Let’s See How Much Better We Can Do!

For the second year in a row, the Westchester County Legislature submitted their version of the County’s budget to County Executive (CE) Astorino. After three heavily attended rounds of public hearings around the county, the representative public clamored “no!” when it came to CE Astorino’s proposed cuts. And with the County Legislature’s 12 Democrats and 5 Republicans on the board, the vote appeared it would once again be a partisan split, as it was during last year’s budget vote. The balance of the Legislature will change on January 1st, when two more Republicans get sworn in. Still, Legislator Jim Maisano’s public wish to not be the minority leader still seems elusive for him.

CE Astorino rejected $10 million in spending after the county board approved a $1.69 billion budget. This included $1.9 million for neighborhood health centers, $990,000 for Cornell Cooperative Extension, $378,000 for Invest-in-Kids programs, $4.3 million in day-care subsidies, $100,000 for ethnic festivals and restoration of the Route 76 bus line between Rye and White Plains. No doubt we could use scrutiny with some of these dollars. I continue to find it interesting that CE Astorino would cut one bus route while touting another bus route with the Tappan Zee Bridge proposal that I’m convinced comes as an Obama reelection/Cuomo presidential campaign ploy. If we can’t afford a small bus route between Rye and White Plains, how will we be able to afford a much larger one from Rockland to Westchester? The same can be said about last year’s proposed cutting and then saved Bee Line Express Bus Route to NYC.

Republicans and Democrats agreed on a few areas, in particular, money for Cornell Cooperative Extension; $49,000 for Greenburgh Nature Center; $59,790 for business training; $42,500 for the Jewish Council and four positions with the Board of Elections.

I agree with CE Astorino’ goal of reductions to the budget. There seems to be an awful lot of excess in certain places. However, it seems like both years he’s gone after the same cuts for the same reasons. And the legislature restores the same cuts he proposes. Is this what our government representatives see as good government? It appears to be their preordained deadlock. I and others are amazed at comments like the one County Legislature Leader Ken Jenkins made when he said, “The budget is done. The problem is not with the legislature. The majority of things we do, we do unanimously.” With about 15,000 budget items, Jenkins said most were supported by both the board and executive branch and that they disagreed on only 27 items, with 40 overrides, including some not directly tied to the budget. Of the 27 budget vetoes, 19 were overridden along party lines. Was it just something they did because they could or are these items of real value to the county? We can’t really know the accuracy of what each side says because each side blames the other, abandoning the public at the sidelines. This type of partisanship has to stop.

There are four legislators not returning this January either because they are simply stepping down or lost in the last election. These are all democratic Legislators, Jose Alvarado, John Nonna, Bill Burton and Marty Rogowsky. I have had dealings with the last three and know them to be concerned, involved and responsive public servants. But they too, have played the partisanship game that I believe the public is so weary of. The last election will increase the Republicans numbers but not enough to put this ship back on an even keel. We need to have better balance, new and different ideas, with better ways of operating our County government. The old ways are failing us. We must have relief from the state induced mandates if Westchester and New York wish to return to any competitive markets again, yet we see no action from them.

Astorino said he expected many of the overrides to his vetoes but it was important to “take principled stands on items” that he thought were detrimental to taxpayers and effective government. Imagine what might happen if the two sides sat down and tried to work together, forging solutions to the budget before it was due? Imagine if, instead of campaigning for their “sides”, they brokered a balanced, effective and realistic solutions that didn’t provide broad-brush sweeping cuts that pit one neighbor against another? Imagine if, instead of playing the partisan games of one-upmanship sound bites in the media, all the representatives actually represented us and created a budget that held or reduced the dollars taken from the County’s beleaguered and abused tax payers? Imagine how much better off everyone might be?

