Volume Unhearable on Channel 76–Evening Programming Audio Wiped Out.

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WPCNR MEDIA SCOPE. By John F. Bailey. October 19, 2007 UPDATED OCTOBER 21, 2007: If you tried to tune in It’ll Get Better  Friday night, or White Plains Week, the controversial city news roundup show, on Channel 76,  or the balance of White Plains Public Access TV’s programming lineup, at least as of 8:15 P.M.  you could not hear them Friday night due to a very low, static-obscurred audio track.


Jim Kinney, The Executive Director of White Plains Cable Television, told WPCNR Saturday morning the ongoing problem that White Plains cable has been dealing with for years with Cablevision is definitely related to a Cablevision problem, denying a Cablevision representative’s comment who told WPCNR Friday evening the problem had to be “a weak signal” from the originating public access station, because she said all the other channels on WPCNR’s selection were clear and normal.


Kenny said the public access channel had been working with Cablevision technical personnel recently for a week to correct the problem. “we swapped out modulators with Cablevision, and all I  can tell you is when the signal leaves the station, it has a light that signals whether it is going out at the proper level. This is very frustrating. It’s not just you, but 70 other producers that complain when they cannot be heard.”


To make out even a semblance of what was being sung or said, devotees of Public Access Television  had to turn your volume all the way up, and even then you had to put your ear to the television speaker. You could see shows, but you could not hear them unless you could read lips.



John Bailey, Peter Katz, and Jim  Benerofe, the White Plains Week news team and the entire Friday night Channel 76 programming lineup needed closed captioning tonight (Friday evening) as White Plains Public Access Television experienced audio difficulties in various sections of the city for unknown reasons.


 Similar “sound-outs” were reported across White Plains in the Highlands, in Saxon Woods, and at WPCNR World News Headquarters in Haviland Manor. This is a recurring phenomenon.


WPCNR did some checking.


A representative of Cablevision was contacted Friday evening by yours truly, and when a living, live representative was reached, they had me check my cablevision box settings. They informed me that the Audio setting (“narrow”) was correct and that if all other channels were at normal volume, then the problem, in their opinion, was due to a “weak signal” from the Public Access Channel. This was odd because the signal on Channel 75 and Channel 77 put out by White Plains Public Access was coming through fine this evening.


WPCNR has contacted members of the White Plains Cable TV Commission  tonight to look into this recurring problem, which seems to afflict only Channel 76, and has been happening frequently for seven years.


 

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Stackpole: Council “Not doing the job.” Power: Council to “Push” for Budget Dir

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WPCNR CAMPAIGN 2007. By John F. Bailey. October 18, 2007: The always civilized White Plains Woman’s Club held their traditional Candidate’s Forum and Luncheon Wednesday.  Uncivil campaign fireworks erupted as six council challengers criticized council land sale decisions, laissez faire council budget supervision and “running the city at a loss,” as Mr. Pilla, the Republican put it.  Council knowledge of budget matters was sharply criticized by Independents Robert Levine and Robert Stackpole, who pointed out the Council and Mr. Boykin and Mr. Power should have known of the existence of the city projections sent to the Department of the Budget last spring and first revealed  two weeks ago by The CitizeNetReporter.



The Big Eight– Benjamin Boykin leads off with Opening Statement, while, left to right, Milagros Lecuona, DennisPower, Anthony Pilla, Augostino Zicca, Candyce Corcoran, Robert Levine and Robert Stackpole marshall their thoughts at the Woman’s Club Candidate’s Forum & Luncheon Wednesday.


 Incumbent councilperson Dennis Power disassociated himself from Mr. Boykin on the city sales of land, his incumbent running mate, repeating that it was not he (Power) who had voted for the Railside land sale to “balance the 2005-2006 budget,” but did point out that he and Boykin had stopped the Memorandum of Understanding on New York Presbyterian Hospital subdivision, and the Exclusivity Agreement Cappelli Enterprises sought for the train station area.  


These examples of Council proactivity,  were witheringly dismissed by opponents as strictly responding to a massive e-mail campaign against the Exclusivity Agreement after it had been revealed by WPCNR that the Council knew (with the exception of Mr. Power who declined to attend his  briefing with the Cappelli organization when invited),  about the Exclusivity Agreement in advance and the council incumbents did nothing to stop it until public outcry overwhelmed the Council on the issue.


Mr. Power responded to blunt criticism from former Mayor Alfred Del Vecchio that the council condoned operating without a Budget Director at Mayor Delfino’s suggestion. Del Vecchio complained that a Budget Director would be a second set of eyes and judge of the budget.


Benjamin Boykin defended his Railside Avenue sale vote as evidence that he had “real leadership.”


 



An intimate, but demanding gathering of citizens and candidates gathered for the affair.





After an elegant luncheon of chicken marsala, the Council Forum started out with the usual gentility with candidate statements, from the candidates for judgeships. Next came County Legislator candidates William Ryan and Lois Bronz who were running unopposed. All statements were timed  to the second by the Woman’s Club Official Timekeeper who broked no overruns by the aspirants.



The Woman’s Club Official Timekeeper — to the second and assertive — with stopwatch in hand. There would be no comment overruns at the Common Council if she were handling the action.


Incumbent Councilman Benjamin Boykin, pointing to his seven years of experience on the council, taking credit for White Plains “outstanding renaissance,”  saying “I have made the difference,” and cited the recent Kensico Terrace opening last Thursday, a senior affordable housing complex, as one of his accomplishments, and preservation of 50 acres of open space. He said it was important to listen “to all of our citizens.


Milagros Lecuona, running for Council for the first time, announced to the public that she came to this country 20 years ago and has lived in the city for 18 years, becoming a U.S. Citizen two years ago. She mentioned she had founded La Casa de la Cultura, a city community organization; had been co-president of the PTA, and would bring her experience on the County Planning Board and as an architectural designer to the council. In her duties on the Westchester County Planning Board she has participated in the County’s Patterns 2025 project which will be fortcoming, she said, which will aid communities in developing their cities and towns through a better understanding of zoning and county regulations. She pointed to her experience within the White Plains community, the school bond review, and professional expertise in development matters as assets that prepared her for the council.


