WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER SETS RECORD VISITS FOR YEAR 7,017,658 VISITS! 2,098,003 VISITORS MADE 6 VISITS A DAY EVERY DAY. 63,330 UNIQUE VISITORS MADE 133,730 VISITS IN DECEMBER. WPCNR AVERAGED 17,284 VISITORS A WEEK, VISITING 31,270 TIMES.

Hits: 0

WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS FOR THE RECORD. March 12, 2013:

 Monday evening at the Board of Education meeting, outgoing Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Christopher Clouet, delivered “A Message to the Public Regarding My Resignation: Reflections on My Work in White Plains.”

The six minute address encouraged foraging ahead with the redesign of the White Plains Middle School grades six, seven, and eight next year, and highlighted his achievements the previous three and a half years.  He also called on the Board to continue efforts to close the achievement gap between students from wealthy backgrounds and those less fortunate. Here is the text of his address.

As I complete my final year as the superintendent of schools here, I am pleased with the many, positive changes that I have been a part of in White Plains.

Last month the Union Free School District of the Tarrytowns voted to select me as their superintendent of schools beginning July 1, 2013. For a number of reasons I have accepted their offer.

Finishing my fourth year as chief of the White Plains City School District, it is with mixed emotions that I reflect on my service here. I will miss White Plains.

As a young boy, I very much admired New York Senator Robert F. Kennedy – or RFK – was never timid about speaking up about issues that made many feel uncomfortable. He spoke about the unfairness of the military draft to college students. He used his media following to shine a light on poverty in our nation. He was honest about racism. He paraphrased the great Irish writer, George Bernard Shaw, when he said, “Some men see things as they are and ask – why? Others dream of things that never were and ask – why not?” In my humble way, I have tried to live by the call-to-action Kennedy modeled.

The last several years have been a period of unparalleled change in public schools across the state – characterized primarily by New York’s successful  application for U.S. Department of Education Race to the Top (RTTP) funds and the many implications which followed. The combination of adopting the Common Core Learning Standards (and related assessments) and a profoundly new set of requirements for the evaluation of teachers and principals (known as APPR) is truly a major shift for educators and for students. Added to those significant changes with the dramatic contraction of the economy associated with the collapse of the housing market, and a big increase in the unemployment rate. I arrived here along with the “Great Recesssion.”

Before knowing the New York’s RTTT application and the extent to which recession would make the battle for limited funds acrimonious—at least in the media (a 2% tax levy cap was enacted in 2011 by the State Legislature) – I was hired in order to maintain the excellence of the district’s many exemplary programs and to address complex issues often loosely defined as the “achievement gap” between students with parents who have high incomes and high levels of educational attainment and those who are less fortunate. In White Plains that is approximately a 50/50 split among the student body.

Through this tumultuous period, with the support of a top-notch team as well as community support, I have led the district to successfully pass three consecutive budgets as well as a major bond referendum for capital projects. In addirtion, we were able to successfully organize the community to resist the imposition of a charter school in White Plains.

Community partners supporting the school district – including the Mayor, the Youth Bureau, the Public Library, Centro Hispano, the NAACP, the African American Men of Westchester, the Rotary Club, the League of Women Voters, the Education Foundation, Youth Sports leagues, the ecumenical community, the Pace Center for Literacy, White Plains Hospital – and so many others – are all crucial to what make this a vibrant city.

In spite of fiscal and regulatory challenges, there have been many positive changes in recent  years . On my watch we introduced online courses for high school students, and several communications tools including a Parent Portal for families of secondary students, and a text-messaging feature for parents.

We added engineering courses to the high school, and a rigorous college prep course (AVID) for selected middle school students – which is already a part of MS (middle school) redesign. We redesigned aspects of the elementary school schedule to include dynamic regrouping so that students in need of more academic challenge would be introduced to the Jr. Great Books program while at the same time struggling students would receive needed support. We also introduced a new elementary Math program, which is aligned with the Common Core standards. In contrast to most districts, we continue to offer enrichment opportunities for elementary students in the Arts, Math and ELA. There is so much more.

With Board support, we are ready to roll out a redesigned middle school next year. Based on very solid research (much of which is posted on our website), and recognized by the State Department of Education by way of a multi-million grant to support our work, and after many discussions with students, staff and parents, a team of dedicated teachers and administrators have developed a new, engaging way to make our middle school even more successful for all students. This redesign, combined with several other changes mentioned, will help our students  –over time – to adjust to the new, significantly more rigorous battery of assessment tests that will measure their academic progress.

