Politics on the Hudson

Yonkers City Council President Chuck Lesnick testified today on redistricting the state’s senate district lines and he asked that Yonkers not be split in half by two senate districts.

Lesnick made his statements before the Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment at the Bronx Museum of the Arts, where said that a current proposal would create a situation in which a non-Yonkers resident could be elected to represent the state’s fourth-largest city in the senate.

The city is currently divided in two senate districts. Democrat Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins represents most of the city, while Yonkers’ southeastern corner is represented by Sen. Jeff Klein, D-Bronx.

Here is what Lesnick said:

I am concerned that if the proposed senate districts are adopted Yonkers could lose its strong voice in the New York State Senate, and as a result, lose out on very much needed school aide that historically, had been restored by a powerful advocate in the Senate.

For many years, most of Yonkers has been in one senate district and that senator, be it Chippy Flynn, Nick Spano, or Andrea Stewart-Cousins, has worked hard to represent us on matters that concern our City.

The proposed lines, as they now stand, split Yonkers down the middle into two sections, and in such a way, that Yonkers would no longer to hold a majority in either district and thus, weaken our representation in Albany.

Former Yonkers Councilman John Murtagh announced today that he is joining the White Plains law firm Gaines, Gruner, Ponzini & Novick as a senior counsel.

Murtagh, a Republican who served two terms on the council ending last month and who waged an unsuccessful bid for Yonkers mayor last year, will focus on business and civil litigation and he will help the firm grow its municipal law and government affairs practice.

“I look forward now to helping clients not only based upon my legal background but by having spent nearly a decade on the other side of the table. My years in office have given me another perspective which, I believe, will help me advise clients living, working and doing business here in Westchester,” Murtagh said in a press release.

What ever happened to the $5 million settlement for Ridge Hill in Yonkers?

The village of Ardsley is offering three property owners a total of $240,000 for portions of their properties along Route 9A for a road widening project.

The money comes from the $5 million settlement of a lawsuit by Ardsley, Hastings and the Town of Greenburgh against Westchester’s Ridge Hill. The communities had argued that the mall-office-residential complex would flood their streets with traffic.

The widening is expected to cost about $1.7 million.

Ardsley offer letters

Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano announced today that the city’s projected budget shortfall for the 2012-13 fiscal year is at least $72.6 million just to keep the city at the status quo with no increases in services or salaries.

Spano, a Democrat who took office three weeks ago, said in his statement that the numbers are based in part on Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposed state budget. Spano also warned that the shortfall is expected to grow.

“This number is a current projection across the board,” Spano said in a press release issued this afternoon. “We are beginning the process of working with our State Legislative representatives in Albany. We will continue to partner with our labor unions and City Council to ensure we can maintain our budget to protect our work force and taxpayers. Additionally, our Education Redesign Team will further examine our budget to look for efficiencies needed to bridge the gap for our students.”

The city’s new fiscal year begins July 1 and Yonkers mayors traditionally unveil their proposed budgets in April because the state is supposed to adopt its budget on April 1.

The full text of the release is on the jump

Former Yonkers Councilman Fernando Fuentes called on Mayor Mike Spano to appoint more Hispanics to high-level positions in City Hall.

Fuentes, who served on the council in the 1990s, noted U.S. Census figures from 2010 finding that almost a third of the city’s population is Hispanic.

Here’s his email:

January 11, 2012 (Yonkers, New York).   Former Yonkers City Councilman Fernando Fuentes (D- 2^nd District) is calling on Mayor Mike Spano to include Latinos to top level positions within his administration.

“Our Latino community has come a long way and for Mr. Spano to consider appointing someone as ‘Liaison to the Hispanic community’ is insulting,” said Mr. Fuentes.

According to the 2010 Census the City of Yonkers Latino population stands at 65,044 or 32.47% of the total population.  Under Mayor Terence Zaleski, a Democrat, the City of Yonkers had a Deputy Mayor of Hispanic descent and there were a number of Latino appointed to director positions.  Mayor Mike Spano has not appointed a Latino to any director, commissioner or deputy mayor positions.

“The City of Yonkers used to published a yearly Equal Employment Opportunity Report that gave an accurate picture of the number of Latinos that where employed by the city, now they won’t even make it available,” continued former councilman Fuentes.

In May 2012, the Mayor also has an opportunity to make appoints to the Yonkers Board of Education.

“So far you can see a large number of Latinos at night, when a private company is hired to clean city hall, you won’t see that many of us during business hours holding major positions that impact our daily lives,” added Mr. Fuentes.

“The City of Yonkers receives millions of dollars from the federal, state, and county government based on our Latino population and right now Mayor Spano is willing to receive the money, but not have us adequately represented,” ended former Counciman Fernando Fuentes.

Newly elected Westchester County Legislator Virginia Perez, D-Yonkers,  filed for bankruptcy last week.

Yesterday Perez cited unmanageable debt as the cause of her Dec. 28 chapter 7 filing in the federal bankruptcy court.

Here is a link to The Journal News’ story published today.

Gary Kriss, a former aide to the Westchester County Board of Legislators, was only fined $1,694 to settle two counts of theft for using his public office for personal purposes, but he rang up at least $35,000 in legal bills defending himself.

That’s the amount he owes Aiello & Cannick of Maspeth, N.Y., which filed a lawsuit against him in the state Supreme Court on Dec. 7, accusing Kriss of breach of contract.

The law firm is asking the court to order Kriss to pay $35,000 plus interest from June 16, 2010, the day of his sentencing, to the present.

Attorney Robert Aiello defended Kriss during his trial. Kriss, chief adviser to former county Board chair Bill Ryan, was sentenced on misdemeanor theft-of-services charges.

Kriss came under fire after a June 1, 2008, report in The Journal News found he had spent thousands of taxpayer dollars on books, software and electronics. The purchases included Hollywood scriptwriting software, a how-to program on Manga style cartooning, and a Kindle, with some of the items shipped to his South Salem home.

The controversy later prompted the 17-member county board to adopt changes in board spending and oversight policies.

Kriss was never charged with wrongdoing in relation to his county expenses, but was initially charged with four misdemeanors accusing him of having county graphics information technology specialist Sarah O’Brien work on personal projects for him and his wife, Patricia.

Among the projects that prosecutors said O’Brien worked on were a flow chart relating to Yale Divinity School, where Patricia Kriss was a student, and work relating to a referendum for the Ridgefield, Conn., Library.

Two Yonkers City Council members released statements yesterday on the council’s vote to have the city pay for Mayor Phil Amicone’s $393,338 First Amendment settlement with the Westchester Guardian newspaper.

Here are the statements from City Council President Chuck Lesnick, a Democrat, and Councilman John Murtagh, a Republican. Lesnick voted no; Murtagh voted yes.

Lesnick: We just heard prior to tonight’s meeting from our Finance Commissioner that the City of Yonkers is already overdrawn on its financial settlements account – and to pay this settlement would only place the city deeper in debt.
Over the past week the Council has spent many hours in executive session and in caucus being briefed by attorneys of different opinions as to whether this settlement will ultimately save or cost the taxpayers money going forward depending on possible subsequent appeals or actions. This settlement does not include more than $400,000 that the City has already spent in its own legal fees.
My fiduciary responsibility is to the taxpayers not only to stop the financial bleeding, but to also ensure that the City does not assume the obligation to pay for items for which it has no legal responsibility.
While I will not argue the law or revisit the case itself, it was clear that an order was given to city employees to remove certain newspaper boxes within the city of Yonkers from the public’s view.
Who gave this order and how it was carried out were at the heart of the trial issue.  No one from the City was ever fired or disciplined for giving the order. The jury found a preponderance of evidence to indicate that the mayor gave the order and by doing so, violated the federal constitutional amendment that allows the press the freedom to deliver information and opinions to the public in an uncensored fashion.
To approve a settlement with no individual accepting any responsibility for any mistake thwarts the intention of the jury’s punitive award, runs counter to the public policy that generally prohibits municipal indemnification of punitive damages and leaves the Constitution vulnerable to future violations from those who might take a chance thinking that they too will be bailed out by the taxpayers.
Potter Stewart, the late associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court once said that “censorship reflects society’s lack of confidence in itself.  It is a hallmark of an authoritarian regime.”
Having served many years in government, I respect the media and the press for the necessary function it serves – to keep the public informed of the actions of its elected leaders. While I do not always concur with its coverage or the angle of a story – and I too have been blasted on the front page of the Westchester Guardian – I have taken an oath to uphold the Constitution that protects the bedrock of our Bill of Rights, the First Amendment. And that means that no matter how seemingly fabricated, tainted, suspicious or slanderous some stories may appear to be, the press is to be protected in its efforts to report the truth.
The words of President Franklin D. Roosevelt are just as important today as they were when he uttered them amidst the great war that defined the American spirit to safeguard humanity and its finest principles, “If in other lands the press and books and literature of all kinds are censored, we must redouble our efforts here to keep them free.”
While the dark days of totalitarian regimes are long behind us, we must always be vigilant to protect the freedoms we cherish and hold dear. For, even here in Yonkers, there will be those individuals, regardless of ranking and station, who may seek to grab hold of and maintain authority with any means possible.
To them I say, not on my watch, and not with our money.

Murtagh: “Make no mistake about it” Murtagh said, “what was done here in removing the Guardian newspaper boxes from the streets of Yonkers was wrong and indefensible. However, continuing this litigation at the cost of hundreds of thousands of additional dollars or even millions of dollars to the taxpayers with little likelihood of ultimate success would only make a bad situation worse”.

Murtagh, an attorney who has defended numerous such Section 1983 civil rights cases in his private practice, explained that the fact that the  Mayor has the right to insist that the City pay for an appeal and that such an appeal could risk bringing numerous other city employees back into court at substantial additional expense to the City made settlement now an unpleasant but financially sensible choice.  Realistic estimates of an appeal, cross-appeal by the plaintiffs and possible retrial range from the high six figures to over a million dollars with no assurance of success after years more of litigation.

“While it is offensive to have to spend a dime of taxpayer money as a result of this escapade, we are now in a position where the lesser of two evils is cutting off costs before they double or triple.  The taxpayers can either pay $393,338.00 now or, potentially, over a million dollars down the road.” Murtagh concluded.

Councilmember John Larkin echoed Murtagh’s sentiment saying that while he was outraged by the actions that led to the lawsuit in the first place he recognized that settlement, while unpleasant, was the fiscally prudent course.

Councilmember Dennis Shepherd said that the case was really an indictment of all that is wrong with the court system. “What was done by the Administration was clearly wrong” Shepherd said, “but that wrong was compounded by an abuse of the court system all of which left the taxpayers holding the bag”.

The Westchester County Fair Campaign Practices Committee issued a ruling today that Mount Vernon City Council candidate Richard Thomas, a Democrat, engaged in an unfair campaign practice against Samuel Rivers and John Fava, who are running for two open council seats together on the Conservative and Republican party lines.

The committee met yesterday to hear a complaint by Rivers against Thomas for allegedly misleading voters by stating in his campaign literature that Conservatives and Republicans are to blame for closing the city’s Social Security office.

Here’s an excerpt from the committee’s unfair campaign practice ruling:

The Thomas statement: “Conservatives and Republicans closed our local Social Security office” could lead some voters to believe that local Conservative and Republican Party members played a role in the closure when, in fact, the office was closed by the federal Social Security Administration.  Mr. Thomas did not state in his literature what he said at the Fair Campaign Practices hearing: that he was referring to Republicans in Congress who overwhelming voted to cut funding for the Social Security Administration, which may have played a role in the decision to close the Mount Vernon office.

Here’s the committee’s complete ruling (more…)

At the official opening ceremony for the $685 million Westchester’s Ridge Hill, one person noticeably missing from the line of officials cutting the ribbon in front of the Yard House restaurant last night was former Yonkers Mayor John Spencer.

It was the Spencer administration that struck the deal to build the 81-acre retail-residential complex which is expected to add 4,000 full-time jobs to Westchester County when it is fully built out.

With a smoker’s chuckle, Spencer said he was not surprised that he wasn’t asked to join in the ribbon cutting as he watched it from the crowd. Later during a ceremony and pyrotechnic show Spencer was asked to sit with dignitaries and he was acknowledged during the ceremony.

The Journal News asked Spencer for his thoughts on how Ridge Hill turned out.

Q: What do you think of Ridge Hill?

A:  I’m very happy that it’s finally come to fruition. It’s created hundreds, if not thousands, of jobs for people in Yonkers and the surrounding area. It’s going to provide revenue to the tax base of Yonkers to try to relieve some property taxes on the people of Yonkers and I’m thrilled that its putting good use to this land here called Ridge Hill.

Q: You were the target of criticism over how you handled the Ridge Hill project. Do you feel vindicated?

A: Of course…any time people come along, I guess people like me, who want to get things done, it causes acrimony. I think we did everything in a very professional manner. A very professional RFP (request for proposals). We had hundreds of public hearings and in spite of that, you’re always going to get some resistance, but time moves on and it gets developed, and I think now, as you see, people are enjoying the benefits of employment, getting a job and businesses hopefully continuing to prosper. I think it’s a great development. I’m very proud of it.

Q: Could you have done anything differently to have moved this project faster?

A: No, I really don’t. From day one we went through a very public RFP, opened up my conference room to everything. And then I remember the first time we had an announcement, we had it on a Saturday so citizens could come to it — civic groups and what not — to announce our intentions and to provide input. So we did all of that stuff, in spite of people saying we didn’t do it, we did do it.