THE WORLD READS WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER — 8,324,077 VISITS IN ONE YEAR | 2,905,611 VISITORS VISIT 8,324,077 TIMES 3 TIMES EVERY DAY IN ONE YEAR. HIGHEST ACTIVITY IN WPCNR HISTORY.White PlainsCitizeNetReporter lifted its worldwide visits from unique visitors to wpcnr.com to 8,324,077,a 1,306,419 increase in visits in one year from 7,017,658 visits to the site last year which covers White Plains and Westchester County. The 8,324,077 visits were made by 2,005,611 unique visitors who visited wpcnr an average of 3 visits a day. ON JULY 20- -2026 visitors have accessed wpcnr and made 3,072 visits an average of 1.6 visits. In the last week 33,495 individual vistors made 54,458 visits, averaging 1.6 visits. In the last month, 152,940 visitors recorded 229,338 visits (1.5 visits)

Paycheck protection program opens up again as Westchester slides into Phase 4 Reopening

Posted on July 9, 2020 by John Bailey

WPCNR REOPENING REPORTER. From County Legislator Catherine Parker. July 9, 2020:

Paycheck Protection Program has Reopened

The Paycheck Protection Program resumed accepting applications July 6, 2020. The new deadline to apply for a Paycheck Protection Program loan is August 8, 2020. The Paycheck Protection Program is a loan designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll. SBA will forgive loans if all employee retention criteria are met, and the funds are used for eligible expenses. Click here to read more about PPP loan forgiveness.

How To Apply
You can apply through any existing SBA 7(a) lender or through any federally insured depository institution, federally insured credit union, and Farm Credit System institution that is participating. Other regulated lenders will be available to make these loans once they are approved and enrolled in the program. You should consult with your local lender as to whether it is participating in the program. View a list of lenders participating in the Paycheck Protection Program by state.

Westchester County in Phase Four of Reopening which includes Higher Education, Low-Risk Outdoor/Indoor Arts & Entertainment and Media Production

New York State released detailed guidance for Phase Four of reopening.
Higher Education including community and junior colleges, universities, graduate and professional schools, medical schools, and technical schools.Low Risk Outdoor Entertainment, including outdoor zoos, botanical gardens, nature parks, grounds of historic sites and cultural institutions, outdoor museums, outdoor agritourism, local agricultural demonstrations and exhibitions.

Low Risk Indoor Arts and Entertainment including museums, historical sites, aquariums, and other related institutions or activities.Media Production including all activities undertaken in motion picture, music, television, and streaming productions on set, on location, or at any production or recording site.

Read the NYS detailed Phase Four guidance here.

Please note that gyms, malls and movie theaters are not currently included in Phase Four.Additionally, indoor religious gatherings will be allowed up to 33 percent capacity, up from 25 percent.

Social gatherings will also be allowed up to 50 people in one setting, up from 25 in Phase 3.Each company seeking to reopen must document a detailed plan for a safe reopening. Click here to find a template for a Business Reopening Safety Plan for businesses reopening on Phase Four.Each company seeking to reopen must read the detailed Guidance provided by NYS and submit an affirmation. Click here to find the affirmation for businesses opening in Phase Four.

Community Capital New York Emergency Express LoanIf your small business needs immediate working capital, CCNY is offering a $10,000 Emergency Express Loan to help you bridge the gap. You can apply online and a member of the lending team will be in touch with you regarding documentation and next steps. Terms$10,00024-month term2% interest rateDeferred payments Minimum QualificationsAll business owners must have a credit score of 650 or higher.

SCHOOL DECISION ON OPENING DUE BY AUGUST 7

Posted on July 8, 2020 by John Bailey

WPCNR CORNAVIRUS UPDATE. From the Governor’s Office. July 8, 2020:

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that New York State will decide whether schools will reopen in the fall during the first week of August. New York State is now consulting with stakeholders on guidance, which will be finalized on July 13. Plans to reopen schools are due on July 31.

The governor also announced that all county fairs will be canceled until further notice out of an abundance of caution. Governor Cuomo previously announced that the New York State Fair will be canceled this summer.

Governor Cuomo also announced beginning Friday, July 10, malls can open in regions that have entered Phase IV of reopening if they have implemented an enhanced Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning – or HVAC – filtration system and follow proper ventilation protocols. HVAC systems will be required to include filters with a Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value – or MERV – rating of which filters out the COVID-19 virus, but can, if the system makes additional protections, run on a minimum MERV of 11. Ventilation protocols include increased outdoor air, reduced air circulation, longer system run times and frequent filter checks.

Governor Cuomo also announced that New York State will provide 1,000 masks and 1,000 2-ounce bottles of hand sanitizer for the Fire Island COVID Destroyers – a partnership that includes GMHC and Fire Island community leaders – to distribute on Fire Island.

The governor also updated New Yorkers on the state’s progress during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Long Island enters Phase IV of reopening today. The number of new cases, percentage of tests that were positive and many other helpful data points are always available at forward.ny.gov.

“We have been consulting all stakeholders on guidance for how a school would reopen in September. We have 700 school districts in this state, and they range from rural to urban to suburban areas. Localities are very involved in their schools and school decisions, so we have been meeting with them,” Governor Cuomo said. “During the first week of August, the state will announce a decision on whether or not those schools reopen, and we want to make that decision with the best available data because facts change here day to day and week to week. A week can be a lifetime with this virus because everything changes so quickly. The schools say they need a decision made by the end of the first week in August so they can then turn on the switches and get everything ready for September, and we’ll look at the data in that first week and then we’ll make a decision.”

