WHITE PLAINS LIBRARY RECEIVES $25,000 GRANT FROM ALLSTATE FOR “FIRST TO GO TO COLLEGE” BILINGUAL PROGRAM AIMED AT HELPING MIDDLE SCHOOL PARENTS SELECT COLLEGES, APPLICATION, PROCEDURES.

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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. From the White Plains Library Foundation. September 15, 2016: 

Parents and their children who will be the first in their families to go to college will get some much-needed help in making those dreams a reality thanks to a $25,000 grant from The Allstate Foundation to the White Plains Library Foundation in partnership with Latino U College Access.

The program, First Steps to College, a bilingual program,  targets middle school students and their parents and will feature a series of workshops and information sessions to help guide them through the process of planning for college.

First Steps to College starts in October at the White Plains Public Library. For information on dates and times now in the process of being scheduled, contact Nancy Rubino of the White Plains Library Foundation at 914-422-1495.

“We are thrilled to continue our collaboration with The Allstate Foundation, who have already made such a difference in the lives of first generation, college bound students,” said Library Director Brian Kenney.  “Most college prep takes place during the high school years. But in this program, we’ll be targeting parents and children even earlier—in middle school. It’s great to work with an organization like Latino U College Access, which grew up here in Westchester to meet exactly these needs.”

“As a national leader dedicated to empowering young people, The Allstate Foundation provides youth with resources that help them build confidence, achieve academic success, and become more engaged citizens” said Kayla Taylor, New York Allstate Foundation Spokesperson.  “We are proud to continue our partnership with the White Plains Public Library to provide college readiness programs that focus on middle school students who will be the first in their families to attend college.”

First Steps to College Program will include bi-lingual information sessions for parents and a series of afterschool workshops for students in grades 6 – 8.

Topics  IN the FIRST STEPS TO COLLEGE program will include:

Thinking about College, What a College Education Can Do for Me, Paying for College, and more.  Programs will include opportunities for participants to talk with college advisors and college students who are also the first in their families to pursue higher education. 

Bi-lingual Information sessions for parents will focus primarily on speakers of Spanish; the workshops for students will be conducted in English and open to any ‘first gen’ students in middle school.

The White Plains Library Foundation, a non-profit organization, was incorporated in 1995 to raise funds to help meet the long-range goals of the White Plains Public Library. The Foundation supports initiatives that promote literacy, educational achievement, career development, and lifelong learning. 

For more information ON TIMES, DATES OF THE FIRST STEPS TO COLLEGE PROGRAM IN OCTOBER, visit www.whiteplainslibrary.org

Founded by Westchester County resident, Shirley Acevedo Buontempo, Latino U College Access is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to increase college enrollment and completion rates among Latino youth who are first in their families to go to college.  The organization provides access and guidance to educational opportunity through education, outreach, collaboration and advocacy, enabling students to reach their full academic and life potential. www.latinou.org

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County Clerk Warns Seniors: Tax Dept Scammers Are Back. Beware. Scammers give you NYS Tax Fraud Hotline Numbers as callbacks to Delude the Innocent.

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WPCNR POLICE GAZETTE. From the Westchester County Clerk. September 14, 2016:

Westchester County Clerk Timothy C. Idoni warns county residents, especially seniors, to beware of scammers who call impersonating New York State Department of Taxation and Finance officials.

“Scammers have been making phone calls to households claiming to represent the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance Tax and demanding payment for taxes they falsely claim are owed. The calls appear on Caller ID as tax department numbers. These calls are not coming from the tax department, and you should not respond to these calls,” cautioned County Clerk Idoni.

According to a release from the Department of Taxation and Finance, scammers are using sophisticated methods to mask their phone numbers with the tax department’s fraud hotline numbers (518) 457-5181 or (518) 457-0578.   The Tax Department will not use fraud hotline numbers to contact taxpayers.

Residents, and especially seniors, in the county are urged to be on the lookout for signs of possible scam calls, such as the use of scare tactics to get you to share your personal and financial information.

The obvious red flags are calls from imposters demanding payments in the form of iTunes gift cards and reloadable debit cards.

