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KATZ BAILEY AND BENEROFE
ON
THE EDUCATION TAX CREDIT CAMPAIGN
THE CITY WITHIN A CITY ON WESTCHESTER AVENUE — INTRODUCING THE COLLECTION
PLAYLAND COMMITTEE BALKS ON APPROVING THE STANDARD AMUSEMENTS AGREEMENT IN WEDNESDAY MEETING…MORE LEGAL TWEAKING IN WORKS
AND MORE ON RED LIGHT CAMERAS.
TONIGHT ON CHANNELS 45 AND 76
AND ON THE INTERNET NOW AT
www.whiteplainsweek.com
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WPCNR PLAYLAND GO-ROUND. By John F. Bailey. June 12, 2015:
The last meeting of the County Legislature Labor Parks Planning Housing Committee Wednesday morning failed to reach agreement on approving the Memorandum of Understanding between Westchester County and Standard Amusements, the entity on the verge pending a vote Monday of becoming Managing Operator of the landmark amusement park, Playland in 2016.
The Committee discovered that an arrangement by which county employees would be assigned to Playland and their wages paid by the county and the county reimbursed by Standard Amusements was not spelled out specifically in the agreement.
This oversight was pointed out doggedly by County Legislator Benjamin Boykin, despite Chair of the Board of Legislators Michael Kaplowitz not recalling any such discussionin previous commitee meetings.
Chairman of the Committee, County Legislator MaryJane Shimsky and Legislator Catherine Borgia remembered this exchange and agreed with Mr. Boykin.
Kaplowitz backtracked and agreed to add language which he suggested on the spot. Kevin Plunkett, the Deputy County Executive said he was reluctant to approve language that might in some way upset or be prohibited by union existing contracts. It was agreed that the new language would be run past legal either Thursday and Friday.
The execution of Capital Projects requiring County expenditures required for the Playland existing structures, was disputed by Legislator Kay Parker of Rye, as being inadequate. The agreement as written says the County and Standard Amusements will review together the capital needs of the park that the county needs to fund.
Parker said the procedure on deciding capital project necessity “lacks specifity. I don’t see an agreement to review is going to bring these projects about in a timely fashion.”
Parker said the Astorino administration in its revised second draft of the review of capital projects and procedure for determining what capital projects should be done and the costs, did not meet her earlier concerns.
“I want to see Standard Amusements succeed . I want to take one more day to put in language that will add some specifics,” she said.
Parker and Shimsky said they would work on the new legal capital projects review language, which has to be approved in time for a scheduled vote on Monday evening on approving the Memorandum of Understanding with Standard Amusements.
The third area of contention again involved the matter of what entity decides what, this time on it involved the pool at the park.
Ms. Shimsky, the Chair of the Committee asked Mr. Singer, principal of Standard Amusements about his plan to preserve the pool, if it could be preserved.
Singer said the pool had many problems, its infrastructure was sinking, the pool depth was too deep and as he has said for 10 weeks of review, Standard has to go in this summer and evaluate the pool (as with the rest of the structures and how the pool is operated).
Singer said presently the Memorandum of Agreement that stipulates the pool area needs to be a pool or a water feature. Shimsky, pressing asked how what happened to the pool is determined, whether their would still be a pool.
Mr. Singer read the memorandum of agreement draft,
“The manager should shall have the ability to repurpose the pool area as long as it contains a water feature.”
This brought a collective quiet intake of breath by some committee members.
Shimsky, after a few seconds of silence, said ‘I guess we will have need of legal counsel.”
Singer said his legal team would have to look at the changes in the county employees employed by Standard at Playland and any additions to the capital Projects review procedure that Parker and Shimsky are working on.
Mr. Kaplowitz said the changes whatever had to be in very quickly as to be reviewed by the concerned parties: the County Executive’s office, Standard Amusements and of course the legislators.
The meeting can be seen at the Westchester County Legislators website at
http://westchestercountyny.iqm2.com/Citizens/SplitView.aspx?Mode=Video&MeetingID=3733&Format=Agenda
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WPCNR THE FEINER REPORT. By Greenburgh Town Supervisor, Paul Feiner. June 10, 2015:
WPCNR THE FEINER REPORT. By Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner. June 10, 2015:
The Greenburgh Town Board will hold a public hearing tonight at Town Hall on a proposed law that will provide the police with the tools to close down massage parlors that are involved in illegal activities – such as prostitution.
The hearing will take place tonight after 7:30 PM at Greenburgh Town Hall.
Two different versions of the law are being considered: one law written by Bob Bernstein, President of the Edgemont Community Council. The other by the Town’s Planning Board. The legislation drafted by Mr. Bernstein was based on a law that the Town of Clarkstown approved in the 1990s. The village of Farmingdale in Long Island also approved a similar law. A link to the Town Board agenda (with texts of the two versions) is below.
http://www.greenburghny.com/Cit-e-Access/webpage.cfm?TID=10&TPID=13179
The ECC’s proposal requires massage establishments to obtain a license from the town to obtain a special permit to operate.
