker at 355 Main Street wondering where the money went all of a sudden.

Sales tax dollars coming into White Plains as of September 19, dropped after the first three months of the city fiscal year to $12,297,250, a 3.9% decline. Perhaps October, November and December will rev up the sales tax dollars. Let us hope so.

The mystery continues as to the lackluster performance of White Plains business.

Those millennia renters cannot come soon enough to White Plains..

Business Journal: The Continuum at 55 Bank St. Open for Tenants Nov. 15

Posted on November 1, 2017 by John Bailey

WPCNR STREET STRAIGHT. NOVEMBER 2, 2017:

The Westchester Business Journal reported today on its website that The Continuum, originally approved by the Delfino administration over a decade ago, and delayed for lack of financing for about eight years will open for tenants in November.

The rents range, the Journal reports, from $2,120 to $2,380 a month; One-bedrooms from $2,680 to $3,020. Two-bedroom units range from $3,845 to $4,220 per month.

County Executive Reports on Heightened County Vigilance in Wake of Manhattan Bike Path Attack

Posted on November 1, 2017 by John Bailey

WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From the Westchester County Department of Communications. November 2, 2017:

In the aftermath of the deadly domestic terrorist attack in lower Manhattan, Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino today outlined a series of anti-terrorism initiatives in place to ensure the public’s safety and said that police patrols have been increased at parkways, parks and other popular gathering places.

Joined by George N. Longworth, commissioner of Westchester County’s Department of Public Safety, and members of law enforcement, the County Executive discussed Westchester’s preparedness, which includes measures already in place to safeguard against any potential copycat crimes, lone-wolf attacks or terrorist activities that could potentially prey on innocent civilians.

“We are always assessing real-world threats, and working closely with our partners on the federal, state and local levels,” Astorino said. “In these times we live in, we must always be vigilant. The public can be rest-assured that we are as prepared as we can be for an attack like the horrific and cowardly one that occurred yesterday. Our intelligence gathering, counter-terrorism efforts and stepped-up patrols are in place to protect residents, businesses and critical infrastructure in Westchester from potential terrorist activity.”

Astorino also offered condolences to the victims of the attack and their families.

“The people of Westchester share the sorrow and anger being felt by those most impacted by this awful event,” Astorino said. “We have also offered our assistance to New York City and stand ready to help in any way that we can.”

Both Astorino and Longworth noted that county police detectives are assigned to the F.B.I.’s Joint Terrorism Task Force – made up of federal, state and local law enforcement to ensure proper coordination – and were on scene in lower Manhattan immediately following yesterday’s attack, gathering information in real-time to assess any further threats from the incident, including the potential in Westchester.

Members of the Westchester County Police are also regularly engaged in a wide variety of counter-terrorism efforts every day, Astorino said. Among safeguards in place and actions taken include:

Increased police patrols along county parkways, parks and other popular gathering places.
All patrol officers carry radiation detection pagers that enable law enforcement to identify and interdict a dirty bomb if it passed through Westchester.
The county’s Aviation Unit helicopter and Marine Unit patrol boats regularly conduct patrols around critical infrastructure locations, including the Tappan Zee Bridge and Indian Point power plant, to name just a few.
The members of the county Bomb Squad have the sophisticated training needed to respond to any incident involving a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device. The squad is capable of dealing with incidents involving chemical, biological or radiological devices.
County police have a canine unit with dogs that specialize in identifying bombs and electronic devices used in cyber-crime.
The county police are part of the Westchester Intelligence Center, located in White Plains, which includes investigators from Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, Department of Public Safety and multiple local law enforcement agencies, along with civilian crime analysts.

State Senator George Latimer Pays Off Town of Mamaroneck Parking Tickets

Posted on October 31, 2017 by John Bailey

WPCNR CAMPAIGN 2017. October 31, 2017:

Monday State Senator George Latimer paid off the parking tickets he owes the Town of Mamaroneck, according to a LoHud story posted this morning. You can read the story linked here and pasted below.)

In a statement released this morning, the Astorino campaign manager, William F. O’Reilly issued this statement in a news release on Mr. Latimer’s payment:

“George Latimer is an Albany politician who think the rules don’t apply to him; there’s an extraordinary arrogance in that. Mr. Latimer had to be caught by the news media repeatedly lying about his illegal driving and unpaid tickets before paying what he owed, but he still hasn’t paid the five years and nearly $50,000 in property taxes he owes. With one week to go before the election, the taxpayers of Westchester need a straight answer from George Latimer: ‘When is he going to pay his property taxes?’”

