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Thursday, November 2, 2023

Affordable Housing: #1 issue. Really? REALLY!?

 You can't make up stuff like this. I received in the mail:












Five numbered issues are prominently listed and number one is

"Expand Affordable Housing".

Question for Candidates Forum for White Plains Common Council 10/25/2023. Tuesday, October 24, 2023

Of the seven (including the mayor) current Common Council members, I think only John Martin and Rich Payne live in apartments. White Plains is generally controlled by house owners outnumbering apartment dwellers by an even larger proportion on the council. It's been that way for at least the last half century.
_______________________________________

I may be paraphrasing but I recall candidate 
Jeremiah Frei-Pearson said at the "Candidates Forum" that Affordable Housing is a national crisis. At this Democratic party link: "He lives in the Gedney Farms neighborhood of White Plains."

The other two candidates above also live in single family houses away from downtown.

Affordable housing hypocrisy expands. Saturday, April 13, 2019

Common Council members should send us a Candygram when they implement affordable housing policy which actually puts their skin in the game: "affordable people" live near them and CC members actually subsidize affordable housing policy themselves...

The Common Council members all live in houses in the suburbs of White Plains and so are not directly affected. The last thing they want is an affordable person moving into the house next to theirs...

First of all, it's affordable apartments...

House owners do not have 10% of the houses on their block occupied by "affordable housing" people. Nor are they paying more in property taxes to make up for "affordable housing" people paying less...

The "market rate" renters in the other 90% of apartments are making up the difference.

________________________________________

It's my understanding that 12 percent is now the top requirement for the number of apartments in a new development that must be "affordable".

At the "Candidates Forum" they expressed concern that police officers and fire fighters cannot afford to live in White Plains. There's an obvious common sense solution: pay them more money. But then residents living in houses would have their taxes increased and nothing about Affordable Housing policy ever does anything to do that. Only residents renting in apartment buildings pay the difference to subsidize Affordable Housing. Plus, maybe some recent condominiums but the newest condo was built around 2006. Everything since then are rental buildings, most of which are expensive.

Tuesday, October 24, 2023

Question for Candidates Forum for White Plains Common Council 10/25/2023.

At the Library.

NO QUESTIONS WILL BE TAKEN FROM THE FLOOR
How You can Submit Questions for the candidates:

____________________

from: Kenneth Matinale
to: alancass3@gmail.com
date: Oct 24, 2023, 4:17 PM
subject: Forum Question

To:
Alan Cass
88 GRANDVIEW AVE.
WHITE PLAINS NY 10605
1 FAMILY RES


From:
Kenneth Matinale
*********
White Plains, NY 10601

My question is in bold below.

Of the five candidates, four live in a one family house. Enrique Jinite was not found in the 2023 Final-Assessment-Roll. See below.

Of the seven (including the mayor) current Common Council members, I think only John Martin and Rich Payne live in apartments. White Plains is generally controlled by house owners outnumbering apartment dwellers by an even larger proportion on the council. It's been that way for at least the last half century.

Would you favor districts for each of the six council members to ensure that the majority of resident citizens who live in apartments are represented?

Currently council members are elected at large, unlike the legislatures of New York State and the United States of America.

Jeremiah Frei-Pearson (D)
17 Seymour Place 10605 house

Enrique Jinite (R) not found

Charles Lederman (R)
9 WILLOWBROOK RD 10605 house

Victoria Presser* (D)
112 ALEXANDER AVE 10606 house

Jennifer Puja* (D)
11 SAMMIS LANE 10605 house
_______________

Note: I stopped by the library this afternoon to look at the flyer about tomorrow's Candidates Forum. None had been posted. The person at the front desk had to look at the library website to get some idea of what I was talking about. I facetiously said it must be a private meeting.

Apparently that's the case. Those who need to know are aware of it and will show up for their periodic reinforcement of their control of the City of White Plains, which is out of any proportion to their numbers based on type of residence. Fleecing apartment dwellers and shaking down developers over affordable housing, not to be confused with what it actually is: affordable apartments, away from the houses of those who run White Plains.

Monday, June 12, 2023

Is the 554 page 2015 Transit District Report typical of what's to come?

ONE White Plains documents - hidden on the city website. Monday, June 12, 2023

2015 Transit District Report 554 pages ...

CONSOLIDATED PLAN 2020-2024 148 pages

____________________

The document is a bloated and pretentious mess. Worst of all is that, aside from a new apartment building under construction, the train station and its surrounding area remain the same dysfunctional mess they've been for decades.