CE Astorino may be on the right track. He wanted to have a one percent tax reduction last year when he proposed his first budget. The County Legislature trumped him and offered a two percent reduction and kept all the positions he sought to eliminate. This year was almost an exact duplication of his efforts with the similar actions taken by his presumed “adversaries”. Imagine if he and his people had worked closely with the legislature before the budget was introduced? That would have caused everyone to take notice of a sharply honed representative government in action! If the CE can only offer cuts of one nature, and the legislature can only offer to override them, how much longer before the public says enough? The CE and the Board of Legislators may respectively have some good ideas. But until we see true collaboration, an honest joining of forces, we are destined for a repeat of the same antics every year. The public is frustrated with these games. I look forward to this new year with local politicians acting and working differently. Let’s see how much better we can do.

MTA On-Time Performance: It’s A Scam!

Based on “arrivals with 5 minutes, 59 seconds of schedule”, the MTA boasts quarterly of the on-time record for train arrivals. Isn’t 5 minutes, 59 seconds really just six minutes? Of course it is. And, of course this is MTA doublespeak as they try to mask their poor performance. I take the Harlem line into NYC from the White Plains station. I typically take the 8:01AM and arrive at Grand Central Station at about 8:45AM. It should be changed to the 8-ish train. On a good day, the train is on time. On a normal day, whether on time or not, there’s no seats available and most people boarding the train will stand for their ride into NYC. A bad day can be when the train is running fifteen minutes late (or more) or worse, the train is cancelled. No train? No late charge. 


This latest iteration of the On-Time Performance chart, buried in the Holiday release of things to do in NYC via MetroNorth, indicated that on-time performance of the Harlem and New Haven lines was down, with the New Haven line edging slightly beyond the Harlem line with the worst on-time performance. Does it matter that hundreds of people are late for work? Does it matter that there are never any seats available for all? Does it matter that many must stand on the wind-swept platform in inclement weather because there isn’t enough room inside the station? Does it matter that once one train is late, many behind it  are subsequently late? Does it matter that the MTA slapped a tax on small businesses and individuals to pay for their bloated budget? Does it matter that the MTA routinely raises it’s monthly ticket prices regardless of these issues. Resoundingly, NO, only to those affected riders! 


Each year I attend the MTA Board meetings and discuss the above mentioned issues I have with the running of the trains. The meetings had been run by the now-former CEO of the MTA, Jay H. Walder, who has departed his post as of this past October. No great loss to commuters. At these meetings, I usually touch on the fact that I subsidize their poorly run entity as I only take the train three days a week but purchase a monthly ticket. They get to use my money for 7 days, even though I’m not using the train anywhere near that amount. In effect, I’m giving them 4 days of subsidy money with no return of service. And since it’s not enough, they decided to tax us through a payroll tax! I also touch on how we all got indoctrinated into hearing how their delays were due to equipment problems during the colder seasons. Then they started using the same excuse for the warmer seasons. So apparently the trains and related equipment can only run in perfect weather. Yes, of course I’m being sarcastic. The problem is a common one: failed management and a failing infrastructure. Fix the equipment!


 Now we are waiting to see who Governor Cuomo will appoint to the CEO position. Do you think accountability should be a mainstay of keeping this position? I do. I also think “tricked-out” numbers to make the story smell better is disingenuous and should be stopped. I also think they should be giving out credits for every late train or cancelled train to those waiting at the station. I realize most of their expenses may be personnel, their pensions and all the other things we all hear about on the news. How about fixing the infrastructure? How about getting everything working well before trying to add trains to the Tappan Zee Bridge and I-287 fiasco? There's much more to do, but everyone seems content to just wave a magic wand and hope for the best. We can do better.

Trucks Keep Hitting Bridges

Every so often we hear or read about a truck trying to go under a bridge and hitting it and/or getting jammed under it. If hitting a bridge isn’t bad enough, the ensuing traffic jams danger to the public and fiascos make the situation untenable. The local newspapers write about it, occasionally it’ll appear on TV and radio and the pictures from cell phones wind up appearing on You Tube in short order. I understand that accidents happen. I also understand what it’s like to rely on a GPS instruction - the common reason for the mishap. I do draw the line with GPS units at disobeying one way street signs, going onto railroad tracks and so on.

