White Plains CitizeNetReporter - Should Developer/City Meetings on Potential Development Be Public/Televised?

WPCNR MR. AND MRS. AND MS. WHITE PLAINS POLL. MARCH 31, 2012: One way of assuring that the public has the opportunity to know about agreements or the potential for agreements between developers and the city is for the city to make all meetings with developers to discuss changes in properties that would affect neighborhoods, city blocks, etc., or grant special privileges for developers is for the city to make such meetings public or televised. No exceptions. For years developers come in, charm commissioners see what their objections are and tailor plans accordingly, the public is the last to know, except for possibly some neighborhood association personalities. It is a clubby atmosphere with representatives interacting with city officials in a cooperative, "chummy" way and reasons not to do things not considered too carefully so as to block the project. The public (as the city argument for private developer meetings goes), has its chance at public hearings. But, sadly many proposals such as the 5-day "accelerated" approval of city $17 Million to rebuild the Lyon Place garage for the Esplanade at taxpayer expense, never get weighed in on by the public. Not once did the city even say this garage had an average of x amount of spaces occupied when it was open, and generated this amount of dollars -- to prove the garage was needed. Instead the city just decided to do it. l The garage has been closed two years. All the bars on Mamaroneck and merchants on East Post Road can easily use the Maple Garage. That's what people have been doing. We do want a walkable city don't we? Perhaps the most hilarious aspect of this burning of $17 Million is the city is electing to pend $17 Million on a new garage it is leasing for 99 years and will have to be rebuilt in 25 years maybe. This is a leadership in the city that felt spending $9 Million to buy a country club (of 100 acres) and retaining control over what happens there was not a good idea. The country club was resellable -- no one is going to buy that garage. If the garage is such a profitable concern why doesn't a major parking concession offer to put it up for the Esplanade? If the city is so concerned about parking, why not tell Esplanade to buy parking from the Westchester and the Westchester Pavilion or close? Where is the whistle blower on this deal? Well, too often lately we are just deciding to do things "for the good" of whomever without rational thought. How is the debt service going to be paid? A way to get plans out from the cloak of secrecy before they slide on past a naive and lazy common council (who if they have knowledge beforehand are just not doing their due diligence), with careless Common Council review, if the council reviews them with a critical eye at all, is to make these developer "hey, we want to do this meetings" public. Ideally such meetings should be televised and made available on the website. By the way, the $17 Million Esplanade bailout is going to be approved Monday evening,so FOILING for the garage numbers...would be too late. What does Mr. and Mrs. White Plains think? Tell the city fathers what you think in the poll at the right.


Create an account		The White Plains Daily Internet Newspaper...Founded 2000 A.D....


			Designed and hosted by WestchesterInternet.com