I am aware that there are some people who feel that since I am leaving for another post the redesign project  ought to be shelved, but it is not about me, or about Mr. Brown (editor’s note: departing Highlands Middle School Principal), or  any individual. It is a programmatic shift designed by a team who will implement it well and enhance the middle school experience for our students.

Also on my watch, we were able to upgrade digital media opportunities for middle and high school students, develop school gardens, expand our sister school relationships with schools in China, and provide more in-district services for students with special needs. I led the efforts to hire a grants writer, which has proven to be a prudent decision.

All of the above was accomplished while the student enrollment  has grown each year while we kept our operating budget under the 2% tax levy increase, even before there was a state mandate to do so.

I want to thank all of the students, teachers, administrators, other staff members, parents, and community leaders who have supported the work during these difficult and challenging times. This is not easy work. Please know the words of kindness and encouragement  many of you have communicated to me have been important to me. I am grateful for that.

To those who have taken issue with my approach, please know that at the heart of my work is the need to challenge, to engage, and to support all students in order to prepare them for the future.

I mentioned that one of the things RFK (Robert F. Kennedy) did in his short life was to make visible the reality of poverty in our nation. Today that remains a monumental issue. In Westchester and across the country the rate of childhood poerty is growing. But aside from the occasional article or report , it is rarely discussed. During the recent presidential election cycle it was hardly mentioned. It seems taboo to bring it up. Around the country and even in our community,  far too many people who are fortunate seem to view the poor among us as somehow “undeserving” or “second class”; as a threat to the equality of a community – or a school. That kind of thinking is not consistent with the core values of our nation – E PLURIBUS UNUM could be translated—we are all in this together. I believe the Board of Education has a unique opportunity to bring adults together on this troubling issue of poverty in order to change the divisive narrative – for the good of the students in our schools.

The rock artist and philosopher Bruce Springsteen wrote in a song:

Now, I been lookin’ for a job, but it’s hard to find, Down here it’s just winners and losers and don’t Get caught on the wrong side of that line

No one wants their child on the wrong side of the line. I understand the anxiety all parents have about the kind of future their children will have in a rapidly changing global society. I too am a parent, and grandparent.. In the face of that societal anxiety, I encourage the Board of Education – as elected community leaders to lead on this issue, to bring people together,  to be a collective, recognized voice for people who have no voice, and to make visible that which is too often unseen and misunderstood, so that creative solutions can be developed and nurtured.

I ask them to constantly nudge and encourage our fine teachers and school leaders to continually improve and update our curricula and instructional strategies so that the achievement gap is closed.

Finally… White Plains is a good place to raise children. The solid, innovative public schools here are a cornerstone of this community.

I have been privileged to work with a high quality team here. It has been an honor to serve the children of White Plains.

In closing, remember, the future is not a place to go, the future is something we create. I encourage the Board and all of you to be optimistic and confident as you continue to create a just and forward-thinking future for our 21^st Century school children.

Hits: 0

WPCNR TAPPAN ZEE BRIDGE NEWS. From the Governor’s Press Office. March 9, 2013:

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced Friday afternoon  that a $1.5 billion TIFIA loan for the bridge project to replace the Tappan Zee will move to next stage of the U.S. Department of Transportation loan process. This financing will lower tolls on the bridge below all prior projections, though the state continues to seek additional financial support for the project.

“This is another important step forward for the new NY bridge project, one that will help keep tolls affordable for motorists,” said Governor Andrew Cuomo. “Today’s action is also amplified by the fact that under design build the selected bridge plan came in $1 billion under the expected price, maximizing the impact of this major financial support.”

In addition to the potential funding from this TIFIA loan, New York State continues to seek additional financial support to reduce costs from federal, state and local sources and will be using the Toll Task Force to identify alternative financing sources and keep tolls low.

U.S. DOT will conduct a credit review of the project prior to finalizing the TIFIA loan. As part of the next step of the TIFIA process, New York State is required by U.S. DOT to pay $100,000 for financial advisors to review the project.

The Governor previously directed the State Thruway Authority to form a Toll Task Force to find alternatives, revenue generators and cost reductions that reduce the potential toll increases. The Task Force will examine a series of options to keep tolls low once the final financing on the project has been established including expanding discount programs, seeking financial mechanism that lower the cost of credit and borrowing, and ensuring that any increase in tolls on the bridge goes solely to the bridge and regional transportation.

