"COMMUNITY FIRST" NOW BLOGGING

The dedicated citizens at the Community First Development Coalition have been helping to bring Yonkers' diverse citizenry and neighborhoods together since 2005. Community First has been instrumental in uniting neighbors across Yonkers to lobby for better government, sensible development and citizen participation. Now Community FIrst is on line at www.communityfirstdevelopmentcoalition.blogspot.com. Give them a visit and see what these community activists are doing for Yonkers.

SPRING SEASON FOR YONKERS' VINECUTTERS

Organized by Park Hill resident Terry Joshi, a dedicated band of citizens meets monthly at the intersection of the Saw Mill River Parkway and Rumsey Road for a litter and debris clean up and to cut the intrusive vines that constantly threaten native plants. The "vinecutters" meet for two hours on a Saturday morning and anyone is welcome to help out by giving as much or as little time as they can spare. Age and experience are no matter as the team will train a newcomer. Upcoming dates are Saturdays January 27, March 10, April 21 and May 19 from 10 a.m. to noon. For more information or to get involved feel free to call my City Hall office.

CITY COUNCIL SPENDING MONEY IT DOESN"T HAVE

The City Council Last night voted 5-2 (Murtagh and Barbato disenting)to transfer $350,000 in money budgeted for election expenses to salary lines for hiring of additional Council staff. The council's action is the worst sort of pork barrel politics but also potentially leaves the City with a substantial unfunded exposure.

At issue is a vote by Council President Chuck Lesnick and a majority of the Council to transfer $350,000 previously budgeted for the cost of administering elections, to fund a hiring spree of new political appointments in the Council President’s office and the City Clerk’s office. The latter office is also controlled by the Council. The majority is justifying its spending by claiming that under a new State law, the County of Westchester will now pay the election costs previously paid by the City. However, the Council majority failed to do the necessary investigation and had they done so would understand that the City will still be paying the election expenses in question. The 2005 Election and Consolidation Improvement Act specifically provides that the Counties may charge back election expenses to the municipalities after the fact and based on the conversations I have had with officials at both the Board of Elections and in the County Executive’s office, all indications are that Westchester County fully intends to do so. My colleagues on the Council, in a rush to beef up their own power base are risking leaving the City with a substantial unfunded liability.

At a meeting with municipal officials on October 19, 2006, County Executive Spano and his staff advised local officials that they had the discretion under the new state law to pass along the expenses and were considering doing so. If the County Legislature does what it is expected to do, Yonkers will shortly be handed a six figure bill that it cannot pay due to the actions of the City Council.

Councilwomen Dee Barbato and I had previously urged our colleagues not to transfer the funds to their own use simply because it was a waste of taxpayer’s dollars. Now having investigated the law, it is clear that it is not only wasteful but risks potentially leaving the City exposed to a substantial liability.

NEIGHBORS SPEAK OUT ON UNITED WATER PROJECT IN CRESTWOOD

Nearly 100 neighbors, concerned about the impact of the United Water waterline project, turned out last night (January 22)to voice their concerns at a meeting which I co-cponsored with Councilwoman Dee Barbato. Representatives of United Water as well as the Mayor's office were presnt to brief the homeowners and, more importantly, hear their concerns. Seperate meeting were held earlier the same day with homeowners immediately contiguous to the construction site and with representatives of Annunciation Church and School.

The project, which should begin by March, involves laying new water lines for the United Water Company to serve its customers in New Rochelle. United Water is mandated to do the work by New York State and has the right by law to do the construction necessary in Yonkers. However, as part of an agreement negotiated by the Mayor's office, United Water will also be making a $900,000 contribution to the Yonkers Parks Department as well as contributing $700,000 for and performing the installation of a seperate waterline to serve the Crestwood community ( Of course, this assumes the city portion of the funding is approved. See seperate post below regarding Council President Lesnick and the Capital Budget).