The answer seems to be elusive to all those experts whom we repeatedly see quoted in articles about the accident. How is this if they are the experts? Perhaps they’re just book smart and lack any common sense intelligence. Maybe they should let us come up with ideas for solving this. And if they adopt our solutions, they return a percentage of their salary for inefficiency.

Last year, 33 trucks drove into bridges on Westchester parkways patrolled by county police; in 2009 it was 54. In 2008 it was 46. There have been 39 he bridge crashes so far this year, 30 of them on the Hutchinson River Parkway, sometimes tying up traffic for hours as cops from several agencies scramble to the scene. A bridge inspector and often a tow truck are called out, costing truckers sometimes more than $100,000 when repairs and lost cargo are added in, officials say. The boxes on tractor-trailer rigs can stand more than 13 feet high, while some of the bridges have clearances barely above 9 feet. This is an issue for emergency vehicles as well. But most of their operators are familiar with the bridges in their communities and have alternate routes they utilize when responding.

Sgt. Ira Promisel, of the New York State Police, one of the good guys, says a task force has been studying the problem for two years and trying out ideas. There’s an obvious waste of time - why fix it when we can talk about it? The task force is comprised of DOT, state police, and Westchester County officials, among others. They’ve tried reflective stickers on bridges in the Bronx, which didn’t work. Stickers. Really? The task force is about to try a device called “The Wizard” near the King Street Bridge. It constantly sends out a message to CB channels that bridges on the Hutch are too low for trucks. Not every solution needs to be a high tech one.

Here’s a simple solution, build an opening on the entrances that a truck might have access to to match the lowest bridge on the roadway. That way, as they try to enter the roadway, they hit the representative structure, set with a notification system to the appropriate police response agency, stop, and get to remove their vehicle without screwing up traffic on the highway/parkways. Most importantly, they haven’t hit and wedged themselves under the bridge, damaged the bridge, other vehicles or hurt anyone. Simple. If you want to argue the cost, we’ve already spent $3.3 million dollars dealing with last years accidents and there’s no reduction in sight.

Being a leader means stepping out of your comfort zone - or, in this case, off the curb. Propose some common-sense solutions to a reoccurring problem and make a difference in a positive way. The truck drivers, insurance companies, responders, motoring public will all appreciate what you do: providing real solutions to real problems.

Tappan Zee Politics As Usual

Many have repeatedly called for a new Tappan Zee Bridge to be built, replacing the existing one. Proponents use the Chicken Little mantra of, “The bridge is falling, the bridge is falling!” And while the bridge certainly needs repairs and maintenance, it getting replaced anytime soon is probably a fantasy on their part. I agree that something needs to be done but am not convinced based on the latest public information session in Tarrytown that we are getting the best solutions.

President Obama made it easier for our cash strapped state by saying the feds would ease federal regulations to expedite the building of the bridge. That’s all well and good if he were paying for it. But guess what? We’re going to pay for it. And pay handsomely I might add. Now that Governor/Presidential candidate Cuomo has entered the fray, saying there will be no mass transit component, it seems that we will be lucky to simply replace what’s already there. I can almost live with that.

While I don’t have that much of an issue trying to incorporate a mass transit element into the project, the lack of coordination with the communities, state and federal governments is disturbing. I’ve always maintained that at the least we should repair the bridge. Given the clamor for mass transit, I feel we’re being shortchanged with the bus system solution. Having a bus system that goes from Suffern to Port Chester may be nice to have but no one has presented a comprehensive plan as to why we need that. Oh sure, the proponents say it will relieve traffic. Prove it - I'm not convinced. Everything they say is based on a supposed increase in traffic. But that also ties in with an increase in residences. What if we stopped developing every bit of green and open space we have? If we don’t build more homes and preserve our green space, maybe our traffic woes won’t be as bad the doomsayers are predicting.

They say more people will take advantage of the mass transit option, keeping cars off the road. If most of those people can still afford to pay the taxes to live here, they’ll have to take the bus because they won’t be able to afford to own a car. With the President’s lack of an energy policy for America seemingly to be “pay more at the pumps”, many won’t be able to afford a car (or two) or afford the gas. What makes you think you’ll be able to afford the toll on the Tappan Zee Bridge? Almost all mass transit/public transportation is a money loser. It’s why the Metropolitan Transportation Agency (MTA) raises its fairs every year. In Rob Astorino’s first budget, he cut the Express Bus service to NYC. If we can’t sustain a known bus route system that is working, is this the model we want to follow? I don’t think so.