Town Councilmembers Kevin Morgan, Francis Sheehan, Chief Chris McNerney, Howard Hirsch of the ECC and Bob Bernstein met recently to discuss both competing laws -hoping that a compromise law, with some modifications could be adopted by the Town Board. It is anticipated that the Town Board will vote on the legislation after we listen to the comments at the hearing and finalize a new draft law. No vote is expected tonight –the goal: to hear comments and than to finalize a compromise version.
Among changes in the proposed legislation: reducing the $500 cost of obtaining a license to a more affordable amount – a cost that could be burdensome to legal massage owners. Another compromise: exempting solo practitioners from the legislation since the law’s goal is to close down massage parlors that are really being used for prostitution.
You can watch the forum that was held -“Illegal Massage Parlors and What Really Goes on Behind Closed Doors”- on https://youtu.be/mmWXUXyF3fI.
Speakers included reporter Ken Picard who conducted an investigation on massage parlors in Vermont. And Nancy Levine of My Sisters Place as well as the police chief. The forum was organized by Town Clerk Judith Beville earlier this year.
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WPCNR FBI WIRE. From the Federal Bureau of Investigation. June 8, 2015:
The owner of a Bardonia, New York, construction service company pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the New York Power Authority (NYPA) in White Plains and filing a false tax return, the Department of Justice, the IRS and the New York State Inspector General announced today.
According to the two-count felony charge filed in U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York in White Plains today, Thomas Delaney, owner of Over Rock Construction LLC, participated in a scheme to defraud NYPA. In October 2009, Over Rock was awarded a five-year, $3 million contract to perform landscaping, snow removal and masonry work at NYPA’s administrative facility in White Plains.
To generate cash for those involved in the scheme, Delaney, with the assistance of his co-conspirators, submitted fraudulent certified payroll statements and invoices to NYPA for reimbursement for individuals who performed no services (“no show” employees) on behalf of Over Rock at NYPA. Between 2009 and 2012, the false and fraudulent overcharges paid by NYPA to Over Rock totaled more than $400,000. Delaney also pleaded guilty to filing a false and fraudulent tax return which substantially understated his income.
“The defendant cooked the books twice—first so he could defraud the New York Power Authority and then again to avoid paying taxes he owed,” said Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “The division will continue to work with our partners at the FBI, IRS and the New York Inspector General to bring to justice those who corrupt a public bidding process for their own personal gain.”
“Today we see yet another scheme involving fraudulent payroll statements and invoices that were used to pad the pockets of devious individuals,” said Assistant Director in Charge Diego Rodriguez of the FBI’s New York Field Office. “Along with the announcement of this guilty plea comes a reminder that the FBI will continue to work with our partners in rooting out fraud to both public and private companies.”
“This contractor defrauded the State on multiple occasions, repeatedly billing the New York Power Authority for workers who never showed up and by paying significantly less taxes than he owed,” said New York State Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott. “Today’s guilty plea serves to reinforce my office’s ongoing commitment to protect the integrity of the contracting process across all state agencies and authorities. I would like to thank our federal law enforcement partners in this matter and look forward to continuing our work with them to hold accountable any corrupt entities or individuals.”
“IRS Criminal Investigation is committed to ensuring that everyone pays their fair share of taxes,” said Special Agent in Charge Shantelle P. Kitchen of the IRS Criminal Investigation New York Field Office. “To that end, we will investigate individuals who willfully conceal income to reduce or eliminate their own tax obligations, effectively increasing the burden on honest taxpayers.”
Delaney pleaded guilty to a fraud conspiracy charge that carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. Delaney also pleaded guilty to subscribing to a false tax return, which carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $100,000 fine. The maximum fines for each of these charges may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.
These charges arose from an investigation initiated by the New York State Inspector General and is part of an ongoing joint federal and state investigation of bid rigging, fraud and tax-related offenses in the award of contracts at NYPA’s facility in White Plains. The investigation is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s New York Office with the assistance of the FBI, the IRS Criminal Investigation and the New York State Office of the Inspector General. NYPA is cooperating with the investigation. Anyone with information on bid rigging or other anticompetitive conducted related to the award or performance of municipal and state contracts should contact the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at 888-647-3258 or visit http://www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html.
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WPCNR OBSERVATIONS FROM MIDDLE AMERICA. June 7, 2015:
If you have not seen and heard White Plains Week’s Peter Katz comment on how “Red Light Cameras” are doing across the country on the latest June 5 edition of WHITE PLAINS WEEK, it might interest you that a former resident of White Plains, out of the blue mentioned that her city that has had red light cameras is thinking of removing the revenue-producing devices.