Dennis Power, the other incumbent Councilperson, said he had returned to the council because his daughter and son-in-law had moved back into the city and this inspired him to return to politics. He prided himself on voting no the Exclusivity Agreement and previously the New York Presbyterian Hospital Memorandum of Understanding, and recently supporting and voting for eliminating paper streets on the Greenway to preserve that park perpetually.


Then the challengers picked the Democratic Slate apart.


Anthony Pilla, the Republican,  described himself as a 10-year resident of Battle Hill, who had become community-involved over traffic issues, quality of life issues and legal housing, and most recently over lack of reporting by authorities of convicted sex offenders living in the Battle Hill area. He shifted gears and called for financial accountability and would push for fiscal responsibility in the city, and would push for the ½% sales tax increase which the incumbents have not supported to date.


Agostino Zicca, Republican challenger,  said the city progress was being held back by a “block of people” the incumbents who  posture during Council meetings, holding up important legislation. “It’s a circus. They work for themselves…I’m sick of it.” He championed safety issues in the streets, the reporting of resident convicted sex offenders, more police and firefighters, and the need for a new Superpumper for high-rise fighters.


Cass Cibelli, the third Republican Challenger is a principal in the New York City school system (and Wednesday was a school day), and was unable to attend the mid-day forum.


Candyce Corcoran, the lifetime White Plains resident, running on the Conservative line, recited her long resume of community involvement and experience in the banking industry, and posed the question whether “you like the way the city has grown into a real cosmopolitan city?” She called for White Plains to be “fiscally responsible,” and that a projected 7% City Tax Increase was twice the rate of inflation and said “It is obvious that we have serious financial issues that require serious people to solve it. You need someone who can analyze the situation, without being compromised by unions, developers, Westchester County or political bosses.”


Robert Levine, one of  the two Independent candidates,  Mr. Stackpole being the other,  took the microphone and said he was running because “elected officials have to listen to the people,” accusing the incumbents and the Common Council have having “sold it (the city) out” He said it was obvious that the city has gone astray in two areas: money and planning of development. “I have the professional qualifications to deal with planning and finances of the city.”


Stackpole, the second of the two Independents, cited has long experience on the Planning Board (ten years)and his role in stopping the New York Presbyterian Hospital Robert Martin proposal in the early 80s, as credentials for his ability to serve competently and achieve results against the odds. He criticized the city’s reliance on sales tax as a revenue staple because in a recession, “it does not mean you’ll have the revenues.” He called for fiscal planning.  He said the people of White Plains needed to be listened to on what they wanted for the next twenty years. “The council has not been listening, because you have a gong show at the council, {where persons are not allowed to speak more than 5 minutes).” He called for putting the city ‘in the hands of the residents.”


Selling Land


Then, Co-Chair of the event Jo Falcone opened the floor to questions. Paula Peikos asked about the Exclusivity Agreement and the sale of Railside and the fireworks began.


Corcoran said she found the Railside sale, voted positively by incumbent Boykin, “appalling,” as well as the sale of land to balance the budget (on the Bank Street affordable housing project, which both incumbents running (Boykin and Power) voted to approve.


Zicca, too, said he did not believe in selling land to balance the budget. Zicca, from the Battle Hill neighborhood,  said he would consider development of the railroad station area, but rejected the notion of selling the firehouse there. He called for remodeling the train station with a walkway over into the Battle Hill area into the Veterans Park. Stackpole said any Exclusivity Agreements he was dead set against it, because it limited competition. Pilla noted that once any land was sold, when it was not there the next year, “you’re in a big hole,” alluding to his call for better budgeting.


Dennis Power, took pains to point out that, he, Power, did not vote for the Railside sale. “Unfortunately, it happened,” pointing out that the council did kill the Exclusivity Agreement in April, and the RFQ proposal in September.


(Editor’s Note:There was no mention of the fact by any candidate that the RFQ was rejected by the council in the press, possibly for what some would think was political effect before the primary September 18, but the same Council did not hold back the RFQ when they had a chance to stop it from going out in the third week of August during the work session when the Commissioner of Planning presented  the RFQ. Instead the Council objected to the RFQ in the press after the Council allowed the RFQ to be distributed.)


Milagros Lecuona, who did not vote on the Railside plan, said “It is an aftermath and there is no profit in whether we improved or there is a benefit. “ (In her future possible decisions), “The City of White Plains needs to consider the real impact…what it would do for the entire city.”


Boykin dryly pointed out it was a 4-3 vote to approve Railside, and defended the sale, saying, “As a leader of this city, you’re faced with difficult decisions, that’s real leadership.”


 Why Raise Taxes and Expenses Every Year?


When a senior citizen rose, he witheringly asked the incumbents why they continually raised taxes and spending every year. Zic ca, the Republican warmed to the task, calling for “commercial property owners to pay their fair share (of property taxes). (This brought spontaneous applause.)


Corcoran referred to the revealed budget projections, indicating a number of tax increases (7% a year for the next three years) in the next few years’ budgets, and called for analysis of expenses and what any possible breaks for commercial developers would cost the city in taxes compared to full value assessments when the developments were completed.


Boykin waded in defending the council budgets, saying,  the Budget and Management Committee attempts to keep the expenses and taxes as low as possible. He said the city negotiated PILOTS (payment in lieu of taxes) from developers worth $12.8 Million, but that they were shared with the county and school district with the city only receiving 20% of the $12.8 Million. What he did not say to answer Corcoran’s policy suggestion on PILOTS computation, was how much those PILOT-wanna-be properties are or will be worth when construction is completed and what the gap between maximum possible real estate tax and the tax their PILOT pays actually would be.