Tax Department employees will not threaten a taxpayer’s failure to pay a tax debt; use email, text messages, or social media to request or discuss your personal or tax information; or demand payment of taxes without the option to question or appeal the amount owed.

Please report any suspicious contact you have with individuals claiming to be Tax Department employees, including any suspicious phone calls and voicemails received; text messages and emails requesting personal information; or interactions with Tax Department employees who do not seem legitimate. Scams can be reported by phone to 518-451-1566, by email to dtfoia@tax.ny.gov or through the Fraud, Scams and Identity Theft section on the tax department website at www.tax.ny.gov.

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32 Assembly Members Announce Support of Ban on NY Accepting Out of State Fracking Waste Products (ACCEPTED FOR LAST 6 YEARS)

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WPCNR ALBANY ROUNDS. From Assemblyman David Buchwald. September 14, 2016:

Assemblyman David Buchwald and 32 other members of the New York State Assembly have signed onto a letter urging the Department of Environmental Conservation to ban the environmentally-damaging use or disposal of hydrofracking waste in New York State. The letter comes on the final day of public comments as the DEC receives feedback on its waste management regulations.

Assemblyman Buchwald (D – Mt. Kisco-White Plains) championed the letter, which says that oil and gas waste should not be deposited in landfills or at wastewater treatment plants, and should not be used as a de-icing agent on roads.

The letter, also asks the department to remove the exemption that prevents oil and gas waste from being treated as hazardous materials.

New York State and Governor Cuomo exercised significant leadership in banning high-volume hydraulic fracturing in New York State due to its potential negative public health and environmental impacts.

Yet, that during the past 6 years, five landfills in New York State have accepted approximately 590,000 tons and 23,000 barrels of fracking waster from operations in Pennsylvania.

“We should not be allowing fracking waste, especially from out of state, to be disposed in New York landfills and at wastewater treatment plants or used as a de-icing agent on our roads,” said Assemblyman Buchwald. “Now is the time for the DEC to act. I am very pleased that over 30 of my Assembly colleagues have joined me in added their voice to such an important environmental and public health issue.”

“Communities across the state are reeling from drinking water that is making people sick due to an aging infrastructure and inadequate regulations on industry” said Liz Moran, Water & Natural Resources Associate for Environmental Advocates of New York. “The acceptance of fracking waste is another example where New Yorkers’ health is compromised. The state banned fracking because of the dangers – those dangers include fracking waste. We applaud and thank Assemblyman Buchwald for his leadership in protecting New Yorkers from fracking waste.”

 

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Judge Rules Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr. $21 Million Wrongful Death Suit will proceed to trial November 7.

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Randolph McLaughlin, one of  the Kenneth Chamberlain, Jr. Attorneys,  at the microphones,conducting a news conference outside the Charles L. Brient Federal Court House in White Plains, announcing the Chamberlain civil lawsuit will go to trial November 7.  To Mr. McLaughlin’s right is Kenneth Chamberlain, Jr., to Mr. Chamberlain’s left is Deborah Cohen, the attorney who presented Mr. Chamberlain’s case for a trial. (Photo by Peter Katz

WPCNR WHITE PLAINS LAW JOURNAL. Special to WPCNR from Peter Katz. September 12, 2016 UPDATED 11:26 PM E.S.T. UPDATED WITH PHOTOGRAPHS, September 14:

United States District Judge Cathy Seibel ruled  Monday evening shortly after  5 PM that the $21 Million civil suit filed by the Kenneth Chamberlain  family  in  the fatal shooting of 68-year old former Marine Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr. by the White Plains police, will proceed to trial in November, beginning November 7 with jury selection

In a news conference in front of the Charles L. Brient Federal Courthouse, Randolph McLaughlin one of the Chamberlain legal team said Judge Siebel–

“has ordered the city of White Plains to stand trial for the killing of Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr. The Judge has denied the shooter,  Anthony Carelli, who is a defendant his motion for summary judgment. She said there is sufficient evidence for this case against Mr. Carelli to go forward and let a jury determine what happened across the street at 135 South Lexington . She has also concluded that The City of White Plains must also stand trial under state tort law because  they hired an individual who, there’s sufficient evidence to go forward arguably committed an assault and battery against Mr. Chamberlain.”

