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.

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WPCNR BLACK COFFEE from WPCNR Westchester County Roving Correspondent Nancy King. January 3, 2011:

2011 was one of those active years where political drama and the usual spin was seen in from  the County Offices, to the larger cities in the county and right down to tiny villages like the Tarrytowns.  Of course there were stories of the never ending economic downturn that were juxtaposed with the increased sales tax revenues from both White Plains and the county.  There was also a fair amount of political musical chairs played throughout the county this year.

Early 2011 saw White Plains Mayor Adam Bradley resign from office after being convicted of domestic violence.   In a classic “he said she said case,” Judge Susan Capeci sided with the “she saids” and sentenced Bradley to probation and forbade him from having any contact with his wife.  But we all know that didn’t work out so well.  According to Bradley, he erroneously “pocket dialed “ his wife several times while working out at the gym. 

Since Mrs. Bradley didn’t quite interpret it this way, she files  a complaint and voila! an arrest warrant is issued for Bradley on a probation violation.   And so White Plains ended the year on December 13^th with Judge Capeci finding him in violation of probation, slapping him with 10K bail and sending him off to the County Jail.  Bradley did however make bond and was released later that evening.  White Plains residents started their year off with the Adam Bradley saga and ended it with that story too.  It’s early in 2012, and you can rest assured that this isn’t the end of this tale.

White Plains residents did get a new mayor in the process.  Common Council President Tom Roach assumed the reigns of the city and shortly faced beloved White Plains sports star, tavern owner, and Republican Bob Hyland in a special election.   Alas, Hyland found himself abandoned by the city and county Republican committees and Roach easily won the race. 

Roach claimed that he would bring peace and integrity to city hall.  He refused to take a city owned cell phone or take home vehicle and also stated that there would be no patronage hires. 

Sadly enough though, a few short months later we have a “special advisor” to the mayor and a “communications specialist”; both of whom are well connected politically.   Campaign promises are like New Year’s resolutions, they sound good when they are coming out of your mouth even when you know you can’t keep them. By fall residents had seen Al Moroni unceremoniously shown the door even after he quietly repaired the roof at the skating rink and had turned the parking authority into the city’s greatest money maker. 

But when you cross another commissioner, you generally fall from grace and you fall hard.  And although Roach has claimed that we all need to tighten our belts in these harsh economic times, we now have four new fresh political patronage positions in city government. 

Revenue from sales tax was also up in White Plains and in the county in general.  It seems that our elected leaders didn’t get the memo that while things are still hard “out there” recession weary consumers are back to spending money. One needs only to take a walk down Mamaroneck Avenue on any given evening to see that the booming nightlife that is White Plains is certainly adding to the city coffers. 

We welcomed a bunch of new eateries this year and said good bye to others. But there are still a fair amount of empty store fronts in downtown White Plains. (See the pictures below of retail storefronts empty on Mamaroneck Avenue.)  Let’s hope that 2012 finds them rented and pretty please, can we have a store that isn’t a restaurant, bar or cell phone store? 

And of course, letus not forget FASNY.  Will there or will there not be French American School in White Plains? Even the voters forgot about this mess considering they didn’t vote for Terrence Guerriere, the neighborhood activist who ran for the Common Council on the platform that the residents of the south end of town didn’t want FASNY.  In the end the voters proved that they really didn’t care one way or the other.

As White Plains wound its way through the year, county leaders faced their own challenges.  County Executive Rob Astorino found that he couldn’t move his ball three yards down the field without being blocked by a Democratic supermajority on the County Board of Legislators. 

He’s got a total of 7 Republicans up on the 8^th floor now but whether they’ll be able to carry out his agenda of reducing the size of county government and cutting waste remains to be seen.  His biggest hurdle in 2011 will be negotiating a contract with 9200, the local CSEA unit which represents county workers. 

Good luck with that…it will be difficult to get anywhere with that pesky union knowing there have been a whole lot of patronage positions doled out by the CE (County Executive) to the friends and family network throughout  the county.  

As we write this wrap-up,  there is probably a line out the door of 148 Martine Avenue with those refugees from Yonkers who have found themselves without a job since Mike Spano and the Democratic Party have taken back the city. 

Mount Vernon also sees the Democrats retain power but this time with former mayor Ernie Davis back in the mayor’s office.  Residents of Mt. Vernon are happy to see the doors of city hall open again but Davis is going to have to deliver a budget in the first week he’s back in office.  Compounding that problem is that Mt. Vernon continues to have an image problem which often prevents developers from taking a chance there. 

