2013 Was a Year of Extremes that Encouraged Change at Several Levels
The big stories marking 2013 actually happened in late 2012 – the killing of schoolchildren at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut and Hurricane Sandy.
Just a year ago, as the region and the nation were still reeling from the shock of a major storm that left unprecedented devastation in its wake and public mourning for the shooting deaths of very young children was peaking, efforts began to create healing in the aftermath.
In his January 2013 State of the State speech, Governor Andrew Cuomo stepped out in front of the entire nation to set a precedent for gun control legislation. “We must pass a tough assault weapons ban. The rest of the nation will follow New York,” he said. “Some weapons are so dangerous and some ammunition devices so lethal that we simply cannot afford to continue selling them in our state.”
Cuomo’s legislation, the NY SAFE Act, considered magazine size, criminal status of the gun permit owner, back ground checks, mental health assessments, internet sales, and tougher penalties for guns found on school grounds, and passed quickly through the legislative process.
Locally, the Journal News published an interactive map with addresses of gun permit holders in the Hudson Valley.
Outcry from police benevolent associations and gun owners eventually resulted in the site coming down before the end of January. But it fueled the still ongoing debate between those who say they have a right to be protected from gun owners and those who say they have a right to own a gun.
In February County Executive Robert Astorino established the Westchester County Safer Communities program to improve collaboration between law enforcement authorities and school officials to share information and resources to protect communities from violence. A panel discussion held at SUNY Purchase was well attended by several hundred county law, school and government officials.
In addition to sharing strategies for keeping schools safe, one major outcome of the program was the identification of violence as a public health issue.
County government cancelled the annual gun show at the County Center and White Plains Mayor Tom Roach supported sensible gun control legislation, when as a member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a coalition of more than 800 mayors and a million grassroots members across the country, asked Congressional representatives to become original sponsors of a bill requiring background checks for all gun sales and improvement in the reporting of relevant mental health records into the nation’s gun background check database.
News relating to other acts of violence included the order, in July, by a federal court judge for the White Plains Police Department to release documents regarding police policy and procedures to attorneys representing the family of Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr., who was shot in his Winbrook apartment by White Plains Police during a medical emergency response.
In December that same judge allowed the $21million civil case by the Camberlain family against White Plains to move forward.
In September, White Plains was again rocked by news of arson, murder and a suicide at the YMCA residence on Mamaroneck Avenue.
Seeking Relief from Sandy
In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Westchester spent much of the early part of 2013 analyzing response times and communications systems between government agencies, public utilities and residents.
Many local groups traveled to devastated coastline communities to help dig out.
Governor Cuomo established the Moreland Commission to investigate and report the processes and procedures used by utilities in New York to respond to interrupted power during weather-related emergencies. Many Westchester families went without heat and electricity for weeks on end, some not knowing when they might go back online, others anticipating a quick reconnection, only to wake up the next morning with the utility trucks gone and no power back on.
At a pubic hearing in Purchase the utilities faced the wrath of residents. One outcome was improvement of resident alert systems throughout affected municipalities and establishment of a back-up system for repairs that would more effectively utilize regional support.
In July FEMA awarded $26.4 million in aid to Westchester County for Hurricane Sandy relief.
Changes in the Political Playing Field
At the state level George Latimer (D-Rye) joined Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers) in the State Senate and David Buchwald (D-White Plains) left his seat on the White Plains Common Council to replace Bob Castelli (R-Goldens Bridge) in the State Assembly.
John Kirkpatrick was appointed to replace Buchwald on the White Plains Council and held the seat during the 2013 November election.
At the same time, County Board of Legislators Chairman Ken Jenkins (D-Yonkers) announced his plan to run for County Executive, hoping to unseat Rob Astorino (R-Mount Pleasant). Jenkins was soon challenged by District 5 County Legislator Bill Ryan (D-White Plains) and then Noam Bramson (D-New Rochelle), forcing a democratic primary with Bramson as the victor.
Bramson lost to the incumbent Astorino and returned to finish his term as Mayor of New Rochelle.
In casting his hat into the ring to run for county executive Ryan left his legislature seat vacant and White Plains Councilman Ben Boykin (D-White Plains), ran and won as District 5 legislator.
Boykin’s seat is now open on the White Plains Council and the next appointed Council member will be announced at the first meeting in January 2014.
As Election Day came in November, former White Plains Mayor Adam Bradley made appearances at several Democratic Party gatherings.
Bradley was exonerated of all domestic abuse charges against his wife during a jury trial in June. He would not comment about plans for future political campaigns, but his presence sent a silent message to former colleagues within the Democratic Party as well as the White Plains Council who forced him to step down as mayor that he is alive and well.
While not an elected official, Pastor Maddox of AME Zion Church in White Plains announced in July that he had been reassigned out of the area. Maddox was a key figure in White Plains on issues of cultural, economic and race diversity.
Notable Obituaries
All obituaries are notable, but those of public officials stand out historically, especially when a public leader is well respected.
During an era of political partisanism most pronounced in 2013, former County Executive Andrew O’Rourke died in January at the age of 79. While he was a republican, O’Rourke was remembered well by colleagues on both sides of the aisle.
White Plains Fire Chief William Delanoy died in early February. His sudden death at the age of 58 was felt all over White Plains as the city mourned a long-time friend and public servant.
At the Rising Memorial to Westchester residents killed during the 9-11 terror attacks, a beam from the World Trade Center was installed during the 2013 annual memorial ceremony.
Following the Money
With economic recovery still on the horizon, the challenge of 2013 was to continue making budgetary cuts while protecting property owners from extensive tax hikes and maintaining services.
At the county level, Astorino continued his stance to keep the county property tax level static and continued a policy to “prioritize rather than perpetuate.” Several county employee unions agreed to contribute to their health care benefits.
Rising pension costs and unfunded mandates from Albany continued to plague both the county and municipalities, despite calls from government leaders at all levels for relief.
In White Plains, the city council passed a budget, protecting its fund balance and keeping the property tax hike within the 2 percent state tax cap. In May, because of its efforts, Moody’s reaffirmed the city’s Aa-1 credit rating, saying it had financially stabilized.
Zoning and Development
Plans for reconstruction of the Tappan Zee Bridge brought renewed attention to White Plains as a major transportation center.
With rapid transit planned on the new bridge and along the I-287 corridor, White Plains became the logical locus for movement east and west as well as north and south from Manhattan as well as points further north.
Looking for new ways to encourage growth, developers in White Plains began looking at ways to rebuild empty building sites and the city Council adopted a program to promote a more pedestrian-friendly traffic plan, including more bicycle lanes.
In the county, a report from the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) lawsuit monitor that some municipalities in the county continued to employ exclusionary zoning practices brought a firm pro home rule stance from Astorino, who has continued to say the feds are using Westchester as a test case for action in other areas of the country.
White Plains Schools Shuffle
In January 2013, White Plains School Superintendent Christopher Clouet announced his intention to leave the district for the same position in the Tarrytowns. On July 1 former Superintendent Timothy Connors came out of retirement to act as temporary superintendent as the Board of Education began a search for candidates to fill the position.
The public was called to several meetings to help develop a profile for the most desirable candidate, a process that continued up to the end of 2013.
Before leaving Clouet established the 6th Grade Campus at Eastview Middle School to help students transition from elementary school.
The Highlands Middle School focus now on 7thand 8th grades, lost its building principal Jonathan Brown, who also announced his plans to leave at the end of the school year.
Amid controversy about the new Common Core Curriculum and standardized testing, White Plains students scored fairly well across all grades.
On the schools development front, the French American School of New York (FASNY) proposal for the former Ridgeway Country Club property met with continued resident dissent. The vote by the White Plains Council, six to one, to accept the Environmental Findings Statement in December ended the New York State SEQRA process and opened the door for FASNY to apply for a Special Permit to run the regional school in a residential neighborhood.
In the same area, the German School, another regional campus, moved forward with plans to enlarge its student population and expand its property area with the purchase of an adjoining subdivision and changes for access to the school campus.
Similarly, plans for a subdivision on property left by an estate to the Windward School, which included a ball field, drew attacks from residents, causing the school to withdraw its plans for the ball field. The application for the subdivision, which is located on an environmentally sensitive site, is still before the Planning Board.
There Was a Lot of Fun Too
In September White Plains kicked off wellness week featuring public events for healthy lifestyles for the mind, body and spirit.
In May the county Mental Health Association again produced a major outdoor yoga event that brought over 600 people to Court Street for a yoga class featuring Tao Porchon-Lynch the oldest living yoga instructor at age 94 and a White Plains resident.
The Whites Plains BID produced City Fest in June and with the city of White Plains and the Westchester Arts Council held an outdoor Jazz Festival that had record crowds grooving on Mamaroneck Avenue. Not to be forgotten, Oktoberfest brought record crowds this 2013.