The bus system will have a bus running every five minutes. That’s an incredible number of buses. What happens when the powers that be realize that no one is riding the 12:30 AM bus with regularity? They’ll probably have to cancel it because they cannot afford to run an empty bus. It’s exactly the reason the Express Bus to NYC works. There are more during rush hour and fewer during the other times. Every five minutes may be unrealistic even though it sounds necessary. But regardless how many are running, they are cumbersome to turn, slow in traffic (even slowing it), additional pollutants and finally, adding to the already existing heavy traffic which we all suffer from.

The bus pick-up and drop-off points have been mapped out along Rt 119. But parking spaces for your car so you can take the buses do not exist. In Tarrytown and Elmsford, they will be using eminent domain to acquire the property they desire for the bus route lanes. Is this what most people want? I haven’t heard from anyone who liked that idea once they were told about it. The idea of a monorail system, while more environmentally viable would allow cars smaller than train cars & more customizable to ridership. Regardless it doesn’t provide an answer to the question, will it be profitable? ABG doesn’t believe any solution will break-even, let alone be profitable based on the past performance of mass transit.

But until funding for any of this can be offered and the public buys into it, lets draw up plans that will allow a bridge that can handle some growth in the future for automotive traffic and even a public transportation option. The proponents of existing plans haven’ received some resistance or opposition. The dog and pony shows the Tappan Zee Bridge group puts forth is never held at a convenient time for more public participation. Until they change their way of operating, we’ll never have the best ideas or the best plan for the future.

’Tis The Season

The road to Albany is paved with constant tax payer advertising. The art of the press release continues to get refined by the incumbent legislators and the rookie legislators, while not necessarily left in the dust, pale by comparison. There are many local weekly newspapers that exist through advertising as their revenue mainstay as they are otherwise free to the reader. The only daily newspaper in the area is looking for a new office while they’ve jettisoned staff, assets and finally their building. The staff that is left must take one week off before the end of the year with no pay just to hold onto their jobs. It’s ironic how they have always (and continue) to endorse the liberal agenda, report on how great the President is doing for our country and that there’s no recession. They are finally able to experience first hand the affects of their endorsements. Touché.


In the areas best opinion weekly, the Westchester Guardian, they printed the obligatory press release, this time from George Latimer, entitled “On The Road: The I-287 Project”. Their editor places value in these press releases, having previously told me that these are how they inform the constituents of the progress they are making on their behalf in Albany. That remains to be seen. It sometimes seems like self-flatuance to me. I will say from the onset, I like George Latimer. I’ve met with him numerous times and he seems to be a straight-shooter. But, since I don’t reside in his district, he and I each have nothing to lose by being open and honest. 


In this release, he states, “The project has long been burdened by inadequate planning, unqualified design teams, lack of oversight, and a ‘rigid regional’ funding system that made financing even more difficult when compounded with the current economic climate. This project was approved during a different economy and there was wiggle room in the state budget. Now, we unfortunately don’t have the same luxuries and that has cost the taxpayers greatly while 287 has been under construction.”* 


My issue with this press release is that it purports the information from Latimer is accurate when it needs to be challenged. Had this been a real journalistic interview by an unbiased reporter, they might have challenged him on the first sentence. He has been a legislator in Albany for a good many years. To say this project, which was brought to light in an exposé article by the Journal News, has long been burdened by inadequate planning, unqualified design, lack of oversight, etc., smacks of hypocrisy on his part. We elect legislators to go to Albany to represent us. I can’t think of anyone who wants to get ripped off on any project. I'm sure he’s driven on I-287 and wondered as we all do when will it ever be completed? The difference is as a legislator he can easily find out. But he did nothing. He also, along with many other flabbergasted colleagues, never lifted a finger to help the constituencies along the I-287 corridor.


