complete the streets

http://www.completestreets.org/

Here's another idea for the WP Common Council (CC) to ponder.  The mayor has just announced that he will not seek another term.  I hope that my exposing him to new ideas was a factor in his decision.

As for the colossally unimaginative CC, "complete the streets" is a concept that can baffle them, like the apes dealing with the monolith in the opening of the 1968 movie "2001: A Space Odyssey".

It's really pretty simple.  CC members should get to and from downtown WP without their cars.  Yes, walk or use public transportation.  And eliminate those reserved parking spaces at city hall for them and for the commissioners.  Only then will they experience the enormous hostility to pedestrians that is White Plains.  Only then will they even consider something like "complete the streets".

Cars are the only issue in WP.  Move 'em, park 'em.  Park 'em, move 'em.  All for the convenience, not of non-residents, but for the convenience of residents of the suburbs of WP in almost Scarsdale and almost Harrison, where the CC members live.

Apartment dwellers: taxed but not heard.

I received this message:

Mayor Delfino and city commissioners will be attending the Fisher Hill meeting on Thursday.  There will be a presentation by LCOR - the developers of 55 Banks Street - as well as presentation by the White Plains Hospital regarding future plans, the Salvation Army future expansion plans,  and the development of the Shultz dealership property.  All are welcome.

How many homes are in the geographic area of the Fisher Hill association?

Other than the perfunctory "all are welcome", notice that they completely ignore the 500 homes at Bank Street Commons whose residents would be the most effected.  Apartment dwellers again are not even considered when such activities are planned.  Taxed but not heard.  That's the White Plains method.  If you live in a house, you count.  If you live in an apartment, you do not count.  This is especially true if the apartment dweller rents rather than owns.

betterplace.com

http://www.betterplace.com/

White Plains, try SOMETHING different!  More driving lanes and more parking garages do not solve any problems.  You just continue to escalate.  You never achieve anything.

CNA and CC Maps: CC closer to Scarsdale than WP city hall.

Council of Neighborhood Associations (CNA):

http://www.wpcna.org/wpcnamap.jpg

Here again is the map that I had created showing the location of the homes of the six Common Council (CC) members taken from the White Plains web site:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&gl=us&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=103040367337361097468.000445a6e9cc47e0e7b83&ll=41.026017,-73.760662&spn=0.059183,0.157757&z=13&om=0

I am guessing but I think that CC members correlate to CNA associations as follows:

Roach: Westminster Ridge

Power: Highlands

Hockley: Highlands

Malmud: Gedney Farms

Boykin: Idle Forest

Lecuona: Gedney Manor

Roach is almost in North Castle and the other five live closer to Scarsdale than to White Plains city hall.

Of these, Highlands is the only association with more than a few homes.  Remember, each CNA association gets one vote.  The few in the houses make decisions for the many in the apartments.

The complete list of CNA member organizations is repeated below for convenience:

Battle Hill

Bryant Gardens

Carhart

Colonial Corners

Downtown (BID)

Eastview

Ferris Ave

Fisher Hill

Fulton Street

Gedney Circle

Gedney Farms

Gedney Manor

Gedney Meadows

Gedney Park

Havilands Manor

Highlands

Hillair Circle

Holbrooke

Idle Forest

North Broadway

North Street

Old Mamaroneck Rd

Old Oak Ridge

Prospect Park

Rocky Dell/Reynal Park

Rosedale

Saxon Wood

Soundview

Westminster Ridge

Woodcrest Heights

White Plains Downtown Residents Association web site

http://www.downtownresidents.com/

This is the group run by Rob Tamboia.

It is not to be confused with:

http://www.wpbid.com/

The White Plains Downtown District Management Association is the Business Improvement District for the City of White Plains.

The Business Improvement District (BID) appears to be the Downtown group that is already a member of the Council of Neighborhood Associations (CNA).

Why downtown residents should not join CNA.

