County Approves Banishing source of Income in Determining Eligibility for Rentals

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WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From the County Board of Legislators. June 17, 2013:

The Westchester County Board of Legislators (BOL) approved tonight legislation banning discrimination against potential renters and home buyers based on their source income. The legislation, which has long been sought by advocates for fair and affordable housing, was a slightly modified version of the Source of Income legislation submitted by County Executive Rob Astorino to the BOL in April, and which he’d previously vetoed in 2010.

The one modification for the bill was to change a single exemption. Previously, a landlord living in and owning a rental property with four or less units and maintaining ownership or part ownership in another property of four or less units would be exempted from the law. The modified Source of Income legislation now simply exempts landlords and owners of one property of six or less units.

“This legislation will protect seniors, veterans and low-income working families struggling to find an affordable place to live and who depend on government assistance to get by,” said BOL Chairman Ken Jenkins (D-Yonkers). “No form of discrimination is acceptable in Westchester. Our communities will be stronger because of this legislation, which my colleagues on the Board of Legislators should rightfully be proud of.”

The Source of Income legislation, which was passed by the BOL in June 2010 but vetoed by County Executive Astorino, received more scrutiny by the County Board than any other local law in recent years, noted Jenkins. In addition to numerous committee meetings, there were several public hearings, with a variety of stakeholders providing comment, including landlords, tenants, realtors, tenant advocacy groups and business groups.  During a process of “extensive discussion and comment,” the legislation was re-drafted several times, ultimately resulting in the June 2010 legislation.

Westchester County was notified by the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that it would risk having $7.4 million in 2011 Community Development Block Grant  (CDBG) funds reallocated if Astorino failed to take steps toward promoting Source of Income legislation, as stipulated in the fair and affordable housing settlement between the County and the HUD.

Moreover, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara demanded that the County Executive resubmit to the BOL the Source of Income legislation and provide written assurance he would sign the legislation, if passed by the BOL, or risk contempt of court charges and crippling fines against the County.

HUD has since declared that the County’s 2012 and 2013 CDBG funds, now totaling $17 million, are also at risk.

Although the legislation bans source of income discrimination, it allows landlords to use reasonable business judgment and level of income in evaluating potential tenants.

The legislation, which does not apply to cooperative apartments and condominiums, will sunset in five (5) years unless re-enacted, and it includes a 180-day phase-in period. Also, the County will conduct public education and outreach to inform the public about the new legislation once it is signed into law.

“The Board of Legislators has done everything possible to help County Executive Astorino promote Source of Income protections for county residents and move Westchester closer to full compliance with the housing settlement,” said Legislator Bill Ryan (D-White Plains), chair of the BOL Legislation Committee. “Now, it’s up to him to show the federal authorities that he’s serious about moving forward with the settlement and protecting our CDBG funds.”

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Germs Caused Kensico Burger Bash Barfing Says Health Department. No Burger Isolated at this time.

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WPCNR HEALTH HERALD. From Caren Halbfinger, Westchester County Department of Health. June 17, 2013:

The bacteria that has sickened some residents who attended the outdoor food festival at the Kensico Dam in Valhalla on June 6 has been identified as Campylobacter. The bacteria was identified through tests done on samples from several people who became ill after attending the event.

For most, symptoms will resolve on their own without medication within three to five days, although some people can take 10 days to recover. In rare cases where a person’s immune system is weakened by other illnesses or medication, or where illness is particularly severe, antibiotics may be prescribed. Campylobacter can cause diarrhea, vomiting and fever.

“Anyone who has not already become sick following this event should no longer be at risk,” said Health Commissioner Sherlita Amler, MD. “Anyone who continues to have symptoms should contact his or her physician and should not go to work or school until symptoms resolve.”

Due to the fact that at the June 6 event, most attendees ate food from many of the 30 food vendors, it may not be possible to identify the exact source of the bacteria at the Burger and Beer Bash at the Kensico Dam.  However, the health department is actively investigating and interviewing people who attended in an effort to identify the food or foods that may have been the source.