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Kenneth Chamberlain, Jr.,  son of Kenneth Chamberlain, ( above)choked up,  almost unable to speak said,

“It’s kind of hard to really  put into words. We’re finally — getting our day in court. I’m pleased with the decision the judge made to say that is sufficient evidence The evidence we found out is very disturbing. How could you have police officers like that working in this city?

“So with that being said,this goes back to May of 2012 when there was a failure to indict. This proves there was no full and fair investigation on the part of the Westchester County District Attorney. I’m asking the Department of Justice again to come to the City of White Plains and investigate the police of this city…There’s something wrong in there and it has to do with leadership.To  What say you now now that the judge has said there is enough evidence to go forward. Will you now admit wrongdoing or stand by this lie you’ve been telling the entire time. There will be justice for Kenneth Chamberlain,Sr.” (Photo by Peter Katz)

McLaughlin said the claims against Mr. Carelli are under the Federal constitution for violation of constitutional rights, under the fourth amendment that he used excessive force and state law claims as well  for assault and battery revolving around the use of the firearm. The charges he said against the City of White Plains, under state law, an employer is responsible for the torts committed by their employee.

Deborah Cohen, the attorney who argued the case before Judge Seibel, said

“We are going to put before the jury, evidence that Mr. Chamberlain was on the ground, after being brought down by the force of four shots from a bean bag shotgun that the city’s own information says is equal to the force of a punch from Mike Tyson or a fastball of a pitcher in the major leagues.

“And that this man, who had serious health problems, which the jury will hear about, could not possibly have bounced up like some sort of low-flying superhero after being felled to the ground, to continue to be a threat to anyone in that room.”

Another attorney, Mr. Bartlet noted that, “It’s crystal clear that one of the things that has to change is the way the police unions are able to operate…They’re the only people who don’t have to give a statement with respect to their conduct and can maintain their employment. They should certainly have fifth amendment rights They should not have to incriminate themselves…

“What we’re dealing here right now is multiple police officers who had an opportunity to confer with one another, to defer their statements and come up with a common statement. That undermines trust in police across the board it puts their fellow officers at risk it makes us question their fellow officers’ behavior and the execution of their jobs as well.

There is no other union, no other employment  in the world where you have that right. Not one of us here could engage in conduct where we are mistreating individuals and not have to give an explanation as to how that occurred and have expectation that our job would be waiting for us.”

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Supporters of Mr. Chamberlain’s civil lawsuit observed, offering resolve in a respectful manner. Photo by Peter Katz

Mr. McLoughlin said “We think frankly given the current climate of police misconduct, police involved shootings all across the country, we think it would be in city’s best interests to at long last put this case behind us. But that’s in their hands. We have at all times been  reasonable and willing to have a conversation. They haven’t been willing. But that’s O.K. with us, we feel very strongly, a jury of Mr. Chamberlain’s peers will come to the same conclusion as us: This was an unjustified shooting.”

“We think that it’s quite clear: Black Lives matter. Black lives matter. If Mr. Chamberlain, Sr. had not been African American, not been suffering from a mental issue, had not been living in a housing project which is perceived as a dangerous place by some, that he’d be alive today. I doubt very seriously any police department would have broken into his house, took his door down if he lived in Scarsdale and was a doctor. So it’s class, race, and mental issues. So yes, it’s a national issue.”

He promised to be very “fight aggressively in the jury selection. If there is any effort by any lawyer here to exclude African Americans from this jury we will have them answer for that.”

McLoughlin also said that the U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara was investigating the case. He said the matter is under investigation by Mr. Bharara’s office.

In the news conference, Mr. Chamberlain, Jr., said that he was never called by police to intervene with his father and possibly have an oportunity to defuse the situation.

Five years ago, the White Plains police responded to the accidental activation of Mr. Chamberlain’s medical alert device in the early morning hours of November 19, 2011. 

Mr. Chamberlain refused the police entry into his apartment, repeatedly telling them he was fine and did not require assistance. A little over one hour later, the police broke down Mr. Chamberlain’s door and fired at him with a Taser and a less lethal or “bean bag” shotgun. Police Officer Anthony Carelli then fired his service weapon and fatally wounded Mr. Chamberlain.