The White Plains Council of Neighborhood Associations has these member associations:

http://www.wpcna.org/

Battle Hill

Bryant Gardens

Carhart

Colonial Corners

Downtown

Eastview

Ferris Ave

Fisher Hill

Fulton Street

Gedney Circle

Gedney Farms

Gedney Manor

Gedney Meadows

Gedney Park

Havilands Manor

Highlands

Hillair Circle

Holbrooke

Idle Forest

North Broadway

North Street

Old Mamaroneck Rd

Old Oak Ridge

Prospect Park

Reynal Park/Rocky Dell

Rosedale

Saxon Wood

Soundview

Westminster Ridge

Woodcrest Heights

I count about 31 including Downtown for some reason.  As noted months ago Gedney has FIVE.  My guess is that each association represents a wide ranging number of homes, yet according to the CNA by-laws each gets one vote.  That's un-American.

Why would the newly forming Downtown association want to join that?  Especially since it already contains entities that are already organized: condos and coops.  Here is a better model for representing all the Downtown condos and coops in its association.

Each member condo or coop would have one vote weighted by the number of homes it contains.  Simple and fair.  A simple spreadsheet can be used to count votes and it can be posted for public review using the free google docs.  That way condo and coop residents can see how their rep voted or if the rep did not vote they can try to find out why.

Playing the game already established under CNA means that the emerging Downtown association is likely to fail much more than it succeeds and be bogged down in needless administration.  Remaining independent and setting its own agenda and membership guidelines means that it will have the flexibility to exert much more influence, especially if it does not make the huge mistake of becoming a toothless non-profit, non-political mush of an entity.  Exactly what are the political views on garbage pickup?

Condos and coops would be energized to take action on their own or in concert with others with like issues.  Many are probably larger (more homes) than most if not all of the current CNA associations.  The new Downtown association could act as a facilitator.

This model would also support my contention that the new Downtown association does not need money.  In addition to a web site and other supporting free services on the Internet, condos and coops could post paper notices on their premises.  Simple and effective.

White Plains Downtown Residents Association

http://www.downtownresidents.com/

Last night I attended my third monthly meeting in the last year, my first in a long time.  Obviously I have not been active but I was surprised by the change from pie in the sky to boring run of the mill.  Rob does a great job in getting so many people involved and the group is on the verge of incorporating as a non profit organization.  I have my doubts about that but the momentum seems unstoppable.  It seems to me more can be done by keeping it simple and having maximum flexibility.

There are two things that will eat up a lot of time and resources by this group becoming a non profit:

1. administration

2. money.

Money is the root of all evil.  Rob has already accepted $1,000 from an interested party.  Interested parties expect something in return.  I am not suggesting corruption but the group will be precluded from taking hard stands.  I am not sure what can be accomplished by being like all the other groups in White Plains.  I asked why they need money and the closest thing I got as an answer was for marketing to which I countered that with the web this could be done almost free.  A domain can be registered for under ten dollars a year.  That and a few well placed flyers is really all that is needed.

I think that one person there was a spy: a woman I have seen at the library asking about the ridiculous Railside issue ad nauseum during a candidates debate in the last election for Common Council.  During introductions she indicated that she was attending because she wants to keep up on what is happening in White Plains.  Believe me, the balance of power is not going to tilt from house dwellers to apartment dwellers unless something unexpected happens when the group drafts its bylaws and mission statement.

The White Plains Downtown Residents Association web site listed at the top of this post describes WP as "pedestrian-friendly".  There was a lot of talk last night that supports my contention that WP is pedestrian hostile, much worse than Manhattan.

Whatever form this group takes here are some suggestions:

1. Make it clear that it represents the interests of apartment dwellers, not house dwellers.

2. Ignore the current geographic bounderies of neighborhood associations and include condos and coops that logically belong.

3. Get all the board presidents involved.

4. Present the city with solutions, not problems.

5. Have interested parties decide on the solutions; for instance, the traffic problem at Westchester and Franklin Avenues should be addressed by the people who live there.  The movement of traffic on Franklin and Main St. east of Westchester Ave. should be addressed by the people who live there.