Most cases of campylobacteriosis are associated with eating raw or undercooked poultry meat or from cross-contamination of other foods by these items and occur two to five days after consuming the contaminated food. Cross-contamination can occur when the same knife or cutting board used to cut raw poultry is then used to prepare fruits, vegetables or any other food.

The health department issues more than 500 temporary food service permits each year. This is the first time in recent memory that a food outbreak occurred following a temporary event.

“As part of our response, the health department will send sanitarians to each of the food service establishments who participated in the festival to provide a refresher to restaurant staff about food safety, with special emphasis on safe off-site practices,” Amler said. “Sanitarians will also conduct a detailed food preparation review by observing as restaurant staffers prepare the foods they served at the June 6 event.”

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County Settles with County Police on 6 Year Contract thru 2014-Raises 3%, 2.75%, 2.5%, 2.5%,2.5%

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WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From the Westchester County Department of Communications. (Edited) June 17, 2013:

The rank and file police officers in the county’s Department of Public Safety would be the fifth county union to agree to a labor contract that includes employee contributions to the cost of their health care under terms of a tentative pact between the county and the Police Benevolent Association.

The contract provides for salary increases for police officers of 3 percent retroactive to 2009; 2.75 percent retroactive to 2010; and 2.5 percent retroactive to 2011, 2012, and for 2013 and 2014.

Under the terms of the tentative agreement with the PBA, members will contribute what amounts to about  $1,100 annually in health care for individuals or $3,100 for a family plan.   The proposed contract continues to include other differentials, a clothing allowance and special stipends to employees assigned to the aviation or K-9 units.

A tentative six-year contract, running retroactively from 2009  to the end of 2014, was announced today by  County Executive Robert P. Astorino and Michael Hagan, president of the 265-member union. It now needs to be ratified by the union and then by the county Board of Legislators.

In addition, for the first time all police officers would contribute to the cost of their health care. As such, the union becomes the fifth county union to agree to this concession, something that has been a cornerstone of union negotiations by the Astorino Administration. For current employees, this contribution will cease upon retirement. For all new hires, it will continue even upon retirement. This will begin to reduce the county’s substantial liability for health insurance for retirees.

Upon taking office, Astorino immediately initiated legislation that required nonunion  workers – including himself – to contribute to the costs of what was before that free health care. Since then, agreements have been negotiated with the Teamsters Local 456, the Correction Officers PBA, the  Corrections Superior Officers Association and the New York State Nurses Association.

“This agreement is in the best interests of Westchester County,” Astorino said. “This is a good contract, fair to the union and fair to our taxpayers. I thank Mike Hagan and his negotiating team for their hard work. At the same time I again call on the county’s largest union, the Civil Service Employees Association, to accept a contract where they contribute to their health care costs.”

Hagan said of the contract: “The Westchester County Police PBA is pleased to have reached a multi-year collective bargaining agreement with the County that will bring us current for the first time in nearly a decade.

This agreement is the result of the prolonged, good faith efforts by both sides, and addresses important issues, including health care costs, in a way that is fair and equitable to our membership and the residents that they serve.”

The CSEA has been working without a contract since Dec. 31, 2011.  The other unions still without a contract are the superior officers union for the county police and the union for the investigators in the District Attorney’s office.

 

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My Dad — the Real Personal Trainer

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How to Celebrate Father’s Day: A Parisien Martini and Bluepoint Oysters.

White Plains CitizeNetReporter WPCNR THE MONDAY BAILEY. By John F. Bailey. Republished from The CitizeNetReporter of June 17, 2007:

My father gave me three pieces of advice in life: Always drive an air-conditioned car. Always centrally air-condition your home. Stay out of court.   

And don’t sit in traffic.

Always take the service road on the Long Island Expressway. (He would have loved a Garmin.)

In restrospect, his advice has served me well.  I am always comfortable. I sit out traffic delays in comfort. I have not made lawyers rich.