GEORGE LATIMER TONIGHT- -WHITE PLAINS TV’S PEOPLE TO BE HEARD ELECTION SPECIAL: EXCLUSIVE! AN ALL-NEW GEORGE LATIMER ON THE ISSUES INTERNETING NOW ON YOU TUBE AND WHITE PLAINS WEEK.com 10 DAYS TO ELECTION DAY

Posted on October 27, 2017 by John Bailey

TONIGHT YOU’VE GOT STATE SENATOR GEORGE LATIMER

An all-new PEOPLE TO BE HEARD EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW RECORDED TODAY WITH COUNTY EXECUTIVE CANDIDATE

SENATOR GEORGE LATIMER

has been posted at youtube

WORLDWIDE

https://youtu.be/Kxx9K5rFcgM

…and White Plains Week —

http://www.whiteplainsweek.com/

PEOPLE TO BE HEARD

THE MOST RELEVANT INTERVIEW PROGRAM IN THE METROPOLITAN AREA

JOHN BAILEY, PETER KATZ AND JIM BENEROFE

ASK THE HARD QUESTIONS NO ONE ELSE IS ASKING

GEORGE LATIMER 10 DAYS FROM ELECTION DAY

THE AIRPORT

PERSONAL ATTACKS

PLAYLAND

WILL HE RAISE TAXES?

WILL HE INCREASE THE COUNTY BUDGET?

HOW WILL HE HANDLE COUNTY FINANCES

FIGHTING THE TRUMPING OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY

LATIMER TELLS YOU HOW HE WILL CHANGE COUNTY GOVERNMENT AND PREPARE IT FOR THE CRISIS AHEAD

By special arrangement with White Plains Television, White Plains Week is pleased we can bring you this interview now on the internet. Robert Astorino, Mr. Latimer’s opponent declined to be interviewed on this program.

GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO’S PUERTO RICO Report: “The situation is still deplorable in Puerto Rico.” Army Corps of Engineers Does Not Want Our Help! “But there is no excuse for the delay in my opinion.” Where’s the TV Coverage?

Posted on October 26, 2017 by John Bailey

WPCNR THE PUERTO RICO REPORT. From the Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, October 27, 2017:

Governor Cuomo: “You have to wonder, if you had a state in the United States that went 36 days without power, what kind of reaction you would have? It would be on the TV news every night. People would be outraged, and people tend to forget that Puerto Ricans are Americans, and they really do deserve a better response than they’re getting.”

This evening, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo returned from a second relief mission to Puerto Rico. Earlier today, the Governor announced new efforts to address two of the largest issues that the island continues to face – access to clean water and restoration of its power grid.

“I would love to be able to say that there’s been tremendous progress since the first time we were in Puerto Rico, which was basically the day after the hurricane to today, but that is not true. The situation is still deplorable in Puerto Rico. You have about 80 percent of the people without power. You have about 30 percent of the people without clean drinking water. And it is still a critical situation.

Governor Rosselló wanted me to extend his thanks to the people of New York. We sent over 3,000 palettes of donated goods. It’s really been extraordinary the way New Yorkers have stepped up to help. And Governor Rosselló wanted to extend his personal thanks.

“The fact that the recovery has been as slow as it is in Puerto Rico, in my opinion they deserve much better, and we should have made more progress by now. 36 days and you still don’t have power to 80 percent of the island is incredible.

“We went through Hurricane Sandy if you remember on Long Island, and three, four days without power was like a lifetime. This has been now 36 days without power. You have to wonder, if you had a state in the United States that went 36 days without power, what kind of reaction you would have? It would be on the TV news every night.

“People would be outraged and people tend to forget that Puerto Ricans are Americans, and they really do deserve a better response than they’re getting. I told the Governor and the officials of Puerto Rico, the Army Corps of Engineers is heading up the power recovery effort with the Power Authority of Puerto Rico.

“New York utilities would send down hundreds of crews and we would do that in days form the utility companies if the Army Corps of Engineers wanted that assistance under what is called the Mutual Aid Program. But there is no excuse for the delay in my opinion.

The Governor announced that through the Empire State Clean Water Fund, New York is pledging $1 million to support the purchase of water filtration systems for households and communities that continue to lack access to clean water.

Additionally, a 28-member Tactical Power Restoration Team specializing in the supervision of transmission and distribution system recovery will assist ongoing efforts to address the island’s power crisis and mobilizing 15 specialized contract accountants to expedite FEMA filings and reimbursements. More information can be found here.(Click on here)

“The Governor of Puerto Rico, Governor Rosselló, is also very interested in using this as an opportunity to build in resiliency into Puerto Rico. There’s no doubt that a lot of the systems that were there needed help – the power system, the communications system.

