Toast of the Town. Letters to the Editor.  October 2, 2008:

What Did White Plains Get for Sticking Renamba into  Saxon Woods ?

October 2, 2008

John,

What did WP get in return for okaying this entrance/exit? What stormwater control measures or other infrastructure needs were to be taken care of by the developer? Road work? Rain gardens/detention areas/permeable surfaces? Did we get ANYTHING?

 Saxon Woods Drive is already a bypass and heavily used street during rush hours and bus hours. Wow - you don't ask - you don't get. I wonder how this will affect property values also -usually increased  traffic on resd. streets = decline in adjacent residential property values - no one wants to live on busy streets, more in particularly Saxon Woods Rd, where the two lanes of traffic come awfully close to each other and traffic has to slow to 5-10 mph many times.

This was a sharp stick in our outlying residential non core street eye.

Dan Seidel

And You wonder Why Americans have no Confidence? $19 Million for 3 Weeks Work!

And you wonder WHY Americans have no confidence in the US or their government?
 
This CEO  for Washington Mutual (as well as the CEOs for Bear Stearns, etc)  should be charged under RICO  (Racketeering & Corrupt Organizations statute) and be properly tried for fraud, embezzlement, criminal conspiracy. Guilty= confiscation of all property & jail sentence. 
 
(Horsewhipping naked through the streets would be appropriate as well)
 
Why fight in Iraq when the 'Real Enemy' is right here, at home??? 

(To wit --)
 
The best temp gig in history

On the Tappan Zee: Too Many in Government, Being Paid Too Much Who Do Too Little...

September 28, 2008

 On Friday state officials, after 11 years of effort starting with the Vollmer
study begun in 1997, announced that the Tappan Zee Bridge needed to be
replaced.  Don't misunderstand, 11 years did not get us a bridge design, a mass
transit plan, or even a completed DEIS.  What we did get was information that
we could have gotten from 6 guys in an afternoon for the price of lunch.

They also raised concerns about paying for the $16 billion project, yet keep in
mind that $33.9 billion has been programmed for four NYC projects such as the
2nd avenue subway; and that the estimated annual cost of maintaining our
existing regional transportation system (highways, mass transit, bridges) is $25.5
billion.

There is no way to analyze this process and not come to the conclusion that we
have entirely too many people in Albany earning entirely too much money, and
doing entirely too little.

-2) The US Treasury Inspector General just reported that an audit discovered
that there were 1,811 unauthorized servers connected to the IRS network that
were being used for other than business purposes.

-3) When you are driving a couple of extra miles to save $.05/gallon on gas, or
turning off lights to save a couple of bucks on your electric bill realize that none
of that would be necessary if our government had not gleefully spent
trillions of dollars.

The people with their hands the deepest in your pockets are not the
undocumented aliens,  the eco-terrorists, or the religious fanatics, but the people
in Albany and Washington who have drained more wealth out of our homes and
savings than any previous disaster in the history of this country.

Don Hughes

WPCNR MR. & MRS. & MS. WHITE PLAINS VOICE. September 16, 2006: Assemblyman George Latimer of White Plains neighboring Assembly District, makes this observation:

WPCNR MR. & MRS. & MS. WHITE PLAINS VOICE. September 13, 2006: The Executive Director of the White Plains Downtown Business Improvement District writes WPCNR:

WPCNR MR. & MRS. & MS. WHITE PLAINS VOICE. September 13, 2006: A reader reports on the results of his claim filed with Con Edison requesting a refund for food spoilage from the July 18 storm:

JUST WOULD LIKE YOU TO KNOW, CON ED DOES NOT REIMBURSE FOR FOOD SPOILAGE. I DOWNLOADED FORM, SUBMITTED FORM ALONG WITH REGISTER RECEIPT FOR SPOILAGE THAT OCCURED BACK IN JULY. MY POWER WAS OUT FOR 3 DAYS.

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WPCNR MR. & MRS. & MS. WHITE PLAINS VOICE. September 13, 2006: A reader questions conflict of interest criticisms of Councilman Dennis Power:

John,

Doesn't it seem quite odd that many ill informed people are raising this red herring of "conflict of interest" for Dennis Power and THEY (they can you know!!)  have NOT requested an ethics opinion from ANYONE? Please tell these people to consult the law books and Opinions of the Attorney General.

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WPCNR MR. & MRS. & MS. WHITE PLAINS VOICE. September 13, 2004: A reader springs to the defense of Councilman Dennis Power:

John-

I'm reading these childish and empty accusations by Mr. Roth and "The Dirt" (or should his name be "Dirt-filled?") against Councilman Power, and ask these gentlemen one question:

What is wrong with providing needed housing for our Seniors?

Maybe armchair City Planners like Roth and Dirt should open their eyes and realize that progress isn't made by closing off communication between City and County, but by leaving it open.

I imagine that when they are old and gray, they'll want someone fighting for their needs as Councilman Power is doing now.

And for Mr. Roth to accuse anyone of "giving away to developers," I ask if he's pointed the same attack towards the Delfino-Cappelli relationship? There's a lot more substance behind that.

It appears to me and many others that Mr. Power is not a liability to the Council, but an asset.  We'll only make progress when chronic complainers like Roth and Dirt see it that way.