6. The White Plains Downtown Residents Association should then present that solution to the city as needed.

7. Look to New York City: many issues were resolved long ago there, including taxis, alternate side of the street parking.

8. Look elsewhere in Westchester: Garth RD in Eastchester has a very useful system for overnight resident parking that should be applied in downtown  WP.  The long standing contention that the city needs to prohibit overnight resident parking is nonsense as is shown in both Manhattan and Eastchester.

9. Be like Mike ... Bloomberg.  WP mayor has no imagination but NYC mayor does.  Don't be too proud or foolish to ignore Bloomberg's many good ideas.  WP mayor will not do that on his own so the White Plains Downtown Residents Association should do it for him.

10. Be GREEN!  WP will never do it on its own.

11. The most fundamental change that is needed is change from a car culture to a people culture.  Without that, nothing else matters.  How many people walked to last night's meeting v. driving?

Given my views I do not know whether I will continue in this group or whether they would would want me to be there when they set policy.  I like the independence of this blog.  One thing I will not be is a spy.

Budget cuts: eliminate the library and schools.

OK, enough with the small stuff like snow removal from sidewalks.  The city budget is front and center.  Here are bold ideas that will have an impact.

1. Eliminate the library.  The web makes it a dieing relic at best.  Sell the building if possible or turn it into a free Internet center.

2. Phase out public schools.  Hey, might as well be the first kid on the municipal block to do it.  They're mainly warehouses anyway and could be put to better use.  I am guessing that most households do not use the public schools.  Smart kids will go to private schools.  The rest aren't learning anyway and are often wandering around town during class hours, especially those assigned to the high school.  You can see them slow walking west on Bryant Ave. starting about 10:30AM.  Do their parents know that?  Do school administrators know where they are?

We need firefighters and police officers.  We do not need librarians and teachers.  Cut to the essentials.

Get that federal stimulus money to provide universal access to the Internet.  People can find what they need on their own.

Snow on sidewalks: Hale Ave., a church and Republicans

Despite a message from the mayor to the responsible commissioner, the sidewalk adjacent to the  vacant lot at Maple and Hale Avenues has yet to be cleared of snow any time this winter.  Or last.

The sidewalk adjacent to the church on Hamilton Ave. was not cleared of snow.  That's the same church where WPPD assists church goers in breaking the parking rules every Sunday.

The sidewalk adjacent to the Republican county building on the corner of Mamaroneck Ave. and Maple Ave. was not cleared of snow.  The mayor is a Republican.

school budget cut suggestion

from Ken Matinale

to micheleschoenfeld@wpcsd.k12.ny.us

date Mon, Jan 19, 2009 at 2:41 PM

subject school budget cut suggestion

mailed-by gmail.com

Make full use of the facilities.   Keep schools open full days, all year including the summer.  No other activity sends capital money then closes the buildings so much of the time.  You would never use a

factory or office building that way.

Kids no longer need the summer off to work on the farms.

Roads cleared, sidewalks not.

Snow removal.  It's a simple task.  If a municipality cannot handle that how can it deal with much more complex issues.

Maple Ave. between Haller and Bloomingdale RD on the south side: most of the sidewalks have snow/ice.

Even a message from the mayor to the commissioner of public works, the best employee the city has, does not result in action.

Meanwhile, the sidewalk of the New York Hospital grounds along Bloomingdale RD and Bryant Ave. was cleared this morning but the worker left a half inch of snow.  Compare that to the stretch of Bloomingdale RD sidewalk cleared by the Bloomingdale department store: it's clean as a whistle.  Same location, different entities responsible.  Same poor job done at the secret city park at the southeast corner of Bryant Ave. and Mamaroneck Ave.

Even some businesses along Mamaroneck Ave. do not properly clean their sidewalks.  We should boycott such places.

Snow and what is says about White Plains.

from Joseph Delfino

to Ken Matinale 

date Fri, Jan 16, 2009 at 10:45 AM

subject Re: Snow on sidewalk: again and still.