Candyce Corcoran moved to Murfreesboro Tennessee 6 years ago. She was shocked when I told her that WP has applied to the state legislature for a home rule decision that would bring in red light cameras as early as next fall for 17 intersections in White Plains.
Ms. Corcoran sent me a link to a story that details Murfreesboro experience with “Red Light Cameras:”
http://www.wsmv.com/story/27320065/murfreesboro-to-consider-removing-red-light-cameras
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WPCNR AFFORDABLES. From the Housing Action Council. June 7, 2015:
Housing Action Council is accepting applications through June 15 for “ 602”, a new fair and
affordable single family home located at 602 Route 22 in Croton Falls in the Town of North Salem.
Applications will be accepted through June 15, 2015. A lottery will be held June 22 at 7:00 P.M. at the Ruth Keeler Memorial Library in North Salem to determine the order in which applicants will be qualified. An early Fall occupancy is planned.
Applications and brochures (English and Spanish) can be downloaded from
www.housingactioncouncil. org For additional information, call (914) 332-4144.
When completed, “602” will provide a unique homeownership opportunity for a household who cannot afford to buy in the private marketplace. The sale price is $223,000 designed to reach a household whose income is no greater than 80% of the median income of Westchester County.
The maximum income for a three person household is $76,050; for a four person, $84,550; and a five person, $91,300. Renovations to be completed this summer include new windows, a large kitchen and dining area, wood floors throughout , new appliances, and a new private patio.
This + 1400 sq.ft three Bbedroom home also includes basement storage, a garage, and a new state of the art septic system.
’602 ’is an exciting new opportunity for a family of modest means to become
a homeowner in a community known for its award winning school and recreational opportunities.
The County of Westchester has provided financial assistance to assure affordability.
“602” contributes to the 750 homes that the County must facilitate under its
2009 Housing Settlement with HUD.
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The Gedney Association announced a Summer Cocktail Party and Fundraising Reception will be held on June 28th at the Woman’s Club in White Plains at 305 Ridgeway from 5 PM until 8 PM.
The affair will commemorate the 90th Anniversary of the founding of the Gedney Association as well as honor the service of two persons who have contributed much to the City of White Plains: Peter Bassano and Joseph “Bud” Nicoletti, Jr.
Peter Bassano has been a member of the White Plains School Board since 2002 and has been active in the community for many years. His term on the Board expires at the end of June. Bud Nicoletti, the former long-term Commissioner of Public Works was with the City for over 30 years. He was responsible for so many of the successful improvements to the White Plains infrastructure.
All residents of White Plains are invited to attend this special evening celebrating Gedney Farms and the importance of all White Plains neighborhoods as well as saluting two gentlemen who served the community so generously.
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WPCNR MILESTONES. June 6, 2014:
It has been 71 years since allied troops died and lived on Normandy’s beaches in France in the largest military operation in history to turn the tide against Nazi Germany, the ultimate evil Third Reich.
It is a day to remember, reflect. Examine ourselves. Would we have the courage those men and women did?
I thought in preparing my simple news program yesterday, what kind of of visual should I put up to remember those brave who faced massive, withering fire hitting and dying instantly on those beaches. Should it be the sobering pictures of the wounded? The sobering lineups corpses in the sand? The overhead awe-inspiring photographs of the landing?
I chose this: thousands of crosses to remember who died together fighting tyranny and evil because you must always fight tyranny and evil and hate. You cannot negotiate with it.
The crosses are all the same. And there are thousands of them in graveyards like the one shown here. The legacy of spent humanity, all the same in death, united in death no matter their nationality, creed, religion. Next time you hear the speeches of hate and prejudice and superiority, please remember this picture and this day.
| Seventy one years ago this morning, thousands of troops stormed the beaches in Normandy, France in the largest invasion in history.The bloody assault against a heavily defended coastline, requiring incredible courage and sacrifice by allied troops, landing craft, paratroops, signalled the beginning of the end of the Third Reich and the regime of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany.The quiet beaches of Normandy today. The hundreds of rows of white crosses in cemeteries around the little town bear silent eternal vigil to the sacrifice of those brave men and women who fought, died, and triumphed this day 69 years ago today. |
We can in no way, or through any motion picture know what any veteran experienced that day. The veterans who still are with us do not like to talk about their combat experiences. And they do not.
One veteran of D-Day, asked what he thought of Saving Private Ryan, the movie of a few years ago depicting the landing and the realism of it, said the real D-Day was worse. However, veterans we have interviewed remark that they think of their combat experience every day. It is always with them.
It is inconceivable to me that I could ever be able to do what these men and women did. I would like to hope I could have. However, the veterans have.
They left ordinary lives as teenagers office workers, factory workers, farmers, accountants, and what have you and were able to go to war and “rise to the occasion,” or as they say today, “step it up to the next level.” The highest level.