The changes to the train station:

1. Corrected bad original design.

2. Made up for three decades of neglect.

Try walking down Barker Avenue, which turns into Water Street for some reason, to the train station. It gets worse the closer you get. You're faced with the same ridiculous array of confusing entry and exit lanes. It's dangerous to walk cross Ferris Avenue. It's the same as before.

There's still no plan for the surface parking lots. Does anyone know who owns the air rights above the train station?

There was a Planning Department event for citizens at the library:

One White Plains Comprehensive Plan Public Workshop - June 12th at 7PM

Was it another "Transit District" caliber attempt to get things organized? It was standing room only.

The Consolidated Plan 2020-2024 referenced above is about housing. Really. It should include other issues.

________________________

Public street made semi private while Barker Avenue is subjected to HUGE buses, trucks and eventually hundreds more cars. Friday, December 24, 2021

One White Plains or a Tale of Two Cities? Wednesday, May 18, 2022

Pedestrian Safety is administered by the Parking Department. Tuesday, February 7, 2023

ONE White Plains documents - hidden on the city website.

Click the links below. 

ONE White Plains: documents 

Demographics, land use and zoning. Booklet.

CONSOLIDATED PLAN 2020-2024 148 pages

2015 Transit District Report 554 pages

2006 Comprehensive Plan (revision of 1997 Comprehensive Plan) 269 pages

2001 Recreation Master Plan 359 pages

1997 Comprehensive Plan 231 pages

1977 Comprehensive Plan 266 pages

1962 Comprehensive Plan 259 pages

1928 Comprehensive Plan 48 pages

______________________

To find them on your own:

1. https://www.cityofwhiteplains.com/

2. Put the cursor over City Departments.

3. Slide  the cursor to Planning but don't click yet. Cruise down to:

4. ONE White Plains - Comprehensive Plans. Click that:

https://one-white-plains-comprehensive-plan-1-wp-planning.hub.arcgis.com/

5. Upper left:

Imagine Participate Plan Elements Map Gallery Documents

6. Click the little down arrow on the right side of Documents.

There they are!

Tuesday, May 16, 2023

Electric Vehicle Charging: White Plains, NY - Official Website

Email:

from: Kenneth Matinale
to: commoncouncil@whiteplainsny.gov
cc: parking@whiteplainsny.gov

date: May 14, 2023, 7:59 PM
subject: Electric Vehicle Charging | White Plains, NY - Official Website

https://www.cityofwhiteplains.com/368/Electric-Vehicle-Charging-Stations


When was this updated? I think they add up to 31. Five years ago I counted 28.

Is the number increasing to about 90? What's the schedule?

In addition to the Mitchell apartment complex and Continuum II and its nearby office to resident conversion, Barker and Hamilton have three new residential complexes under construction that will add 2,300 parking spaces. Barker Avenue is one lane in each direction and already has giant buses roaring down to the train station because you won't route them on Hamilton Avenue. Barker will become a traffic mess.

What are you planning to do about ensuring that these vehicles, gas and electric, can get fuel?

White Plains needs way more Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations, both public and private. The city needs to do some mandating.

Stop staring at those ridiculous giant buses with few, if any, passengers. Stop congratulating yourselves over them. Make some useful decisions on transportation.

Kenneth Matinale
White Plains resident
_________________________


Thursday, March 2, 2023

Electric Vehicle (EV) label just created for posts on that subject.

Showing posts with label Electric Vehicle (EV).

EV charging stations for residents of apartment buildings: electrify White Plains.

https://www.cityofwhiteplains.com/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=1757


Unfortunately, that's all there is on the city website, just that image.

City of White Plains Completes 6.8 MW Community Solar Portfolio

Please click here to view photos of the City of White Plains Community Solar Portfolio.

_______________________________

from: Ken
to: commoncouncil@whiteplainsny.gov,
parking@whiteplainsny.gov
date: Mar 2, 2023, 5:10 AM
subject: Electrify America Adds MEGA Battery Backup to Charging Stations

https://cleantechnica.com/2022/10/20/electrify-america-adds-mega-battery-backup-to-charging-stations/

I didn't notice any electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at the solar panels in the recreation department parking lot (GedneyWay). Are there any EV charging stations at any of the other such locations in White Plains? If not, why not.

Where can the thousands of White Plains residents, who live in apartments, charge their EV? The city needs to mandate that apartment buildings, new and OLD, provide EV charging stations in or near their garages. I don't think that the new Mitchell building has them. I think that Continuum II has some Tesla charging stations. And that office building conversion across the street may have generic EV charging stations. The Seasons condo has some and supposedly a co-op on Old Mamaroneck Road.

