Indian Point or Dealing From the Bottom of the Deck

Everyone, especially our politicians in Westchester seem to be jumping on the ‘close Indian Point’ bandwagon. Why? Probably because they know one of two things, although there certainly may be more. First, it has picked up steam (no pun intended) and seems to be the publicity-crazed cause celeb, providing unlimited exposure for all politicians. Two, not dissimilar to Paul Feiner's political strategy, they have no control over it, no real input about it and know nothing will happen for years, giving them unfettered amounts of publicity with no jeopardy to themselves. It’s a win-win for them.

In the recent Westchester Guardian, Abby Luby, a known opponent of Indian Point and nuclear energy in general, tells that, “The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has never rejected a single application tendered by any utility company seeking to keep their reactors online.” Could it simply be because the stringent measures that are routinely followed by these agencies mandating compliance to all rules and regulations, allows the NRC to not find cause to shut them down?

She states that, “A new generation of legal warriors with scheduled appeals and hotly debated contentions, have slowed some relicensing procedures to a global pace.” If I’m interpreting this correctly, she’s more concerned with stopping the plants relicensing than having an honest dialog, seeking real answers to her valid questions. This reminds me of the environmentalists who went after  the manufacturers throughout New York State, complaining about their polluting of our rivers, streams, air, soil, etc. Let me be clear, I am just as concerned as they are about pollution. But by not having open and honest discussions, the consequences forced manufacturing out of New York, taking New York jobs with them! Are they doing the same thing with Indian Point and our power supply? It certainly seems possible. But we won’t know for years to come.

The environmentalists may be able to hold their fists in the air claiming victory, but are they really victorious? Lets see. They closed down the plant in YourTown, NY. The plant moved to China, as well as the job you or your next door neighbor held. Now that they’re gone, they are no longer polluting the nearby river and earth. Well, that’s good, isn’t it? Well, now that they’re in China, they’re polluting the Chinese water and soil. Surely, that’s bad? We all know that the regulations against pollution in China are less than what we have here in the US. The enforcement of the pollution standards in China are also less stringent. Let’s not forget the other countries such as Korea, India, Taiwan and such. So, if they hadn’t been so adamant about chasing the factories from here, and had open and honest dialog - working with them, we might have been able to better control the safety of our environment by more closely monitoring them for environmental conformity and helped keep jobs here, in New York. Can everybody work in medicine, public schools and for the state? No, of course not, but they can work at Sam’s Club, Walgreens or CVS for minimum wage.

The environmental extremists site the Fukushima reactor issue and say Indian Point is just as capable to have a serious accident. If they hadn’t made it so difficult for nuclear energy development for all these years by creating lawsuits and injunctions, perhaps we could have kept pace with France, who gets 80% of it’s power from safe nuclear energy and has a nuclear recycling program to deal with their spent fuel rods. But they’re not interested in dialog, just winning at whatever the cost!

Don’t misinterpret this post as being anti-environmental or pro-nuclear. What I’d like to see is discussion that is honest and not one-sided. I attended the “forum” Paul Feiner held, at tax-payer expense, that was nothing more than a close Indian Point rally. Why wouldn’t he try to rationally and intelligently inform the taxpayers and others of Greenburgh by presenting both sides of the coin, allowing for a pro or con decision to be made by the electorate? Probably because he’s a coward and afraid to do the right thing. It’s easier to pander to a sympathetic anti-nuke crowd, just as Abby Luby does.

Court Upholds Astorino’s Decision To End Money-Losing Contract

In an important victory for the Astorino administration, a state Supreme Court judge has upheld the county executive’s decision last year – over the objections of the Democratic majority on the Board of Legislators – to end a money-losing contract with New York State to administer the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program.

Acting State Supreme Court Justice James W. Hubert threw out the lawsuit brought by the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) on behalf of 38 employees who lost their jobs when the contract was terminated at the end of last year.

In October of 2010, the county gave the state the required 60 day notice to terminate its contract to administer Section 8 vouchers for low-income individuals and families because it was losing $500,000 a year on the deal. At the time, Westchester was one of only four counties with such contracts with the state.

The judge ruled that the county executive had the right to end the contract and that the Board of Legislators could not restore the jobs of the 38 employees assigned to the program because it had failed to appropriate any money for their return.

Administering the Section 8 program cost the county $4.5 million a year, of which $4 million was reimbursed, leaving the county with a $500,000 loss. Since terminating the contract, the county has turned that loss into a gain because it is now leasing space to the state’s new administrator of the program. The deal will pay the county just over $1 million over the next five years.

Astorino said the net benefit to the taxpayers would have been more had the Board of Legislators followed his lead. Because the Board of Legislators took the side of the union in the case, the County Attorney had to recuse himself. This forced the county executive to hire outside legal counsel at a cost of about $55,000.

Following the termination of the Section 8 contract with the county, the state contracted with CVR Associates to administer the program. CVR is a national company certified by the U.S. General Services Administration to manage affordable housing programs, including housing choice voucher programs. Its clients include the Chicago Housing Authority and the Boston Housing Authority, among many others.

By leasing space to the state for the Section 8 program, Westchester County will get $1.1 million over the course of the five-year deal. Under the terms of the five-year-lease, the county will receive about $237,000 a year in rental income for almost 9,300 square feet of space at its building at 112. E. Post Road, White Plains.

In addition to the state’s Section 8 program now run by CVR, 13 local municipalities and public housing authorities across Westchester run their own Section 8 programs. Those agencies contract directly with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Portions of this article came from the County's website.

Sunnydale Farms & Village Café Closes - Leaves Gap in Community

In 1973, Nirmal Singh and Jogi Singh (not related) opened Sunnydale Farms at 721 Saw Mill River Road, in Ardsley. Sunnydale Farms would later expand and encompass the Village Café and has been open every day for the last thirty years. This is a remarkable feat given most businesses fail in the first five years. Their longtime employee, David McCleary, started working for them in high school and has been at the restaurant since.

The Singhs have closed both locations and the future of this shopping strip mall includes putting in a Vietnamese restaurant and a Citibank branch. Apparently, there are not enough banks, drug stores, high price restaurants in our area. The landscape of Westchester, and for that matter, New York and the nation, is slowly changing into big corporations, eroding the small-town feel of Ardsley, and ultimately every Village and Town. Shopping locally is becoming more and more difficult to do.

ABG doesn't believe more large chains stores such as CVS’, Walgreens, Rite Aids, Sam’s Clubs, Chase, Citibank and others, necessarily helps a village have that hometown feel. We do need grocery stores, hardware stores, stationery stores, bakeries, auto repair shops, local drug stores, opticians and other types of small businesses in our communities. We need them because these are the people who own and the run the businesses and support and finance our communities. Otherwise, while it may not hurt to have the chain-stores in our communities, an executive at their corporate headquarters making decisions on how to run an Ardsley store can't be good. In the end, the Village Café was a part of the fabric of Ardsley and ultimately, Westchester County.  “The community loved us and welcomed us," Jogi said. "It was an honor and a privilege for us. We are thankful to everybody.”

We wish them the best of luck and hope they are able to relocate within Ardsley. They’ll be missed.