County Executive Rob Astorino, speaking at Davis’ inauguration hoped that they would have a good working relationship and that they could be the new “Bert and Ernie” of municipal government.   Judging by the feeling of “awkwardness” of Astorino’s speech, that relationship is doubtful.

Other issues that WPCNR will be following up on this year will be whether or not the village of Tarrytown comes clean with their responsibility in the deaths of two village employees 18 months ago.   We’ll keep on checking in with the Village of Port Chester to see if they’ve gotten their political house in order.  2012 will see CSEA members negotiating a new contract at the Westchester Medical Center and of course we have the school budgets to play with when May rolls around. Yep, there won’t be a shortage of topics to comment on in 2012.

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WPCNR PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE DAY. By the WPCNR ROVING PHOTOGRAPHER.  January 2,2012:

Our Digital Rover strolled down Mamaroneck Avenue, White Plains, once billed as the Fifth Avenue of Westchester County,  on the first day of the year and noted 13 business establishments for rent for enterprising businesses to move into thriving White Plains. Check ’em out!

The former site of the old Gourmandise bakery.

Four Storefronts available opposite Macy’s on Court Street

Rennaissance Fountain shutdown for season.

Retail Space Next to the Seasons on Mamaroneck Ave.

2 on Martine Avenue

Temporary HQ of Kensington for Rent–prime location opposite City Center

Former Music Plus Movies storefront opposite Iron Tomato

Vacant Kinkos/Wallach’s corner on Post and Mamaroneck.

Former Headquarters of Demerjian.

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WAYNE BASS

ON THE OCCASION OF HIS APPROVAL AS NEW WHITE PLAINS COMMISSIONER OF RECREATION AND PARKS TUESDAY EVENING.

WPCNR CITY HALL CIRCUIT.By John F. Bailey. December 30, 2011. UPDATED 4:40 P.M. E.S.T. UPDATED JANUARY 4, 2012 10:20 P.M. E.S.T.:

Wayne Bass, a former skate guard at Ebersole Ice Rink, and facilitator of youth programs throughout the county was installed as Commissioner of  Recreation and Parks in White Plains, beginning January 17, replacing departed Commissioner Albert Moroni, WPCNR notes from the Common Council agenda.Fran Crogan had been operating as Acting Commissioner since Mr. Moroni’s abrupt departure in November.

Tom Roach, Mayor of White Plains, said he had worked with Mr. Bass when he was a recreation supervisor for White Plains from 2003-2007, and said he would do a fine job. Mr. Bass told WPCNR he was very excited about the opportunity but had no immediate plans he had in mind at this time for recreation, saying he would begin the job January 17. In other recreation news, Councilman John Martin was appointed Chairman of the city’s Recreation Committee.

John Callahan, Chief of Staff for Mayor Tom Roach,confirmed Saturday to WPCNR, that Mr. Bass,previously Assistant Superintendent of New Castle Recreation and Parks, had been selected to be the new Commissioner. He also runs Next Level Athletics, a high profile coaching clinic in the county, according Mr. Bass’s “Linked-In” profile.

He is in his mid-50s, has strong White Plains connections, and, coincidentally,was formerly a skate guard at Ebersole Ice Rink in White Plains. He worked for the White Plains Recreation and Parks department from 2003 to 2007, in the Delfino administration.

He is a graduate of City University of New York-Herbert H. Lehman College with a Master of Education degree in Recreation Management. He received his BBA degree from Pace University’s Lubin School of Business in Management.received his undergraduate degree from Pace University where he was a three year letterman in Basketball.

Mr. Bass’s background is basketball with extensive experience with a variety of youth recreational programs at all age levels.

According to his Next Level Athletics website, he is “recognized as a Certified Parks and Recreation Professional (CPRP) by the National Recreation and Parks Association and the New York State Recreation and Parks Society. His contributions to the Next Level Program include vast experience as an organizer of special events and programs for the Village of Elmsford, Town of Greenburgh, and the City of White Plains. Wayne (Mr. Bass) is the coordinator of such programs, as the: MPSL Basketball league, Pro-Am Michelob 3 on 3 Competition, Greenburgh Traveling All-stars Basketball Team, Elmsford Recreation Youth Basketball Program, Greenburgh Super 16 Invitational Basketball Tourney, and the Sport�s Authority Three Point Shootout. In addition, he is a former head coach at Alexander Hamilton High School.

Next Level Athletics specializes in basketball training and programs, and  counts as its clients: The Jewish Community Center of Manhattan, the Mt. Vernon Family YMCA, the Tarrytown Family YMCA, Temple Beth Abraham-Robert Jacobson Fund, the Town of Greenburgh, the Urban Marketing Corporation of America, the Village of Elmsford, Westchester Wildfire, White Plains Recreation and Parks, and the City of New Rochelle School District, and the White Plains Family YMCA.

