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WPCNR THE SUNDAY BAILEY. News Commentary by John F. Bailey. September 9, 2007: I feel like Captain Renault, played by Claude Rains in Casablanca. When Rick Blaine, played by Humphery Bogart, frustrates Renault’s attempt to blackmail Jan Brandel, a young woman with her fiancé, seeking a Letter of Transit to escape 1942 Casablanca, Renault closes up Rick’s gambling operation in a fit of pique, saying
“I’m shocked, simply shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!” (Then he’s handed his winnings in the movie.)
This reporter is shocked, simply shocked there’s an election going on here.
Twelve days before two incumbent Councilpersons (Benjamin Boykin and Dennis Power) are running in a Democratic Primary they publish a letter in the press this week vowing to fight the Request for Qualifications procedure to start possible station development, already in process.
Note to voters: Your ever-vigilant council could have killed the RFQ two weeks ago when they could have said, “I’m shocked, simply shocked you’d bring this proposal back.”
Two of the councilpersons followed the letter up with a selected mailing to registered Democrats delivered this weekend asking the rhetorical question
“Is this your vision for White Plains? Exclusivity Agreement. No Citizen Input. Developer’s Vision”
The flip side of the followup flyer to their White Plains Times announcement plays the headline:
Lecuona, Boykin and Power don’t think so,” and claims they will promote “Balanced Development,” “Open Space,” “Workforce Housing,” “Protecting Neighborhoods,” “Keeping property taxes down,” “Citizen Input: Open Government,” and “Integrity,” signing off with the earnest promise, “Real Democrats With a Real Vision for White Plains”
The strong two-pronged attack is obviously aimed at charming the Democratic voter who does not remember the vote for the LCOR Bank Street project (spring 2007); the vote for the 221 Main project; the vote for the city budget (a 7% increase with no cuts); the vote on the North Street Community 6-1, with one sanctimonious vote by Mr. Power that meant nothing, against; the acceptance of certiorari payments the last five years that were all unanimous; the PILOTS they’ve approved despite one councilman’s assurances (Mr. Boykin) that they are the same payments as if the developer was paying taxes, without grilling the assessor for assessment projections– that have made White Plains a developer’s sandbox. And there’s more: the vote to sell Railsidei was 4-3, with Mr. Boykin being the swing man with the deciding vote.
The letter saying how the council would fight the RFQ proposal seems disingenuous of the “Real Democrats” coming two weeks after the council learned about the RFQ proposal, and when the Democrats on August 23, did not say a word of protest about the RFQ then.
What is so funny about the Is This Your Vision for White Plains? Piece is the Democratic candidates have no vision. They go with the flow.
And, as the past has proven, when the voters have a vision, all the council ignore it – unless they figure if they vote for something – it could cost them the voters who have been reelecting this kind of councilperson for years.
(They voted down the 60 acres of park from New York Presbyterian Hospital, because they listened to a selfish vision of persons they were very familiar with. You cannot blame that irretrievable loss on Mr. Power or Ms. Lecuona, but you can certainly blame it on Rita Malmud and Benjamin Boykin, who is running.)
This sort of selective concern just before election is nothing new.
The tone of the White Plains Times letter and the tone of the followup piece sound a lot like Claude Rains’ as Captain Renault, saying: “I’m shocked, simply shocked to find out that gambling is going on here,” only the council four are saying – “I’m shocked, simply shocked to find out there is development going on here. Did we approve that? We had no idea.”
Because they did approve it all.
The development of the future they now claim in the future will be “Balanced Development.” So they are admitting the development to date has been unbalanced and reckless? Shouldn’t the intelligent voter throw them out if they knowingly did not examine the balance issue in the past?
Now affordable housing has become workforce housing, which sounds so touchy feely. I particularly like the Protecting Neighborhoods line. Mr. Boykin and Ms. Malmud(who is not running September 12), really listened to the North Broadway Civic Association, didn’t they when that organization asked for a park on the AT& T parking lot instead of 14 stories of Avalon Bay? They really listened to the Railside neighbors, didn’t they? And they have not paid attention to the toxic dump at all
Mr. Power, who is running, and Mr. Boykin, who is running, paid no attention to the TCE-polluted city dump situation, never grilling the Commissioner of Public Works on the situation – never demanding the Commissioner move immediately to clean it up, regardless of what the DEC says.
Power and Boykin (the incumbents) have also not lobbied the county hard for sewer fixes to prevent future problems in the Beverly Road area, which is particularly interesting because Power recently transferred to the Department of Environmental Facilities fo r the county, and he is in a unique position to lobby for the city for the county to fix their small pipes which Commissioner Nicoletti blames the problem on. In fact, Mr. Power according to recent reports says he is overseeing county efforts on global warming. He should add to his interests, local flooding.
Politicians never fight for you until just before elections.
Reporters present understood exactly what the RFQ was. Does it take our slow learners on the Common Council two weeks to read a document.? (At least they read it.)
However, Mr. Roach and Mr. Boykin, Mr. Hockley, Mr. Bernstein, Ms. Malmud and Mr. Power have all been impressed with the Cappelli proposal for Station Square. The RFQ specifications describe various versions of the Station Square project.
Councilman Glen Hockley speaking to WPCNR said that after the Council 4 (Messrs. Roach, Boykin, Power, and Ms. Malmud) published their letter in the White Plains Times, that he felt this was simply politics.
Hockley also advanced the information Friday that Paul Wood, the City Executive Officer, had told him there could be one, two, or three Designated Redevelopers chosen after the $3 Million study is done. This appears to be a way for the Council 4 to change their present opposition on November 7, and justify their reviving the proposal, one day after the general election.
This presumes this show of anti-development zeal is enough to beat back the challenges of the present “swingman” on the Common Council, Arnold Bernstein, and the challenger, Candyce Corcoran.
Ms. Lecuona, who replaced the incumbent Bernstein on the Democratic nomination, is obviously being groomed to swing the balance of power away from Mayor Delfino by filling the role of voting with Roach, Power, Malmud and Boykin. Bernstein is being vilified for voting with the Mayor.
This is interesting because Benjamin Boykin has voted with the Mayor a lot. Mr. Bernstein and Mr. Hockley, have trumped the professed anti-development forces of Mr. Roach, Mr. Power and Ms. Malmud, with Benjamin Boykin joining right with them.
Perhaps the voters should be told to vote against Mr. Boykin, too – if the Democrat literature was consistent.
This is all about getting rid of the swingman, Mr. Bernstein. However it would appear that Mr. Bernstein has not been the only swingman to side with development. Mr. Boykin has done that too.
When you look at the record it is wonderful to note that 12 days before Mr. Boykin and Mr. Power are facing a challenge, they are suddenly born again as “real democrats.”
Where was the Democratic council “foresight, courage, and intelligence and vision” the last four years when they let our property taxes soar, our budget balloon, our infrastructure fall into question, and parking enforcement drive residents out of the downtown?
Frankly, I’m shocked, simply shocked to see they finally are coming to their senses, at least until after they are officially on the ballot, then officially reelected.
When they are, I look forward to a budget increase in 2008-2009 limited to inflation; labor settlements in line with inflation this time; more candor on what developments are being thought about; studies of city potential, paid for by the city; an end to subsidies for developers building workforce housing; extended parking hours; an end to the parking ticket blitz; a certiorari penalty to make it a little less attractive to file a certiorari; and let’s see a Budget and Finance Committee that meets once a month instead of after the budget is presented.
I’m shocked, simply shocked to realize when you look at the “Real Democrats” campaign promises this week. They seem quite different from the way they voted the last four years.
