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 ALBANY ROUNDS. From the Office of  Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. February 1, 2011:

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today unveiled a proposed 2011-2012 Executive Budget that transforms the state budget process to conform to fiscal realities and eliminates a $10 billion dollar deficit without raising taxes or borrowing.
 
“New York is at a crossroads, and we must seize this opportunity, make hard choices and set our state on a new path toward prosperity,” Governor Cuomo said. “We simply cannot afford to keep spending at our current rate. Just like New York’s families and businesses have had to do, New York State must face economic reality. This budget achieves real, year-to-year savings while restructuring the way we manage our state government. This is the first step toward building a new New York.”
 
Our state spending has grown at over 5.7 percent per year over the last decade outstripping tax receipts (3.8 percent), personal income (3.7 percent), or inflation (2.4 percent). Not only do we spend too much, but we get too little in return. Our state is number one in spending on education and number 34 in results. We are number one in spending on healthcare and number 21 in results. The goal is to return fiscal responsibility to the state so that we may strengthen the economy and create jobs.
 
A key step in beginning to redesign and realign New York’s government is taking a look at the process used to create the budget.
 
First, we are redesigning how the budget is created. We are rejecting a system of automatic and unrealistic budget increases that, for years, has caused spending to skyrocket to unsustainable levels.

Governor Cuomo’s Executive Budget proposal eliminates the projected 2011-12 gap with $8.9 billion in recurring spending actions, or nearly 90 percent of the total plan. The remainder of the gap is eliminated through $340 million of revenue enhancements, such as tax modernization to improve collections and lottery proposals; one new fee; and $805 million in non-recurring actions. This budget proposes gap-closing actions in almost every area of state spending and includes year-to-year reductions in the two largest drivers of State expenditures, Medicaid and School Aid.
 
State Operating Funds spending increases by 1 percent while all governmental funds spending declines by 2.7 percent. As the Governor has made clear, closing the gap means cutting growth in projected spending. Without actions, spending was projected to grow by 12 percent, due largely to provisions in state law mandating higher spending. This has become an unsustainable process. This budget is designed to reduce or eliminate the impact of many of these provisions and recalibrate spending to sustainable levels to help repair New York’s fiscal condition.
 
With these actions, the Executive Budget proposes
 

• All Funds spending of $132.9 billion in the fiscal year that begins April 1, 2011, a decrease of 2.7 percent or $3.7 billion from 2010-11.
  
• State Operating Funds spending of $88.1 billion, an increase of $900 million, or 1 percent. State Operating Funds exclude federal funds and long-term capital spending.
  
• State Operating Funds is adjusted to reflect the loss of significant one-time federal funding received in 2010-11 to cover Medicaid costs normally paid from State funds and other actions, as well as other extraordinary expenses, the Executive Budget would increase State Operating Funds by 1 percent.

The actions proposed in the Executive Budget reduce the projected four-year deficit by 86 percent, from $64.6 billion to $9.2 billion. Following the Executive Budget, the projected budget gaps drop to $2.3 billion for 2012-13, $2.5 billion for 2013-14, and $4.4 billion for 2014-15.
 
Redesigning and Rightsizing State Government
 
Reducing the Cost of State Government. The Governor’s budget proposal reduces General Fund State Operations spending by 10 percent at State agencies. Commissioners and agency heads will be instructed to maximize savings in non-personal services. To achieve the rest of the savings, the Governor intends to seek a partnership with the State employee labor unions to seek savings in personal service spending in a way that causes the least disruption to State employees while ensuring the continued provision of necessary services for the citizens of New York. Management employees would also contribute to these savings.

If workforce saving cannot be accomplished jointly, as a last resort up to 9,800 layoffs would be necessary. Contracts covering the vast majority of State employees are up for renewal at the outset of the 2011-12 State fiscal year.
 
Merging and Consolidating State Agencies. The Executive Budget proposes to merge or consolidate 11 separate State entities into four agencies to streamline and eliminate duplicative bureaucracy, better align State responsibilities with need and improve services through superior coordination.

Proposals include merging the Banking and Insurance departments and the Consumer Protection Board into a new Department of Financial Regulation; merging the Department of Correctional Services and the Division of Parole into the new Department of Corrections and Community Supervision; consolidating the Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence, the Office of Victim Services and the State Commission of Correction into the Division of Criminal Justice Services; and consolidating the New York State Foundation for Science, Technology and Innovation into the Empire State Development Corporation.
 