Few of them are left now. But today their sacrifice should be remembered.
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WPCNR ACCOLADES. By John F. Bailey. June 5, 2015:
The White Plains Department of Public Safety held its 2015 Fire Department Awards Ceremony Thursday evening at the historic White Plains Fire Headquarters on Mamaroneck and Maple
An overflow audience of firefighters and families looked on as Mayor Thomas Roach, Commissioner of Public Safety David Chong and Fire Chief Richard Lyman honored their men, and community partners for their outstanding efforts and assistance in the last year
Lieutenant Eric Bratburg, Lieutenant Tom Glass, Firefighters Salvatore Birittieri, Percy Johnson, Rocco Presto and Tonin Bucaj received the Life Saving Award for coming to the aid of fellow firefighter Francis Hosei who suffered a heart attack on November 3 while fighting a fire at 90 Bryant Avenue. These men quickly began emergency cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Firefighter Hosei, who was in the audience Thursday evening (shown below) and thanked his comrades for giving him a “second go round.”
Firefighter Francis Hosei thanks his comrades for giving him a second chance by saving his life.
TransCare Paramedic Luis Castillo and Emergency Medical Technician Gary Foti were presented with the Civilian Certificate of Recognition for continuing medical car on Firefighter Hosei after he had been revived by his six comrades. White Plains Hospital, Con Edison and Westchester County Parks and Recreation were also given Civilian Certificates of Recognition.
Firefighter Peter Lasher (right) was presented with the Life Saving Award for acts performed within or beyond the scope of training and duty which directly contributes to the saving of a civilian life. While on duty at the Department of Public Safety May 5, one month ago, Firefighter Lasher was told by a woman that a man had just collapsed. Lasher contacted dispatch, request an ambulance, quickly assessed the man, saw he was in cardiac arrest and began cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Lasher’s action directly contributed to restarting the man’s heart and saving his life.
Receiving Company Unit Citation Awards were Rescue 88 and Group 3 Engine 67 for their roles in rescuing two workers in a trench cave in July, 2014–
The firefighters included Lieutenant Len Bonadies, Firefighters Richard Hall, Charles Valera and Michael Niles (above) of Rescue 88 received Meritorious Service Awards in their efforts resulting in the rescue of two workers buried by a cavein in Rye.
Lieutenant Steven Glover and Firefighters Warren Fargo and Canute Hibbert of Group 3, Engine 67 were honored with Company Unit Citation Awards for their aid in the trench cavein incident.
Lieutenant David Allegretti, Firefighters Anthony Evangelista and Michael Fiorentino of Group 1 Engine 67, received Unit Citation Awards for their efforts in rappelling from a balcony into a courtyard on December 16, 2014 to treat and rescue a injured worker who had fallen 15 feet into the court.
In the well-publicized fire at the Mobil Service Station on the Hutchison River Parkway, one year ago on June 3, 2014 Lieutenant Mark Casarella, and Firefighters John Egan Sr. and Donald Wilhelm were credited with moving quickly to stablize the fire, turning off the gas pumps, extinguishing the fire and salvaging “a significant amount” of property. They were awarded Company Unit Citation Awards for their actions.
The Group of Rescue 88, Lieutenant Kevin DiSanto, Firefighters Chris Lasher, Joe Clauser andVito Fascilla were honored with Company Unit Citations for rescuing an injured boy November 11, 2014 who had fallen 20 feet off a cliff at Cranberry Lake Preserve in North White Plains. They stablized the scene, provided “technical rescue knowledge, treating and assisting in rescuing the boy.
Firefighter Charles Valera received Individual Citation as volunteer who is contributing his services without pay to maintain and repair firemens’ breathing apparatus.
Lieutenant Kevin Lasher (right)was given the Department Excellence for his dignified work in overseeing funeral detail for fallen firefighters and assuring grave sites of deceased firefighters are properly identified and marked with the department Maltese Cross.
Lieutenant Adrian Scapperotti was given the Visionary Award for his innovation of training programs that “have had a direct and positive impact on the safety of department members.
Lieutenants Louis Dominguez and Roberto Fortuna received Department Excellence Awards for their roles in supervising the training of new firefighters.
It was pointed out repeatedly by Deputy Chiefs presenting the awards that the rescues, the savings of two lives, as well as the words that that kept coming up in presentation after presentation, “stabilizing the situation” were the direct result of superior training and the know-how that clicks in in an emergency.
The ceremony concluded with the names of firefighters who have served more than 20 years in the department. Not all could be present because they were on duty. But the names and the years impressed you with the dedication of these men to the City and its residents.. As West Point Chaplain Fred Marasco said during the Invocation, firefighters go into action not knowing what they weill encounter and risk their lives for strangers. The evening stories of how lives were saved and people rescued drove home the debt White Plains owes these brave, dedicated men.