“And there’s also no doubt that after you go through a crisis like this, it is an opportunity, not just to replace what was there but to rebuild and to rebuild better. We have the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Sandy coming up this Sunday, and the amount of resilience work and improvement work that we did during Hurricane Sandy recovery is really remarkable.

“The power system is different. The way we build homes are different. The way we rebuild the sewage treatment plants is different. The way we rebuilt our tunnels in Manhattan are different. And Governor Rosselló is very interested in developing that kind of resiliency plan for Puerto Rico.

“I told him we’d love to work with him on that. The Governor himself may come as early as next week to take a tour of what we’ve done in terms of resilience and to design that into a plan for Puerto Rico. So, that would be silver lining to this terrible situation.

“If you could actually build back a Puerto Rico that was better than the one that existed. I think there’s an opportunity to do that. I’m looking forward to the governor’s visit. I’m looking forward to working with Puerto Rico on this resiliency project. The help that we are providing is still necessary and I told the governor on behalf of all the people of New York, as long as their road to recovery is, we will walk with them every step of the way.

I want to thank again the New York State Police, the National Guard, the nurses, all the New Yorkers who have been so kind and so generous and given their time. Two weeks in Puerto Rico is a long two weeks because they need a tremendous amount of help and I thank, from the bottom of my heart, as governor of the state, all of the great New Yorkers who have been giving help to the people of Puerto Rico. They desperately need it.

Thank you very much, and thank you for taking the time.

The Debate Only 300 People will See in a County of 1 Million. FIOS NEWS Strikes Out in its First Big League At Bat.

Posted on October 24, 2017 by John Bailey

WPCNR NEWS AND COMMENT. By John F. Bailey. October 24, 2017:

Tonight County Executive Robert Astorino and his challenger for County Executive, George Latimer will debate at 6 PM at the Murphy Auditorium on the Iona College Campus in New Rochelle. It will be televised on FIOS1 and then rebroadcast on Saturday.

It will not be broadcast live on radio. It will not be simulcast on the Journal News website. The information provided by the Journal News does not indicate it will be on the website continuously or any other way. One hundred politically connected persons will get tickets, so 200 voter types can get in. It’s like a Trump rally.

The debate only lasts an hour.

This is managed exposure at its worst. Who agreed to these conditions. Latimer should have demanded it to be broadcast by News 12, so Cablevision subscribers can see it. Cablevision though being hurt by Verizon FIOS inroads on their subscriber list, is still number one in terms of subscribers.

The Journal News has allowed FIOS1 News an exclusive on this debate, even though Journal News is a co-sponsor. Why does not the Journal News simulcast it on its website?

Why doesn’t FIOS1 News make a major public relations gesture and allow Cablevision and News 12 to carry the feed for the sake of informing the voters (as much as any voters can be informed by a debate where 4 panelists, a chair, and opening statements take up half the time in a one hour debate).

At the very least FIOS1News , could let WVOX or WCBS Radio be allowed to carry the debate live so commuters stuck in traffic could hear it driving home. If Cablevision refused to carry it, so be it, then FIOS1News and the Journal News are off the hook. But that does not let The Journal News off the news integrity hook for not simulcasting the debate on their website.

Does anyone really think, more to the point, that 6 PM is a good time to hold a debate?

No. It is not.

People cannot even get to the debate in time because of the traffic up and down the Hutch. And where do you park in New Rochelle?

Could we have debates scheduled at a time when voters can attend them? Not just politicians who already know who they are voting for?

This is a bad job in scheduling and planning and deciminating this first debate. Whatever were they thinking of.

To quote the late Paul Wood, “It’s a disgrace.”

It is not only fake news, it’s mismanaged news.

You get the impression no one wants to anyone to see Mr. Astorino blasted by Mr. Latimer, or Mr. Astorino blast Mr. Latimer.

WHITE PLAINS CANDIDATES FORUM WEDNESDAY, OCT. 25.

Posted on October 23, 2017 by John Bailey

WPCNR CAMPAIGN 2017. From the White Plains League of Women Voters. October 23, 2017:

The League of Women Voters of White Plains Candidates Forum is scheduled for Wednesday, October 25 from 7:00 pm – 9:30 pm at the White Plains High School Auditorium.

Audience questions for candidates will be submitted in writing in one of two ways: by email in advance of the meeting (by NOON on October 25) to b ethkava@gmail.com or at the Forum.

Doors open at 6:30 PM. Cards will be available for audience members to submit questions. Please include your name and address on submissions. And indicate whether your question is the mayoral candidates or candidates for the common council.

Questions will not be taken from the floor.