 



Our Budget Director is Missing Alfred Del Vecchio, former Mayor of White Plains (1976-1993) rose from the audience, and challenged the incumbents as to why they continue to operate without a Budget Director, who provided an independent view of the budget. (Ann Reasoner, former Budget Director, left the city for undetermined reasons in June 2006.) Currently only one financial officer prepares the budget and overseas all things financial and that is the Commissioner of Finance, now with the title of Chief Financial Officer (Gina Cuneo-Harwood).


Mr. Power seized the microphone, and jumping on this one, saying, “I agree and disapprove of this (operating without a Budget Director) as well…it (hiring a Budget Director) is still an item in planning. We’e going to force and push for it.


Mr. Stackpole, his eyes gleaming,  said, “I couldn’t agree more.”  He then chided Mr. Boykin and Mr. Power and their colleagues (on the Common Council) for not knowing that the AIM (Aid & Incentives to Muncipalities) $5.7 Million in state aid, required a multi-year budget projection, when it was right in the budget. Referring to the multi-year projections the Council claimed they did not have  (that the Council has professed they had no projections to go on in denying the recently requested ½ % sales tax increase, the same projections published in their entirety by WPCNR), Stackpole  said of the Council, “They’re not doing the job.”


With that, it being 2 PM, the forum ended.


To be continued at the next forum, Monday evening, sponsored by the League of Women Voters at the White Plains Public Library at 7:30 P.M.


 

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Tax Relief: It’s There if You Want It! Mayor Delfino to the Rescue!

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WPCNR QUILL & EYESHADE. News & Comment By John F. Bailey. October 16, 2007:


Happy Days are here again. Mayor Joseph Delfino,  in a letter to the media Tuesday, campaigning for the ½% sales tax increase he has proposed,( which the Common Council has delayed, pending budget information), wrote  “This action would generate more than $10 Million annually, which would relieve the property tax burden on our residents.”  He also stated “It would also pass on the benefits of new development directly to property taxpayers. Ten Million Dollars is equivalent to a 30 percent property tax increase.”


The Mayor is too modest.


From the looks of the 2008, 2009,2010 and 2011 city projections (reported exclusively  last week for the benefit of the deprived Common Council by  yours truly, The CitizeNetReporter)  start a new era for the White Plains taxpayer who has subsidized the White Plains Renaissance and the City School District the last five years.



The city Commissioner of Finance has  devised  budgets going out the next four years, demonstrating the Mayor’s ability to execute a balanced budget without  the ½%  sales tax increase or a hotel tax.


Looking at the budget figures, (you may look at them along with this article by going to http://www.wpcnr.com/images/pdf/wp_101107.pdf),  the city reports to the state several positive things thanks to the Mayor’s “smart finance” that has put together this long range financial planning.


The Mayor and his administration are way too cautionary about this budget. The Mayor said he could not guarantee the budgets last week in another cautionary letter delivering the budgets to Assemblyman Adam Bradley as requested.


 Look what the Mayor’s projections promise:


1.       The ability to cover a 5% increase in salaries, ($71 Million to $81.2 M)  and an 18% increase in employee benefits over the next four years.


Effect: This ensures labor peace and harmony for half a decade. If the projections hold to the mark, this alone sets up Mr. Delfino for a prosperous fourth term beginning in 2010, or presents an orderly house for any successor to take over, positioned for prosperity. The city by their projections has found revenues to pay for this salary growth plus benefit increases,  raising property taxes 7%.


2.       Strategic Management of Certioraris through Debt


 


Effect: By planning to pay off certioraris in the pipeline using bonding, the administration mitigates fund balance depletion and softens property tax impact by finessing a long term problem.


 


This deft debt management, using debt as a revenue producer gives the downtown development and expected new hotel and residents’ influx the time to catch up to the city debt and perhaps surpass it.


 


It is a prudent way of employing the city’s  credit rating to advantage. What good is a good credit rating if you don’t use it?


 


Though debt service doubles, based on the Mayor’s projections, the sales tax without the ½ % increase, is expected to march on an inexorable natural progression of 5%, as predicted by the city, covers this modest increase in debt service


 


Let’s figure it out, class:


 


2005-2006 generated $43 Million in sales tax, growing 5% as the projections predict, that generates $2.2 Million in 2008-2009 easily handling the debt service increase of $587,500 indicated over the next four years.


 


As long as the development continues to pay off, and there is no reason to expect with the swells coming into the Ritz-Carlton, that it will not, the Mayor is betting that the city’s debt rating and the ability to handle the debt will continue to handle anything the city needs to cover of an extraordinary nature.


 


 


3.       PILOT GROWTH adds $4,183,970 to revenues through 2010-2011.


 


Effect: Since each of the 10 PILOT agreements still in effect goes up a projected 7% in payments each year, they add $583,970 to the tax rolls total over the next three years. The $3.6 Million additional difference is counting the $1.2 Million  payments  a year, Nine West and Clayton Park contribute combined to property taxes when those two properties go back on the tax roll in July 2008. (Together they pay  $484,020 this year)


 


The PILOT growth alone takes care of the extra debt service for the certioraris according to the projected budgets.


 


4.       Property Sales End.


 


The budget projections call for $5,000,000 in real property sales this fiscal year and $1,000,000 in each of the next three years which is the 10 Bank Street parking lot, sold as part of the Bank Street 20% Affordable Housing deal.


 


Effect: The city has apparently according to the projections kicked its one-shot habit of selling city assets, another plus for these projections. The Projections call for no other land sales. (Unless of course the railroad station development is put back in play where there could be a sale of land, and no longer a fire sale either.)


 


5.       $99 Million in Authorized Debt. Plenty of Credit Line Left.


 


According to the 2007-2008 budget White Plains may borrow an additional $386 Million based on New York State guidelines. The city currently has $99.2 Million in outstanding indebtedness, up  15.5% due to the bonding for the Longview Avenue Garage in support of the  White Plains Hospital Medical Center and the assisted living facility project at that location. Debt payments are averaging $6 Million a year through 2013 according to the 2007-2008 budget.