Following almost two years of discovery, the City of White Plains and Officer Carelli filed motions for summary judgment seeking dismissal of the case.

Attorneys for Mr. Chamberlain opposed the motion and pointed to evidence that Mr. Chamberlain, who was in very poor health, was shot and killed as he lay on the ground after being knocked down by four powerful blasts from the bean bag shotgun.

Judge Seibel threw out some allegations and allowed others to proceed to trial in November, Peter Katz, covering for WPCNR, reported.

Seibel said there was enough evidence to proceed to trial and exonerated all White Plains police officers involved in the shooting incident except the police officer who shot Mr.Chamberlain,Sr., Officer Anthony Carelli and The City of White Plains.

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Alex Philippidis Remembers 9/11

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WPCNR NEWS AND COMMENT. From Alex Philippidis of Genome Web Daily News, Mary Ann Leibert, Inc.  September 11, 2016:

Alex, well-known local reporter around Westchester County for the last 30 years sent along this remembrance.

Two weeks after 9/11, I wrote this article sharing this story of something good that came from something evil… No link to this story exists any more, so I copy it in its entirety below:

Helping the heroes

From: Westchester County Business Journal, Oct. 1, 2001

“The World Trade Center should, because of its importance, become a living representation of man’s belief in humanity, his need for individual dignity, his belief in the cooperation of men, and through this cooperation, his ability to find greatness.” – Minoru Yamasaki, architect of the Twin Towers

Nearly three weeks have passed, but the memories are as fresh as ever for Jay Martino and 50 of his colleagues about the hell they witnessed at Ground Zero of the terrorist attacks that leveled the World Trade Center.

“It’s an unimaginable site of destruction. You search your mind to come up with the right verbiage, the right adjectives. How can I describe what I saw? It’s a horrific scene,” said Martino, a general superintendent with Granite/Halmar Construction Co. of Mount Vernon.

Martino, head of the Masons & Concrete Contractors Association of Hudson Valley Inc., led a team of workers who answered their industry’s call to send volunteers and heavy machines to the tons of wreckage that comprised the Twin Towers and five smaller buildings.

Granite/Halmar was among dozens of construction contractors in and around Westchester that sent resources to the World Trade Center in response to a memo distributed to all 650 members of the Construction Industry Council (CIC) of Westchester and Hudson Valley Inc. of Tarrytown.

Yonkers Contracting Co., which helped build the World Trade Center in the 1970s, donated 100 trucks to the rescue effort, while Tilcon New York Inc. of West Nyack and four subcontractors donated equipment and personnel from their 21 quarry and asphalt facilities in New York and New Jersey.

“I think more than any other industry, construction contractors and workers comprehend the enormity of the task at hand because we understand the magnitude of what it takes to create such magnificent structures and buildings,” said Ross J. Pepe, CIC president.

“Everyone in our industry has a deep and new-found appreciation of the ironworkers, operating engineers, laborers, Teamsters and other union workers now at the site as the world watches these guys on TV doing a job that nobody would ever want to do.”

The World Trade Center took half a decade to build, but only two hours for terrorists to level in the series of attacks that shook the world on Sept. 11.

County construction industry responds
The following day when CIC asked for volunteers, hundreds answered the call. Fifty of them came from Granite/Halmar, which had hired them for its many projects under construction – such as the new international arrivals terminal and an expansion of the British Airways terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

“They said they needed cutoff saws, tools, oxygen tanks, manpower. So I put the call out to all of our foreman asking if any of them would volunteer,” Martino recalled “We loaded a half-dozen pickup trucks with oxygen and acetylene gas tanks, plus dust masks, goggles, safety glasses.”

The Granite/Halmar men joined other CIC member companies in assembling at Yonkers Raceway, then following a state police escort south to lower Manhattan. Authorities have divided the area in and around the World Trade Center into four zones, each overseen by a construction contractor: AMEC p.l.c.; Tully Construction Inc.; a joint venture of Turner Construction and Plaza Materials Inc.; and Bovis Lend Lease and two subcontractors, Grace Industries Inc. and Gateway.

Granite/Halmar entered the site working for AMEC, which controls the northwest zone of the recovery area, Granite/Halmar had worked for AMEC at the Kennedy airport projects.