Today’s data is summarized briefly below:

Patient Hospitalization – 841 (+5)
Patients Newly Admitted – 84 (+16)
Hospital Counties – 31
Number ICU – 166 (+6)
Number ICU with Intubation – 97 (-6)
Total Discharges – 71,185 (+94)
Deaths – 11
Total Deaths – 24,944

Of the 57,585 tests conducted in New York State yesterday, 692, or 1.2 percent, were positive. Each region’s percentage of positive tests over the last three days is as follows:

REGION	SUNDAY	MONDAY	TUESDAY
Capital Region	1.00%	1.20%	0.90%
Central New York	1.70%	1.60%	1.20%
Finger Lakes	1.10%	0.90%	1.40%
Long Island	0.90%	1.00%	1.30%
Mid-Hudson	0.90%	0.90%	1.20%
Mohawk Valley	1.10%	1.10%	1.10%
New York City	0.90%	1.10%	1.20%
North Country	0.40%	0.20%	0.20%
Southern Tier	0.70%	0.50%	0.50%
Western New York	1.20%	1.40%	1.70%

The Governor also confirmed 692 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 398,929 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 398,929 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows:

County	Total Positive	New Positive
Albany	2,175	11
Allegany	64	1
Broome	766	4
Cattaraugus	130	2
Cayuga	122	0
Chautauqua	149	14
Chemung	147	0
Chenango	159	2
Clinton	106	1
Columbia	482	3
Cortland	54	1
Delaware	91	0
Dutchess	4,250	2
Erie	7,596	52
Essex	49	0
Franklin	33	0
Fulton	262	0
Genesee	244	2
Greene	263	0
Hamilton	6	0
Herkimer	181	0
Jefferson	94	0
Lewis	31	0
Livingston	137	3
Madison	368	1
Monroe	4,046	42
Montgomery	121	0
Nassau	42,122	34
Niagara	1,307	10
NYC	217,777	289
Oneida	1,776	16
Onondaga	3,029	32
Ontario	286	3
Orange	10,806	8
Orleans	286	1
Oswego	210	3
Otsego	86	0
Putnam	1,344	4
Rensselaer	580	9
Rockland	13,679	11
Saratoga	582	4
Schenectady	844	1
Schoharie	60	1
Schuyler	13	0
Seneca	71	0
St. Lawrence	227	1
Steuben	271	0
Suffolk	41,799	69
Sullivan	1,460	1
Tioga	150	0
Tompkins	180	1
Ulster	1,845	2
Warren	273	0
Washington	247	0
Wayne	193	2
Westchester	35,154	48
Wyoming	98	1
Yates	48	0

COVID-19 SURCHARGES SURFACE AT LOCAL BUSINESSES. GOUGING BACK

Posted on July 8, 2020 by John Bailey

WPCNR QUILL & EYESHADE. From County Board of Legislators Chairman Benjamin Boykin. July 8, 2020:

The Westchester County Consumer Protection Department has been notified that retail businesses in our County have been adding COVID-19 related fees to bills, so the Department believes it’s important to clarify the County law in this area for both businesses and consumers.

Pursuant to the Westchester Consumer Protection Code, businesses can add these fees, but consumers must be clearly notified about the fees at the point of sale while they are involved in making a decision during a consumer transaction, not at the last minute when they get the bill. It is a violation of the consumer protection code: “To sell or offer for sale any consumer goods or services at a greater price than the price displayed or advertised therefor.”

Consumers need to know that there are no “COVID-19” or “Pandemic” tax or fees that has been placed on goods and services, so these fees are being added by the stores and restaurants on their own. Further, consumers should never be charged a price above posted prices (outside of sales tax). If there is two tier pricing (Cash vs. Credit), both prices must be clearly posted.

If consumers believe they were not provided adequate notice of these fees, they can file a complaint on the Consumer Protection Department’s webpage: https://consumer.westchestergov.com or call the Department at (914) 995-2155 with questions.

FEINER ON THE RECORD: DETAILS PRIMARY VOTING FIASCO FOR COUNTY LEGISLATOR TASK FORCE

Posted on July 7, 2020 by John Bailey

WPCNR THE LETTER TICKER. From Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner July 7, 2020:

County Board of Legislators:

Thank you for reviewing the primary day fiasco. These are some of the concerns residents highlighted to me on primary day. I hope that the Board of Elections will give priority attention to correcting the many problems that took place. Manual pdf Our democracy depends on voter confidence of the integrity of our elections. Manual pdf

The Greenburgh Town Board is meeting on Wednesday night so I will be unable to attend your meeting. I appreciate the fact that these comments will be included in the record. Manual pdf Complaints I heard:

1) People did not receive absentee ballots;

2)long lines -some people waited for more than two hours to vote (some people voted after 11 PM);

3)Machines malfunctioned- one of registration machines that printed ballots kept shutting down because of inadequate power;

4) lack of air conditioning at some polls; 5)malfunctioning machines;

6)reduction in polling places. 81 election districts–5 polling locations. Confusion since people didn’t vote at the polling location they always vote at. Polling locations should not be reduced -voters should always vote at the same location;

7)unsure if absentee ballots that were sent in the ballot would be counted since postal service is not reliable (I had suggested that the Board of Elections send voters a confirmation that they received the ballot or provide voters with an identification number enabling voters to confirm if the ballot was received). It would be interesting if the county would analyze -after votes are counted – how many ballots were invalidated because they arrived too late.

8) Elderly and disabled residents with canes had to wait for up to two hours to vote and not afforded any accomodations

9) people who were dehydrated and with temperature waited on lines –some left before voting;

10) lack of adequate help at polling places to control crowds.
PAUL FEINER