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WPCNR County Clarion-Ledger. From Timothy Idoni, Westchester County Clerk. January 13, 2010: The number of foreclosure filings in Westchester County in the last quarter of 2009 was more than four times as high at 353 filings as they were during the same quarter of 2008 when 76 filings were recorded.
“A foreclosure action, which is filed in the Westchester County Clerk’s office is the first step of a process that can result in the loss of a home or building,” stated County Clerk Timothy C, Idoni. “However,” continued Idoni, “Westchester homeowners need to know that commencement of a foreclosure action or filing does not mean that their home will ultimately be lost to foreclosure, especially if they get help.”
“If you are at risk of foreclosure, seek help immediately,” urged County Clerk Timothy C. Idoni, whose office records all foreclosure filings. “Don’t wait until it becomes too late to save your home,” he cautioned, emphasizing how foreclosures can hurt our neighborhoods, our families and severely impact municipal budgets and services. “And while judgments were down in 2009, the troubling rise in commencements of foreclosures is a clear indicator that more at-risk Westchester homeowners need to start now to pursue efforts to avoid losing their homes,” said Idoni. He urged residents to consider the following:
· Avoid being subject to legal action by not falling behind in your mortgage payments. If you receive a warning letter from your bank or lender, or concerned that you will fall behind on payments, seek help now. Westchester Residential Opportunities (WRO), a non-profit housing agency with offices in
· You don’t have to lose your home, even if you are served with foreclosure papers. Do not throw in the towel and give up. Try to enter into a repayment plan, secure a modified loan, refinance with another lender or sell your home on your own to avoid foreclosure.
· Avoid falling victim to foreclosure rescue scams. As foreclosure rates climb, so do the number of mortgage foreclosure scams targeting at-risk homeowners. Don’t make a bad situation worse by falling prey to these scam operations. Only seek help from a reputable counseling agency or a trusted attorney to guide you through the process.
The Westchester County Clerk is the Clerk for the Supreme Court where foreclosure actions are heard. The public can visit the Legal Division located at
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WPCNR MAIN STREET JOURNAL. January 12,2010: As predicted weeks ago on the White Plains Week local White Plains public access television program, the City Center is getting a new tenant: a Shop-Rite Supermarket. Geofrey Thompson, a spokesman for Cappelli Enterprises announced the new tenant would be arriving in the summer. It will take up a portion of the second floor of City Center opposite Nordstrom Rack, according to Thompson & Bender, accessible from the bridge from the parking garage.
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WPCNR QUILL & EYESHADE. By John F. Bailey. January 12, 2010:
The December White Plains figure was $3,024,008.63, $1,263,425.91 below the $4.3 Million collected in December 2008 – a 30% decline. Halfway through fiscal year 2009-10,
If the present 11.2% decline in sales tax receipts continues, the city faces a 15% tax increase just to make up for the projected $5 Million loss in sales tax receipts.
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If the city matches 2009 figures for January through June 2010 ($21,947,876)
The city is continuing to run a deficit in sales tax collection of 11.3% the first six months of the fiscal year July-December 09 ($21.6 Million the last six months compared to $24,362,919 July 08 to December 08). If this 11.3% downward trend continues,
County Runs $63 Million Deficit
Budget cuts and additional Federal Medicaid Appropriations money filled the $63 Million budget hole, according to the Westchester County Department of Communications.
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WPCNR WHITE PLAINS LAW JOURNAL. By John F. Bailey. January 12, 2010: The saga of Father Patrick Dunne, former parish priest of Our Lady of Sorrows ended today in Courtroom 104 in the County Courts building at 11:10 A.M., when Judge Jeffrey Cohen sentenced the priest who plead guilty last fall to Grand Larceny in the Second Degree for stealing $432,000 from OLS and using it to gamble.