002 (2)

Charles F. Bailey

My Dad

Pleasantville, NY

1918-1986

He was not an emotional man. He was a banker and always wore suits to work. I have fond memories of going to meet him when he got off the train in Pleasantville – when  The train tracks were at grade with Manville Road.

I was most impressed as a young child by how he always smelled of coal cinders when he got off the train – like commuter’s cologne.

Sadly on today’s electric trains you do not get that. And you always heard those steam engines coming. You could see them: Clouds of very busy and industrious black smoke streaming at the horizon down the line. He’d get off the train.

My mother would move over and he’d drive the old Hudson Hornet home. He always spoke quietly. Never raised his voice. Drank scotch and soda in the winter. Gin and Tonics in the summer and he smoked Marlboros, then Kents.

He set up a Lionel train set in our basement – perhaps our unspoken connection. When I was sent in by train for the first time to meet him at the office during Christmas time, He’d have his secretary greet me at Grand Central Terminal which still is a very big and scary place.

He would take me to lunch at Jack’s Monte Rosa restaurant on 49th Street – which I thought was a very great place. When I first went to it with him, I was a little disappointed that it was not more glamourous but I was really impressed that Jack the owner greeted him by name. I thought that was great that my Dad was greeted with respect.

When I first started working in Washington, D.C. in 1968 I ate regularly at a restaurant below the television station WMAL-TV where I worked, it was called Marty’s Italian Village.  Mary, the owner started calling me when I came in around 7 PM, ‘Hi John, how are you?” People would look at me. They thought I was big.  I liked that.  

When my father came to visit me in Washington where I worked. I took him around town. I told him when he got off the plane. “Hi, Dad, welcome to my town.” I wanted to impress him. We’re always trying to impress our fathers. 

  Another Father time was when my Dad came out for Dad’s day at college. I mean this was a big thing to me. He watched me do play-by-play of a football game from atop the press box in 15 degree weather. It was cold. But he watched. Acted impressed.

Another time he impressed when I lost a job where I was working at the television station that I had been being considered for. And I told him how unfair it was, he put things in perspective: “Puggy, he said,  “The film manager wasn’t going to put you in as his Assistant if you were going to be bucking him all the time.” It put things in perspective. No false sentiment. No making me feel better, he was tough enough to teach by being realistic while telling me not to feel sorry for myself.

Then later in my career when I was fired out of a job completely blindsided. He again intervened, saying to me he thought what the agency head had done was a terrible thing. I needed that at the time.

He also, in a very supportive move, told me if I could make $1,000 a night writing a free lance direct mail package, I should keep trying to do that. 

Dads are there to say the right things to you at the right time. Sometimes it is not always the right thing, but they try. Often, if you’re lucky, as I was, they say the right thing. And not the wrong thing.

When I bought my first house in White Plains. He never criticised the house. But when I sold it, he complimented me, “I think it’s great how you came out of it (the crummy first house).” They’re personal trainers.  

The good ones  train you to run a race. If you stumble, no one hurts more than they do. When you succeed, no one is prouder. T

They know what you should do, but they can’t tell you, because you won’t do it if you’re a kid.

But the more subtler of them tell you any way in hopes it will sink in to the rebellious offspring mind. My dad was subtle.

Another fond memory: My father took me camping once at a friend’s cabin in Pennsylvania. Funny thing was there was such a great comic collection we wound up sleeping in sleeping bags on the porch of the cabin. That was funny.

Another time when I was being threatened in college over a position at the radio station, I asked him if I should just abdicate and assign a play-by-play position to the person who was being forced on me. He advised me to “stick to your guns,” so I reported the threat to the Dean.

The position was compromised, but I was never threatened again.  He never shared my love for baseball and sports. In fact he never played catch with me all that well.

I mean I could have made the big leagues (pipe dream) if he played catch with me more. But that’s a small criticism.  I wish I had more of his financial acumen. But I do not.

As you grow into your 30s and 40s, little things they say to you you begin to understand. My father never struck me, but always disciplined me with quiet words. I have not always been that way as a parent myself, being somewhat volatile. I wish I had his even temperament. He always asked me to take care of my mother. And the only time he really got mad at me was when I had made my mother upset with me.