“We hooked up with a firefighter, a captain. He escorted us to ground zero. Right away we went to work with the firemen. They were elated to see us. They had nothing. They had no cutoff saws we could see. They had one set of torches. They were working their way through the pile of rubble with picks and shovels. Everything was done by hand,” Martino said.

“We were cutting steel into pieces. We took everything we could handle and loaded it into 5-gallon barrels, then kept passing them on down the line,” Martino said. “We worked till late in the evening, 11 or 12 o’clock at night.

“It was just amazing, the amount of debris and structural steel there was around. You stood on steel beams that had just collapsed. You’d look at the steel and it was completely clean.

There was no concrete to be found. You didn’t see any chunks of concrete. The fire was so great the concrete had disintegrated.
“You’d see bits and pieces of carpet, and every once in a while, there would be a bumper to a vehicle. You stood on the steel beams which had collapsed,” Martino said.

Not once during their time at Ground Zero did Martino or his men spot any bodies, or any parts of bodies.

“I was not looking forward to anything like that. I was looking to help and I would have gone anywhere I was told to go. But I kept wondering. What would I do if I saw something? How would I react?”

An especially welcome sight, Martino said, was the hundreds of volunteers who catered to weary rescuers: “Every time you turned around, you heard. Do you need something to drink? Do you want something to eat? They had buckets of water and Gatorade. They had Power Bars.”

Just three years ago Martino and workers from GraniteHalmar’s predecessor, Halmar Builders of New York Inc., transformed the drab exterior public space outside the World Trade Center into World Trade Center Plaza, a public plaza complete with granite pavement and landscaped areas.

Looking at a poster-sized photo of the plaza outside his office, Martino paused. “I feel funny seeing the pictures of it now.”

 

 

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The Day We Were All Connected: Trade Center Destruction Brought a Country Together.

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WPCNR NEWS & COMMENT. From the WPCNR archives. Written by John F. Bailey on September 11, 2001:

In the worst premeditated surprise attack on any nation anywhere, with loss of life in the thousands, the World Trade Center Towers collapsed into rubble Tuesday morning by 10:30 AM and we all realized how connected we are.

No novelist has imagined this disaster. It is all too real and horrible. Not since the Hindenburg disaster have I heard radio reporting so emotional. Not since Hiroshima and Nagasaki has there been such loss of life in a single attack. As the attacks mounted every 15 minutes observed one radio reporter, America realized how connected we all are. At least this reporter did.

What impressed this reporter, was how connected we all really are here in America. A candidate for office worried about their treasurer’s wife who works in the Trade Center. I worried about my nephew, just starting his new job this summer in lower Manhattan, and I do not know exactly where he works. My brother-in-law called from Miami to see if my wife was all right. (She is.) My wife saw the towers collapse from her mid-town offices. (I asked her today September 11, 2016) fifteen years later how she felt seeing the towers collapsed. She hesitated, saying “I don’t know. I was in the moment.”)

A friend of mine called to see if my wife was all right, too, fifteen years ago. Then he mentioned what about those children in school who have parents working in those buildings? It was a sobering, angering thought.

Sobering because, you knew some of them had to have lost their parents. You just knew that.

Our very communicative society was communicating, phonelines were jammed. Everyone thought of loved ones or persons they knew that perhaps worked down there.

Persons watching the horror unfold, broke down in front of their televisions. Breaking down, because of the sense that there was nothing they could do. (I listened to the attacks unfold on the radio. I did not watch it on television.)

As I write this at 12 noon today (September 11, 2001), the end of these maniacal acts (a very appropriate description from one WOR reporter) is not in sight. But, when it does end, and it will, let’s remember how connected we feel to those entombed in the Trade Center rubble.

Let’s pull together and work together more, like those brave New York City Firefighters who obviously were trapped in the buildings when they collapsed. The police who obviously have died trying to evacuate the innocents within. I don’t want to hear any more knocks on the NYPD.

2016 Reflection:

I remembered that connection and the Candlelight Walk that took place in White Plains two weeks later where easily 7,000 people filled Main Street from the railroad station to City Hall holding candles to just be together and feel together and connected. 

