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 WEST SIDE STORY. By the WPCNR Roving Photographer. June 28, 2010:

There’s a new sign up on the White Plains Housing Authority Property for a “Development Funded by the American Recovery and Investment Act,” meaning  WPCNR would assume the Winbrook Rehabilation and Rebuild, details of which have not been disclosed in any significant detail.

WPCNR has put in a call to Executive Director of the Housing Authority, Mack Carter to see exactly what this sign means, whether there will be a news conference shortly announcing the funding, or possibilities of future funding, and the actual partners the Housing Authority has selected, as well as when demolition would begin. The Authority has not disclosed who their partners are but White Plains Mayor Adam Bradley  and Avalon Bay Communities confirmed to WPCNR months ago that the Housing Authority has selected Avalon Bay. The sign suggests some money has already been earmarked.

WPCNR also put in a query to City Communications Director Antoinette Biordi, since Mayor Adam Bradley’s name is on the sign, and asked what funds are expected from Washington, when they are expected, and how much could be expected in the future, as well as when the city wold learn about how the 10 acre project would proceed. Previously the city and the Housing Authority have assured that only one new Winbrook building at a time would be built so present tenants would not have to move. The project largest since city urban renewal 40 years ago is expected to take a decade.

 Meanwhile, in another project no one knows anything about, last week’s Urban Renewal Agency considered a resolution approving a rehabilation program for 8 close-in neighborhoods throughout the city, with no significat details furnished the neighborhood associations. That resolution declared 50% of the housing in those 8 neighborhoods as substandard.

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WPCNR WHITE PLAINS LAW JOURNAL. Special to WPCNR From The Pirro Group. June 25, 2010 (Edited):

Attorney Albert J. Pirro filed for an injunction in U.S. District Court in White Plains as previously reported by WPCNR News today on behalf of 144 retired police officers to block the City of White Plains’ demands that they pay 15 percent of the cost of their health insurance by July 10.

“These officers risked their lives to protect the public for salaries which, at that time, were relatively low,’’ said Pirro(shown above,outside the United States Court House in White Plains), after filing for the injunction. “These benefits were guaranteed in their collective bargaining agreement with the city, and now these officials are going back on that promise. To now abandon these public servants is a disgrace.’’Photo, Courtesy, The Pirro Group

Pirro is suing the city in federal court, charging that it violated his clients’ civil rights by reneging on its contract agreement to pay for the full cost of health benefits. The suit also names Mayor Adam Bradley and the City Attorney John Callahan (shown above. Mr. Bradley is to the left, Mr.Callahan on right. Photo, WPCNR News

Pirro said the city was breaking its promise to the officers, many of whom are now elderly and living on fixed incomes and cannot afford the sudden expense. He said at the same time the city was granting raises to commissioners who have personal ties to the mayor, it took benefits away from these retired officers. He estimated that the savings for the 144 retired officers amounted to only about $270,000 a year of the city’s $154.9 million budget.

The city notified 800 retired civil servants, including police and firefighters of the change in policy in a June 3 letter, demanding that they pay the first quarterly installment by July 10 or face the loss of their health coverage. The added costs amount to as much as $2,395 a year.

On June 15, Pirro filed a notice of claim putting the city on notice of the suit. Pirro said that former city Mayor Alfred Del Vecchio and Mayor Joseph Delfino would  provide affidavits supporting the retired officers.

Pirro said he hopes that the case will be heard sometime next week. Retired officers and other interested parties can follow developments in the lawsuit on the website – www.honoryourpromise.com.

The first quarterly payments are due from the retirees by July 10.

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WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL CHRONICLE-EXAMINER. By John F. Bailey. June 24, 2010 UPDATED 6:15 P.M. E.D.T.:

After an Executive Session last night, the Common Council voted publicly to hire Lamb & Barnosky attorneys of Long Island, to handle expected litigation the city faces from the White Plains Retirees Association in a lawsuit to be filed in federal court in White Plains Friday morning at 10 A.M., according to a spokesperson for The Pirro Group.

Lamb & Barnosky is the firm of city labor advisor Richard Zuckerman who handled the recent negotiations with the police, fire, CSEA and Teamsters and the Binding Arbitration presentations last fall resulting in the 3.75% and 4% retroactive raises for the Police and Fire unions. 

Asked if L & B has won anything for the city in previous legal tilts, Mayor Adam Bradley said, “Lamb & Barnosky has been a long time advisor to the city on labor matters for years.”

In other news, John Callahan, City Chief of Staff said Common Council meetings and possibly work sessions would begin to be streamed on the internet this summer on the city website. Exact date for the breakthrough was not set.

Callahan and Mayor Bradley said the city does not have a new press policy,  that the policy the CitizeNetReporter was confronted with last Friday, was not really a policy, but reporters were told to channel their requests for information directly to the Communications Director, Antoinette Biordi because some commissioners had provided information to the press that was not correct, and Bradley said the city wanted to avoid misinformation being dessiminated. They would not name the loose-lipped uninformed commissioners or officials or the offending media. 

Chief of Staff Callahan, asked by Councilman David Buchwald who would handle press inquiries after Ms. Biordi leaves the city employ as of July 1, Callahan said he and Mayor Bradley would “he guessed” be handling it. Bradley defended his record as being very accessible to the media the first five months and 23 days of his administration and gave out his cellphone number. Bradley had no comment on his domestic violence case when asked its current status. Bradley said the general public, not the media could still contact Commissioners and Departments directly.