He was a little like John Wayne in the way he disciplined, I remember he would say admonitions quietly. Such as when I got an F in an English course at college. He told me, that was the last F I would get at Ohio Wesleyan, because the next one he would stop paying my tuition.

That had an effect. And that was when tuition was only $3,000 a year.

So, on Father’s Day, I think of him as I do every day of my life. I become more like him every day. He is always lingering in the background of my thoughts. I do not know what he would think of what I am doing now.  But, he’d say — “If that’s what you want to do. Do it.” He also would say, “You have to make yourself happy.”

I also think, even today of what advice (laconic as always) he’d give me in a situation. And I wish I could discuss property taxes with him.

I especially have to salute him, because I am an adopted child. That alone makes me appreciate his love and acceptance with a sense of awe to this day.

 You never outgrow your need for Dad.

WHITE PLAINS WEEK WORLDWIDE NOW ON THE NET AT www.whiteplainsweek.com

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PETER KATZ, JOHN BAILE AND JIM BENEROFE REPORTING

PETER KATZ, JOHN BAILEY AND JIM BENEROFE REPORTING

CABLE COMMISSION MEMBER RESIGNS OVER MOVING ISSUES.

SALES TAX $$$ CONTINUE SOFT GOING INTO FINAL MONTH OF YEAR –WHAT CAN BE DONE?

THE NEW CENTER FOR AUTISM AND THE DEVELOPING BRAIN IN WHITE PLAINS

WHITE PLAINS SCHOOLS DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH COMPUTERS TO DO TESTING ON LINE NEXT YEAR–WILL STATE PAY?

AND MORE!

SEE FRIDAY’S EXCITING EPISODE AND  

MIRIAM FLISSER, CANDIDATE FOR HARRISON, SCARSADLE AND WHITE PLAINS COUNTUY LEGISLATURE DISTRICT 5 DISCUSSES THE ISSUES WITH JOHN BAILEY AND JIM BENEROFE

MIRIAM FLISSER, CANDIDATE FOR HARRISON, SCARSDALE AND WHITE PLAINS COUNTY LEGISLATURE DISTRICT 5 DISCUSSES THE ISSUES WITH JOHN BAILEY AND JIM BENEROFE

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THE WPW INTERVIEW WITH MAYOR MIRIAM FLISSER ON HER RUN FOR THE COUNTY LEGISLATURE ONLINE AT

www.whiteplainsweek.com

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GOVERNOR, LEGISLATURE ELIMINATE CUTS TO DISABLED FUNDING

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WPCNR ALBANY ROUND. Special to WPCNR from the Office of Assemblyman David Buchwald.  (WPCNR Edits in italics) June 14, 2013:

Assemblyman David Buchwald (D-Westchester) praised the deal struck with the Governor and the Legislature to fully restore  the $90 Million in funding cut for programs to the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD). Assemblyman Buchwald helped sponsor legislation (A.6692-C) in the Assembly to restore the $90 million in cuts that were made in this year’s budget.

A workgroup has already been established to come up with savings recommendations without impacting services or programs. If those savings fall short of the full amount cut, the State has pledged to make up the difference, Buchwald also noted.

“This is a huge relief for the thousands of families who may have been without the services they need to ensure the health of their loved ones,” Assemblyman Buchwald said. “We have an obligation to protect our state’s most vulnerable citizens – this was simply the right thing to do.”

To recap the OPWDD cuts: earlier this year, the federal government demanded that the state pay back $1.1 billion in “overpayments” for services to the developmentally disabled. The state was able to negotiate with the federal government to reduce that to $500 million and to be allowed to spread the burden so that the New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) providers didn’t carry it entirely. When it came to the final 2013-14 state budget, a $30 million restoration was made to OPWDD funding – leaving a cut of $90 million.

“Without the outpouring of support and dedication from everyone who contacted my office, this would not have been possible,” Buchwald concluded.