How we have changed since September 11, 2015. We are a nation no longer remotely connected. We have persons running for President blaming our troubles on other Americans. We have people running for President on messages without substance, putting their hopes in failed ideas of the past in both parties. Talking big but having nothing big to say. 

There is no connection between Americans today.

Respect for each others’ views no longer exists. The importance of  putting the truth out and dealing with the reality of our challenges is not being faced by our leaders, our politicians, our educators, our health providers, our media. It is a shambles.The blame era began with the fall of the Towers.

No one now needs to take any responsibility, just blame someone else: It’s immigrants; it’s the far right; it is Wall Street; it’s the banks; the insurance companies; it’s companies exporting jobs to avoid taxes; it’s the oil companies; it’s the media;  Have I missed anyone? None of these institutions take responsibility for when they make a mistake. 

It would be nice if we could go back to that brief time after 2001 when we pulled together.

Thought how our actions, words, feelings, and dependence on self-interest so prevalent today effects other people. 

Can we recapture that September 11, 2001 compassion Americans showed to each other, the mutual respect, when you’d hug strangers to comfort them?

As the hero in Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises said to Brett, the heroine when she says 

“Oh, Jake, we could have had such a damned good time together.”

Jake replies:

“Yes,” I said. “Isn’t it pretty to think so?”

But our country and all of us it need to do that figure out how to have a damned good time together, and make things work.

At the 9/11 ceremonies today is a good time to begin.

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JUDGE MAY RULE ON TRIAL MOTION ON THE KENNETH CHAMBERLAIN SUIT MONDAY

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WPCNR WHITE PLAINS LAW JOURNAL. Special to WPCNR SEPTEMBER 10, 2016:

Newman and Ferrara, attorneys for the Kenneth Chamberlain family have called a news conference for Monday afternoon and have issued this news release:

United States District Judge Cathy Seibel may issue a ruling in her courtroom on Monday, September 12, 2016, at 3:15 p.m. on a motion that will determine whether the case, regarding the fatal shooting of 68-year old former Marine Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr. by the White Plains police, will proceed to trial.

The White Plains police responded to the accidental activation of Mr. Chamberlain’s medical alert device in the early morning hours of November 19, 2011.  Mr. Chamberlain refused the police entry into his apartment, repeatedly telling them he was fine and did not require assistance. A little over one hour later, the police broke down Mr. Chamberlain’s door and fired at him with a Taser and a less lethal or “bean bag” shotgun. Police Officer Anthony Carelli then fired his service weapon and fatally wounded Mr. Chamberlain.

Following almost two years of discovery, the City of White Plains and Officer Carelli filed motions for summary judgment seeking dismissal of the case.

Attorneys for Mr. Chamberlain opposed the motion and pointed to evidence that Mr. Chamberlain, who was in very poor health, was shot and killed as he lay on the ground after being knocked down by four powerful blasts from the bean bag shotgun.

According to Debra S. Cohen, an attorney for the Chamberlain family, “We hope that Monday will bring us an important step closer to achieving justice for Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr. and greater awareness of the need for changes in how police respond to these types of situations.”

###

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WHITE PLAINS WEEK PRESENTS COMPLETE COVERAGE OF THE COMMON COUNCIL FASNY SETTLEMENT MEETING. SEE THE FRIDAY SHOW INSTANTLY ON THE INTERNET AT YOUTUBE OR WPCommunitymedia.org

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WHITE PLAINS WEEK

“FASNY NEWS SPECIAL”

PETER KATZ AND JIM BENEROFE 

TAKE YOU THROUGH THE TUESDAY NIGHT

COMMON COUNCIL APPROVAL OF THE FASNY SETTLEMENT

EXCLUSIVE INSIGHTFUL VIDEO PACKAGE AND STATEMENTS

SEE IT INSTANTLY NOW

IN CRYSTAL-CLEAR PICTURE, HI-DEFINITION WITH, CRISP SOUND AT

www.whiteplainsweek.com

OR

ON YOUTUBE 

AT

OR
www.WPcommunitymedia.org
PLUS
THE BRYANT AVENUE MORNING JAM AT HEATHERBLOOM
TIM CONNORS DEPARTS SCHOOL DISTRICT END OF SEPTEMBER
AND THE DOGS SWIM AT KITTRELL POOL

 

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A Most Unsettling Settlement: Gedney Association Statement on the FASNY VOTE

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WPCNR THE LETTER TICKER. SEPTEMBER 9, 2016:

Dear John,

The Common Council’s hastily called meeting on Tuesday night to consider a Settlement agreement on the FASNY matter was a new low for open government in White Plains.