The new New York Bridge project is the largest transportation design-build project to date in the United States and one of the largest construction contracts in New York State history. Under the design-build process, engineering and construction firms join forces to compete for a single contract that covers both design and construction, and bids are selected based on the best value offered. Through this process, the final selected proposal from the Tappan Zee Constructers offered the lowest cost and the shortest construction timeline to complete the new New York Bridge project.

Over the last decade, there were 430 public meetings, 150 concepts and $88 million spent on figuring out how to replace the Tappan Zee Bridge without any substantial progress made on building a new bridge. In just the last year under Governor Cuomo, the bridge project received federal approval of the environmental impact statement, reached a project labor agreement, and reviewed and selected a contractor for the new bridge. Construction on the bridge is now expected to begin in the next few months.

The new New York Bridge to replace the Tappan Zee will include eight general traffic lanes plus emergency lanes and extra-wide shoulders for immediate express bus service when opened and will be transit-ready for all modes including bus rapid transit, light rail or commuter rail.

Hits: 0

WPCNR FBI WIRE. From the Federal Bureau of Investigation. March 7, 2013:

Sulaiman Abu Ghayth, a/k/a “Suleiman Abu Gayth,” a former associate of Osama bin Laden, has been arrested and charged in an indictment unsealed today in New York City with conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, announced Attorney General Eric Holder, Assistant Attorney General for National Security Lisa Monaco, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s New York Field Office George Venizelos, and the Police Commissioner of the City of New York (NYPD) Raymond W. Kelly. Abu Ghayth is expected to be presented and arraigned tomorrow, March 8, 2013, at 10:00 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan.

“No amount of distance or time will weaken our resolve to bring America’s enemies to justice,” said Attorney General Holder. “To violent extremists who threaten the American people and seek to undermine our way of life, this arrest sends an unmistakable message: There is no corner of the world where you can escape from justice because we will do everything in our power to hold you accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”

“The arrest of Abu Ghayth is an important milestone in our ongoing counterterrorism efforts. I applaud the many agents, analysts, and prosecutors responsible for bringing about this significant case and arrest,” said Assistant Attorney General Monaco.

“It has been 13 years since Abu Ghayth allegedly worked alongside Osama bin Laden in his campaign of terror and 13 years since he allegedly took to the public airwaves, exhorting others to embrace al Qaeda’s cause and warning of more terrorist attacks like the mass murder of 9/11,” said U.S. Attorney Bharara. “The memory of those attacks is indelibly etched on the American psyche, and today’s action is the latest example of our commitment to capturing and punishing enemies of the United States, no matter how long it takes.”

“Sulaiman Abu Ghayth held a key position in al Qaeda, comparable to the consigliere in a mob family or propaganda minister in a totalitarian regime,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge Venizelos. “He used his position to persuade others to swear loyalty to al Qaeda’s murderous cause. He used his position to threaten the United States and incite its enemies. His apprehension is another important step in the campaign to limit the reach of al Qaeda and enhance our national and international security.”

“While New York City must remain vigilant to continued terrorist threats against it, Abu Ghayth’s apprehension and prosecution promises to close another chapter in al Qaeda’s notoriously violent history of killing Americans,” said NYPD Commissioner Kelly. “This case also represents another success in the ongoing partnership between federal agents and NYPD detectives through the JTTF.”

As alleged in the superseding indictment that has been filed against Abu Ghayth in federal court:

Since around 1989, al Qaeda has been an international terrorist organization dedicated to opposing non-Islamic governments with force and violence. Osama bin Laden served as the leader, or “emir,” of al Qaeda until his death on or about May 2, 2011. Members of al Qaeda typically have pledged an oath of allegiance, called bayat, to bin Laden and to al Qaeda.

The core purpose of al Qaeda, as stated by bin Laden and other leaders, is to support violent attacks against property and nationals, both military and civilian, of the United States and other countries. Between 1989 and 2001, al Qaeda established training camps, guest houses, and business operations in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and other countries for the purpose of training and supporting its agenda of violence and murder. Members and associates of al Qaeda have executed a number of terrorist attacks, all in furtherance of the organization’s stated conspiracy to kill Americans, including the attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, in New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, which killed approximately 2,976 people.

From at least May 2001 up to around 2002, Abu Ghayth served alongside Osama bin Laden, appearing with bin Laden and his then-deputy Ayman al Zawahiri, speaking on behalf of the terrorist organization and in support of its mission, and warning that attacks similar to those of September 11, 2001, would continue.