 

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City’s May Sales Tax $$ Continue Flat. Off 2.3% for 11 Months. County Up 3.2% after 5 Months.

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WPCNR QUILL & EYESHADE. From the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. June 13, 2013:

White Plains enters the final month of their fiscal year running 2.3% down in the barometer on the city economy: sales tax receipts.

White Plains is 5-1/2% behind the Westchester County sales tax receipts which through the first 5 months of 2013 is running 3.2 ahead of last year.

The city May receipts were up roughly $7,000 at $3,932,120.64 compared to $3,925,172.94, essentially even statistically. Going into June, White Plains has collected $45,574,124 in sales tax receipts. If the city businesses earn the same as they did last June ($4,218,196) they will finish the year at $49,792,320, a decline of 2.3% compared to last year (a poorer economy) when the received $50,972,671 in sales.

In contrast, the rest of the county is doing borderline significantly better:  Through the first five months of fiscal year 2013, Westchester County has earned  $192,419,044 in sales tax $$ compared to $186,446,394 after the first five months of 2012. That’s  3.2% better.

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County Exec Right on Numbers: HUD Monitor’s Own Housing Reports Exceed Original 2009 Settlement. Require Zoning Changes

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WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER.  From the Westchester County Department of Communications (Edited). June 13, 2013:

The federal monitor hired by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has sent “report cards” assigning “obligations” and “benchmark allocations” to the 31 eligible communities in the 2009 affordable housing settlement with Westchester County that far exceed the terms of the settlement, in particular the target of developing 750 affordable housing units by the end of 2016, the Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino stated at a news conference Wednesday afternoon, despite earlier HUD denials.

(To read the Monitor reports go to http://www3.westchestergov.com/news/all-press-releases/4537-federal-housing-monitor-s-report-cards-and-municipalities-responses)

The two largest allocations were 975 affordable housing units for Mount Pleasant and 756 units for Harrison, meaning each town’s individual report card allocation surpasses the  original 2009 settlement’s total. The combined number of suggested affordable housing units HUD monitor feels should be built for all 31 municipalities is 5,847 units – 5,097 units more than the settlement’s figure.

(Press)MonitorReportCardsPressConference6.12.13  County Executive  Robert P. Astorino on the HUD Numbers: HUD Monitor’s own Report Cards Call for thousands more affordable housing units. Mayors, leaders, confounded. (L to R:Tuckahoe Mayor Steve Ecklond; Lewisboro Supervisor Peter Parsons; Rye Brook Deputy Mayor Jeffrey Rednick; North Castle Supervisor Howard Arden; Bedford Planning Director Jeff Osterman; Somers Supervisor Mary Beth Murphy; Mount Pleasant Supervisor Joan Maybury;  Cortlandt Deputy Director of Planning Chris Kehoe; and North Salem  Supervisor Warren Lucas. Photos Courtesy, Westchester County Executive

The report card allocations, which were based on a 2004 Rutgers study that was never adopted by the county and is not part of the housing settlement, come at a time when HUD has confirmed that it expects Westchester to go beyond the settlement’s 750 units.

To wit: In a May 31, 2013 letter, HUD Deputy Secretary Maurice A. Jones wrote: “The county is obligated to ensure the development of ‘at least’ 750 new affordable housing units that affirmatively further fair housing. By its terms, this is a floor not a ceiling.”

Jones reiterated that the 750 figure is just a starting point at a news conference in White Plains on June 4, saying: “We would never say only do 750 units and stop. No.”

The county is posting the report cards and responses from the municipalities as they come in, as well as the monitor’s benchmark allocations for all 31 communities, at www.westchestergov.com/monitorreportcards.This is being done  in an effort to make the settlement and its implications for Westchester residents as transparent as possible.

“The report cards clearly document HUD’s overreaching and the vulnerability of local communities to Washington’s attempts to take control of or abolish local zoning,” said Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino. “I urge everyone to read them. It is important for residents to see for themselves just what the federalgovernment is trying to do in Westchester. The county is ahead of schedule in complying with the settlement, but it won’t be bullied or threatened by HUD to do things that are not in the settlement.”