Reducing the Size of State Government. To help redesign and transform government, Governor Cuomo has created the Spending and Government Efficiency (SAGE) Commission. As part of this effort, Governor Cuomo has directed the Commission to make recommendations to reduce the number of agencies, authorities, and commissions by 20 percent over the long term. The SAGE Commission is directed to submit to the Governor a rightsizing plan to reduce the number of agencies by May 1, 2011. Under legislation proposed by the Governor, the Governor would then submit the rightsizing plan to the Legislature for action with the plan going into effect pursuant to a resolution of the Legislature.
 
Reducing Excess Capacity. The Governor’s Executive Budget proposes to reduce excess capacity in prisons, youth detention and mental hygiene facilities. Governor Cuomo will reduce excess capacity using rational processes and will propose to eliminate the statutory 12-month notification prior to closures.

Actions for youth and mental hygiene facilities will be taken following careful analysis of vacancy rates, service utilization, and other factors. For prisons, actions will be implemented pursuant to recommendations of a task force created by Executive Order to examine excess capacity and recommend specific prison closures of the enactment of the bill appropriating funds for State operations. If the task force does not recommend a sufficient plan of action, the Commissioner of Correctional Services would implement facility closures. Recognizing the impact of facility closures on host communities, the Executive Budget directs $100 million in economic development aid for affected areas.
 
Medicaid
 
With the Executive Budget, Governor Cuomo is advancing a new and inclusive approach that will bring New Yorkers into the process of developing proposals to provide critical health care services at lower costs. Following years of unsustainable growth, the Executive Budget reflects a year-to-year All Funds decrease of nearly $1 billion ($982 million), or two percent, in Medicaid spending in 2011-12.
 
Gap closing actions totaling $2.85 billion for 2011-12 will be advanced by the Medicaid Redesign Team. Established pursuant to Executive Order No. 5, the Medicaid Redesign Team’s 27 members will bring vast experience as health care providers, consumers and industry experts to address the challenge of refocusing our health care system to provide quality health care at lower costs.

The team, which also includes State legislators, is conducting a comprehensive review of New York’s Medicaid Program and is to report its findings and recommendations for cost reductions to the Governor by March 1, 2011 for consideration in the budget negotiation process.
 
In addition, these proposals will limit future Medicaid Program State Funds growth to the 10-year rolling average of the medical care component of the Consumer Price Index (currently four percent).
 
Education
 
Education in New York is financed primarily through a combination of State and local funding. Under current law, school aid was slated to grow at a rate of 13 percent in 2011-12. The Executive Budget proposes School Aid of $19.4 billion for the 2011-12 school year, a year-to-year reduction of $1.5 billion.

This represents a reduction of only 2.9 percent of the total operating expenditures projected to be made by school districts statewide during the 2010-11 school year, and 7.3 percent in State support. After these reductions, which represent $2.85 billion of gap-closing benefit for the State Fiscal Year, School Aid will continue to represent the largest State-supported program, accounting for 29 percent of General Fund spending.
 
To help achieve the Governor’s goal of encouraging efficiency and results, the Executive Budget allocates $250 million to be awarded on a competitive basis to school districts that demonstrate significant improvement in their student performance outcomes and another $250 million to be awarded on a competitive basis to school districts that undertake long-term structural changes which reduce costs and improve efficiency.
 
The Executive Budget’s School Aid proposal includes a $2.8 billion Gap Elimination Adjustment (GEA) for the 2011-12 school year that would help achieve a balanced budget through reductions in school aid on a progressive basis, accounting for each school district’s wealth, student need, administrative efficiency and residential property tax burden. The size of the GEA in part reflects the loss of $1.3 billion in one-time Federal funding provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and the Education Jobs Fund of 2010. The GEA is partially offset by $305 million of growth in existing expense-based aids such as Building Aid, Transportation Aid and BOCES Aid.
 
The budget modifies transportation aid to encourage shared services and other cost-effective practices, and includes $696 million available from the Federal Race to the Top program, which is also designed to reward student performance. To limit school aid growth in future years, the budget proposes a new Gap Elimination Adjustment formula in permanent law that limits growth in the out-years based on the growth in personal income.
 
Regional Approach to Economic Development
 
The Executive Budget establishes 10 Regional Economic Development Councils, which will be chaired by Lieutenant Governor Robert Duffy, to create a more regionally-based approach to allocating economic development funding and to act as one-stop shops for all State-supported economic development and business assistance programs in each region.

Recognizing that strategies to revitalize different parts of the State depend upon numerous factors unique to each region and that the best ideas come from the people who live in those regions, Governor Cuomo is proposing a process that will include and engage local stakeholders in developing and executing sustainable long-term, regional economic development strategies.
 
The Executive Budget reprograms more than $340 million in existing economic development capital resources for major regional initiatives. Besides assisting communities affected by state facility closures, these funds will be used to provide more than $130 million for competitively determined economic development projects put forward by the Regional Councils, $100 million for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s capital program and $10 million towards the State’s existing commitment for the New York City Empowerment Zone. The Executive Budget also strengthens the Excelsior Jobs Program, which was created in 2010 to provide job creation and investment tax credit incentives to businesses in targeted industries.
 
Restructuring Aid to Encourage Results and Efficiency
 
One of the guiding principles of Governor Cuomo’s Executive Budget is that government must become more efficient and demand results. The budget proposal redirects formula and reimbursement aid into competitive grants in a number of areas and encourages community solutions rather than State mandates. These include:
 

• Funding of $79 million for programs designed to encourage and reward local governments that consolidate or achieve efficiencies and performance improvements. That includes $35 million for Citizen Empowerment Tax Credits and Citizens Re-Organization Empowerment Grants and $40 million for the Local Government Performance and Efficiency Program. Of the Citizen Empowerment Tax Credit, at least half of the bonus the program provides to governments that consolidate – 15 percent of the combined entities’ tax levy – would have to be used toward local property tax relief.
  
• Redirecting a portion of mental hygiene funding from State-operated services to community-based programs to improve the quality of care for this vulnerable population.
  
• Converting a portion of current formula-based funding for agriculture and markets research, economic development, local government and juvenile detention programs into competitive, performance-based funding program.

Juvenile Justice Reform
 
Governor Cuomo is proposing significant reform of the State’s juvenile justice system and greater use of preventive services to generate better outcomes for children and family as well as significant savings. These reforms will redirect savings achieved by right-sizing State facilities and reducing unnecessary juvenile detention into more effective and lower cost community-based alternatives.
 
The budget invests savings achieved through the right-sizing of State youth facilities and local detention operations into community-based programs that better meet the needs of troubled youth.
 
Higher Education
 
To address the state’s fiscal challenges, the Executive Budget proposes reductions in the State University and City University systems. The Executive Budget reduces base per-student operating aid for community colleges by 10 percent and SUNY and CUNY operating aid by 10 percent, and eliminates the subsidy for SUNY’s three teaching hospitals in Syracuse, New York City and Long Island, which accounts for approximately eight percent of overall hospital revenue. The budget keeps TAP benefits at current year levels.
 
To help the State University of New York (SUNY) more efficiently manage, the Executive Budget includes legislation that would enable SUNY to streamline its procurement processes and provide SUNY greater flexibility to engage in public-private partnerships – flexibility the City University of New York already has.
 
The Executive Budget extends the Physician Loan Forgiveness Program, the McGee Nursing Faculty Scholarship Program and the Nursing Faculty Loan Forgiveness Program, which provide benefits to physicians who agree to practice in areas with physician shortages and to nurses who agree to serve as educators in nursing programs, respectively.
 
Comparable to reductions for SUNY and CUNY, the Executive Budget reduces unrestricted financial assistance to New York’s independent colleges and universities (Bundy Aid) by 10 percent, comparable to reductions proposed for SUNY and CUNY.
 
Assistance to Local Governments
 
New York has the highest local property tax rates in the country. Recognizing that reducing State mandates is critical to helping local governments lower their property tax rates, Governor Cuomo created the Mandate Relief Redesign Team by Executive Order. This team, made up of representatives of the Legislature, local government, education and private industry, will conduct a rigorous and comprehensive review of mandates imposed on school districts and other local taxing districts to identify mandates that are ineffective, unnecessary, outdated and duplicative in order to develop the best and most cost-effective ways to deliver mandated programs and services. The Team will report to the Governor on March 1, 2011.
 
The Executive Budget reduces Aid and Incentives for Municipalities (AIM) by two percent for cities, towns and villages outside New York City, which does not receive AIM in recognition of the city’s numerous alternative funding sources such as a local income tax. But the budget encourages efficiency and innovation through the competitive award of $79 million for local government consolidation and performance improvements that will help jump-start the Governor’s vision of partnering with local governments to deliver smarter and more effective services to New Yorkers at lower cost.
 
Environment
 
The Budget maintains the current year funding level of $134 million for programs supported by the Environmental Protection Fund. Appropriations include $10.8 million for solid waste programs, $52.7 million for parks and recreation and $70.5 million for open space programs.
 
Transportation
 
Despite the current fiscal crisis, Governor Cuomo’s Executive Budget continues prior year funding levels for the core transportation capital programs supported by the Dedicated Highway and Bridge Trust Fund, providing $501 million for highway and bridge construction, $363.1 million for the Consolidated Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS) and $39.7 million for the Marchiselli program for local governments, and $16.9 million for Amtrak service subsidies and additional rail capital investments.
 
The Executive Budget also provides a modest increase in cash operating support for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) of $43 million, bringing total cash operating support to $3.8 billion, and for other transit systems of $2 million, bringing their combined total to $401 million.
 
Although the budget also provides $100 million to the MTA’s capital program from redirected economic development funds, it also proposes using $165 million of Metropolitan Mass Transportation Operating Assistance Account funds to pay debt services on State bonds previously issued for the MTA capital program that otherwise would be paid from the General Fund and transferring $35 million in MMTOA funds to the General Fund.

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WPCNR POLICE GAZETTE.  Special to WPCNR from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. January 31, 2011:

DAVON YOUNG, a/k/a “Burners,” THOMAS CHAMBLISS, a/k/a “TC,” and GREGORY FULLER, a/k/a “Murder,” a/k/a “Julio,” were all found guilty on Friday night following a four-week jury trial in White Plains federal court of murder, robbery, narcotics conspiracy, robbery conspiracy, firearms possession, and witness tampering offenses.

PREET BHARARA of the U.S. Attorney’s office announced today:  “These three defendants terrorized the citizens of Yonkers. They spread drugs and fear in their Yonkers neighborhood, and ultimately committed a brutal murder to further their drug trafficking business. With this conviction, a community can feel safer knowing that the defendants were held responsible for their crimes. This investigation and prosecution was a model of professionalism and cooperation among federal and local law enforcement.”

According to the evidence at trial before United States District Judge CATHY SEIBEL:

Between 2002 and 2008, the Elm Street Wolves, a violent drug trafficking crew, operated in the Nodine Hill Section of Southwest Yonkers. YOUNG, CHAMBLISS, and FULLER were all members of the Elm Street Wolves and sold copious amounts of crack to drug users in the vicinity of Elm Street.

In 2008, YOUNG, CHAMBLISS, and FULLER also committed a series of gun-point robberies of drug dealers in Yonkers, New York. First, on January 4, 2008, YOUNG and FULLER robbed a crack cocaine dealer with a shotgun inside an apartment at 16 Orchard Place in Yonkers and stole approximately $600 in drug proceeds. Second, on January 14, 2008, CHAMBLISS, FULLER, and a co-conspirator robbed another crack cocaine dealer using a semi-automatic handgun in a hallway inside 34 Prospect Street in Yonkers.

Finally, on January 14, 2008, YOUNG, CHAMBLISS, and FULLER robbed Tyrone Bergmann in the vicinity of 177 Helena Avenue, Yonkers, and in the course of that robbery, YOUNG shot and killed Bergmann. Subsequent to the murder, CHAMBLISS contacted an eyewitness to the murder from prison and attempted to persuade the witness not to speak to the Yonkers Police Department about the witness’s knowledge of Bergmann’s robbery and murder.

The defendants face maximum sentences of life imprisonment on the narcotics conspiracy count. YOUNG and CHAMBLISS both face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, while FULLER faces a mandatory minimum of 20 years’ imprisonment, on the narcotics conspiracy count.

In addition, FULLER faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 80 years’ imprisonment on the firearms charges, which must run consecutively to the narcotics conspiracy sentence, for a total mandatory minimum sentence of 100 years’ imprisonment. YOUNG faces a mandatory minimum consecutive sentence of 55 years’ imprisonment on the firearms charges, for a total mandatory minimum sentence of 65 years’ imprisonment. CHAMBLISS faces a mandatory minimum consecutive sentence of 30 years’ imprisonment on the firearms charges, for a total mandatory minimum sentence of 40 years’ imprisonment. YOUNG, CHAMBLISS, and FULLER are all scheduled to be sentenced in front of Judge SEIBEL on June 24, 2011 at 2:00 p.m.

U.S. Attorney BHARARA commended the FBI and the Yonkers Police Department for their outstanding efforts in this case.

Assistant United States Attorneys NICHOLAS L. McQUAID and MICHAEL Q. ENGLISH are in charge of the prosecution.

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WPCNR SOUTH END TIMES.By John F. Bailey. January 29, 2011 UPDATED WITH NEW PIX, DETAILS MIDNIGHT EST:

Over 200 persons (and counting as 2:30 P.M.) had toured a state-of-the-art, thorough presentation of the proposed new campus for the French American School of  New York at the former clubhouse of the Ridgway Country Club, purchased by the school one week ago.

The new French American School of New York Campus seen from Ridgway & Hathaway Lane

OVERVIEW of the Ridgeway Country Club Property,showing proposed school campus to the south side on Ridgeway Avenue and scool fields along Hotel Drive. The campus portion is shown enlarged below.

The Overhead View of Proposed FASNY Campus

Ridgeway Avenue is at top RIGHT–Street at LOWER RIGHT is Murchison Place. Propsed Buildings (in tan)to  be built are,top left is the ELEMENTARY SCHOOL; BUILDING in Center is the Middle Scool. The High Scool is to be housed in a renovated Ridgeway Clubhouse on Ridgeway. The building at bottomis a proposed gymnasium and theatre.

Attendees learned the school has changed its original plan where a school was to be placed on Bryant Avenue. The new plan, as reported first on White Plains Week, WPCNR’s weekly news roundup show Friday evening calls for 2 schools to be built behind the clubhouse, with the only entrance to the new campus on Ridgeway Avenue.

Three-quarters of the club grounds (darker gray and dark green shading), are planned to be given over to the city in an arrangement to be determined,as open space.

Mischa Zabotin,the school Chairman of the Board of Trustees fo the French American School of New York told WPCNR today the School planned on giving the property over to the city with no strings attached, and would not retain the rights to it for future expansion. Zabotin confirmed the school would pay no property taxes. He told WPCNR  the turning over the land to the city was a value in and of itself.

 Presentations through continuous video displays showed an analysis of how property values have increased near two private schools in White Plains, (Solomon-Schecter and the German School),and a unique traffic drive through video.

The striking series of traffic videos, shot during a school day between 7:30 AM and 8 AM showed a drive through shot through the windshield of an actual car showing real traffic on the key points around the property: Mamaroneck Avenue and Ridgeway; Ridgeway itself; North Street and Ridgeway.

This reporter noted moderate traffic especially on Ridgeway itself. This sequence appeared aimed at answering some critics of the proposal protests that traffic on Ridgeway is too heavy at the present time to handle the additional drop-offs planned between 7:30 AM and 8 AM.

No numbers were provided by the traffic expert attending videos, for how many buses and private cars would be dropping off at the school netween 7:30-8:A.M.  Dropoffs are planned to be contained entirely behind the clubhouse, avoiding backup out onto Ridgeway, and avoiding cut-throughs on Hotel Drive and Hathaway Lane.

A third lane on Ridgeway is planned to handle queing to be added to Ridgeway on the club property(paid-for by FASNY)on the club frontage out to the North South boundary of the club property approaching Murchison Place.

TIMETABLE:

Site Plan and SEQRA Scoping planned for this spring; Draft DEIS projected for this summer; decision on Special Permit Targeted for Summer 2012

THE OPEN HOUSE SCENE 12:15 PM SATURDAY

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WPCNR THE HOUSING NEWS. FROM WESTCHESTER RESIDENTIAL OPPORTUNITIES. JANUARY 25,2011:

The report, WRO Fair Housing Testing: Equal Housing in the Lower Hudson Valley, is based on an 18-month Fair Housing testing program funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). WRO conducted 111 “paired” audit tests in which minorities and whites presented themselves to various real estate offices, management companies and apartment complexes throughout 5 focus areas: Sound Shore, Peekskill and Mount Kisco in Westchester County and throughout Rockland and Putnam Counties. Any inferior or unequal treatment of the minority tester was assumed to be based on racial or ethnic discrimination.

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WPCNR MR & MRS. & MS. WHITE PLAINS POLL. JANUARY 22, 2011:

The Common Council asked the Governor this week to act to remove its Mayor. The Democratic City Committee echoed the request by a  42-19-4 vote Tuesday evening. However Mayor Adam Bradley has vowed to appeal his conviction on attempted assault, Contempt, and three  charges of harassment against his wife.

If the Mayor is removed by the Common Councilby use of City Charter Section 30 (a possibility if the City Board of Ethics finds he acted inappropriately in setting a meeting for a property owner who became his(Bradley’s) landlord last June), or if the Governor removes him, the city may leave itself open for substantial monetary damages if Bradley’s appeal, or possible further appeal is successful.

Should the city and Governor wait launch? Or act  now to remove the Mayor, despite possible future liability? It should noted the governor may launch the state’s own investigation in determining whether to remove the Mayor. Vote in the poll at the right.