The release continues, “Governor Andrew Cuomo recently implemented a new series of drastic reforms that will bring the cost of the I-287 project under control and move up the often changed end date. The Governor’s changes will significantly alter the way the Department of Transportation does business, making the Department more efficient on projects throughout New York. Once again, he has shown strong leadership in advancing necessary change in the way state government functions.” While I’m sure this flattery will curry favor for Latimer with the governor, this is exactly what I’d have hope for from my assemblyman, not the governor. This press release should have come from the Governor’s office. 


He continues on, “These reforms came as a result of the investigation by Peter Lehrer at the request of the Governor’s Office and will directly address the significant issues that have slowed down the I-287 project and many others across the state. Peter Lehrer is a renowned construction industry expert and also a Mamaroneck resident who most likely has been frustrated by the I-287 project himself.” Nice try George. This may be the case for the state, but if it hadn’t been for the Journal News digging into this story, the state would have blissfully lumbered along without as much as a whimper of a challenge to the practices by those reaping the financial benefits. After the hundreds of millions of dollars wasted, it’s a little too little too late. Where’s the wiggle-room now?


Term limits comes up by many every time elections are near - for good reason. Press releases can be a good informational tool if it’s not abused and wasted. Unfortunately, this one is exactly that. It is a publicity/campaign tool that has outlived its usefulness in its current form. I also just received the Tom Abinanti pre-Christmas mailer, stating all that he has been involved in while in Albany since he beat me in the last election. He claims to be green but then mails this oversized cardboard campaign piece. Here’s a guy who knows how to campaign on the taxpayers dime. Nita Lowey has sent hers as well. The waste, I’m sure justified as informative, does nothing but pollute. I’m sure there isn’t much we can do to stop a lot of junk mail coming every holiday. After all ’tis the season.

Read George Latimer’s entire press release at: 

http://yonkerstribune.typepad.com/files/click-to-read-the-westchester-guardian---december-1-2011-edition-2.pdf

'Company Policy: We are not hiring until Obama is gone'

This story has gone viral and when I saw it, I followed the links to the original story and watched the video that businessman Bill Looman had made. It’s always interesting when someone takes a stand for their principles. I was impressed and thought to reprint this here.

Sign posted in Bill Looman’s truck window.

WACO, Ga. -- A west Georgia business owner is stirring up controversy with signs he posted on his company's trucks, for all to see as the trucks roll up and down roads, highways and interstates:

"New Company Policy: We are not hiring until Obama is gone."

"Can't afford it," explained the employer, Bill Looman, Tuesday evening. "I've got people that I want to hire now, but I just can't afford it. And I don't foresee that I'll be able to afford it unless some things change in D.C."

Looman's company is U.S. Cranes, LLC. He said he put up the signs, and first posted pictures of the signs on his personalFacebook page, six months ago, and he said he received mostly positive reaction from people, "about 20-to-one positive."

But for some reason, one of the photos went viral on the Internet on Monday.

And the reaction has been so intense, pro and con, he's had to have his phones disconnected because of the non-stop calls, and he's had to temporarily shut down his company's website because of all the traffic crashing the system.

Looman made it clear, talking with 11Alive's Jon Shirek, that he is not refusing to hire to make some political point; it's that he doesn't believe he can hire anyone, because of the economy. And he blames the Obama administration.

"The way the economy's running, and the way my business has been hampered by the economy, and the policies of the people in power, I felt that it was necessary to voice my opinion, and predict that I wouldn't be able to do any hiring," he said.

Looman did receive some unexpected attention not long after he put up his signs and Facebook photos. He said someone, and he thinks he knows who it was, reported him to the FBI as a threat to national security. He said the accusation filtered its way through the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and finally the Secret Service. Agents interviewed him.

"The Secret Service left here, they were in a good mood and laughing," Looman said. "I got the feeling they thought it was kind of ridiculous, and a waste of their time."

So Bill Looman is keeping the signs up, and the photos up -- stirring up a lot of debate.

