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WPCNR SOUTHEND TIMES. November 30, 2021 UPDATED December 1, 2021:

The Westchester Business Journal reported Tuesday afternoon the French American School of New York owners of the former Ridgeway Country Club property on Ridgeway Avenue in White Plains have sold the property to Farrell Building Company of Bridgehampton, New York for a sum not disclosed . The entire property was sold. The new owner of the property is quoted by Business Journal reporter Peter Katz confirming the sale, saying:

“Given the limited inventory of new construction homes in Westchester County and the resurgence of demand for suburban housing following the pandemic, Ridgeway is the perfect opportunity for the Farrell brand to enter the market. We look forward to working with the City of White Plains on the project which will generate substantial tax revenue for the community.”

WPCNR has since learned from a reliable source with knowledge of the deal, that it was sold for $16.5 Million.

Pictured below from the Farrell Building Company website are typical custom home styles the company builds in the Hamptons, Florida and New York. Their website is www.FarrellBuilding.com

The sale was announced the very last day either party, the French American School or the City of White Plains to notify the Appellate Court in Brooklyn that either party was no longer interested in fighting the Gedney Association appeal of the Common Council decision to approve the development of a new French American School campus on the property.

The property could under the present 30,000 square lot zoning, could result in 40 homes being built on the property, if a zoning change is not sought by the new owner.

The dispute over the legal use of the property as an “institution” has lasted 11 years. Now a ruling by the Appellate Court will not be made on whether a condition issued decades in the past would continue to be enforceble will not be either upheld or denied at least in this classic case.

The FASNY-Gedney battle is a saga of summoning the expert legal strategist, Dan Seidel and his colleague Claudia Jaffe providing their services pro bouno to deliver an argument that induced the Appellate Court to agree to hear arguments in the case, growing out of Judge Joan Lefokowitz’s decision to throw out the Gedney Association original challenge.

An elated Seidel told WPCNR this morning a new proposal by the owner would most likely require a new environmental review of any new site plan. The alleged lack of a “thorough” environmental review was the second grounds on which the Gedney Association based its appeal.

After 11 years of neighborhood resistance, FASNY, (depending on what Farrell Realty pays them, said to be $16.5 Million), may be recouping their losses. The school paid $11 Million for the property in 2009 and a decade of legal fees.

Patch reports “A spokesperson for the school said, over the course of the last couple of years, the space requirements and planning needs of the school evolved, leading to the conclusion that selling the entire property was in the school’s best future interests.”

The Westchester Business Journal story can be read at https://westfaironline.com/143137/breaking-news-french-american-school-sells-white-plains-property/

WPCNR COVID MONITOR. From NY Covid Tracker. Observations by John F. Bailey. November 30, 2021:

There is no doubt that the Fourth Wave of Covid misery is gaining momentum.

In Thanksgiving week between Sunday November 21 and Saturday, November 27, 1,086 Westchester residents tested positive for covid out of 45,729 tested, a positive infection rate of 2.4%

That percentage of spread is 2,000 persons less than the expected number of increased infections from two weeks ago ended November 13.

Those 751 persons tested positive in 50,248 tests ended November 13–1 person infected 5 persons during that week, when the average infection rate was 1.5. At the end of Saturday, November 27, 14 days later those 751 infections from November 13 had resulted in 1,086 new cases, indicating by dividing 1,086 by 751 an infection rate of 1 new infected person 2 weeks spreading the disease to 5 persons (1:446 additional infections.)

If you multiply 5 persons by 751, you get over 3,755 new infections. The new persons testing positive two weeks ago produced 1,086 new infections. This is solid confidence the vaccinations are working and limiting the spread.

However in two weeks, the 1086 infections this week if we continue at the 1 person infects 5 spread rate (based on how many new infections resulted from the infected two weeks), or if it increases (given that we have not seen all the infections of two weeks ago impact due to dates when they test positive), you would have possibly 3,000 infections last week if the vaccination effectiveness number of persons vaccinated and Under-12s vaccinated continues on the upswing it will definitely slow the the spread from one new infection to the other because less people will be infected.

The positive lower number of infections than expected, 1086, rather than 3,000 as the spread rate of two weeks ago would tell us, indicates Westchester is vaccinating at a rate that is limiting infections or those unvaccinated are being more careful.

Nevertheless, cases continue to multiply each week.

10 weeks ago at the end of the week of September 26, Westchester reported 695 cases. As of the week ended November 13, Saturday we had 751 new cases, a minor increase. As of November 20 8 weeks later, Westchester went back over 1,000 cases a week at 1,108 and on November 27 the county is again in at 1,086 cases.

The last time we were at 1,000 cases was the week of September 12 to 18 (2 weeks after Labor Day).

On Sunday, November 28, the increase in new positives started the new week with 167 testing positive of 3,995, a 4.2% infection rate, but this was a very small test quantity. Westchester is averaging 155 new infections a day last week, despite the lower number of expected infections.

Governor Hochul also reinstated statewide masking indoors which may, if observed and enforced, tamp down the surge back over 1,000 infections a week in Westchester County. The entire Mid-Hudson Region including Westchester is seeing more infections paticularly in all the counties surrounding Westchester, but Westchester leads all 7 counties in infections the latest numbers FOR THE DAY OF Sunday November 28:

MIDHUDSON REGION NOVEMBER 28 SUNDAY INFECTIONS

WESTCHESTER: 167 INFECTIONS IN 3,995 tests 4.2 Infection Rate

ORANGE 128 INFECTIONS IN 1,735 TESTS, 7.4%

DUTCHESS 77 INFECTIONS IN 1,243 TESTS 6.2%

ULSTER 51 INFECTIONS IN 754 TESTS 6.8%

ROCKLAND 48 INFECTIONS IN 974 TESTS 4.9%

SULLIVAN – 41 INFECTIONS IN 357 TESTS 11.5%

TOTAL MID-HUDSON INFECTIONS: 543

The counties surrounding New York City, including Nassau and Suffolk Counties have exceeded New York City infections for 14 of the last 19 days, with Nassau and Suffolk County averaging over 1,200 cases a day, DOUBLE the infections of all seven counties in the Mid-Hudson region.