White Plains Sales Tax Receipts Even with Last Year’s Pace. County Collections up 3.8%

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WPCNR QUILL & EYESHADE. From the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. September 29, 2014:

Figures released today by the state show White Plains sales tax collections  for July and August, the first two months of the city fiscal year are virtually even with July and August 2013, with the city collecting $8,082,064.69 the last two months compared to $8,108,419.99 last July and August.

Westchester County through the first eight months of 2014, its fiscal year is 3.8% ahead of last year’s pace, receiving $328,510,845, compared to  $316,183,747 the first eight months of 2013.

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Cuomo in Afghanistan: More Scrutiny of Potential Members of Terrorist Cells Needed

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WPCNR ALBANY ROUNDS. From the Office of Governor Andrew Cuomo. September 29, 2014:

In remarks about his weekend visit to Afghsanistan, Governor Cuomo promised a different approach in the state approach to Homeland Security, saying:

“One is homeland security, and second you have to get to the Middle East. You have to do something about stopping the development of the problem. It can’t be that our answer is going to be we’ll always catch it before it comes in the airport. We have to do something about resolving, managing and controlling the source of the growth of these terrorist cells.

Because at this rate of growth it’s going to be very hard to manage. And people say ‘do you think it’s going to get better or worse?’ – maybe it gets a little better, maybe it gets a little worse, but what I believe is it doesn’t go away, and I believe this is a generational problem.

And for me, as a Governor who likes to believe he’s had experience and knowledge in the matters that he’s responsible for, this is a topic that goes to the top of my list of not just a good solution, but educating myself, educating the people in the state about what this is really about and what it’s going to take.”

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo is in Afghanistan with a bi-partisan delegation of governors at the invitation of the U.S. Department of Defense, which is sponsoring the visit.

 

Governor Cuomo received a series of security briefings from U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of State, and other federal officials. Governor Cuomo also visited Bagram Airfield to tour its operations and thank New York and other American troops for their service – including those from Fort Drum, NY’s 10th Mountain Division.

Upon his arrival at Bagram Airfield, Governor Cuomo was met by Major General Stephen J. Townsend, the commander of Regional Command East (RC-E) and Fort Drum’s 10th Mountain Division. RC-E is headquartered at Bagram Airfield. Earlier this year, Fort Drum’s 10th Mountain Division assumed command of Regional Command East in Afghanistan. According to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), RC-East includes the provinces of Bamyan, Ghazni, Kapisa, Khost, Kunar, Laghman, Logar, Nangarhar, Nuristan, Paktika, Paktiya, Panjshayr, Parwan and Wardak.  It covers 46,000 square miles, approximately the size of Virginia, and shares a portion of the border with Pakistan.

Approximately 270 members of the New York National Guard are currently deployed in Afghanistan – the bulk of which are based in the Hudson Valley and New York City. Additionally, approximately 900 members of Fort Drum’s 10th Mountain Division are stationed in Afghanistan.

During the trip, Governor Cuomo is receiving a series of briefings from senior U.S. officials on counterterrorism issues, the evolving global threats that affect New York’s security at home, and other matters. Governor Cuomo was invited to visit Afghanistan by Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel. Due to security issues, the trip could not be disclosed publicly in advance.

Transcript of Governor Cuomo’s opening remarks from today’s briefing call:

Thank you all very much for taking the time to join, and Melissa thank you for setting up the call.

It’s been a really educating and fascinating couple of few days. I left on Friday from New York. We couldn’t give prior notice of the trip because the Department of Defense, which set up the trip, wanted it kept secret until we were on the ground for security reasons. But I left from New York and went to Andrews Air Force Base first from a number of federal agencies that were on basically Middle East issues, terrorism specifically and Afghanistan, because this is a historic moment for Afghanistan. There is going to be, hopefully, an inauguration tomorrow of the new president and then a bilateral security agreement signed with the United States which allows a presence to remain in a model of cooperative assistance.

 

But we had a number of briefings, we spent a few hours at Andrews Air Force Base, and flew to Germany where we stopped at the Ramstein Air Base and visited the main hospital, which is used for the region for soldiers who need serious care, they come to this hospital. Luckily the numbers were way down, evidencing fewer casualties as we know because of the steps the country is taking. But I had a chance to chat with a couple of these young soldiers, and I tell you they were inspirational. One young fellow who has a broken leg and plate screws in his leg, all he wants to talk about is how he wants to get back to his unit. He has a choice of rehabbing in the hospital or going back to the unit immediately and he wants to go back to the unit. One young fellow who is bleeding internally – they can’t figure out why he’s bleeding internally – literally tears up as he’s telling the story. And why does he tear up? Because he feels that he’s let his buddies down by leaving them on their own. It was really amazing.

 

The troops that I’ve met since – the 10th Mountain Division, which is out of Fort Drum, has a major presence here. And the Mountain Division has a proud history and has had hundreds and hundreds of soldiers come through deployment. The numbers were really staggering. We also have a number of National Guard and its interesting because I spent so much time with the National Guard, I recognized many of them because they had done Hurricane Sandy, Flood Irene, Storm Lee, and so I literally have seen many faces that I’ve seen throughout – a lot of them work on Empire Shield, which is also our homeland security piece. But that’s been great and they really appreciate taking the time to visit with them and letting them know that people care and respect their service.

 

I spent the most time at the Kabul base – the most time in classified briefings from the Department of State, USAID, DOD obviously – with generals who have decades of experience in the Middle East, talking about terrorism and what’s happening with terrorism, why what seems like a sudden growth spurt in terrorism and how do we handle it and what do we do differently.

Because Afghanistan in some ways poses what we believed was the problem. 9/11 happens, it’s Al Qaeda, we’re going to get Al Qaeda and it takes us to Afghanistan and in Afghanistan we basically have done what we set out to do. Certainly not perfectly, but we’ve made real progress in Afghanistan. There was an election – not the neatest election ever held, but there was an election that wound up with eventually a power-sharing agreement – an inauguration that is supposed to happen tomorrow.

We said we were going to diminish Al Qaeda and we did. We said we were going to diminish the Taliban and we did. We said we were going to help develop Afghanistan and we did. The numbers on Afghanistan’s growth were starting at a very low point, but the growth is really extraordinary. The number of people who are educated, the number of women who are educated, child mortality rates – I mean there is success all across the board.

So in some ways if you look at Afghanistan and the way we define the problem you could say we accomplished what we set out to accomplish. But along the way, the problem changed. And it’s not just Al Qaeda and the Taliban. It has now metastasized over the past 13 years.

You can have a fascinating discussion about when did ISIL become ISIL and did it really develop overnight and had it been developing over a couple of years, but everyone will say this is a virulent strain of terrorist activity and culture – and it’s a competitor of Al Qaeda. So now the situation and the definition of the problem become more complex. And it’s not just Afghanistan and Pakistan and Syria. It’s now a Middle East-wide problem. And there are off-shoots of different terrorist branches and sometimes they’re in competition with each other. So the problem – we want to solve one problem and now we have eight different problems.

And my point as the Governor of New York – New York is at the top of everybody’s threat lists. And we have spent a lot of time and we will spend a lot of time on homeland security and defending New York at our ports, at our rails, etc. And my goal is to have the most sophisticated homeland defense system ever designed by any state, period. That’s my goal. But, if you want to handle this problem it’s going to have to be done on two prongs, with two prongs. One is homeland security, and second you have to get to the Middle East. You have to do something about stopping the development of the problem. It can’t be that our answer is going to be we’ll always catch it before it comes in the airport. We have to do something about resolving, managing and controlling the source of the growth of these terrorist cells. Because at this rate of growth it’s going to be very hard to manage.

And people say ‘do you think it’s going to get better or worse?’ – maybe it gets a little better, maybe it gets a little worse, but what I believe is it doesn’t go away, and I believe this is a generational problem. And for me, as a Governor who likes to believe he’s had experience and knowledge in the matters that he’s responsible for, this is a topic that goes to the top of my list of not just a good solution, but educating myself, educating the people in the state about what this is really about and what it’s going to take.

And that’s what the trip has been all about for me. “

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WHITE PLAINS WEEK RIDES AGAIN MONDAY NIGHT 7 PM ON FIOS 45 AND CABLEVISION 76 AND ON THE INTERNET NOW!

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PETER KATZ

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REPORT

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THE FASNY HEARINGS RESUME–WHAT’S AHEAD? THE ISSUES! THE SEETHING CORRESPONDENCE!

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THE CAMPAIGN FOR COUNCIL 

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THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PARKING GARAGE IN THE WORLD

AND WHITE PLAINS HAS IT! KEY TO THE EAST POST ROAD COMEBACK.

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PLAYLAND’S IN THE MONEY!

THE DOWNTOWN SURVEY STARTS!

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ANALYZES THE CHINESE INTEREST IN WESTCHESTER REAL ESTATE

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WHY THEY ARE INTERESTED IN UPSCALE U.S. REAL ESTATE

WHY FOREIGN BUYERS ARE FLOCKING TO THE NY AREA MARKET.

ON PEOPLE TO BE HEARD

SEE IT ON YOUR TELEVISION AT 10 P.M. 

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THE MOST RELEVANT INTERVIEW SHOW IN THE TRI-STATE AREA

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The Mayor Gets Letters, Lots and Lots of Letters: 8 Neighborhood Associations Call for FASNY to be Rejected

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WPCNR THE LETTER TICKER. September 24, 2014:

A letter has been sent to the White Plains Mayor and Common Council jointly endorsed by eight White Plains neighborhood associations calling for the rejection of The French American School of New York  plan for a consolidated campus of five buildings to be constructed on the former Ridgeway Country Club grounds. That letter has been shared with The CitizeNetReporter:

 

 September 23, 2014

Dear Mayor Roach and Members of the Common Council:

Our associations represent the majority of residents that live in the south end of White Plains in the vicinity of the former Ridgeway Country Club. Our neighborhoods would be most affected by the FASNY proposed regional school.  In recent weeks a number of things have occurred that have made it even more evident that the FASNY project cannot go forward including:

  • The White Plains School Board, in a letter dated September 15, 2014,  unanimously said “(i) the traffic congestion which will be caused by the location of the main entrance to FASNY on North Street or on Bryant Avenue would have a profoundly negative and disruptive effect on the operations of White Plains High School and the safety and welfare of our students, their families and our staff, and (ii) FASNY’s traffic mitigation proposals not only fail to remedy the flaws in their plans, certain suggested mitigation efforts create much larger, more untenable problems for the White Plains Schools.”
  • The White Plains Planning Board in a letter dated August 25, 2014 unanimously questioned the closure of a portion of Hathaway Lane and stated that “new significant concerns have arisen particularly with regard to traffic and circulation”.
  • On September 8th and 10th two Public Hearings were held at White Plains High School that were attended by over 600 persons.  The overwhelming majority of residents and taxpayers voiced strong opposition to issuance of a Special Permit for FASNY;
  • Property values have been adversely impacted by the FASNY proposal;
  • Serious hydrology questions have been raised by the Village of Mamaroneck and others that have induced the US Army Corps of Engineers to pursue further analysis.

Earlier in the process The Council in its Environmental Findings rejected use of Ridgeway as an entrance to the proposed school stating “The Ridgeway access to the Project Site will bring large numbers of vehicles to Ridgeway in a manner that is inconsistent with the stated role of Ridgeway in the Comprehensive Plan as a Collector Street rather that an arterial roadway”.

Therefore, none of the proposed access points are feasible and all have been deemed unacceptable.   It is now time for the FASNY discussion to end.  The City’s zoning and master plan provide the requisite criteria to consider other alternatives for the property that will maximize preservation of the property’s open space while being compatible with the neighborhood in which it is located.

 

Very truly yours,

 

Gedney Association                                                      Club Pointe Association

North Street  Area Civic Association                             Glenbrooke Association

Havilands Manor Neighborhood Association                  Wyndham Close Association

Rosedale Residential Association                              Maplemoor Lake Association

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What is Going to Happen at the Resumed FASNY Hearings Monday?

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WPCNR THE LETTER TICKER. September 24, 2014 The following correspondence was sent to the Mayor and White Plains Common Council Members by the writer who has shared it with WPCNR: 

Dear Mayor and Council members,

“French American School of New York Application

The next meeting of the White Plains Common Council on the FASNY application will be held on September 29, 2014 at 6:30 PM in the Common Council Chamber, City Hall. The meeting will be broadcast live on Cablevision Channel 75 and Verizon Channel 47.

The public comment portion of the hearings on both the Hathaway Lane closure and Special Permit Application has been closed however, comments in written form will continue to be accepted. Written comments should be forwarded to the City Clerk”

This announcement is now on the city’s website. However, how is the public going to know what will occur at this meeting? Is it a “Special CC meeting”? Is it a “Work Session”? Are those attending able to speak?

What will the format be? What is the goal of this meeting? Who will be attending other than Council members? Your staff, consultants, attorney, FASNY?

Furthermore, will there be more than one such Session devoted to FASNY? Has the deadline for written comments been reached?

How is the Army Corps of Engineers involvement affecting the process?

I have raised several times with you the question – “what is the process?” No answer has been forthcoming.

Now others also have similar questions – such as the “Rhodes Team” :

18. Who on the City Staff is responsible for helping the Common Council coordinate all of the different FASNY submissions, consultant reports and Public Hearing comments?

19. What is the Mayor and Common Council doing with all of our correspondence and transcripts of our presentations? Is someone on the City Staff summarizing them for you?

Can you please enlighten me and others with a personal response?

I believe it is vital that an announcement on the website answer these questions and, at the very least, describe what process will be taking place on Sept 29!

Thank you!

Carry Kyzivat

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Con Edison Starts One Month Project at Lark Place and Ridgeway Today

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WPCNR IN THE STREET. From Con Edison. September 24, 2014:

A Con Edison contractor will be working in the Ridgeway Lark Place vicinity for the next several days in support of the new gas construction project.  The work is scheduled to start Wednesday, September 24th with an anticipated completion date of Friday, October 24th.  There will be a Con Edison Inspector (blue hat) on site.

While we work, we’ll need to store supplies and equipment along the road in some areas. We also may need to excavate sidewalk, driveway or lawn areas. If your property is affected, we will ensure restoration is addressed approximately 3 to 4 weeks after the completion of work.

If you have private facilities buried in your lawn, such as sprinkler lines or electric dog fences, please notify Con Edison’s construction management group. You may reach Kevin Dowling at Dowlingke@Coned.com or 914-789-6652. You may also contact Kelly Sue Polao at Polaok@Coned.com or 914-789-6831 between 7:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Monday- Friday.

During the work, Con Edison may need to interrupt gas service temporarily. We will notify  in advance if your service will be affected. To restore gas service, we will work with you to accommodate your schedule to access your home.  If you are not home when work is completed, please call 1-800-75-CONED (1-800-752-6633) so we can return to restore your service.

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Playland Comes Back! Revenue up 24%, Rec & Parks Tells Legislators.Legislator Parker: “Dispels talk about how Westchester residents don’t go to Playland.”

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The Dragon Coaster Forever!

WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From the Westchester County Board of Legislators. September 23, 2014:

Today, the Westchester County Board of Legislators (BOL) received a year-end report for 2014 attendance and revenue at Playland.

Attendance at the County’s historic 280-acre amusement park and recreation area this past year (which doesn’t include special events that take place through October) was 467,948, up more than 77,000 from last year’s 390,069, an increase of 20%.

Similarly, gross revenue collected at Playland was $8,750,455, up nearly $1.7 million from last year’s $7,068,481, an increase of 24%.

At their meeting this morning BOL members of the Labor, Parks, Planning & Housing Committee (LPPH), chaired by Legislator Pete Harckham (D-North Salem), were briefed by officials from the County’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation, who attributed the 2014 increases in attendance and gross revenue at Playland to successful promotions, pleasant weather and special events.

“The great news about the wonderful season at Playland this year shows that there is still a lot of life and excitement left in this amusement park yet,” said Harckham. “The park continues to serve as a top destination for residents and their families. That’s why it is so important that the park’s revitalization plans move forward right away, and that a partner be brought on board before the next season begins.”

Harckham noted that the impressive numbers for 2014 were achieved despite inclement weather over the long Fourth of July weekend, usually the busiest weekend of the season.

Earlier this month the BOL continued its review of finalists to revitalize Playland and met with representatives of Central Amusements International LLC (CAI) and Standard Amusements LLC to hear how they might restore and operate the park. Both groups offered attractive plans for boosting attendance at Playland, which include major infrastructure investments, added attractions and enhanced operational management of the amusement area of the park.

As LPPH Chair, Legislator Harckham has been directing an ambitious review of plans to revitalize Playland. CAI and Standard Amusements were the two runners-up in a four-year-plus long process initiated by County Executive Rob Astorino to find an outside partner to manage and operate Playland. Astorino’s first choice, Sustainable Playland, Inc. (SPI), bowed out of consideration earlier this past summer.

“Seeing that Westchester County residents made up the majority of visitors to Playland this year, as they did last year as well, proves that Westchester families utilize and truly appreciate this park,” said Legislator Catherine Parker (D-Rye). “In fact, this year’s county attendance was up significantly from last year’s, which should dispel any talk about how Westchester residents don’t go to Playland.”

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Verizon Fios Service Restored in Saxon Woods Road Area. Squirrel Possible Perpetrater

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WPCNR THE POWER NEWS. Special to WPCNR from Peter Katz. September 22, 1014 8:55 P.M.:
This reporter observed at least six Verizon crews working into the night Monday to restore FIOS telephone, internet and television service to approximately 24 customers in the Saxon Woods Road area of White Plains, where the city’s road reconstruction project is taking place.
It appeared that the outage was not related to the construction but, rather, was due to a squirrel or other animal chewing a hole through the protective case of a piece of equipment hung on cables and eating fiber optic lines inside. The repair crews replaced the damaged equipment and ran new lines as needed to restore service.
Service was out two days and 7 hours.
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THE FASNY 50

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WPCNR THE LETTER TICKER. September 21, 2014:

Editor’s Note: In a previous letter to the White Plains Mayor and Common Council, Marie and Ron Rhodes raised a line of thinking that the city leadership might pursue or at least ponder and ask themselves when the hearings on the French American School of New York resume September 29. The couple has gone over the documents submitted by FASNY with a fine tooth comb and in doing so have compiled a list of questions  the Common Council and the Mayor might ask the school when the gavel comes down September 29. To date, no one on the Common Council has asked any specific questions during the course of the hearings. The Rhodes team promised a list of questions and have forwarded these to the Mayor and Common Council

            Rhodes Questions. . .from the FASNY Public Hearings

                                                as of September 19, 2015

 

Questions for the Common Council

1.  If over the past 3+ years residents presented a lot of evidence to you for rejecting FASNY. . .including that their “Regional School Campus” which does not fit with the residential character of our neighborhood. . .does not cater to students from our own WP community. . .and is not in conformity with a number of WP laws and regulations. . .why isn’t there unanimous consent to say “no” to FASNY?   

2.  What does the Mayor and Common Council know. . .that we don’t know?

3.  Now that the WP Board of Education has weighed in on September 15, 2014 with such negative comments on the FASNY project and the North Street entrance. . .including the statement that the safety and welfare of our kids is more important than anything else. . .do you understand where your constituents have been coming from over the 3+ years?

4.  If the Planning Board in its August 25, 2014 letter is pointing out that FASNY’s Site Plan differs and has inconsistencies with the SEQR Findings and FEIS submissions, that FASNY’s 10-year Construction needs a site restoration bond and that the Planning Board was against the Closure of Hathaway Lane. . .isn’t this a significant pause for concern?

5.  As elected officials if you do not listen to your own Planning Board, your own Board of Education and your own residents. . .who do you listen to?

 

6.  Before the Common Council took over as Lead Agency for the FASNY project. . .did someone on the City Staff do the vetting to insure it was in conformity with our Comprehensive Plan. . .fit in with our residential neighborhood. . .and that FASNY had the money?

7.  As FASNY has been rather loose with hard facts and good with hiding information for 3+ years. . .what is going to change with the Common Council now asking questions?

8.  Why in all the FASNY submissions and presentations have FASNY factual errors and misrepresentations, for example on the Conservancy,  been overlooked and ignored?

9.  Isn’t there something wrong with all the FASNY misleading and stonewalling that appears to have taken place. . .if the end result of this FASNY project places WP School Children, WP Seniors and other WP Residents at risk?

10. As elected officials isn’t your fiduciary responsibility to search for the truth in all projects that come before you?

11.  And based on FASNY’s track record so far in White Plains. . .who believes that they will be honest enough on their own to monitor, enforce and report on their questionable Mandatory Busing Plan,  Vehicle Trips, Drop-offs and Parking violations. . .without control and oversight from the City Police and Traffic Department?

12.  By the way, what happened to the 83-acre Conservancy that FASNY was donating to the City?

13. Help us out. . .if the City has 130 acres now of Open Space with the FASNY property. . .and FASNY uses 53 acres to build their regional school campus. . .how can FASNY be giving Open Space to the City and residents?

14.  Does anyone have any confidence in the FASNY leadership to deliver what they say?

15. The Mayor and Common Council challenged FASNY to make significant improvements in their Site Plan submission. . .so how did FASNY do?

 

16.  With the Common Council not asking FASNY any questions over the past 3+ years and the Planning Board only able to ask questions at a few of their meetings. . .has any large developer in WP, like FASNY,  ever been asked so few questions?

17.  Will you be asking FASNY softball, Matt Lauer-type, questions or challenging, Bill O’Reilly-type, questions?

18.  Who on the City Staff is responsible for helping the Common Council coordinate all of the different FASNY submissions, consultant reports and Public Hearing comments?

19.  What is the Mayor and Common Council doing with all of our correspondence and transcripts of our presentations?  Is someone on the City Staff summarizing them for you?

20.  Has the City been reimbursed by FASNY for time the Staff and Consultants, who were on the City’s payroll, were helping FASNY during this review process?

 

21.  Why don’t you let the Planning Board, who has experience asking project development questions, participate at least initially on the key issues involving Traffic, Water, 10-year Construction, Property Values and Neighborhood Character?

22.  If the Mayor at the December 19, 2013 SEQR Findings meeting said we are all “bound by the law”. . .will the Common Council be following the Mayor’s directive in your voting?

23.  Who has been advising the Common Council on the Law. . .that a “private school” has to be granted a Special Permit. . .particularly when expert legal opinion implies that municipalities often use Special Permits for uses less desirable than the Permitted Uses?   (see Steve Silverberg’s website on Special Permits)

24.  And who has been advising the Common Council that the FASNY project is in conformance with the Comprehensive Plan, Zoning, Special Permit and other regulations. . .because it isn’t?

25.  If the City’s Zoning code. . .Section 1, Purpose, part 1.5. . .says zoning is in place to protect the character of the neighborhood. . .is it right to try to get around our zoning to destroy our neighborhood?

 

26.  Why are the Mayor and some of the Common Council enamored about a “school” rather than being concerned about “the impact of the size and nature of the project itself” on the community. . .particularly one that would significantly add Traffic, decrease Home Values and destroy Open Space?

27.  How did FASNY and the City Staff perform mitigation. . .if afterwards neighborhood residents are left with “unmitigable” conditions on Traffic, Water, Construction, Character and Property Values?

28.  Isn’t the purpose of Mitigation under the SEQR regulations. . .not to make resident living conditions worse?

29.  And isn’t the # 1 rule of elected officials. . .to not make living conditions worse for citizens who voted for them?

30.  If the City Staff and Common Council suggested the North Street Entrance because Ridgeway is only a “connector” street while North Street is an “arterial street. . .why was Traffic made worse in the process?

 

31.  When it became apparent that the North Street entrance made Traffic worse. . .why didn’t you have the outside consultant TRC relook at the Traffic situation to provide a Second Opinion?

32.  If FASNY itself rejected the North Street access back in the DEIS. . .what changed in the  environment and character of our community since the DEIS that the North Street access is now FASNY’s “perfect  choice “?

33.  And was the North Street access really studied in depth at the same time compared to the Bryant Avenue and Ridgeway options as required by SEQR?

34.  Isn’t the closing of Hathaway Lane another sign that the FASNY project is just too big for our residential neighborhood and out of sync with our Comprehensive Plan?

35.  Why would anyone want to close Hathaway Lane. . .if it increases Fire Response Times to neighborhood residences and creates more risk for our School Children attending nearby schools?

 

36.  If “more Students = more Vehicle Trips = more Accidents”. . .isn’t a project this size in a residential area a risk for our own School Children and Senior Citizens?

37.  Why didn’t you order FASNY to do an independent hydrology study. . . when you were advised years ago by residents of its importance. . .in part because the original golf course was built by covering over underground streams?

38.  Why hasn’t the Mayor and Common Council made an official Site Visit to our neighborhood going door-to-door asking residents for our thoughts and concerns about FASNY?

39.  Why hasn’t an outside Appraisal Company been hired to determine the loss of property values on homes most impacted by FASNY’s Construction and for our neighborhood in general?

40.  How does a 53-acre school, hotel or office complex fit in with a neighborhood character of single family homes?

41.  How can FASNY take 130 acres of current Open Space. . .put a regional school campus on 53 acres of it with 261,200 sq. ft. of building. . .that will “triple” Vehicle Trips in our neighborhood from students, staff and parents. . .and in their whole Site Plan “Environmental Section” not talk about how much FASNY will be increasing noise levels, pollution emission levels, greenhouse gases, carbon footprints or any other environmental measuring technique you would use. . . compared to what is generated now from the Open Space we have today in our neighborhood?

42.  Why hasn’t the Common Council as Lead Agency. . .because of the inadequate review of the North Street entrance in the FEIS, the closure of Hathaway Lane and the overall issue of the Conservancy. . .at the least requested a supplemental Environmental Impact Statements (EIS)?

43.  How can you accept a Site Plan Review that starts off with a significant 16% building increase from what you last approved in the SEQR Findings?

44.  Whatever happened to some of your old campaign slogans and core principles of the Democratic Party. . . preserving Open Space. . .protecting Neighborhoods. . .and taking care of Senior Citizens?

45.  With the FASNY project. . .aren’t we really talking about individual property rights. . .if you live on a street zoned for residential housing. . .is it right for the City to change the zoning to allow, for example a  gas station next to your residence. . .particularly if the gas station reduces property values?

 

46.  How would Common Council members feel if someone proposed a project near your own home and neighborhood that “tripled” Vehicle Trips, increased Traffic Safety issues and reduced your Property Values?

47.  By the way where is FASNY’s money?

48.  Shouldn’t the Mayor and Common Council members disclose all possible conflicts of interest, if any, including prior business relationships, campaign donations and future promises with FASNY?

49.  What happened to make some of our elected officials in White Plains so out of touch with residents, voters, taxpayers. . .and our own laws?

50.  With regard to the Westchester County Commissioner of Planning’s letter dated June 26, 2014 praising FASNY’s SEQR submissions and the selection of the North Street Entrance. . .