 


Effect: the city has plenty of debt availability, while poised on what projections show to be steady revenue growth.


 


The ½ % Sales Tax Increase Request a Timely Opportunity.


 


For years, this commentator and financial aficionados have criticized the Mayor’s financial decisions.


 


The Mayor’s sales tax increase suggestion of ½%  made this spring is an intriguing opportunity for the Mayor to give back to the taxpayers of White Plains who have had faith in his Three Revitalization Plans. They have retained their faith in Mayor Joe despite apparently necessary double-the-rate-of-inflation property tax increases, due, as the Mayor has long pointed out, to certiorari increases.


 


Giveback Time for Taxpayers.


 


As the Mayor alluded to in his letter to the media, the sales tax increase — if the Common Council takes into account and agrees the Mayor’s projections are on solid ground, and (there is no reason why they should not since they approved all the Mayor’s financial decisions) — is an unprecedented opportunity to turn things around on taxes in White Plains.


 


Once again White Plains can take the lead from the hundreds of cities that bleed their populaces due to their lousy financial management and give the White Plains taxpayer meaningful tax relief in real dollars off the top!


 


When originally presented, Ms. Cuneo-Harwood suggested the sales tax


 


·         Would shift the tax burden back to Commercial Sector


·         Would provide structural balance within the City’s budget in conformance with rating agency criteria


·         Replaces Use of One Shots


·         Would allow City’s revenues to grow with increased economic activity without raising property taxes.


·         Would stabilize future property tax rate increases and offset revenue losses due to certioraris “now and into the future.”


·         Would increase the City’s fund balance without raising taxes


 


Now – with the benefit of these new projections – we can do more.


A 30% Tax Cut!


When these goals were presented to make the case for the sales tax, the Council had no idea the city was so well positioned. Obviously the Mayor was being cautious in not being too optimistic and seeing the sales tax increase and hotel tax as benefits the city was entitled to since other cities had higher sales taxes and most cities have hotel taxes. Perfectly understandable.


However, Happy Days Are Here Again! Sales Tax No Longer Needed.


Based on Ms. Harwood’s projections going out the next three fiscal years now made public, and with the sales tax increase justifiably bringing White Plains equal to Yonkers,  Mt. Vernon and New Rochelle, the sales tax increase appears to be no longer needed.


Because White Plains has balanced its budget over the next three years without it.


To wit, this footnote in the budget projections:  If revenue enhancements are approved, plan will need to be modified accordingly and bonded (SIC)  of tax certs will be eliminated.


However, we ask why have the sales tax increase at all, if it is not needed according to the budget projections?


To Give The Tax Payers Relief.


I answer my own question as the Mayor did Tuesday in print: to give the tax payers relief!


Nuts to providing a budget slush fund to build government!


The Mayor in his wisdom is right: cut taxes, don’t keep them where they are.


What is the Common Council waiting for? Just Do It!


Immediately approving the Mayor’s sales tax increase proposal and tying it to property tax cuts is an election sure thing. Mr. Boykin and Mr. Power and Ms. Lecuona nervous about being elected. Move that half per cent and promise a 30% tax cut.


Not only that but all of us who pay taxes would love a 30% Tax Cut. Wouldn’t you?


Once the sales tax kicked in, its revenues could replace the cut in the tax rate.


If you own a $700,000 home in White Plains you’re paying $9,000 in school taxes and $2,500 city taxes. Your city tax would be cut  $730 if the Mayor and Council decreed a 30% tax cut. Should the sales tax windfall be more than the $10 Million the Mayor predicts, he could spread the wealth to cover School Tax Relief, too.


The hotel tax the Mayor has proposed is predicted to bring in $2.5 to $4 Million. This could cut City Taxes even more should the Mayor devote that to cutting taxes too.


It’s a beautiful thing.


The Mayor and Council, should they choose to do so could emerge as America’s bona fide tax-cutting Champs, and the council winding up heroes.


That’s what the city’s projected budgets show they can do. We’re not as bad off as we thought by constructive clever use of debt and revenue trends.


Development will finally pay off big time – every year, with White Plains becoming the place to live, arresting the decline in home prices and making it even more attractive a place to live. Real Estated values will soar!


Delfino to the Rescue of the School District and their Captive Tax Victims.


Other benefits the Mayor and council could use the obviously growing revenue for would be to relieve school taxes by cutting them after the school budget is set. This way the school district would have incentive to cut the budget instead of spending any increase.


The Mayor, of course, should retain control over the amount of the school tax cut. No monies should be turned over to the School District for them to use as they see fit. We know what would happen to them.  Instead the Mayor can simply deduct and order tax refunds on the school tax portion of the resident’s tax bill, making sure tax relief is given to the school tax payer.


This would have an excellent effect, we think on the school budget, and the Mayor’s resident tax refunds from half per cent sales tax revenues would make Governor Spitzer’s enhanced STAR refunds look like pocket change.


 


Of course, the wish list for the revenues to come are many: gang prevention programs for troubled youth which based on the conference I attended yesterday need to build on what the Youth Bureau has started; a new ice rink; and just perhaps, a saner parking fee and enforcement policy.


Now that the Council knows the budget situation – a Windfall Tax Cut as suggested by the Mayor is a “No-Brainer”


 What are they waiting for? Armed with these projections, the council should send Adam Bradley up to Albany in a limo tomorrow to introduce this thing.


 


 This is a once in a generation opportunity for  an administration to reap the benefits of a dynamic and strategically brilliant financial plan, that is  working as we look out to the White Plains future, and to paraphrase Elvis, “Don’t Be Cruel, The future looks bright ahead.Don’t Be Cruel to a Taxpayer That’s Been True. ”


It’s great to live in White Plains!

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Spitzer’s Agenda for the Senate: What’s at Stake.