"I just spent 10 years in the Marine Corps protecting the rights of people... the First Amendment, and the Second Amendment and the [rest of the] Bill of Rights," he said. "Lord knows they're calling me at 2 in the morning, all night long, and voicing their opinion. And I respect their right to do that. I'm getting a reaction, a lot of it's negative, now. But a lot of people are waking up."

A New Westchester

I found myself disagreeing with some of County Executive Astorino’s last budget, and specifically what he was trying to do with the Department of Emergency Services (DES) and the Department of Public Safety, formerly known as the County Police, and publicly spoke against it. I did, however, try to reach out to people around the County Executive for either a sit-down or at least a phone conference regarding where he was making a mistake, why and how I believed it could be corrected. But, those players never got back to me and I can only assume that they didn’t approach the County Executive on my behalf. Better to say nothing than to stick your neck out. Subsequently, I am being shunned by the Westchester Republican party. Ah, politics in Westchester.


As a former County Legislative candidate for the 8th District, I, along with others, had asked Astorino and others to have the Republican candidates run as a Team, showing the voters that there is a group of qualified, capable and willing Team of Republicans who will attack the spending and taxing problem in Westchester County. I was told that it wouldn’t be practical. Ironically, after Rob won, he couldn’t get much accomplished because the Democrats held the supermajority in the legislature. Maybe I was correct.


This election holds a bit of hope for the Republicans and in particular the County Executive. I'm not sure if he’ll get much completed as the Democrats are still in the majority, although there seems to be more of a chance now that several Republicans have appeared to win their legislative races. I want to see more of a balance in the legislature. More balance will bring a wider variety of ideas, solutions, compromise and level-headed decisions. I’m concerned however because many candidates promised to vote with CE Astorino if elected. We need independent thinkers, as opposed to independence candidates, who will vote the conscience of their constituency, not the partisan line, whether republican, democrat or something else. I believe that is what the voters are hoping for - not blind allegiance to the party.


CE Astorino has proposed this years budget. It appears he is proposing many of the same layoffs he had the last time he proposed the budget. Some of the cuts make more sense than others from this years budget are Departmental cuts: County parks: Down $3 million to $48 million; DSS: Down $16 million to $562 million ($14.5 million reflects a cut in federal stimulus money); Public Safety: Down $1.2 million to $36.4 million; Health: Down $5 million to $160 million. But if DSS is losing grant monies, they are only cutting the county portion by $1.5 million - a proverbial drop in the budget’s bucket.

Other cuts are: $1.9 million to three neighborhood health agencies; $990,000 to Cornell Cooperative Extension; $750,000 to ArtsWestchester; $100,000 to ethnic festivals; $40,000 to "Nutcracker" performance; $30,000 for nighttime movies; $16,000 for Lasdon Park concerts; $10,000 for Battle of the Bands; $7,000 for open gym. These are thousands, not millions and are nice to have but simply a waste. These cuts are symbolic and don't really add up to much.

Specific to the issues of cuts, he has 210 layoffs scheduled for this year. The big question is, “Do we need these people or can we do without them?” If we could live without them, why did we have them in the first place? It was about the same number last year. In fact, the breakdown of layoffs by departments is as follows:

A breakdown of layoffs by department: Human Resources: 1; Budget: 1; Board of Elections: 19; Finance: 1; Information Technology: 7; Law: 2; Planning: 4; Emergency Services: 8; Social Services: 71.


If government should be protecting it’s people, should we be cutting the social services and emergency services as much as we are? Should we be trying to educate the recipients of social services benefits to eventually be self-sufficient? Of course we should. Should we be consolidating two very different departments just because they fall under the moniker of emergency responders? Of course not! As a solution to our over-taxation in Westchester, it’s time for our elected officials to start thinking differently, acting differently and accomplishing more for us.


Most politicos realize it’s easier to just raise taxes, ignore the waste, deception, and phony largess, maybe the politicians should overall what we do run and give away. Reduce duplication where applicable (my only complaint with last years budget), reduce waste and streamline many of the processes that become self-serving and simply, expensive. Let’s hope the County Executive makes some progress this time around and maybe we can have a new Westchester!