"I have forwarded your e-mail to the Commissioner of Pub. Works."

________________________________

I responded by thanking the mayor.  Unfortunately, many of the neglected sidewalks mentioned in posts here remain neglected.

I am sure that the mayor and Commissioner of Pub. Works mean well and that they have more important matters to address.  The problem is that priorities in  White Plains do not include pedestrians.  Considering its size White Plains may be the nation's car capital.  Cars rule.  Does any other city of 50,000 have so many parking spaces in public garages?  Does any have so many lanes in such a concentrated area as downtown White Plains?

Quality of life is an alien concept in White Plains.  White Plains is a convenient compromise.  It is not quaint.  It is not charming.  It lacks vision and purpose and parks.  Not soccer fields.  Parks.  Places with lawns where people can relax in a quiet tranquil setting.

The original downtown mistake was the Galleria, an ill considered indoor mall that is poorly maintained.  That land should have been developed into a downtown central park.

The area on the east side of the train station is an urban demilitarized zone (DMZ).  It is barren, cold, wind swept and deserted after dark.  No one wants to walk there.  It has been this way for decades.  What must people think who see this from the train windows?

Snow on sidewalk: again and still.

South side of Maple Ave. east of Hale Ave.: hard packed snow/ice.

It's easy to find.  It's the empty lot along Maple Ave. east of Mamaroneck Ave. that NEVER removes snow/ice from the sidewalk.

Take action against the property owner!

There are also a couple of islands along there that are not cleaned.  I am guessing that the city owns them.  Take action against that property owner, too.

Condo and Coop owners unite: take over city government.

I have written consistently about the structural problem with the government of White Plains.  Rather than function like all our other legislatures (county, state, federal), which have district representation, White Plains clings to the delusional fantasy that its form is somehow special, that having Common Council members elected at large they magically represent all citizens, rather than a constituency of a geographical district.  Baloney.  It ain't working.

As has been documented here, including with a map showing where they live, Common Council members represent themselves and their suburban neighbors.  Their only issue is driving into and out of downtown White Plains as fast as they can, diminishing any hint of quality of life for those who actually live in White Plains in apartment buildings and who, I am guessing, pay most of the taxes for most of the school kids who live in the suburban houses.

There are two ways that this can be corrected:

1. Change the form of government so that Common Council members are elected by geographic district.  This will have the immediate impact of eliminating most of the incumbents since they live so close to one another.  That also removes the spin the bottle dynamic of their choosing one of themselves to become the next mayor and continuing the same beat that has been heard for far too long.

2. Just take over.  Apartment dwellers have the numbers and the organizational structure to get the word out.  Board presidents should meet on a regular basis, outside of the house dominated Council of Neighborhood Association (CNA) and form their own organization and force the city to reckon with it.

Better yet, develop a platform and slate of candidates unaligned with the two national political parties and use the existing at large system to the advantage of apartment dwellers and to the disadvantage of house dwellers who have long dominated city government to the extreme disadvantage of apartment dwellers.

Condo and coop owners unite.  It is the only way that White Plains will ever change for the better.

More snow to be removed from city sidewalks.

Blah, blah, blah.

How about the City of White Plains just performs this simple basic task without constant prodding, especially when it occurs right under the noses of those who use and manage the city's equipment? New year's day I received this message:

It (snow) wasn't cleared along South Kensico by the Eastview track, either (or by Stop and Shop, which is the store's responsibility.)

I also observed the usual while walking along Maple Ave. between Mamaroneck Ave. and Bloomingdale RD: vacant lots, which do not remove snow, the worst of which is the one east of Hale Ave., which NEVER removes snow - for YEARS.  Where are pedestrians to walk?  In the street with cars speeding downhill in all lanes?

Isn't there anyone in city government who is embarassed by this?

More snow left on sidewalk.

At the city owned parking lot on Bank Street near the train station, the sidewalk is again not cleared as was reported recently after the previous snow fall.

The City of White Plains, in addition to being incompetent, puts us all in jeopardy in terms of safety and liability.