In particular, around May 2001, Abu Ghayth urged individuals at a guest house in Kandahar, Afghanistan, to swear bayat to bin Laden. On the evening of September 11, 2001, after the terrorist attacks on the United States, bin Laden summoned Abu Gayth and asked for his assistance, and he agreed to provide it. On the morning of September 12, 2001, Abu Ghayth, appeared with bin Laden and al Zawahiri and spoke on behalf of al Qaeda, warning the United States and its allies that “[a] great army is gathering against you” and called upon “the nation of Islam” to do battle against “the Jews, the Christians, and the Americans.” Also, after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Abu Ghayth delivered a speech in which he addressed the then-U.S. Secretary of State and warned that “the storms shall not stop, especially the airplanes storm” and advised Muslims, children, and opponents of the United States “not to board any aircraft and not to live in high rises.”

Abu Gayth arranged to be, and was, successfully smuggled from Afghanistan into Iran in 2002.

* * * * *

The indictment charges Abu Ghayth with participating in a conspiracy to kill United States nationals, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2332(b). The offense carries a maximum term of imprisonment of life. No trial date has yet been set in the case.

The charges and arrest of Abu Ghayth are the result of the close cooperative efforts of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the Joint Terrorism Task Force—which principally consists of agents and detectives of the FBI and the New York City Police Department—the United States Marshals Service and the National Security Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the U.S. Department of State also provided assistance.

The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorneys John P. Cronan and Michael Ferrara of the Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, with assistance from Trial Attorney Jolie Zimmerman of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

The charges contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Hits: 0

WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL CHRONICLE-EXAMINER. By John F. Bailey. March 4, 2013:

The cutting of Section 8 HUD rent subsidies has not happened yet. But the Common Council is prepared if it comes to pass.

The Common Council prepared for the worst tonight:  possible cutting of Housing and Urban Development partial funding of Section 8 housing rentals  running at approximately $5 Million, (under the new sequestration legislation signed by  President Obama last Friday).

They  opened and closed a public hearing (where no one came up to speak), then tabled the resolution that would establish a procedure spelling out criteria defining which tenants of Section 8 subsidized housing would have their leases vacated first in the event HUD cut part or all of their rental subsidy and the rent could not be paid.

Councilman Benjamin Boykin told WPCNR the resolution was going to be tabled because the city does not know if HUD  is going to cut its subsidy to the city. Mayor Thomas Roach told WPCNR he hoped to know more tomorrow.

The city prepared for a possible loss of HUD Funds by putting forward legislation establishing what types of Section VIII tenants would be the first to lose their Section 8 vouchers entitling them to subsidized apartments. Section 8 tenants consist of  families and individuals meeting certain income levels qualifying them for apartments landlords are willing to rent with the government paying a portion of the rent and the renter paying the balance.

According to the 2012-13 City of White Plains Annual Action Plan on the city website, counts 646 units of its 846 Assisted Living apartments, as subsidized units. A total of 400 Section 8 vouchers are awarded the city in the current year, however the city is limited by the government to using only 372 of them. This would mean at least 372 voucher holders who may represent a head of a household stand to be be affected if the $5,000,000 aid for public housing is cutback by the government.

Councilman Benjamin Boykin and Mr. Callahan credited new Commissioner of Planning Elizabeth Chetney for discovering White Plains did not have a procedure for determining which tenants the city would remove first from Section 8 apartments if and this is a big if, HUD withdrew its funding for the government’s share of tenants’ rent.

Callahan said that the city realized that with no assurance HUD sudsidies would not be cut, the city needed a policy to determine what families would go, should HUD cut off a portion or all of its subsidy to White Plains.  He said Ms. Chetney drafted a termination plan in case HUD funds paying the share of rent that renters do not pay were cut back or ended altogether.

Callahan said that the resolution was ready to be passed by the council if HUD cut its subsidies to White Plains. He said many other cities and towns did not have procedures in place either.

Asked if the city could supplement giving tenants time to relocate if the housing subsidy disappeared, Callahan said there was no money to do that. Asked if the Sales Tax Stabilization (collected to replenish city fund balance) might be available, he again said no.

According to the White Plains City website, “the City makes a monthly payment to the landlord on behalf of the eligible tenant which constitutes the difference between the tenant’s payment (30% of income) and the maximum rent allowable set by the federal government for the apartment size offered by the landlord.”

Hits: 0

WPCNR FBI REPORT. From the Federal Bureau of Investigation. March 2, 2013: