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 WHITE PLAINS LAW JOURNAL. By John F. Bailey. July 8, 2010:

Joe Carrier, the President of the White Plains Firefighters announced to WPCNR today that his union suit in federal court for a preliminary injunction was also granted by the judge late yesterday. Carrier told WPCNR, “We scored a major success. The judge in federal court ruled our retirees (joining the city before July, 1995) over 70 years old do not have to pay 15%,”

The city by the granting of the preliminary injunction  to be extended to cover the firefighters by Judge Stephen Robinson, the city is enjoined from collecting premiums beginning Saturday. The injunctions prevent the city from collecting some million dollars or more in premiums from police and fire retirees in the 2010-1l fiscal year which started 8 days ago. 

Carrier said he is reluctant to negotiate with the city on a new firefighter contract coming up unless the city attitude changes. “They need to be less dictatorial,” Carrier said. He said he fully expected the medical benefits issue to surface again. However, the present contract the police and fire unions just completed continues in effect, so unless concessions are negotiated, medical benefits premium payment by  present employed uniformed police officers not new hires would be off the table.

Carrier said the city violated the Taylor Law by changing the way retirees medical benefits are paid without negotiating it.

Carrier, commenting on yesterday’s disasterous fire on Post Road said it showed why the city needed 169 active firefighters, not the 152 the city cut back to in June. Carrier said the fire at New Street involving the Con Edison substation hurt the department ability to respond optimally to the fire on Post Road.

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BULLETIN

WPCNR BULLETIN. By John F. Bailey. July 7,2010. 8:55 P.M. E.D.T. UPDATED 10:10 P.M. E.DT. PACKED WITH PIX!:

A CitizeNetReporter observer from the roof of the Chester-Maple garage reports flames still erupting from the ComFit Shoe Store as of 10 P.M. this evening as fire personnel continue to bring the biggest fire in White Plains in the last decade under control.

David  Chong,Public Safety Commissioner,far left, Anthony Sutton, County Emergency Preparedness Officer and Mayor Adam Bradley at the news conference, 8: 15 P.M. discussing the Bengal Tiger fire.

Commissioner of Public Safety David Chong reported at 8:15 this evening at a news conference that the disasterous fire starting in the basement of the Bengal Tiger restaurant early this afternoon was contained. He said it was still not under control. Chong also asked White Plains residents to conserve water usage (no sprinkling, no unnecessary running of washers),immediately because of low water pressure conditions aggravated by the untold gallons of water poured on today’s fire. Residents are currently receiving automatic calls from the city asking for water conservation.

Mayor Bradley said that 19 fire fighters have been hospitalized due to heat exhaustion, and said there were none in serious condition of any sort.

Fire, 3:15 P.M.

FIREFIGHTERS POURING THE WATER ON, 3:45 P.M. FROM THE FARMERS MARKET STAGING AREA BEHIND THE BENGAL TIGER.

ACRID SMOKE  DESCENDS OVER AREA: 4 PM

SMOKE COMING OUT OF DOORS OF BEAUTY SALON ON CHURCH STREET.4 PM

Firefighters Attempting to go on roof. 4 PM.

Fire, Still Spewing thick acrid smoke, 6:45 PM, Sunsetting.

Apparratus saturating roof as roof collapses at 6:45 P.M.

Flames shooting up out of  roof, 7:00 PM (after fire was ongoing for about 6 hours

THICK, CHOKING, PUNGENT SMOKE BLANKETED THE DOWNTOWN FOR 3 BLOCKS OF MAMARONECK AVENUE FOR SEVEN HOURS. THIS WAS QUARROPAS STREET AT 6 PM., VIEWED FROM Mamaroneck Avenue LOOKING WEST. SMOKE OBSCURED THE SETTING SUN.

Bradley said he fire started in the basement, spread through the basement and went up to the roof and because the basement could not be reached, the fire was very difficult to bring under control. He said six businesses were destroyed by the fire. Bradley added that a fire wall “seemed to work” and prevented the fire from spreading to Webster Bank on the corner of Mamaroneck Avenue and Post Road.

A transformer blew underground at the Mamaroneck Avenue and Post Road intersection at about 7:30 P.M. firemen on the scene told WPCNR, resulting in police clearing the sidewalk bars on Mamaroneck Avenue between Post Road and Maple Avenue, and closing the street to traffic.

The street is presently closed to traffic between Post and Maple. The drinking establishments  are still open. The street was bumper to bumper traffic for most of the afternoon.

Smoke was still coming up moderately from the scene of devastation as sun set.

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BULLETIN

WPCNR BULLETIN.By John F. Bailey. July 7, 2010 UPDATED 5:20 P.M. E.D.T.: Mayor Adam Bradley reporting from the fire scene at the Post Road Block between Court Street and Mamaroneck Avenues reports to WPCNR as of 5:20 P.M. that the fire is still out of control.

 As of 4 P.M. the fire was raging out of control on the Post Road block between Maple and Mamaroneck Avenues in downtown White Plains with billows of white and black smoke sweeping across the rooftop and down on the street. Residents and motorists are urged to avoid the area at all cost.

To see exclusive WHITE PLAINS WEEK VIDEO of this unfolding fire, shot an hour ago,  go to http://www.whiteplainsweek.com/downtown_fire_384k-7-7-10.WMV

Commissioner of Public Safety David Chong told WPCNR 4 White Plains fire companies had been fighting the fire for an hour and a half and it was still out of control as of 4 P.M. Chong said two firefighters had been treated for heat exhaustion under “the worst possible conditions to fight a fire.”

Chong said the fire started in the kitchen of the Bengal Tiger Restaurant and spread through the rafters. Smoke could be observed by this reporter coming out of the street level doors of the beauty salon on Court Street, 3/4 of a block from the Bengal Tiger establisment.

Fire apparatus was applying extinguishing agents to the roof of the block from the Farmers Market lot and when WPCNR departed to put up this story, Scarsdale and Harrison fire departments were arriving to aid White Plains firefighters.

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WPCNR THE POWER NEWS. JULY 7, 2010: 

As of 9 A.M. this morning with the temperature at 90 degrees in the shade, Con Edison Storm Map shows 55 White Plains customers without power, and across Westchester County, there are 1,568 Con Ed customers without power among the 346,452 customers the utility serves.

In White Plains, a cooling center is open at 65 Miller Place, (the Senior Citizen Center) for use by the general public. City pools at Kittrell and Gardella are open until 9 P.M.

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WPCNR PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE DAY. By the WPCNR Roving Photographer. JULY 4, 2010:

Last fall, city officials of Harrison and White Plains said that carp were being stocked in Silver Lake in northeast White Plains between White Plains and West Harrison to feed on the algae that was according to authorities causing the stagnant growth in the Silver Lake waters. Well either not enough carp were stocked, or they have not been eating the plants, because Silver Lake today is very uninviting and appears to be a stagnant pond on July 4, 2010. 

Liberty Park, created five years ago at a cost of $600,000 of city money is today littered with goose droppings. The pier on Silver Lake is warped and dangerous, and Silver Lake itself is very unappetizing. This nitrogen rich environment is now pouring into the headwaters of the Mamaroneck river daily.

SILVER LAKE 2010

AFTER