Yonkers Council members: sharing the gloom
As mentioned in the previous post, the State of the City presented by Yonkers Mayor Phil Amicone was not a pretty picture: The city faces a deficit topping $100 million for the budgert year that starts Juy 1. Here’s how a few Yonkers Council members reacted.
Minority Leader Liam McLaughlin: “It was nothing that wasn’t expected. We’ve been seeing the financial forecasts. The writings on the wall. No surprises there.”
Asked about the hopeful side of the mayor’s speech: that the city will emerge from its current difficulties stronger than before, McLaughlin was not enthusiastic.
“We like to keep a postiive tone, but it’s very difficult,” said McLaughlin, R-4th District.
Councilwoman Dee Barbato R-6th District said the mayor’s focus on development, particularly the massive Streuver Fidelco Cappelli project was not going to help the city with the next budget. She acknowledged the project would help future budgets, which was Amicone’s point.
“If there’s not dialogue between everybody involved in this, if there’s not information sharing, we are not going to get through this in the long run,” said Barbato. The councilwoman has not been pleased with with Amicone’s decison to back Jim Castro-Blanco for the Republican nomination for City Council President, a post Barbato was considering.
On the other side of the aisle, Democatic City Councilwoman Patricia McDow sounded more approving.
“I thought it was as up tempo as you could possibly be in these economic times. I agree with the mayor that we do have to move forward with development,.” McDow said.
McDow made it clear she didn’t want to be rushed into the final government agreements needed for the SFC project- a land disposition agreement, essentially a contract for the city to sell much of the development sites, and a plan to finance the public infrastructure needed for the project though future tax revenue on the site.
“As council members we have a responsibility to the taxpayers,” McDow said. “We have to make sure we have jobs (for Yonkers residents); We have to make sure we have affordable housing; And we have to make sure our local merchants get some of this pie, that they have a oppunities to participate in this process.”
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Only an idiot would be against the SFC plans.Seriously,if the naysayers have thir way,Yonkers DIES.Are you listening Gronoski and Annabi? Any failure to move forward will be your legacy.
many of the people opposed to SFC are doing it not
out of concern for the city..they are doing it either
as political payback to amicone because they are part of
the old spencer crowd that does not want to see amicone
get credit for development..or they are doing it because
they are pandering politically so they can hoist themselves
up the politcal ladder themselves..either way it is unfortunately that this kind of political chicanry has
plagued yonkers for years…and with Chuck Lesnick as
council president no decision can ever be made with
the city’s future in mind..it is based simply on
trying to placate both sides of the issue..those
who are against any kind of development as we saw
with ridge hill..this kind of harkens back to when
a small group of east side councilman, voted not to
settle the deseg suit…they did it because they were
more interested in re-election and in spiting the
federal judge than they were in extracting yonkers
from the lawsuit with minimal damage…until such
time as revenge no longer dominates yonkers politics
which time may never come..the city will continue
to be sabatoged by the few self interested politicos
that play the inside baseball game
for 13 years amicone has served as deputy mayor and mayor, his poor fiscal management and his sweetheart deals to developers has put yonkers in bad shape, thank god for term limits..
It is within the nature of the beast. Put any one of his prior or present challengers in the same position and this city’s finances would be considerably worse.
smartporpoise is correct…phil is far more conservative than his predescessors..you think if zeleski were mayor
the city would be in good shape…I notice how you leave
you former mayor john spencer…I think in fairness you
ought to talk about the 8 years with spencer at the helm
if you are going to criticize the present mayor…
the point is the way all politicians do business has
got to change..no one is exempted neither republican
or democrat
zaleski’s last year in office the city budget was about 450 million, amicone’s last budget was close to 900 million, amicone is NO CONSERVATIVE, amicone is more like a TAX AND SPENDER…
and what about spencer in the interim..lets see those numbers as well..all mayors spend..all political levels
of government spend..thats the problem…phil however
is willing to cut spending in the face of the meltdown
and here is the rub..while the voters complain about
their taxes..they want their kids to have the best
schools, they want their own individual police precincts
and fire houses.they want..they want ..they want..
until the piper has to be paid….
amicone leadership has led us to higher taxes, bloated city hall, bigger gov’t, more patronage, failing schools and sweetheart deals for wealthy developers..
hihger taxes have nothing to do with the mayor of
yonkers…look around..westchester is the highest
tax county in the nation..maybe in the world…
if it wasn’t for mayor amicone. the prospect of
lower taxes by expanding the tax base through
attracting developers like SFC would not be
in yonkers future
Spencer did nothing….nothing to advance the city.Amicone has quarterbacked this city to the one yard line vis a vis major redevelopment…..only to have certain self important council members,along with Mr.Milquetoast himself,Chuck Lesnick,fumble the ball.Seeing as how it is apparent that this project is either dead or Capelli will soon announce his bankruptcy due primarily to the economy,but also to the stalling tactics of certain council members.Disgraceful.The voters will remember come November.
for 20 years they have bragged about all of this development, warburton ave.,n-valley, austin ave.,ridge hill etc. and look what it brought us HIGHER TAXES and MORE SPENDING…
your analysis is flawd higher taxes and more spending
are the result of lower revenues, and demands of the unions
teachers union especially..the cost of government has gone
up and the financial meltdown has decreased sales tax
revenues and income tax..so you have to make up the difference…unless of course the developments proposed
provide the income forecast..no development no possibility
of lowering your taxes..you choose..i really don’t have
a dog in the hunt…
The cost of government and schools inflates in times of inflation and inflates in times of deflation. Like hot air balloons, they have been engineered and manipulated to rise contrary to atmospheric conditions. Therein lies the Machiavellian riddle. Time to expose and rout the Princes.
it is time to say no to the unions as they continue
to demand more money and more benefits even as the
rest of the nation confronts dire economic conditions
rivaling the great depression….there pensions
have to be controlled (not abolihsed) and the loopholes
they have been using to increase the value of those
pensions have to be closed..If the state legislature
totally controlled by the democrats and the governor
also a democrat think that they are going to raise
taxes on those making more than 300,000 a year without
also asking unions to modify what they get, they
are sadly mistaken…its like the sceen in NETWORK
where everyone opens the window and screams ENOUGH
because they have ridden rough shod over elected
officials from both parties long enough
If these politicians and school board members want to be union delegates, let them join and follow that field. The legislature’s job and, indeed, school board jobs were meant to be advocates and managers of the PUBLIC interest, not cheerleaders and agents for themselves and their small self-serving incestuous constituency. One wonders, too, how much “education” our children are actually receiving by listening daily for twelve or sixteen years to ONE closed-minded, totally political harangue without benefit of opposing viewpoints. Without thesis and antithesis, how can they be expected to synthesize and grow intellectually?
Get rid of the corruption, and you’ll get rid of the problems in Westchester County Politics. Tax the rich, and give the union members a tax break. The working class is the backbone of this country. All you greedy rich silver spoon politicians that said to abolish unions, keep dreaming.
The municipal and school unions with their bedmate politicians PROVIDE the corruption. Your flaccid spoon is made of green seaweed and it is in your head, stultifying and swamping logical thought.