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WPCNR’S ELIOT SPITZER’S Letter from Albany. By Governor Eliot Spitzer. October 16, 2007: After months of inaction, the Senate Majority has agreed to return to work on October 22nd. Much work from the spring still remains undone:



Senate Majority Returns to Work October 22 to the hallowed confines of the Senate Chamber in Albany.




Wick’s Reform: Reforming Wick’s Law to lower construction costs on public projects is imperative. The failure to act by the State Senate in June has since cost New York taxpayers over $34 million dollars.

Approving Key Appointments: Eighty-seven highly qualified individuals have been nominated to fill critical positions in my administration, yet the Senate Majority refuses to approve their roles. Crucial leadership has been left in limbo in the areas of Energy, Economic Development, Health Care and Transportation.

Cutting off “Albany’s Golden Spigot”: In July, the legislature agreed to major campaign finance reform, yet the Senate has stalled on passing a bill. The changes would lower contribution limits, enhance enforcement, and increase disclosure and transparency in the way campaign funds are raised and spent.

Its time for the Senate Majority to stop playing the politics of self-preservation and start showing the leadership it so ardently claims to possess.

Your legislators are accountable for the work they do—or fail to do—and I encourage you to communicate to them our shared belief that the status quo is simply no longer acceptable. At www.spitzer2010.com, you can contact your legislator and ask them to carry out the people’s business when he or she returns next week.

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County to Bond for $105 Million for Flood Fix, New Safety Building, Lab, Vehicl

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WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From Westchester County Department of Communications. (Edited) October 15, 2007 UPDATED: County Executive Andy Spano today proposed a $105 Million general fund capital projects budget for 2008 year that introduces a five-year, $50-million flood mitigation program. The news release  appears to say the county plans to bond for the entire $105 Million, but does not estimate the total cost over the years to the taxpayers. WPCNR is attempting to clarify whether that is correct. The capital budget has been increased 5.9% for 2008


The plan calls for construction of a new County Department of Public Safety Building for $9 Million; a new “Molecular Diagnostic Lab at Labs and Research in Valhalla ($4.58M) which will add “new technologies” the purpose of which is “helping doctors and hospitals make quicker diagnosis to save lives and protect the public”; rehabilitation of the Department of Emergency Services Main Facility($9M); replacement of windows in the Michaelian Building and 112 East Post Road; purchasing of hybrid buses and 20 electric vehicles and a charging station; $31. 5 Million for the the Refuse Disposal and Sewer Districts; and $3.48 Million for airport capital projects — that do not impact the city budget.  (WPCNR has inquired as to the details.)



“The ravages of last April’s Nor’easter have made it clear that we need to act decisively to protect our communities from flooding,’’ said Spano. “Continued development and changes in weather patterns have left our communities more vulnerable than ever. Areas that never had problems before were devastated last April. Homes and businesses became uninhabitable. Some residents who could least afford it, lost everything. This is an issue that crosses municipal lines and we must focus on possible solutions together.’’


To that end, Spano held a Flood Summit last spring and appointed a Flood Mitigation Task Force to propose solutions. Funds set aside in the capital budget could be used to finance projects recommended by the task force. The amount to be spent on such projects in 2008 awaits the task force’s recommendations.


Bonding for $105 Million



The capital budget proposal, which was delivered to the Westchester County Board of Legislators today, is a spending plan for projects that the county would pay for with bonds. The interest costs of these bonds go into the county’s operating budget as expenses. The costs to Westchester of borrowing are kept relatively low due to the county’s triple-A bond rating, the highest rating possible.


Spano’s proposed budget for operating expenses will be released Nov. 15. The Board of Legislators has until the end of December to adopt it along with the capital projects budget. The proposed capital budget is 5.9 percent higher than last year’s.



The $105 million included in the general purpose capital projects budget includes these highlights:


Public Health and Safety




· Funding for the construction phase of a Molecular Diagnostic Lab at Labs and Research in Valhalla. These latest technologies will identify SARS, tuberculosis, whooping cough, and resistant HIV strains more rapidly, helping doctors and hospitals make quicker diagnosis to save lives and protect the public.


· Funds for construction of a new Public Safety Headquarters Building. (The design phase of this project was provided in previous years.) When the original building was constructed, there were only 60 police officers. Today the department has nearly 300 employees. As the demands increase on the Department of Public Safety to protect the residents in the areas of crime, terrorism and security, more space is needed for it to function properly,” Spano said.


· Funding for the rehabilitation of the Department of Emergency Services’ Main Facility. “By reconfiguring the space for additional program use, more first responders throughout Westchester can be trained to better protect our residents,” Spano said.


Energy Savings




· As part of his commitment to leading by example in the efforts to lower energy costs and fight global warming, the budget proposes funding to replace windows in two of the county government’s oldest building in White Plains: 112 East Post Road and the Michaelian Office Building at 148 Martine Ave.


· Funds to continue purchasing hybrid buses.


Open Space





· Funding of $5 million to continue parkland acquisition through Spano’s multi-year Legacy Program. To date, the program has funded skate parks and ballfields in Yorktown, Yonkers, Port Chester, Rye Brook and White Plains, and the Miracle Field in Hartsdale for disabled children.


Other Funds


Separate budgets for capital projects at the airport (proposed at almost $3.4 3 million) and for sewer, water and refuse districts (proposed at almost $31.5 million) do not impact the county’s operating budget.


Airport projects, funded through the Airport Special Revenue Fund, include upgrades to electric systems and infrastructure, taxiway rehabilitation and the resurfacing of the terminal roadway network



It also includes replacement of over 20 gas and diesel powered vehicles with electric vehicles and the installation of a charging station, addressing both energy savings as well as environmental concerns. (Federal funds for these improvements will be sought.)



· The 2008 Proposed Capital Budget for the Refuse Disposal and Sewer Districts in the requested amount of $31,480,000 provides for the continued infrastructure improvements and rehabilitation of plants, pump station upgrades and equipment replacement. .

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38 Days to Kickoff at Parker Stadium.

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WPCNR PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE DAY. By the WPCNR Roving Photographer. October 14, 1007: The stands have arrived on the husk of old Parker Stadium as the stadium rounds into the homestretch, preparing for the kickoff on Thanksgiving Day, November 22.



Parker Stadium: 38 Days to Kickoff. October 14, 2007


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Greeley’s 3 touchdown strikes in 2nd Quarter, Sink Tigers, 27-7

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WPCNR PRESS BOX. October 13, 2007: White Plains took a 7-6 lead over Horace Greeley in the first minute of the second quarter, and then things went bad. The Quakers mixing up elaborate quarterback draws, counters and getting outside in a hurry behind superb blocking put up three unanswered touchdowns, the second set up by an interception, the third and clinching six coming off a high snap to the White Plains punter that set it up,  to overpower the Tigers, 27-7 at Eastview School.



Mike Howard kicks PAT to Put White Plains ahead 7-6, before Horace Greeley struck for three touchdowns.  Ray Mitchell scored the Tiger touchdown on a 1-yard plunge.


Greeley drove 80 yards in 9 plays, highlighted by a 39 yard run by Joe Yeres to a first and goal on the Tiger 9, followed by an 8 yard touchdown run by Dylan St. John to take a 12-7 lead at the 7:30 mark before the half.


Matt Brophy picked up a Tiger pass at the Greeley 40 on a Tiger 3rd and 8 and returned it to the Tiger 40 with 5 minutes to go. Then  a Brett Garson pass to St. John carried  28 yards to the Tiger 12, and Dylan St. John lugged it in untouched for a 18-7 lead with 4:20  minutes to go. A 2-point conversion lengthened the spread to 20-7.


Next came the Tiger Tamer. With the Tigers facing 4th down on their own 9, a high snap to punter Dan Berroa caused Dan to get the kick off just barely…giving Greeley a first down on the Tiger 24. Not a good thing. On the first play QB Garson hit Brophy leaping high between two Tiger defenders at the 5. Brophy leaped high,  outjumping the double coverage,  making a circus catch and scampered into the end zone to give Greeley a 26-7 lead. With the point, the score was 27-7 at halftime. A long pass to Shavaughn Green at the Greeley 10 was just missed by Shivaugh, leaving the score 27-7 at time ran out. White Plains could not move the ball in the second half.


The Tigers scored their first touchdown keyed by a 15 yard face mask penalty that put them inbusiness at the Greeley 30 yard line. After a run, Maurice Thomas rumbled up the middle to the Quarker 11, a 19 yard ramble.Ray Mitchell carried for a first down on the 1, and scored on the next play. Mike Howard added the point on a kick and the Tigers had a shortlived lead, 7-6 after a minute of the first quarter.



Tigers and Quakers playing in the lengthening shadows of autumn.

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The Real Deal: Wedding Decor

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WPCNR’S THE REAL DEAL By The Wedding Jeannie, Jeannie Uyanik. October 13, 2007:  Décor is boring.  It’s become boring.  Couples have allowed it to be boring.  No one is really doing anything new, innovative, wow or amazing.  That’s the conclusion; let’s rewind a bit to see how we got there and how it MIGHT be fixable.


 



Jeannie Uyanik, Planner to the World


“The Wedding Jeannie”


WPCNR COLUMNIST


 


For every area of the wedding or event industry, there continues to be innovation, modernization, new twists on the old styles, old twists on the new styles and overall movement forward.  Food has gone organic, vegan, international; new flavors, novel presentation methods, and tastes for every palette.  Photography has gone from film to digital and in doing so, we see unbelievable new work constantly; album quality and design has been revolutionized and we see development every day


Locations modernize their space, change the flow of events and attract investment at greater levels than ever before allowing them to constantly improve the properties; there truly is a venue for every occasion and every client if you look hard enough.  As we discussed in last week’s column dress styles for brides, mothers, girls are continually evolving; new materials, patterns, bolder and less opulent all at the same time.  Stationery has led the pack in terms of advancements and modernization with everything from recycled only paper to DVD invitations; the only limit to your invitations and paper goods is your imagination. 

 


 


Then why have flowers and décor remained so stagnant? 


 


If a florist were reading this, I am sure that the first instinct would be to say “absolutely not – we are innovative all the time” – but I officially DARE any designer or florist to show me something new.  Something that really was different from anyone else (and by the way – by new, I mean accessible to the masses – of course, with a million dollar budget for décor, we are all able to achieve greatness). 


 


Seriously though – think about the last event or wedding that you went to where you were really awed in a way that you had never seen before.  And that’s precisely where the problem lies.  A lay person reading this would probably think of a few examples of an event where the décor was outstanding.  How often are you decorating your home or your office with the same budget that you do a large event or wedding – rarely. 


 


So when you compare the possibilities, anything that you see looks amazing.  Any picture looks beautiful because its not something with which you are familiar.  And that’s how the industry has managed to creep along.  Without great innovation, without great fanfare and without anyone really noticing the design industry has endured with the same old same old.  If you were to look at pictures of the last 10 large events that you went to, you would begin to see a pattern; a standard; a mediocrity that even large budgets have difficulty escaping.  So, instead of focusing on the negative, let’s be productive. 


 


How can you escape the décor ennui of the new century? 


 


 First, do your homework – even if you have NO interest in flowers, décor or design – at least go to meetings with your decorators or designers with a solid sense of what you do and do not like.  Choose the colors that you would like represented at your event and use them to tie the event together (from location, to stationary to the day of).  For a wedding, don’t go overboard in the use of colors; they should be accents, not overwhelming flashy reminders that you like pink. 


 


Consider that everything in a location is part of the décor; the linens, the chairs, the place setting, the floors are as important to the look of an event space as the flowers.  Even if you can’t necessarily afford to hand pick all of these items separately (especially if you are having an event at a place that provides standard ware already) at least be cognizant that they do play a role in the way a room looks. 


 


Choose a designer or florist that is willing to work with your whole setting and not just plunk some vases on tables.  I exaggerate of course; rarely do florists plunk anything but be careful not to just pick a florist because you think they have fresh flowers.  For instance, there are some amazing florists in the tri-state area that can make arrangements for retail/carry out sale in unparallel fashion.  But there is not a direct correlation between owning a flower shop and being able to do flowers for a large event. 


 


There are huge hurdles in designing a room, even if only the flowers are involved.


 


You have to have a large enough team to set up quickly; you need to have solid connections for large quantities of flowers and back up people if those do not come in and you need to be able to visualize a large space not just a table.  Use elements of an event to your advantage in planning the décor.  The favors that you put on the table are décor.  Don’t just select packaging or a favor that will not fit in with the rest of your design element. 


 


The Art of Japanese Flower Arrangement


 


A wedding that we executed with an unsubstantial budget received high acclaim because we implemented an ikebana décor scheme.  Wikipedia describes this Japanese art of flower arrangement in the most precise terms,


 


 “In contrast to the massing of blooms typical of flower arrangement in western countries, Japanese flower arrangement is based on the line of twigs and/or leaves, filled in with a small number of blooms. The container is also a key element of the composition. The structure of a Japanese flower arrangement is based on a scalene triangle delineated by three main points, usually twigs, considered in some schools to symbolize heaven, earth and man.” 


 


While the budget for décor was minimal, the result was extraordinary because most people had never seen this style of arrangement and also because we used elements of the bride’s South African heritage to personalize every aspect of the design – there was no plunking of flowers at this event!    You have to think outside the box and complacency in simply picking out an arrangement that you see in a book will continue the lethargy that seems to have taken hold of the wedding and event floral industry for the past 8 years. 


 


And in terms of creativity and innovation for flowers and décor en masse, I will leave this to the design experts.  I simply plan the events, but I am excited and waiting for the next “big idea” in design for events where budgets are not at $250,000 just for the flowers.  I would welcome the opportunity to see something new – and hopefully, this little piece can inspire a revolution. 


 


Note: Got a question or a comment for the Wedding Jeannie? Ms. Uyanik will answer your questions. Simply e-mail her at weddinggenie@candgweddings.com

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Forever Phantom: Charismatic Phantom, Incandescent Christine Light Up Night

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WPCNR CENTERSTAGE. Review by John F. Bailey. October 11, 2007: The first time you hear Kate Rockwell’s shimmering and haunting voice as Christine Daee, you are enchanted. Your first sight of Aaron Ramey as Westchester Broadway Theatre’s new Phantom of the Opera commands you with his magnetism, machismo and tortured soul. Together their romantic chemistry deliver an emotional Phantom that never lets go of your heart and builds to an emotionally draining climax you will not soon forget. It was a Phantom Night! Driving rain. Lightning in the sky, fitting for a return of the Phantom to the Westchester Broadway Theater. Tonight the lightning was on stage!



Aaron Ramey, The Phantom, and Kate Rockwell as Christine, the lovers of WBT’s new Phantom.  The Phantom is ferrying Christine across the lagoon in Act II. The two performers bring out the best in each other. Photos by John Vecchiola, Courtesy, WBT


Phantom, arriving at WBT this week is not the Phantom of Broadway fame. It’s greater. You leave The Phantom of the Opera as seen on Broadway, and you’re talking about the effects and the great songs. When you walk out into the night after WBT’s Phantom, you’re talking about the incredible voices of Ms. Rockwell and Mr. Ramey, made to sing with each other. You’re overwhelmed by the power of a classic denouement. Ms. Rockwell and Mr. Ramey’s voices blend. They soar. Their duets touch deep into the soul. The electricity of them crackles in the theatre as the fate of the doomed couple is played out in what for one night, the WBT becomes the Paris Opera House.





Kate Rockwell assumes the adult role as Christine Daee, the opera ingenue in Maury Yeston’s and Arthur Kopit’s Phantom. Known as a finalist on NBC’s Grease: You’re the One that I Want, Ms. Rockwell, after seeing her tonight, should never rock and roll again. She is born to play the Christine role, and all the great musical roles, for that matter. In the program notes, she described Christine as her dream role. Well she gave it all she had tonight. As did her debonair Phantom. 



Christine is Discovered, singing her own songs on the streets of Paris. From this opening number, Ms. Rockwell captures you and never lets you go.



Ms. Rockwell has it all: range with a confident finesse and control, flowing, sparkling out into the theatre; essence: this woman takes you from the depths of pity to the height of hope to the “stuff that dreams are made of,” with her stop-you-in-your-tracks voice; credibility: her sense of movement, her expressions, her warmth and way with the lyricist’s words, make hers a voice that you will fall for too, as Eric, the doomed Phantom does.


You never tire of hearing Ms. Rockwell and you‘re going to hear her a lot.



Aaron Ramey creates a Phantom any woman would fall in love with. He is a mystery man. His Phantom as created by the writer Arthur Kopit, is a person, not a cutout. From his first appearance, you sense the contradictions within. Tortured. Lonely. Needy. Enigmatic. Roguishly attractive. Every woman loves this kind of guy. His voice commands. The power baritone articulates raw rage, anxiety, desire, pity, despair that grips you, makes you care about him. Ramey creates a monster, unbalanced, but with a heart, who captures Christine’s heart. Here they perform “Lessons” 


When he hears Christine Daee for the first time , she is putting away costumes at the opera house. He is taken by her voice because, as you will learn her voice reminds him of his mother. He offers to teach her and train her voice. And Christine’s love for him grows. Is it his air of mystery? Is it what he teaches her? Will we ever know?


His duet with Ms. Rockwell at the conclusion of Act I, “Home,” and again with her in the beautiful “You Are Music” (such a true song) are magical and well-acted too! You hang on their every phrase.