What about the aforementioned three residential developments under construction on Barker and/or Hamilton? They will add 2,300 residential parking spaces. I think that total new parking spaces for recent and upcoming apartment buildings exceeds 11,000. It's wishful thinking to assume that the developers will do it on their own.

Are the number of municipal EV charging stations increasing from 28 to 90 and, if so, what's the schedule? Can apartment residents rely on them rather than EV charging stations at the garages where they live?

With Common Council members elected at large and pretending to represent all citizens, in the last half century probably ninety percent of the time seats are filled by members who live in houses, representing the interests of the people on their street, people who can charge an EV in their private garages.

Note: multiple inquiries to the Parking department, including one to the email of the commissioner, have gone unanswered.

Kenneth Matinale

_______________________

Electric Vehicles (EV): charging station policy and status? Friday, July 15, 2022

Electric Vehicles (EV): White Plains should require charging stations at apartment garages, new and old. Monday, February 6, 2023

Electric Vehicle (EV) label just created for posts on that subject. Thursday, March 2, 2023

Showing posts with label Electric Vehicle (EV).

_______________________

Tuesday, February 7, 2023

Pedestrian Safety is administered by the Parking Department.

https://www.cityofwhiteplains.com/922/Pedestrian-Safety

Pedestrian Safety

You may have noticed…

The City of White Plains has installed a “HAWK” signal on Main Street between Lexington Avenue and Martin Luther King Boulevard.

What is a HAWK signal?

HAWK stands for High-intensity Activated cross WalK. It is a new kind of signal designed to assist pedestrians when crossing at a mid-block crosswalk.

...

Questions? Please contact: City of White Plains Parking Department/ Traffic Division, 914.422.1232, parking@whiteplainsny.gov.

__________________

Pedestrian Safety is administered by the Parking Department. And all it has is that one ridiculous item. Ignored are all the dangerous intersections throughout downtown. The people in charge are not aware of them because they don't walk downtown. They drive everywhere. Note the year on the post below.

White Plains needs a Pedestrian Commissioner, part II Tuesday, May 17, 2011

https://white-plains-ny.blogspot.com/search/label/Pedestrians

Contact city but only by phone ... no paper trail.

https://www.cityofwhiteplains.com/

Click on "Contact us":

https://www.cityofwhiteplains.com/directory.aspx

It's nothing but phone numbers.

That's what organizations do when they do not want to communicate.

Call prompting. Yuck.

If you speak to someone, there is no "paper trail".

You can figure out email IDs but that's not how they want you to contact them.

Use the good OLD phone.

Monday, February 6, 2023

Electric Vehicles (EV): White Plains should require charging stations at apartment garages, new and old.

2,300 new parking spaces on Barker and Hamilton in three new unfinished apartment projects.

Four email messages to the Common Council since July 2022: zero replies and no apparent action. The content of the fourth message is below and links to the other messages follow. This link to the city website shows projects, usually including the number of parking spaces.  Some of the newer, larger ones are listed below. 

https://city-of-white-plains-projects-and-proposals-wp-planning.hub.arcgis.com/

Hamilton Green (old mini mall, former site of DMV) 962

440 Hamilton (North Broadway: between Hamilton and Barker; former AT&T building and its parking lot) garage access is on Barker. 575

Gateway II (You know, that huge L shape building on Hamilton near the train station) 755

Those three alone: 962+575+755=2,292. Poor little Barker Avenue.

The Mitchell (Mamaroneck Avenue between Post Road (22) and Mitchell) garage access is on Post Road. 460

Completed on Bank Street:

Continuum I: 288 apartments; 668 parking spaces

Continuum II: 309 apartments, parking spaces not list be must exceed 309.

from: Ken
to: commoncouncil@whiteplainsny.gov
date: Feb 5, 2023, 11:03 PM
subject: Nissan Projects Solid-State Batteries in Its EVs by 2028

To: Common Council

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a42768205/nissan-solid-state-batteries-2028-evs/ 

Hello.

So, what, if anything is White Plains doing about requiring new apartment garages to supply electric vehicle charging stations? There will be thousands more parking spaces soon on Barker Avenue and Hamilton Avenue. What about the Mitchell? And Continuum I and II? And ...

Gasoline pumps would be a good idea too.

Fuel for all the new vehicles that you're bringing into downtown. Downtown is that area that you ruling house owners like to visit.

______________________________

Fuel for cars and food for people: wake the heck up! THOUSANDS more cars downtown. Tuesday, January 3, 2023

Gas or electric: fuel for thousands of new cars in big new apartment buildings? Thursday, December 29, 2022

Electric Vehicles (EV): charging station policy and status? Friday, July 15, 2022

One White Plains or a Tale of Two Cities? Wednesday, May 18, 2022