Reaction from local municipalities has been confusion, anger and disbelief.

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Joan Mayberry, Mount Pleasant Supervisor speaking at the Wednesday news conference. To her right are North Castle Supervisor Howard Arden, Mr. Astorinio. At her left is  Somers Supervisor Mary Beth Murphy.

Nowhere are the costs of these allocations discussed, or their impact on local services or the environment. The overarching complaint is the Catch-22 nature of the report cards. The municipalities have been assigned affordable housing allocations, which they never adopted, but nonetheless trigger without any apparent authority “obligations” to change their local zoning.

“The proposed findings and report card wholly fail to recognize that there is no benchmark allocation required by Westchester County or any other jurisdiction,” wrote Tuckahoe Village Attorney John Cavallaro in his response to the report card. “It appears the Federal Monitor has premised his conclusions on a study that was never effectuated by the county that is without any force of law or authority.”

The municipal allocations in the report cards are derived from a 2004 Rutgers study that was never adopted by the county and was not part of the housing settlement. Under the home rule provisions of the New York State Constitution, the power and responsibility for local zoning rests solely with local municipalities.

Other issues addressed by the municipalities from the monitor’s report cards include:

  • sloppy research (“the report overlooks the fact that the Village of Ardsley adopted the Fair and Affordable Housing Model Ordinance on Nov. 19, 2012); (“there is no hotel in the village of Bronxville”);
  • faulty methodology for establishing housing prices (“the $650,000 average price for a condominium in the Village of Tarrytown as asserted by the Federal Monitor has no basis in fact”);
  • unsubstantiated statements (“the report’s opening statement regarding Larchmont [Larchmont has not adopted the County’s model zoning ordinance for affordable housing, nor does it in any way promote fair and affordable housing] is not only inaccurate, but very unfair to the Board members and the citizens of Larchmont who have overwhelmingly supported the development of these units”);
  • little awareness of environmental concerns (“one of the largest impediments to the creation of affordable housing in Northern Westchester is the difficulty in creating a sewerage system within the requirements of the New York City watershed.” – Bedford); and
  • faulty assertions of legal obligations (“the Town of Mount Pleasant … did not receive or accept CDBG funds alleged therein and therefore has absolutely no ‘affordable housing obligation under the Settlement’ ”).

The county has conducted several comprehensive reviews of all 853 zoning districts in Westchester and found no evidence of exclusionary practices based on race or ethnicity.

The county’s findings were supported by a legal analysis conducted by the Pace University Land Use Law Center.

To comply with the settlement, the county has to have 300 units of affordable housing with financing in place by Dec. 31, 2013. As of June, the county had surpassed the goal with 386 units; at least 115 of which are already occupied.

The fact that the county is ahead of schedule developing affordable housing is further proof that zoning is not exclusionary.

The report cards were sent to the 31 municipalities on March 21 by the federal monitor hired by HUD, James Johnson. The report cards were prepared by the Pratt Center for Planning at the request of the monitor.

The countywide allocation from the Rutgers study was 10,768 units, with 6,961 of them in the eligible communities.  The 5,847-unit allocation in the monitor’s report cards acknowledges that 1,114 units of affordable housing were built or under construction in the 31 eligible communities between 2000 and November 2012, again more proof that the zoning in these communities is not exclusionary.

 

 

 

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Cable Commission Behind WP TV Move to Libe,1st FL 2nd FL. OKs Hire of Designer. Wilson Resigns

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White Plains Cable Commission Committing to Historic Move to Library Wednesday Night. From Clockwise, lower left, Bice Wilson, Jim Kenny, Executive Director, Reverend Everett Parker, Kelli Higgs, Chairman Bill Brown, Chris  Marothy and John Vorperian.

WPCNR  MEDIA MONITOR. By John F. Bailey. June 12, 2013:

America’s first state-of-the-art community public access station is officially moving to the White Plains Public Library, effective possibly by mid-2014.