Judge Cohen after allowing a statement from Bishop Dennis Sullivan, Vicar General of the New York Archdiocese, in which Bishop Sullivan, speaking of Father Dunne’s 2-plus years of rehabilation in a gambling rehab program as being very successful,to the point where the Bishop said “he is a man in recovery,” and of Dunne’s lifetime of good works, said the Archdiocese would be assigning him to a Dutchess County Parish. Dunne’s attorney, Richard Ferrante said 260 letters from OLS parishioners had written on the priest’s half, pleading leniency in sentencing.
Father Dunne read a statement to the judge before sentence was passed, saying that he took the money from the OLS Building fund and the OLS Stipend Funds to win money for the OLS building project, but running up losses, tried to win it back. He asked for forgiveness from his parish. It was the first time Mr. Dunne had stated anything for the record about his behavior in the year the case has moved slowly through the court. He was charged in June, 2009
The Judge after hearing these words said to Dunne in passing sentence, that “no jail time can free you from this gambling addiction, and jail would serve no purpose.” Judge Cohen sentenced Dunne to 5 years probation and 250 hours of community service that had to be approved by the Judge, and performed by December 31, 2010. Cohen also imposed a judgment on Dunne of $432,000.
Judge Cohen “he understood the Parish has been made whole, and has not lost any money.”
An informed source with Our Lady of Sorrows familiar with the monetary situation regarding restitution by the Archdiocese of the stolen money said that OLS had received a check from the Archdiocese insurance company subsidiary, less about a $100,000 deductible, leaving the archdiocese with approximately a $300,000 restitution. The priest of the parish will announce the exact amount to the parish, WPCNR was told.
The case was originally brought in June, 2009, when the District Attorney’s Office charged him with 2nd Degree Grand Larceny, (a felony with a maximum sentence of 5 to 15 years), stealing over $432,000 from parish accounts.
The District Attorney said that the priest diverted monies donated by parishioners for collection campaigns including the church building fund, a collection for Hurricane Katrina victims, and the weekly offertory.
The D.A.’s office said the priest accomplished this through writing and endorsing checks to himself and to “cash,” failed to provide an accurate accounting to church officials and “deliberately concealed the books and records relating to the parish development account.”
There is some question as to how the ongoing thievery was uncovered, but from what WPCNR has been told it was a combination of Father Dunne’s not accounting for certain moneys to the church management and a investigation of the Archdiocese, after the Archdiocese was called in, according to what Bishop Sullivan said in court today.
Father Dunne was removed from the parish in March 2008 and was charged in June 2009. On October 20 of last year he accepted a plea bargain offered by the District Attorney’s Office.
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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. January 11, 2010: The White Plains Board of Education accepted the resignation of Ridgeway School Principal Evette Avila tonight at the second Board of Education meeting of the year, for “personal reasons,” according to Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources, Lenora Boehlert.
The resignation was effective June 30, 2010. Avila was scheduled to earn $172,433 as Elementary School Principal from July 1 2009 to June 30, 2010, and apparently will collect her salary for the balance of the year. Boehlert gave no reason for the resignation and Ms. Avila is no longer principal of the school. Tashia Brown remains as Assistant Principal.
Francis Lahey was appointed Interim Principal by the Board. No statements were made to the public by the Board on the Ridgeway School situation, or Mr. Lahey. Mr. Lahey previously served as interim principal at Eastview School in January 2009, and was Principal of Fox Lane High School.
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WPCNR MILESTONES. From Peter Katz. JANUARY 10,2010: Calling hours for White Plainsians to pay their respects to the Councilman for All Seasons, Robert Ruger, “Mr. White Plains,” are Thursday Jan. 14 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Ballard-Durand Funeral Home, 2 Maple Ave., White Plains. A memorial service is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday Jan. 16 at the White Plains Presbyterian Church, 39 N. Broadway, White Plains.