A number of residents expressed concerns over noise, traffic (particularly as it relates to Annunciation School and Church) and whether the construction would disturb rodents and other animal life in the nearby Schultz Field Park

The City Department Heads present and United Water left the meeting with a list of concerns to be addressed and will be scheduling further meetings to brief the community on agreed upon solutions and remediations.

Our office will be continuing to monitor the planning phase and will, of course, relay any concerns and complaints from constituents throughout the project.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Monday January 22

7:30 p.m. - Public Hearing on Con Edison M-29 Transmission Line at Riverdale YM-YWHA, 5625 Arlington Avenue, Bronx, NY (More info at www.coned.com/publicissues/m29.asp)

7:00 p.m. - Community Briefing on United Water waterline project, Annunciation Church, Lower Church

Tuesday January 23

7:30 p.m. - City Council meeting to vote on amended Capital Budget (see post below for more information) City Council Chamber 4th Floor City Hall

Wednesday January 24

6:30 p.m. - Environmental Scoping Session for Downtown/ Waterfront project. City Council Chamber, 4th Floor City Hall

8:00 p.m. - City Council Real Estate Committee Meeting, Council Chamber, City Hall 4th Floor

LESNICK'S WAR ON NORTHEAST YONKERS: Council President playing politics with Capital Budget

This coming Tuesday night, January 23, Council President Chuck Lesnick has scheduled a vote on his proposed Amendment to the recently adopted Capital Budget. Lesnick has proposed amendments which target for elimination important safety projects in the Fifth and Sixth Council Districts. Under Lesnick's proposal, all other Council Districts would either be untouched or see their funding increased at the expense of residents in the Fifth and Sixth Districts.

The Capital Budget, which pays for major infrastructure, safety and quality of life projects, was adopted by the City Council only in December. This itself violates the City Charter and illustrates the irresponsibility of the current Council leadership and Budget Committee. By City Charter, the Capital Budget is to be adopted no later than June 1. However, the Council majority took no action for nearly six months, finally voting in mid-December to cut the Mayor's proposed budget by fifty per cent. Among the items they eliminated at that time were all funding for Traffic Safety including the installation of traffic lights at a major east side intersection which has been the scene of at least one pedestrian fatality. The only Councilmembers to vote against this ill-conceived, irresponsible action were Councilwoman Dee Barbato of the Sixth District and I.

It is no coincidence then that, Dee Barbato and I having bucked the Council President's political vendetta against the Mayor, he is now proposing further cuts but targeting only the Fifth and Sixth Council Districts. In other words, the Council President has decided that the residents and taxpayers of the Fifth and Sixth Districts will have to pay a price for electing politically independent Councilmembers.

Specifically, Council President Lesnick has proposed eliminating entirely three projects:

Watermain replacements in Crestwood

Drainage and flood control work on Underhill Street in Colonial Heights and

Flood control remediation on Fort Hill Road by Troublesome Brook

As Northeast Yonkers residents know, these projects are vital to the safety and quality of life of our neighborhoods. We all know the water pressure issues in Crestwood, the flooding on Underhill Street and down to the Asbury Church and many of us recall residents in the Fort Hill Road area being helped out in row boats during bad storms. Of course, when challenged at last Tuesday night's Council committee meeting, Lesnick said he did not know where the three projects he was cutting were located so apparently he is unfamiliar with our neighborhoods.

Needless to say, the Council President is not proposing to save the taxpayers a nickel. While cutting vital projects in the Fifth and Sixth Districts, he is increasing the funding for projects in the Districts of Councilmembers who are willing to vote with him and increasing funding for pet projects such as the privately run "Hudson River Museum".

On the same night, the Council President is also proposing to increase spending for salaries and expenses in his own office. While cutting projects in our neighborhoods, the Council President and his willing majority are planning on transferring $350,000 from elsewhere in the City's budget to hire more staff and political operatives in the Council President's office and the City Clerk's office.

Councilwoman Barbato and I both asked the Council President to at least insist on a Budget Committee meeting before the vote next Tuesday so that residents of the Fifth and Sixth District could be heard on these issues. Lesnick refused such a meeting and insisted that the matter simply go to a vote Tuesday night.

The only chance that residents and taxpayers of Northeast Yonkers will have to voice their outrage at being treated as second class citizens in Yonkers will be at the meeting itself Tuesday January 23 at 7:30 p.m. The meeting will be in the Council Chamber, 4th Floor City Hall. If you wish to speak that night you must call the City Clerk's office and sign up to speak on Tuesday. The Clerk's office is at 377-6020. If you cannot speak, I still urge you to attend the meeting and support your neighbors by your mere presence. I also urge you to let the Council President know how you feel. Contact Lesnick at chuck.lesnick@cityofyonkers.com or by calling 377-6060.

The Council President needs to be reminded that he represents all of Yonkers and that he cannot make the residents of the Fifth and Sixth Districts the pawns in his political games.

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

" Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. Say that I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter. I won't have any money to leave behind. I won't have the fine and luxurious things in life to leave behind. But I just want to leave a committed life behind. And that's all I want to say. If I can help somebody as I pass along. If I can cheer somebody with a word or song, if I can show somebody he is traveling wrong, then my living will not be in vain..."

"The Drum Major Instinct". Sermon by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. 1968

IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS RELATED TO THE DOWNTOWN/ WATERFRONT NOW ON-LINE

The City of Yonkers website, which can be found at www.cityofyonkers.com, has the developer's initial scoping documents on line. Click on the "Bulletin Board" section on the main page for more information. The Environmental Scoping Session, your first real opportunity for input on this critical project, will be held Wednesday January 4, 2007 in the City Council Chamber, 4th Floor City Hall beginning at 6:30 p.m.

DOWNTOWN WATERFRONT SCOPING SESSION SCHEDULED

The first environmental scoping session for the Downtown/ Waterfront project has been scheduled for January 24, 2007. The "scoping document" which will be created based upon the questions posed at this meeting will form the blueprint for the entire environmental study to follow. Public involvement is, therefore, critical at this meeting. The meeting will be in the City Council Chamber, fourth floor City Hall beginning at 6:30 p.m. For more information visit www.cityofyonkers.com or www.sfcyonkers.com.

REGIONAL COOPERATION WILL SAVE TIME AND MONEY AND LEAD TO BETTER PLANNING

Last evening, the Yonkers City Council signed off on the settlement of the lawsuit brought last year by the Town of Greenburg and its Villages challenging the environmental studies done in connection with the proposed Ridge Hill Village project. There were no surprises in the Greenburg lawsuit. The issues raised were exactly the issues, most notably traffic mitigation, which Greenburg and the other surrounding communities (as well as many in Yonkers) had been raising for three years. Unfortunately, those issues were largely ignored by those who argued that Yonkers should not concern itself with the impact that Ridge Hill, the largest development in Westchester County history, would have on its neighbors.

The resulting lawsuit led to months of further delay in the construction of Ridge Hill as well as significant costs to the City of Yonkers in legal and other fees. In settling the lawsuit, Greenburg and its villages have secured direct funding from the developer for further traffic mitigation but, more importantly, Yonkers, Greenburg and the developer have agreed to cooperate in the creation of a regional task force to study, plan and lobby for additional traffic mitigation off of the Sprain Brook Parkway. In a nutshell, the settlement does exactly what community activists in Yonkers and Greenburg as well as Councilwoman Dee Barbato and I had advocated from the get go: cooperation to address cross-border concerns and make the project better for all.

In recent years, Southern Westchester has witnessed municipal "border wars" time and again as one community or another planned a major project that would directly and unavoidably impact its neighbors. Proposals to bring IKEA to New Rochelle, new retail to Sanford Boulevard on the Mt. Vernon-Pelham border, the Stew Leonards/ Home Depot development and Ridge Hill itself have all raised similar issues and more than once resulted in litigation. There is a better way.

