WPCNR CAMPAIGN 2007 By John F. Bailey. October 27, 2007: The Downtown Residents Association Candidates Forum opening the floor to questions from individuals from the floor, and not dictating in-turn responses by each candidate produced lively caustic debate Monday evening. Incumbent Councilpersons Dennis Power and Benjamin Boykin defended their experience and did not deny many of the charges leved against them, doggedly proclaiming their willingness to listen, anti-development stands on the Station Plaza proposal, the need for open space. Newcomer Milagros Lecuona  turned in her most spirited and forthright performance to date standing up for the immigrant population, calling for “a continuum of care” for them -- in her first such pronouncement on the touchy issue.

The Downtown Residents Association attracted 25 persons to its Candidates Forum at Vintage Monday evening.

Democrat Incumbent, Dennis Power explained his ascension to the Common Council through being appointed to fill the late Robert Greer’s seat and being elected in a special election last year. He pointed to his position on the council that lead to the de facto Council rejection of the Exclusivity Agreement sought by the developer of Station Plaza last June, and the council rejection (in the print press)  of a followup Request for Qualifications that the council considered favorable to the same developer in September. He said there needed to be discussion and input from the people developing this area, relative to infrastructure and any development had to be what we (the people) want. Power additionally championed open space in the downtown.

Democrat Milagros Lecuona  played up her experience in architecture and as a member of the county Planning Board as qualifications for evaluating future development projects. She said she was for competition in deciding what should be done in the downtown in the future. She expressed strong support for green building environmental efforts. In regard to the city future she said the city had to rely on the projections for the region in population and demographics in any future development. In regard to close questioning by Mr. Zicca on the illegal population she bristled saying the community needed to provide “a continuum of care,” but did not explain what she meant by that. 

The Republican Cass Cibelli, the moderator Rob Tamboia said, had a class that he taught on Monday evenings and could not attend the forum. Tamboia read a statement for Mr. Cibbelli  in which the candidate said he supported bringing White Plains its own Industrial Development Agency, and as a candidate he would listen to residents and take stands for them.

Candyce Corcoran, the Conservative Party candidate, referenced the `drop in the Equalization Rate revealed last week by The CitizeNetReporter, saying she was going “to cut to the meat,” citing a litany of situations the council has ignored: traffic, the ticket blitz, over construction, and not paying attention to the financial situation of the city, which she said her financial background on Wall Street qualified her to do.  “It doesn’t take a Ph.d to figure it out,” she said. She promised to roll back parking rates, extend parking hours and examine budget cutting .

Anthony Pilla, the Republican from Battle Hill, lamented how Battle Hill has suffered losses over the years: its school, its firehouse and the quality of its neighborhood due to growing illegal, overcrowded housing in the area, calling it “a disgrace.” He said he would work to make “unscrupulous landlords accountable “ and for higher fines for owners of homes operately unsafely and in overcrowded conditions.

Robert Stackpole, the White Plains Independent Party Candidate pointed to his efforts to defeat the Robert Martin proposal for massive housing on the New York Presbyterian Hospital property in 1984 as evidence of his ability to lead and galvanize forces.  He referenced his effort to force the city to address the need to update the city comprehensive plan by his and Levine’s ad hoc Citizen’s Plan Committee in 2004, in which the city was forced to revise its comprehensive plan in a process, which Stackpole said produced “not a decent renewal of our comprehensive plan, and did a very poor job of looking at the impacts.” Stackpole saved his biggest criticism of opponents Power and Boykin, who manages the city’s Budget Management Committee, for last, criticizing them for presiding over a budget that, based on the new equalization rate will, he said create a $33 Million drop in assessments and a 12% city tax increase. (See earlier story.)

Benjamin Boykin, one of the incumbent councilmen dwelt on his eight years of experience, and how he in his Budget Management Committee position, attempted to develop prudent budgets. He did not comment directly on the Equalization Rate bombshell, revealed publicly last week,  or tax increase possibilities raised by Stackpole.  He concentrated on his efforts to bring affordable housing to the city through two projects the Horton Mill project by Silver Lake and the recently opened 42-unit project at South Kensico Avenue.  He said he promised to work for pedestrian safety, and his hopes to relieve traffic congestion by a trolley system he was championing. He said nothing could be really done with the Transit Center (at the White Plains train station) until the city discussed possibilities that fit in with the Department of Transportation plans for the area – the first time any official from the city has even thought about possibly talking with the DOT about developing compatible plans for the station area.

Robert Levine, Independent Part running mate with Mr. Stackpole said he was most qualified to bring “a heavy dose of reality” to the development which he said “was no renaissance at all, but second grade clutter.” He said the development the city has experienced was “a copout” to developers. He said now the question for the future was what to do about it. He called for fiscal planning “to help us get what we’re paying for,”  As to development of the city in the future, he said it had to be determined by “achieving an economy of scale,”  the people felt “comfortable with,” “and you can’t get that scale when every square foot is in the hands of profit-seeking individuals.” He said, “we need to wake up and find out what the Council forgot and have a council who is paying attention to us.”

In the question and answer period, the debate covered more issues in a more lively format and revealing hour than any previous forum.