WPCNR MR. & MRS. & MS. WHITE PLAINS VOICE. September 13, 2006: A reader registers his dissappointment with the Common Council appointment of Dennis Power:

Dear Editor,

It has recently come to my attention that Dennis Power has yet to seek the opinion of the City of White Plains Ethics Committee, despite his clear and present conflict of interest. Mr. Power works for the County Executive, is paid with IDA money, and yet still thumbs his nose at those of us interested in doing things the right way. What arrogance! Is this the way that the City of White Plains wants to be viewed? As a place where anything goes? I am ashamed that the members of the Common Council made this appointment without assurances that a qualified candidate, free of conflict, was the person chosen to represent us. It goes to show you that politics in the small cities can be just as ugly and shameful as what happens in Washington DC.

Shame on you all!

TheDirt

WPCNR MR. & MRS. & MS. WHITE PLAINS VOICE. September 12, 2006: A reader reflects on another reader's "report on Saturday, September 9:"

To me the increased police presence is typical reactionary policing not preventative policing.  Why did it take such an outcry to finally get police in the downtown area?  Now that they are there, en mass, will they stay for the long run, I hope so. 

I think if they were there in the first place these problems would not have come to this.  Their presence prevents problems from escalating and gives the public a good sense of security.  I'm just glad that they read your column.

You see how citizen outcry can make a difference?  Remember that at the election polls.  Now how about Ferris Avenue?  Another shooting, is the city as safe as we were led to believe?  The cops are great, they do what they are told and they do it well.  It's the managers that need lessons.

WPCNR MR. & MRS. & MS. WHITE PLAINS VOICE. September 12, 2006: A reader notes that Dennis Power, White Plains interim Common Councilman, made an appearance at the County Board of Legislators Monday evening in support of his employer, County Executive Andy Spano's HANAC affordable senior citizen project on the Grand Avenue, Quarropas and Court Street parking lot:

WPCNR MR. & MRS. & MS. WHITE PLAINS VOICE. September 12, 2006: A candidate for Common Council, opposing political appointee Dennis Power, designated to fill deceased Councilman Robert Greer's term through December 31, writes on the success of curfews in curbing youth violence and exuberance across America:

Dear Mr. Bailey,

I have devoted my entire career to educating, nurturing and dealing with our society’s greatest asset: our children.  In my career, I have witnessed families and children overcome incredible obstacles in their lives to attain their personal version of the American dream, whether it was a college education, becoming a hero firefighter or policeman, or starting their own business. 

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WPCNR MR. & MRS. & MS. WHITE PLAINS VOICE. September 12, 2006: A candidate for the Common Council in the Special Election of November 5, responds to the curfew discussion developed on WPCNR:

Dear Mr. Bailey,

I have devoted my entire career to educating, nurturing and dealing with our society’s greatest asset: our children.  In my career, I have witnessed families and children overcome incredible obstacles in their lives to attain their personal version of the American dream, whether it was a college education, becoming a hero firefighter or policeman, or starting their own business. 

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WPCNR MR. & MRS. & MS. WHITE PLAINS VOICE. September 12, 2006: An observer and critic of the downtown ambience in White Plains, files this report about the police presence Saturday, September 9:

I've written a few times concerning the lack of security in the downtown and just want to report what I saw this past Saturday night.

Apparently the Mayor, Police and Mr. Cappelli monitor your site. I spent 4 hours strolling the downtown from Starbucks to Mamaroneck Ave... all the way to the Fire House and back from 8pm to almost midnight. There were police EVERYWHERE. Numerous police cars (marked and unmarked) constantly driving up and down Mamaroneck Ave. There were also MANY police walking the beat... usually in pairs... mostly within a 2 block radius of City Center. Quite a few sirens could be heard Saturday night. There were also a number of City Center security people standing in front of the main City Center Entrance keeping the sidewalk clear most of the time.

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WPCNR MR. & MRS. & MS. WHITE PLAINS VOICE. September 12, 2006: A reader who frequents the City Center and noted increased police presence outside the City Center marquee Saturday night (5 uniformed officers), writes:

John,

At the moment these youngsters tend to gather around the fountains and the City Center marquee entrance.

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WPCNR'S THE FEINER REPORT. By Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner. September 12, 2006: After the July storm Con Ed ratepayers who were out of power  were promised refunds. Many ratepayers were deprived of electricity for three, four or five days.  I received the attached e mail from the NY State Public Service Commission Chair indicating that ratepayers could  file a claim for the maximum amount of $350 for food spoiled due to lack of refrigeration. This letter was dated September 7, 2006. The letter indicated that receipts are not necessary.

Yesterday I received a number of letters and calls from constituents indicating that they received letters from Con Ed indicating that their claims for the July storm Con Ed outages were denied.

I recall (and others recall) that promises were made after the storm indicating that Westchester ratepayers were entitled to refunds. What is going on? Why is Con Ed denying people refunds when we were told we could  get refunds earlier this summer? Are we being conned?

I will be reaching out to Con Ed, the NY State Public Service Commission, Westchester officials demanding that ratepayers who lost power be reimbursed –as had been promised.

PAUL FEINER

Greenburgh Town Supervisor

WPCNR MR. & MRS. & MS. WHITE PLAINS VOICE. September 12, 2006: A reader suggests more citizens use the downtown and make it their own:

There is an old saying that there is strength in numbers.  It is very a much a true saying.  If there is one thing to remember when bad social epidemics start occur it is this:  There are far more law abiding citizens than there are those wish to promote chaos. 

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