Mr. Bass will earn $137,484 a year in the post of Commissioner of Recreation and Parks. He is a resident of Elmsford.

Mayor Roach said that Fran Crogan, current Deputy Commissioner of Recreation and Parks, had not indicated she would be leaving the department. At this time, she is expected apparently to continue in her Deputy Commissionership at $118,406 a year.

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WPCNR Greenburg Gazette. From the Greenburgh Library. December 28,2011:

The Greenburgh Town Board has released its 2012 adopted budget.  The newly released budget includes a cut of $250,000 on top of the original $320,000 cut imposed on the Library in the tentative budget published on October 31, 2011.  These drastic cost-cutting measures translate to an 18% reduction in the Town’s 2012 appropriation to the Greenburgh Public Library, as compared to the 2011 appropriation.

The Greenburgh Public Library Board of Trustees has decided to maintain a schedule of six days per week.  Consequently the budget for books, DVDs, music CDs, audio books, newspapers, and magazines was eliminated.  In addition, three part-time employees were laid off.  The very popular online service used by students, Tutor.com, was cancelled.  These painful decisions were based on the Trustees’ commitment to maintaining the current schedule of providing six-days per week service rather than further reducing our schedule to five days per week. 

 As recently as 2009 the Library was open seven days a week.  Further reducing hours jeopardizes the Library’s charter, as the New York State standard minimum hours are not being met.  Furthermore, the Library Trustees recognize the evolving role of libraries in the community as a place to meet, learn, study and explore. 

The Greenburgh Public Library Trustees are working with the Friends of the Greenburgh Library and the Greenburgh Public Library Foundation to establish a book-buying campaign in order to fill the library shelves with new materials.

The adopted budget as published by the Town does not reflect the changes to the particular budget lines mentioned in this press release.  Contact the Library for a copy of the revised Library budget.

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WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From Karen Pecora, President,  Civil Service Employees Association. responds to County Executive Rob Astorino news release(http://wpcnr.com/article8938.html) December 27, 2011 (EDITED):

The County Executive seemingly continues a campaign of divide and conquer, class warfare, if you will, by continuing to imply in his words, that we are not deserving of our salaries. He continues to cite salary figures for society as a whole and does not state that a very large percentage of our membership has earned their current salaries by virtue of qualifying for, passing, and being selected, after real interviews, for our responsible positions that most times require college degrees and valuable experience in our chosen fields.

CSEA Unit 9200 made an offer to Westchester County, prior to the announcement of the Board of Legislators budget, to take 3 days off without pay in 2012, which would have saved the county approximately 2.7 million dollars and avoided layoffs. The administration refused.

Again, contrary to what County Executive Astorino has stated in the past, he is not interested in savings, only layoffs, including the CSEA Unit 9200 president and another officer.

This seemingly is to make room on the payroll for all of his appointees. Last year and this year, 45 real working employees were laid off with a salary of approximately $62,000 or less
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Many of these appointees do not have to take  civil service tests for their positions; many get an instant parking space avoiding the 600-name waiting list to avoid the $105 monthly White Plains Parking Authority garage costs. Some other perks are invitations to lunches and parties with contractors.

Some of the (Astorino) political appointees attend overnight conferences paid for by Westchester County, receive County take home cars and therefore avoid car insurance and gasoline costs since they fill up at County motorpool gas pumps paid for by taxpayers.

We know that our positions in CSEA (and other unions) ARE NOT politically appointed positions.

Those political positions are occupied by friends of the administration, or given out for political favors, who enjoy special perks, rules, benefits, and favored status as to travel, hours worked, office accommodations, parking spaces, office equipment, assistants, personal printers, personal fax machines, and little supervision or accountability.

 By the way, many of the politically appointed friends of the administration who have been placed in Westchester County positions are exempt from civil service rules and are paid many pegs above the average salary of CSEA workers.

Our current (CSEA) salaries are a result of starting at vastly lower positions, taking exams, achieving a college degree by attending classes at night, and getting promoted per the civil service rules, after passing exams along the years.

As opposed to certain political appointees, the vast majority of our members DO NOT come into County government making the high level salaries; some of us start as hourly or part time employees to get our start. Four of the current Unit 9200 Executive Board officers have that proud history in their resumes.

The civil service positions in CSEA, and in most of the other unions representing County workers, are competitive and as such are based on real merit, education, experience, and qualified credentials after passing a rigorous civil service exam.