Mayor Bradley, asked about when the city was going to create a new Comprehensive Plan  said he would form a pre-committee to identify issues to be tackled in the new Comprehensive Plan this summer. A new Comprehensive Plan is due in 2013, the fourth year of the current administration.

In the discussion of key issues, Mayor Bradley agreed it was a good idea to have quarterly budget reviews beginning October 1.

4 persons from the general public attended the meeting.

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WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL CHRONICLE-EXAMINER. By John F. Bailey. June 23, 2010 UDATED 6 P.M. E.D.T. :

Common Council President Tom Roach today told WPCNR the topics up for discussion on tonight’s “regularly scheduled” work session, were issues he has heard about from concerned residents, other council members, and he saw no harm in putting them on tonight’s work session to discuss them. He said the Work Session agenda contained items Mayor Adam Bradley wanted, and the discussion items that some council members wanted placed on the agenda. However approximately 5:30 P.M. tonight Mayor Bradley advised WPCNR he would not be there for the discussion portion of the meeting.

The Issues are the “Hot Buttons” long a source of irritation to the public and the Common Council and include: Special Meeting Objectives,City Hall Decision Processes, Commissioners and Information, Budget Process, Department Monthly Reports, Planning Update, Comprehensive Plan, Parks and Recreation Update, Building Department Update, Technology and Communication, Quality of Life Issues. They’ll be discussed tonight.

Mayor Adam Bradley advised WPCNR that he would not be attending the meeting for the first part of the discussion matters, but would return in time for the Executive Sessions (believed to be on the Albert Pirro lawsuit on behalf of White Plainsretirees.)

Roach said he hoped the public would attend the session (it begins tonight at 7 P.M. in the Mayor’s conference room. If there was an overflow crowd it would be moved to the much larger Council Chamber. However, Roach said (as usual in Work Sessions), the public would not be allowed to comment on the issues at the work session.

Roach said he always returns phone calls and receives lots of e-mail from constituents, and indicated these were issues people have expressed concern about. Asked if he could reveal who specifically wanted issues discussed. Roach said, “No comment.”

Asked why the council did not put out more advance notice of this discussion this evening, Roach said:

“We’re not voting on anything. I see no harm in discussing them,” Roach said. He said citizens have plenty of opportunity to tell councilpersons and the administration their feelings in public hearings, “Citizens to be Heard,”(Mondays, once a month,untelevised,) and through e-mail and telephone calls.

Asked if he, Roach, personally would put out a report giving a recap on positions and feelings the councilmembers bring up on the controversial matters, Roach said he would not be putting out “a digest” of the council positions.

The Work Session tonight though would have more of an audience if it was televised, but White Plains Public Access Television informs WPCNR the Work Session will not be televised.

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WPCNR THE AIR NEWS (Special to WPCNR) By Peter Katz. June 22, 2010 –

While the federal government’s disjointed response to the Gulf of Mexico oil catastrophe has captured a lot of attention, lesser bureaucratic bungling continues unabated in Washington outside of the media spotlight.

WPCNR has learned about an issue currently unfolding in Washington which has the potential for bringing a halt to the vast majority of general aviation activity in the U.S., involving an estimated 210,000 aircraft. Above is Westchester County Airport where a good portion of its fleet of general aviation aircraft may be grounded in August if regulations are not changed.

It seems that one government agency, which does not regulate aviation, has issued a regulation which contradicts requirements of the government agency which does regulate aviation.

The agency which regulates aviation is the FAA — the Federal Aviation Administration. The agency which is causing the problem with its regulation is the FCC — the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC regulates the use of radio transmitters and radio frequencies, among other things.

One of the FAA’s many rules requires aircraft to be equipped with an Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT). This is a device which automatically sends a distress signal should the aircraft crash. The ELT is a precision device, designed to send a continuous distress signal for at least 24 hours on land or in the water.

Danbury Airport, Connecticut (above). Its numerous general aviation aircraft as well as the vacation destination of Block Island (Block Island State Airport, below) will be grounded if action is not taken to straighten out the Emergency Locator Transmitter mess.

About 95% of the ELTs in use today transmit on the standard aviation emergency frequency, 121.5 MHz, and the military emergency frequency 243 MHz. Currently being phased in is a new satellite frequency of 406 MHz. Newly manufactured ELTs transmit on frequencies 121.5 and 406. Only about 5% of aircraft are equipped with 406 MHz ELTs.

On June 15th, the FCC issued a regulation banning the manufacture, importing and use of “a 121.5 ELT” in the U.S. The FCC’s ban goes into effect 60 days after the new regulation is published in the Federal Register.

It’s widely expected that the ban will be effective sometime in August. The FAA requires that the ELT in an aircraft has to meet its technical standards and operate properly. As far as FAA regulations are concerned, an ELT unit which transmits on emergency frequency 121.5 is fine.

Even if ELT manufacturers were to go into overtime production with units operating on the new frequency, there is no way they could produce enough units to accommodate everyone by the FCC’s presumed deadline. And, it is unlikely there are enough aircraft radio shops and mechanics in the U.S. to install more than 200,000 ELTs by mid-August.

If this bureaucratic action by the FCC is not quickly reversed by the lobbying of aviation industry groups and/or Congressional action, hundreds of millions of dollars in gross domestic product will be lost.