After a patron of the opera hears Christine sing on the streets of Paris in the opening extravaganza, he suggests she join the opera for singing lessons. However the opera has just been purchased by the Diva, Carlotta, (above) played by Sandy Rosenberg with Cruella De Ville menace and comic grotesqueries, who plans to sing all the lead roles herself. Carlotta persuades her husband Joseph (Gary Marchek) to dismiss Gerard Carriere, played by James Van Treuren who has been protecting Eric (The Phantom) for years while Eric has lived in the catacombs of the Opera House. The audience will discover why in the melodramatic conclusion.



Van Treuren and Ramey perform an amazing duet in Act II that will not leave a dry eye in the house. Van Treuren is a terrific WBT standby whom this reviewer saw step in as understudy a role in the WBT production Kiss Me Kate, when the lead could not go on. He was so seamless in going on that night, this reporter did know the difference. He handles his scene with Eric when they both sing “You Are My Own” with such elan, pathos and again, credibility holding his emotional own against the tortured Phantom. It is one of the most emotional scenes you will see.


Act II of this Phantom takes a great Act I to a higher level, simply lifting you up. Most musicals, the second act is just a wrap-up. Not this show. Act II, you have to fasten your seatbelts for action, hold tight to your heartstrings, and pine with the star-crossed Christine and Eric.


There is plenty of action in this Phantom. After Eric the Phantom takes revenge for Christine’s disastrous opening night as The Fairy Queen, he takes her to his lair beneath the opera house.


There the two perform their most touching duet, Ms. Rockwell singing My True Love, and Mr. Ramey delivering (to thunderous lasting ovation), My Mother Bore Me, and Christine. This sequence is a tour de force of emotion for Mr. Ramey and the audience paid homage!


Ms. Rockwell duets well when she does not have her stage soulmate, Mr. Ramey as her foil.


She performs a coquettishly Cole Porteresque number with the handsome opera patron after her big debut at The Bistro at the end of Act I. At the Bistro, her singing is carefully choreographed by the Phantom, her mentor. Her foil is the debonair Michael Padgett as Count Philippe, who is smitten with her peformance. Together they sing, “Who Could Ever Have Dreamed Up You”. I loved this song and Cole Porter would loved to have written it


The Chase is On.


And then the chase for the Phantom is on. Into the catacombs. Into the catwalks. Across the lagoon under the streets of Paris. Across the ingenious tricks of staging put together by the resident geniuses at WBT, George Puello and Steven Loftus with lighting effects that create a Bistro, the Opera House, explosions, and of course, the flying chandelier, thanks to Lighting Designer Andrew Gmoser.


This production of the Phantom ran for nine months at WBT in 1992. This new version is fast-moving. With no lulls. A realistic book with real dialogue, not just a bridge between songs. The songs in the show fit in nicely with the book and all are appropriate and complex. You have to listen carefully to get the words, but so commanding is the style of Mr. Ramey and Ms. Rockwell and their outstanding company, you do.


My companion who saw the original version of this show in 1992 thought it was as good, and better than the original.


I commend the orchestra tonight, a little larger than the usual WBT ensemble, with twelve musicians including Musical Director/Conductor Patrick Kelley. This orchestra delivered soundtrack interludes to punctuate the drama of the action, much like a movie soundtrack — with a just-right decibel level that did not overwhelm the stage action. They gave you strings, reeds, bass, a completely different sound that created the feel of opera. They were so good they blended , meshed and laid a musical bed that offered the show to the audience, not overwhelmed it.



Christine is discovered at The Bistro in Act I, while the Phantom, her Svengali, looks on from the balcony.


For more on Phantom, which plays through Thanksgiving, and returns again from December 27 through February 9 at the WBT, go to their website at www.broadwaytheatre.com. Or call 914-592-2222.


This is one of the few shows that got a thunderous ovation at the conclusion of the first act.


I loved this Phantom.


So did its composer and lyricist, Maury Yeston.


The WBT Producer and Co-Owner Bill Stutler introduced Maury Yeston, as a guest of the WBT on press night. Mr. Yeston at intermission was heard and seen by this reporter, shaking his head in admiration, saying


“That girl is just terrific.”

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Complete City Financials On File With the State For the Record

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BULLETIN:


WPCNR FOR THE RECORD. From the Department of the Budget. New York State. October 11, 2007 UPDATED 5:10 PM EDT:  The WPCNR NewsLab has created a printable version of the documents shown in the first edition of this article, for those wishing their own personal copies of the projected White Plains 2008 through 2011 forecast budgets filed with the Department of the Budget….


Simply click on this link: http://www.wpcnr.com/images/pdf/wp_101107.pdf


Though the Mayor has released the forecast portion of the financial statements on file with the Department of the Budget, there is more to the documents. The city supplied a complete accounting of revenue sources and expenses. WPCNR, as a public service to those councilpersons and state legislators and citizens who have not had access to these projections to date, herewith publishes these missing pages. The first page is the Projections page, already published:



 





The footnotes read:


Fiscal year 2007-2008 represents 2007-08 proposed budget.


Property tax rate assumed at 7% each year, assessment roll assumed to remain at current $289.9 Million with the exception of additional assessments as indicated below.


Property tax increased 10% in fiscal year 2008-2009 to account for two PILOTS returning to the Assessment roll.


In accordance with the City Charter, succeeding year revenues cannot be budgeted above prior year actual totals. As such fund balance is budgeted, but not used.


Other Debt proceeds reflects the potential bonding of certain tax certs in fiscal year 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 subject to Common Council approval. This will only be done if needed.


Debt service payments for potential bonding of tax certs included in the event that the financing does occur.


The City currently has various new revenue initiatives in the development stage that are not included in this Plan.


If revenue enhancements are approved, plan will need to be modified accordingly and bonded(SIC) of tax certs will be eliminated.


Parking Rate increases in 2007-2008 and 2010-11 per City Policy




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