WPCNR Common Council Chronicle-Examiner. December 21, 2006: Rita Malmud questioned Mayor Joseph Delfino why the renewal of the New York Presbyterian Hospital special permit to build a proton accelerator/biotech lab complex was not on the agenda for January 2. . The Mayor testily said he was not going to put extension of the permit on agenda  because he felt the New York Presbyterian Hospital needed some time to regroup after the council rebuffed the 6.5 acre park/subdivision Memorandum of Understanding by a 4-3 vote at the beginning of this month.

The Mayor challenged Ms. Malmud that she could put it on if she wanted to, but he was not going to do so. Ms. Malmud turned beetred, but did not challenge the Mayor and demand the renewal be put on the agenda, at least not last night.

****  The Common Council agreed to authorize the Commissioner of Finance to refinance the 2002 $16.7 Million remaining on the City Center garage loan last night. The move, should it be successful on the market in January would save the city, Commissioner Gina Cuneo-Harwood said $700,000.

**** The Council voted to set a public hearing on January 2 on the mysterious Bank Street Commons apartments project that would present a $16 Million windfall to the city in new funds for purchase of the commuter municipal parking lot on Bank Street in return for LCOR’s right to build two 23 story buildings and about 400 apartments. This story was leaked by City Hall to the Journal News by the Mayor’s Office last week, for which no details or designs have been publicly presented to this reporter’s knowledge. The sale of the municipal commuter parking lot privately, without putting it out for bid was not questioned by the council which considered the matter in the Mayor’s Conference Room before the press.

**** The Commissioner of Planning, Susan Habel briefed the Common Council on a zoning change that would bring a section along Old Mamaroneck Road into zoning conformity to the R1-7.5 zone, (7,500 square feet building) to avoid the future possibility of a string of properties being acquired to build a cluster of homes under 7,500 square feet that would be out of character with the neighborhood. Ms. Habel said the Planning Department is looking for anomalies in various zones to bring them into conformity.