WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL CHRONICLE-EXAMINER. By John F. Bailey. August 5, 2005: Mike Gismondi, Commissioner of Building for the City of White Plains, assured WPCNR Tuesday evening that though plastic pipe can now installed in buildings six stories or 75 feet high in the city, that the Cappelli Hotel structure, currently planned for six stories, 200-plus rooms,  would not be permitted to use the plastic pipe.

Mike Gismondi, Commissioner of Building, right, shown at first presentation of the Louis Cappelli 221 Main Street dual tower and hotel project, December, 2004. Photo, WPCNR News Archive.

Plastic pipe was granted building code-legal status in the city when the Common Council accepted the revised Supplementary Building Code Tuesday afternoon, 6-0. The new ordinance permitting the conditions under which plastic pipe may now be used, appearing in the section labeled "Materials" reads:

(1) Plastic plumbing materials are not permitted for installation in buildings in the City of White Plains exceeding six stories above grade, or seventy-five feet in height above the lowest level of fire department vehicle access, whichever is lower.

The Compromise according to Councilman Tom Roach, was brokered by Councilman Robert Greer as a means of helping individual homeowners save money by being able to install plastic pipe in their homes, while prohibiting use of plastic pipe in high rise buildings, which arose as an issue over the last two weeks, raised by the plumbers union and firefighters.

Speculation reached the CitizeNetReporter, that, even though Louis Cappelli has stated repeatedly he would not use plastic pipe in his buildings because it was not appropriate for a luxury building, that Cappelli would use the plastic pipe in the hotel portion of his building.

Commissioner Gismondi, when asked by WPCNR if this was legal even if the hotel were only six stories, said plastic pipe was not permitted because the hotel and the double high rise condominiums were part of one building, one foundation, and you could not mix and match iron pipe and plastic pipe.