Statements on Specifics:

Collective bargaining provides workers a chance to have a voice in the workplace. It meansnboth labor and management go to the bargaining table in good faith to find common ground.” This important reminder was in the Feb 2011 letter our statewide President Danny Donohue wrote to the newspapers. 

The CSEA Unit 9200 leadership needed time to prepare for negotiations. Please remember this negotiation concerns the livelihood of 3,300 members and their families. Experience has shown us that negotiations are very difficult; we have many Articles, Sections, Subsectionsn and clauses in our contract that we know need to be negotiated. One main purpose of a union is to negotiate a strong contract with language that best serves our members and this task is not taken lightly. We also sent out and had to review surveys from our membership to ascertain their opinions about many facets of our contract as part of our preparation for negotiation. CSEA is a democratic union that abides by the wishes and priorities of the membership.

Negotiations have always been done during working hours, and while we did not schedule any meetings to commence after the work day, we would have stayed after the workday if we were making any progress with the County to come to an agreement. The Union’s Negotiating team spent long hours on nights, weekends, and during lunch hours to prepare for negotiations.

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The County claims the Canadian drugs prescription plans are illegal. If that is true, how is it that some senior citizens in Westchester County are using them now? Why are 40 municipalities in New York State using the Canadian drug plans? Using Canadian drugs would save Westchester County many millions of dollars over the life of the union contracts.

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Contrary to what the County Executive alludes to that we have free health care, we all know we have substantial co-payments, prescription costs and doctor and hospital deductibles. The median salary for a CSEA member is $62,000 per year, and 55% of CSEA members make less than the median salary.
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CSEA finds it almost childish that the official press release from the County Executive, (See revious WPCNR publication of the Astorino news release http://wpcnr.com/article8938.html), worked on by several highly paid staffers in the County Executive’s Press Office, during County work hours, wastes so much time and effort to speak about the meeting room. Our previous negotiations, during many previous administrations, have always been held in the quiet and spacious CSEA Local 860 offices. The current County negotiator, Vincent Toomey, has also stated he likes the Local 860 offices.

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In another tactic, the full negotiation team was initially denied release time for important preparation. This release time is a contractually negotiated clause. The County attempted to prevent the full negotiation team from meeting and involved the Dept of Law as a middle man to communicate to the CSEA leadership.

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CSEA has not refused to discuss the proposal made by the County; we asked for the County to also discuss the other 30 proposals the Union brought to the table, which by the way, could be negotiated to save the County money.

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CSEA has never received any “Jobs for Savings” plan; the plan was presented to the media, to the public and at a “Town Hall” meeting, but never given to the CSEA Unit 9200 President. The 2011 “Town Hall” meeting announcement was given less than 24 hours notice on a week when the Administration knew the CSEA leadership was not in Westchester. Understandably, the membership of all unions realized that another year of the same scare tactics was upon us and smartly chose to ignore attending the “Town Hall” meeting. By professional counts (from our members) approximately 75 employees from a workforce of 5,000 employees attended. (Fool me Once, Shame on You. Fool me Twice,
Shame on Me re the “Town Hall” meeting).

Obviously our membership is smart to understand scare tactics and divide and conquer tactics when they see and hear it.

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The Administration has been in the press asking CSEA to make concessions to our existing legally binding contract 22 months before expiration. CSEA statewide policy is that no contract is broken early or opened early when in effect. Another important purpose of a union is to vigorously enforce the existing contract and as such CSEA would not accede to the demands of the administration to forego any provisions of our 2006-2011 contract.

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CSEA has asked for a commitment from the County to avoid additional layoffs if there is an agreement reached regarding Health Insurance and other proposals. The County response was that it was illegal.

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The CSEA Unit 9200 Negotiations Team has continuously asked for the county to discuss the proposals that were introduced from the onset of negotiations; the only thing that was agreed to by the county was changing the wording “vacation time” to “annual time”. We have only asked that the county consider the entire contract, and not just one issue, although we do agree Health Insurance is one of the major issues.

The CSEA Unit 9200 negotiating team has never refused to meet with the county to negotiate a contract that is fair to the members, the county and the taxpayers. We are all middle class taxpayers in Westchester County. We strive to pay for shelter, food, and school taxes just as all working taxpayers in Westchester do.

CSEA has a long and proud tradition of service to all the localities in New York for over 100 years. Civil Service Employees Association members are those highway workers, mental health workers, park attendants, surveyors, construction inspectors, restaurant inspectors, and lab techs you know and trust. We’ve been around for more than 100 years now — we didn’t survive for a century by being selfish and impractical.