The White Plains Cable Television Commission voted 7-0 Wednesday evening to authorize up to $75,000 to hire a design/architect consultant or firm to design new studios in the White Plains Public Library. The action amended the budget to add the $75,000 commitment to the consultant budget line to enable the hiring of a design professional.

The commission after a year of discussion has, for the first time, officially committed to move the 1993-vintage studios from the Four Seasons Condominium underground studios, where they currently pay $40,000 in condo carrying charges.

The $75,000 was approved as part of the Capital Projects budget in the 2013-14 city budget passed May 27.  The $75,000 will be drawn down from the Cable Television Commission capital fund balance.

Bill Brown, Chairman of the Cable Commission after a long and critical discussion of the need to get busy planning what the studios will actually require, decided to submit the Memorandum of Understanding between the Library Foundation and the Cable Commission on August 1.

He said that an Operations Plan that the commission would be meeting to flesh out on a Saturday morning later this month. Details of equipment purchases, rough design and functions of the space would be discussed and roughly suggested at that meeting. At this time, it is unclear whether Brian Kenny, Library Director will be included at that meeting

Brown told WPCNR the television stations, Government Access 75, Public Access 76, and White Plains Schools Channel 77 would not go dark at any time during the move. A target date for the move would most likely be in the spring of 2014 when Phase II of the Library first floor plan is expected to start covering the area where the first floor television studio is planned.

Bice Wilson, member of the Commission and the nationally known studio design/architect was asked by Reverend Everett Parker, cable commission member  to take the lead with Cable TV Executive Director Jim Kenny in designing the Operations Plan.

Mr. Wilson hesitated, and said he was honored but that he could not because he had decided to resign from the Commission. After a long stunned silence, Wilson explained he felt his extensive suggestions of what the commission needed to do with the studios and consider in executing an effective move had been ignored by the commission and not acted upon. He said the move to the library could result in a great studio or a very banal one and at this point he saw banal as being likely due the lack of a detailed plan from the commission or the library. In a further development Thursday morning, Mr. Wilson has e-mailed his resignation to the Mayor’s Office and the Cable Commission Thursday morning.

Wilson has for months warned that the cost of building a modern studio(s) in the library would cost from $1.5 Million to $1.8 Million. 

Currently the Cable Commission only has $300,000 in capital fund balance. In a clarification sent WPCNR. Thursday, Kenny, the Executive Director said existing  rent  comes out of current operating budget. Kenny, at the meeting, said any rent increase should it occur,  would have to come out  of commission fund balance, which would require a transfer.

Mr. Brown said he was dissappointed in Wilson’s resignation (which is not effective until Wilson writes a letter of resignation to the Mayor). Three members of the commission, Mr. Vorperian, Ms. Higgs and Mr. Marothy asked Mr. Wilson to reconsider. His departure leaves only Executive Director Jim Kenny as the technical expert the Commission has to rely on for formulating the Operating Plan.

Brown speculated to WPCNR, he expected to put out an RFP for a design/architect in the next two months, having the firm or individual in place in the fall.

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Status

1ST STATE OF ART AUTISM TREATMENT RESEARCH CENTER IN USA DEBUTS IN WHITE PLAINS

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1ST CENTER FOR TREATMENT/RESEARCH OF AUTISM TOGETHER IN USA DEBUTS IN WHITE PLAINS

The New York Presbyterian Hospital Center for Autism and the Developing Brain in White Plains as it was dedicated today (ABOVE). 

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Dr. Catherine Lord, Director of the new Center for Autism and Dr. Steven Corwin, CEO of NYPH, and Laura Slatkin, Co-Founder of New York Collaborates for Autism cut the ribbon dedicating the $11 Million facility this morning

201213610centerforautism 114Dr. Lord, in an exclusive interview with WPCNR said,   ” I think there are other facilities that do parts of this: There are other facilities that are more reseach-oriented  and other facilities that do the clinical part. What we represent is this blend of clinical research so  our research is really about what treatments work and how can we describe kids and how we can identify strengths and weaknesses. We are affiliated with a number of  neuro-biological researchers but we don’t do that here.  Many of the centers around the country are really more focused on the neuro-biological. We really hope  we’ll be a resource center, sort of a hub both to develop other kinds of programs in Westchester and the New York area and we’re very involved in the national and international research.”