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WPCNR MR. AND MRS. AND MS. WHITE PLAINS SURVEY. January 9, 2010: In view of the New York State $15 Billion Deficit, give or take a few billion here and there, depending on the latest Governor’s state press conference, New York State is facing massive state cuts, which at the latest look, the legislature seems unwilling to do.
The state also needs about $16 Billion for the Tappan Zee Bridge reconstruction, and faces another similar $15 Billion gap in 2012.
In the back of most legislators’ minds (though WPCNR cannot read the minds, but that presupposes New York legislators think) is that Washington will bail out the state with some of the Troubled Asset Relief Program money they received back from the banks. The state shamelessly did not cut any money from this year’s budget and used stimulus funds, sending them back to the counties, which at least in Westchester was used to offset the $60 Million sales tax gap in 2009, according to the former Spano Administration press office.
What do you think? Is New York too big to fail? Of course, should the Obama Administration bail out New York with say $40 Billion in “Obama Bucks” that would mean they would be obligated to send similar money out to Michigan, and similar states ravaged by the economy.
What do you think?
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WPCNR CITY HALL CIRCUIT. From the Mayor’s Office. January 8, 2010:
“White Plains is a much better city today because of Robert Ruger’s unwavering commitment to community service. He embodied a spirit of civic mindedness and volunteerism that most of us can only try to emulate.”
Mr. Ruger was a long time community activist and a member of the White Plains City Council for 12 years, from 1976-1988. He served as Chairman of the Traffic Commission from 1983 to 2009 and in that 26 years presided over 300 meetings and was involved with decisions on over 2500 traffic matters. Traffic Commissioner Tom Soyk said that “His dedication of time and talent to help the City of White Plains will be remembered for years to come.”
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WPCNR MILESTONES. From the White Plains High School Hall of Fame Biography and remembrances from his friends, Peter and Susan Katz. January 7, 2010: The man known as “Mr. White Plains” died Thursday evening in the White Plains home in which he was born in 1913. Robert F. Ruger was 97 years old. His health had been deteriorating in recent months.
Bob Ruger, a life-long
Mr. Ruger lived and passed away in the same house in which he was born in 1913. A member of the Class of 1931, he was among the first to attend the “new”
In 1969, as an Elder of the Presbyterian Church, Mr. Ruger was chosen to make a round-the-world tour of mission activities. The trip stimulated his long-term interest in a church affiliated medical college in
Mr. Ruger served on the White Plains Common Council for 12 years (1976-1988). He was Council President in 1982 and 1983. He proudly displayed a custom license plate for his car which identified him as a councilman. For six years, he was Chairman of the White Plains Zoning Board of Appeals. He also served as Chairman of the city’s Traffic Commission for 26 years, resigning due to ill health in 2009, at the age of 96.
Left to right, White Plains Senior Traffic Planner Ed Oliva, White Plains Traffic Commissioner Tom Soyk, Robert Ruger, Common Council member Milagros Lecouna at an honorary recognition of Mr. Ruger June, 2009.
Mr. Ruger served in major leadership roles for a host of important local organizations, including Westco Productions, the White Plains-based theater company for which he served as President of the Board of Directors from 1992-2005, the White Plains Rotary Club, the Salvation Army, the YMCA, the Thomas H. Slater Center, the Westchester Drama Association, Senior Personnel Employment Council, the United Way and the Organization of People Undaunted by Stroke. He also was a member of the White Plains High School Tigers Fan Club.
Mr. Ruger served as President of the White Plains Beautification Foundation. He was honored at a testimonial dinner at the
In 1996, he was inducted into the White Plains High School Hall of Fame.
MAN OF THE CENTURY:
Susan Katz, (Left) President of Westco introducing White Plains main man, Robert Ruger at a Westco Benefit honoring him in 2002 on his 90th birthday. To the right of Mr. Ruger are Jo Falcone and Charles Goldberger.
For his lifetime of community service and accomplishments, Mr. Ruger was known by his friends and associates as “Mr. White Plains.”