The Task Force established under the Ridge Hill settlement can serve as a model for cooperative and preemptive regional planning. The simple mechanism of a permanent inter-municipal Task Force which can meet, as needed, to address concerns as projects are planned would do much to nip border disputes in the bud. Such a group would streamline the development process and result in better development in the end. A Task Force need not require any municipality to cede authority or control over its own planning process. Rather it would simply serve as a forum for concerns to be heard and vetted. Likewise, as with the proposed Ridge Hill Task Force, it would allow the municipalities which participate to bring their combined talents and resources to lobby other levels of government, whether in Albany or Washington, for necessary assistance.

In a word, inter-municipal cooperation is just plain common sense.

COUNCIL MAJORITY ACTS IRRESPONSIBLY ON CAPITAL BUDGET

The City Council Budget Committee met last night to "consider" the Mayor's proposed amendment to the Capital Budget adopted by the Council last month. The Committee and a majority of Council members continue to act irresponsibly in regard to the Capital Budget doing a disservice to the city and endangering the health and welfare of its residents.

Some background is necessary. The Capital Budget, as opposed to the Operating Budget, includes those major projects necessary for repairs and improvements to the city infrastructure and city services which are not funded by day to day operating revenue. For example, the current Capital Budget includes money for road resurfacing, vehicle replacement and equipment for the Police and Fire Departments. Unfortunately, the Capital Budget has traditionally been used as a political football by those looking to undermine a sitting Mayor. Cutting necessary capital projects has been a favorite tool of more than one politically ambitious Councilmember ever since then Councilman John Spencer sought to undermine the first strong Mayor, Terry Zaleski.

Currenly, the Budget Committee is chaired by Councilmember Liam McLaughlin and includes Councilmembers Robertson. Both are at odds with Mayor Amicone and both are said to be harboring Mayoral ambitions. In fact, Councilman Robertson has already declared for Mayor. Councilman McLaughlin and his fellow Committee members have used their position to both stall and slash the current Capital Budget proposal without any regard for the best interests of the City. They have been joined in their actions by Councilmember Annabi another who has designs on the second floor of City Hall.

Proof of the political gameplaying is in the numbers...not the budget numbers but the schedule of meetings held over at least the last six months. By quick calculation, since June 1, 2006 the City Council has held at least 54 meetings either as a full Council or in its various committees. Of those, at best five were Budget Committee meetings and of those, only two, in November and December, directly related to the current Capital Plan. Indeed, between June 2 and the second week of November, McLaughlin's committee did not hold a single meeting to discuss the Capital Proposal.

Now to the two meetings held. At the November meeting, the committee spent about an hour reviewing the Capital Budget with Capital Projects Director Tom Weibrecht. At the meeting's conclusion, Weibrecht left with a list of follow up questions from Councilmembers. Committee members and Councilmembers heard nothing more for a month. Then we learned that the Mayor's office had sent the Budget chair a response to the Committee's questions in less than two weeks but he had never shared the response with any other Councilmember. When found out, McLaughlin claimed the response did not answer the questions. Of course, other Councilmembers were never afforded an opportuntiy to judge for themselves.

Finally, on a mere twenty-four hours notice, McLaughlin called a Budget Committee meeting for December 12 and a Special Council meeting was called by a compliant Council President for the same night. With little notice to the public, no substantive discussion and no public input, five of seven Councilmembers (all but Councilwoman Barbato and I) voted to cut all but the Police and Fire lines by fifty per cent. Indeed, even Police and Fire only survived the knife due to last minute lobbying by union leaders in the Chamber that night.

To his credit, the Mayor has called the majority's bluff. Rather than veto its irresponsible action, the Mayor has accepted their "Budget" and immediately sent up an amendment restoring the cuts. Now the majority will again have to decide whether to do its job or ignore its responsibility and endanger the citizens of Yonkers for political purposes.

At last night's Budget Meeting over fifty members of the voting public were in attendance. Not one rose in support of the irresponsible majority. Every speaker called upon the Council to do its job, actually take a hard look at the budget and restore those programs necessary for quality of life and safety. Amen to that.

Now lets see if politics continues to triumph or whether Councilmembers, most notably the Council President, will finally choose to do the job with which they were entrusted.