The Mayor and Common Council members, Kirkpatrick, Martin and Smayda ignored the numerous requests by citizens from all over the City to postpone any decision on the “Stipulation of Agreement.”

In fact, they voted against a motion by Councilman Dennis Krolian to defer any decision on the Stipulation of Agreement for thirty days so that he and other Council members could fully evaluate the Stipulation.

Such a postponement is routinely granted by the Common Council as a courtesy.  The Council quickly voted 4-3 to the Stipulation of Agreement with Council members Lecuona, Krolian, and Hunt-Robinson expressing well-reasoned arguments against the resolution.

Can anyone argue this “Settlement” vote was not an obvious attempt to circumvent the earlier vote of the Council which did not muster the requisite super-majority vote?

The Common Council chambers and outer hallway were filled with FASNY opponents despite the Agenda only publicly noticed on Thursday evening before the Labor Day weekend.   There were a number of FASNY representatives and supporters present including Andrea Soros-Colombel, the Chair of the school who appeared quite pleased by the Council’s action.  You may recall she earlier published a very threatening letter warning our elected officials that if they dared vote against the FASNY plan a series of lawsuits would ensue.

Lest anyone forget FASNY failed in its application last year after a full public airing of the project.

The City’s appeal to the Appellate Court was viewed to be strong.  What transpired Tuesday night should alarm every citizen of White Plains regardless of party affiliation or view on FASNY.

This “Settlement” was crafted behind closed doors with no input from the public and virtually no opportunity for the Council members who voted against the FASNY road closure to express their views.

Interestingly, the name of City’s outside attorney, Mr. Robert Spolzino, who provided such an excellent defense against the FASNY suit, was conspicuously absent from the Stipulation of Agreement.

The “Settlement” turns on its head the earlier Environmental Findings by the Council that explicitly stated that FASNY could not use Ridgeway as its entrance to the complex nor local streets such as Hathaway Lane.

Remarkably, the “FASNY FOUR” (the Mayor and Council members Kirkpatrick, Martin and Smayda) are now considering de-designating Parcel A as an “Environmentally Sensitive Site” – a blatant and transparent attempt to avoid the requirement for a super-majority vote.

Thankfully, the Common Council decision has generated outrage from all sectors of our City.  Attempts to trash our zoning laws, land use decisions and the will of the people have raised the ire of all proponents of good and open government.

The Gedney Association intends to plan and coordinate its efforts with the neighborhood associations already on record against the FASNY project as well as other citizens who believe the integrity of our land use review process has collapsed to special interests.

The Gedney Association

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THIS WEEK ON PEOPLE TO BE HEARD–JULIE KILLIAN CANDIDATE FOR STATE SENATE DIST. 37 (WHITE PLAINS)( IS INTERVIEWED SEE IT INSTANTLY NOW ON THE INTERNET AT YOUTUBE OR WPCommunitymedia

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THIS WEEK ON 

PEOPLE TO BE HEARD

“THE TRISTATES’ MOST RELEVANT INTERVIEW PROGRAM”

YOU’VE GOT

2016908killian 005JULIE KILLIAN OF RYE

CANDIDATE FOR THE 37TH  STATE SENATE DISTRICT

INTERVIEWED BY

JOHN BAILEY, PETER KATZ AND JIM BENEROFE

IN CRYSTAL CLEAR VIDEO, HI-DEFINITION SHARP AUDIO ON

www.whiteplainsweek.com

INSTANTLY ON YOU TUBE

OR
www.wpcommunitymedia.org

SEE HER SATURDAY NIGHT AT 7 PM ON CHANNEL 76 WHITE PLAINS CABLEVISION 

OR

VERIZON FIOS CHANNEL 45 THROUGHOUT WESTCHESTER COUNTY

2016908killian 002

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