Posted in Uncategorized

FASNY OPPONENTS GIVE MAYOR AND COMMON COUNCIL ADVICE AND A PRIMER ON DECISION-MAKING

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WPCNR THE LETTER TICKER. September 21, 2014:  Editor’s Note:The following is a letter to the City leaders from two Gedney Farms area residents styling themselves as “The Truth Police” on FASNY, who have regularly corresponded with the Mayor and City Council with advice on what to look for and ask about the French American School of New York expanded campus for which the school is seeking a special permit. The continuation of the FASNY hearings on their Special Permit Site Plan and Hathaway Lane closure comes up Monday, September 29, 6:30 P.M.

Dear Mayor and Common Council,
We have to thank the WP Board of Education for unanimously rejecting FASNY’s Plan, the North Street entrance alternative and FASNY’s Traffic Management Plan in general.   And we also have to thank our Board of Education for being more concerned with the safety and welfare of our own WP Students. . .than politics.
 
Our Overview of the just completed Public Hearings on FASNY. . . centers on the Mayor’s directive back at the December SEQR Findings meeting that. . .”the City is bound by the law”.  During the Site Plan hearings residents and experts presented significant evidence that this FASNY project violates our Comprehensive Plan, Zoning, Special Permit and other WP regulations. . .while FASNY representatives presented no legal evidence to the contrary.  
As you know we live in a society founded on “the rule of law”.   If elected officials do not follow the law. . .society itself breaks down as how would citizens know what laws to follow and take seriously?
While these public hearing were informative. . .residents presented a lot of evidence to you for rejecting FASNY. . .while no factual responses came from all the FASNY speakers, who while supporting their school, had no facts or evidence to offer.
Back when the SEQR Findings were approved and moved along by our elected officials. . .all of you challenged FASNY to make significant improvements in these submissions.  So how did FASNY do?
Unfortunately not well by our account. . .as FASNY’s Traffic has gotten worse as we learned more about the problems associated with their North Street entrance and also about the negative impact of closing Hathaway Lane will have on Fire Response times and resident Quality of Life.  No one from FASNY explained why they increased their building square footage in the face of a reduced student population.  And no explanation was provided by FASNY during the hearings to support of the length of their 10-year construction process.
Also back at last December’s SEQR Findings meeting. . .Common Council members asked for improvements from FASNY to lessen their project’s negative impact on neighborhood character. . .yet none were provided in the Site Plan or at the hearings.
The Council also asked for a Storm-Water protection plan. . .and thanks to the resident efforts, not FASNY’s, the Army Corps of Engineers will tell us where building foundations can safely be placed on FASNY’s property. (Editor’s Note: The Army Corps of Engineers is reviewing whether it has jurisdiction over the property.)
And the Conservancy, which the original FASNY Spin told us was being donated to the City. . .now will be retained by FASNY with the likelihood that parcels will be sold off to developers over time.
At this point there is enough in the public record for the Common Council to order additional outside consulting studies for FASNY’s Traffic, on Storm-Water and on neighborhood Property Values.
You could even order supplemental Environmental Impact Studies (EIS) for the North Street entrance and the 530 FASNY Traffic number which were not properly analyzed in the FEIS and SEGR Findings report.  And certainly new Environmental Impact Studies could be ordered on the Closure of Hathaway Lane and the Conservancy. . .where not enough information was contained in the FEIS, SEQR Findings or in the Site Plan to evaluate any of these subjects.
 
Your best choice would be to just vote “no” on FASNY’s “Regional School Campus” which does not fit with the residential character of our neighborhood, does not cater to students from our own WP community. . .and is not in conformity with a number of WP laws and regulations.   
You have announced that you will hold a meeting on September 29th where you will finally ask the FASNY representatives questions.  We look forward to your probing and challenging questions to FASNY. . .so we all can listen and process FASNY answers.
So to help our Common Council to ask the right questions. . .we went back to FASNY submissions, the recent hearings and our own notes to put together a list of questions for you.  And surprising even to us we have ended up with more questions for our Common Council. . .50 in total that we are passing on to you now in preparation for your September 29th meeting.   We’ll forward our suggested list questions for FASNY in a separate email.
We look forward to your answers, your transparency and for you to follow the law.
We report. . .you decide.
Your Truth Police, Team Rhodes
Marie and Ron Rhodes                 


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