WPCNR’S CITY HALL NEWS CONFERENCE. By John F. Bailey. September 15, 2006: WPCNR with the cooperation of  The Mayor’s Office is introducing a new feature this week in order that our readers know that WPCNR is attempting to get the answers on  questions raised by news events. Thursday afternoon, Paul Wood, the City’s Executive Officer and David Maloney, Strategic Area Development Officer/Grants Coordinator responded to a number of questions WPCNR left on their voicemails and conducted a telenewsconference:

 WPCNR: Does the Mayor have a statement as to what Commissioner of Building, Mike Gismondi has meant to the city, as he departs October 2?

Mr. Wood: We wish him luck in his future endeavors.

WPCNR:  Does the Mayor have a statement on the county approval of the $1.6 Million lease to HANAC and Bluestone Corp. to build and manage the senior housing project?

Mr. Wood: We’re evaluating it. Have you looked at the lease agreement (with HANAC and Bluestone Corporation)? They’re given the right to flip it (sell the lease).

WPCNR: Are you planning legal action to stop it?

Mr. Wood: We’re evaluating it.

Return of the Green Scum

SILVER LAKE on Liberty Park, viewed from the Harrison (East Side) of Lake looking south to White Plains and Lake Street on August 31, 2006. Photo, WPCNR News

WPCNR:  What is causing the new green scum coating Silver Lake for the last three weeks now that temperatures are in the 60s?  Related Question: did the Town of Harrison ever repair their sanitary sewer line as the city was told it would do?

Mr. Wood: The cause is biological. It is not sewage from Harrison. Buddy (Commissioner of Public Works sent me a memo explaining the situation).

Mr. Maloney: We’ve initiated dialogue with upper level federal elected officials for help in cleaning it (Silver Lake) up. (Mr. Maloney declined to say who the elected officials were the city has contacted.) . The park closes in 7 weeks – we have time to work on a solution for next year.  

Silver Lake Scum in the Sunset. August 31. Looking West. Liberty Park dock is at left. Photo, WPCNR News.

WPCNR: Is the city requesting federal aid from elected officials to clean up Silver Lake?

Mr. Maloney: . Buddy (Nicoletti) is seeking aid from the state, we are holding discussions at the federal level. We’re in the early stages of discussion, it’s too soon to tell what the officials can do. We’re actively pursuing it.

A short time later, Mr. Wood shared with  WPCNR this Memorandum he had received from Commissioner of Public Works, Joseph Nicoletti on the causes and efforts to alleviate the return of the Silver Lake scum:

It’s not quite like last year when the sewage from Harrison was getting into the lake, but due to natural causes, there are many rooted algae plants that grow there. Arne (Abramowitz, Commissioner of Recreation and Parks) and I noticed this several months ago, and it does hamper the use of our paddle boats.

The removal of these “weeds” requires an exhaustive engineering study with much chemical analysis. The removal plan would then have to be submitted to the State DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) and, after approval, we’d go out for bids to retain the specialized underwater contractors that do this work.

That’s why, last December, we jointly applied with Harrison to the State for a $220,000.00 grant to retain an environmental engineering firm to begin the study and come up with a DEC-approved plan. We’ve yet to hear back (from the state) as to the status of this grant.

The actual construction work, consisting of dredging of certain parts of the lake (especially near the outfall basin near Lake St.; removal of the lake bottom muck and rooted algae, and the easier to discard, floating algae; treating the water with chemicals which will retard the regrowth of algae, but not enganger one’s ability to potentially drink the water, etc., has an estimated price tag of $500,000.00 to $1,000,000. Presumably, if we got the initial State grant for the design, the State would come up with more money for the actual work.

I’ll check with the State next week as to the grant status.

  The Dump, The DEC and The City

WPCNR: Will the city have to remediate the existing TCE’s from the city dump before executing repairs and reconfiguration of the City Dump Composting site to comply with DEC regulations? Is the DEC allowing the city to leave the TCE contamination in the dump?

Mr. Wood said he would be arranging a discussion of the project between WPCNR and Mr. Nicoletti, and the schedule submitted to the DEC

(Editor’s Note: Wendy Rosenbach, Spokesperson for the Department of Environmental Conservation told WPCNR Tuesday of this week that the DEC has received a schedule from the Department of Public Works for the construction requirements the DEC seeks to allow the city to keep composting in the City Dump.  Rosenbach advised WPCNR that it has not been decided whether the city will be asked to remediate the TCE (TriChloralEthanes) that remain in the City Dump, or whether the city will be allowed to cap the landfill in a manner that seals off the TCEs and prevents them from leaking into the ground and the Mamaroneck River, which the TCEs have been polluting for thirty years. Rosenbach confirmed to WPCNR that the landfill has to be closed and that the city has begun removing the storm debris and other items they were not supposed to dump in the landfull such as concrete, barrels and general effuse. )

CON EDISON

WPCNR: Does the Mayor have a statement on how Con Edison cooperated during the Labor Day “Ernesto” electrical outages – were they better, worse, acceptable?

Wood declined to answer this question.

CITY CENTER SECURITY

Does the Mayor have a Statement on Downtown Security Concerns and how the police and the City Center are responding – as did Louis Cappelli?

Mr. Wood: There has not been one incident of violence thank god in the downtown…in spite of that, we have been asked to increase patrols on weekend nights to give the appearance of order and safety.

WPCNR: How much has security been increased?

Mr. Wood: Not much…an additional two officers walking. Several years ago we used to have the paddy wagon there but we were told it looked dangerous so we stopped doing that. I don’t know what enough presence is.  There hasn’t been an incident. We deploy city police based on where incidents are reported. Would you have us move police from areas where there are incidents to where there are less?  It (the downtown atmosphere) is all based on some peoples’ perceptions.  When you have mixed groups you’re going to have that. We’re extremely pleased it has become a vibrant bustling center. It’s safe – what do you do -- send a police escort for everybody?

Mr. Maloney: Some people just don’t like kids

WPCNR: Thank you, Mr. Wood, Thank you Mr. Maloney.