Lord said “The treatment of the individual is the key; the research is really important to us , but we’re going to start with how can we do the best service we can.”

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Dr. Philip Wilner,  Medical Director of Behavorial Health for the New York Presbyterian Hospital  explained the Center for Autism difference: “It’s a clinical treatment center where we’ll be doing assessments for people across the life span. People could come when they are very small and first diagnosed with autism We will help establish a good treatment plan after a good diagnosis is achieved and help people take that treatment plan into their community. People will stay a part of our community so they’ll be able to come back when they need further consultation so if a child moves into school age years say, 6 or 7, they can come back for further assessment and development and advancement of their treatment plan. Teenage years they can come back, and we will take care of individuals through the adult years. That’s one of the very unique elements of the program to take care of individuals on autism spectrum across their entire life span. We’re committed to providing ongoing plans for adults as well. Over time as we develop more phases to the Center program we’ll do much more with vocational rehabilitation, independent living to allow people to achieve as many skills as possible, moving into adult years. Our goal is collaboration and partnership. We will look towards collaborating and partnering with other people (and organizations).”

Lord gave WPCNR insight on what’s ahead:  ” We’ve been trying to visit as many places  as we can both in Westchester and surrounding areas, some in Manhattan and to some extent even Brooklyn and the Bronx. We been trying to get acquainted with people that conduct other kinds of services. The NYPH has a resource and liaison center and are trying to deal with the same kinds of things on the state level.

In the next year, we should have programs that will be up and running and  should have the main programs available to people, and have patients coming through on a regular basis. We hope we’ll sort out how much we can do through (people’s) insurance. We want to take as much insurance as we can.  We can see families on Medicaid. The idea is really to see all payers.”

She said the Center expected  to service 200 new kids this year.and continue to see them to the point where the center would be handling thousands.

The Center presently has a staff of 28 and a research staff of 20. Four more persons, she said are committed to coming to handle the preschool program, some social workers, and Occupational Therapy.

The donors for this building Center, Lord said raised the bulk of funds, and those donors are Laura Slatkin, founder of New York Collaborates for Autism, Marilyn and Jim Simons of the Simons Foundation, Autism Speaks and the Mortimer D. Sackler Foundation. Lord said the donors have committed to support the Center for 10 years. The cost (of operations) is split between the donors and New York Presbyterian Hospital The Center costs $2 Million a year to run, Lord said.

Lord told WPCNR  what can be expected when the doors officially open in a matter of weeks:  “We’ll begin services, see kids and adults for assessments. We’ll start various treatments, so we’ll have behavior management. We’ll have early intervention starting  at some point in the next few months.We will have a Milestones and Transitions Program helping families think about what is coming up, families of kids of different ages, and we’ll also have groups with typical peers all the way down to young children and separate groups for adults.”

Autism has been growing at an exponential rate national. Currently according to the Center for Disease Control Prevention, 1 in every 88 children in 2012 was diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, up 23% since 2009. The cause of this increase is not well understood.

Lord described what she views autism as: “What Autism happens is a combination of particular behavioral difficulties that happen to occur together and when they occur together, they really change the lives of a person who has these things together. So they are clearly caused by a variety of different things, whether there is a final common pathway where you could have various genetic conditions or environmental things and they all cause the same thing, and that yields to the same behavior, or it just happens to be different causes result in the same behavior, we don’t know. It is not a disease. It really isn’t one cause. It’s not infectious. It’s really probably something that happens really early in brain development.”

“We do have families who have already called (the Center), and we are ready as soon as we are open to contact them. We will see everybody. They should call, and someone will call and talk to them about what they want and we’ll have them come in and go through with them what exactly we do and how that fits with what they need.”

The number to call at the Center is (914) 997-5848 or go to www.nyp.org/autism.