Bill Regan for Mayor?

We put this tease on the top of last week’s issue of Yonkers Rising, so we apologize for being a little late with the post.

We heard this “rumor” from a few Yonkers Democrats, who either heard it through the grapevine, or on News 12 or the blogs. This is political gossip to the nth degree but I’ll bite.

Regan has been deputy mayor for six years under Mayor Phil Amicone. He serves as the day-to-day operations point person for City Hall, while the mayor is busy being out in the city — where he belongs. He knows the budget and the city employees better than anyone.

Let’s remember that Regan’s boss, Amicone, was deputy mayor for eight years under John Spencer, so a continuation of this new tradition is a possibility.

Let’s also assume that if Regan were to run, he would run as a Republican. The Yonkers GOP currently doesn’t have a big name candidate to run for mayor. While Democrats have Chuck Lesnick, Mike Spano and Ken Jenkins as possible mayoral candidates, Yonkers Republicans only have Councilman John Murtagh, who ran and lost to Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins. Murtagh got a mixed review in that race.

So with a city GOP desperate for a candidate, its not out of the realm of possibilities. 

Sources in the mayor’s office have denied that Regan has any interest in running for mayor. Some point to his no nonsense business-like personality as not translating into a political candidate. “He’s the guy who has to say no,” said one insider.

Even if there is a fleeting interest in a Regan 2011 campaign, there is no need to begin the conversation now, two+ years from that election – another reason for a denial.

Again, I heard this from a couple of Yonkers Democrats, so it’s out there.

Bill – I’ll be calling you for your denial

YPIE Gala a Big Success

     Yonkers Partners in Education (YPIE) held its one-year anniversary gala last night at Villa Barone in the Bronx. The event was attended by over 450 people, all there with the same goal: to raise funds to help the 25,000 students in the Yonkers Public Schools achieve.  

     Created by Mayor Phil Amicone last year, YPIE has made significant strides towards this goal, most notably in its free SAT prep courses. Under the leadership of Executive Director Wendy Nadel and Board Chairman Richard Fitzgerald, YPIE is quickly turning a young organization into a Yonkers institution.

     Honored at the Gala was Robert Leggio, owner/operator of Zuppa’s restaurant on Main Street in downtown Yonkers.

     One thought: In the future, we hope that YPIE can hold an event like this in Yonkers. Currently, there is no available Yonkers venue that could hold 450 people. Once complete, Ridge Hill will have a banquet facility to hold it.

     Read all about Rising Media Group’s recently launched partnership with YPIE.

Amicone vs. Gronowski: “Can’t We All Just Get Along …”

    The political relationship between Mayor Phil Amicone and Councilwoman Joan Gronowksi has quickly deteriorated over the past 11 months, ever since Gronowski was elected to the council from the 3rd District.

    While there was never a chance for the two to invite each other over for dinner, the hope was that they could peacefully coexist. But those hopes are dashed with both the Gronowski and Amicone camps exchanging barbs, both in the media and off the record to Yonkersrising.com.
    Let’s remember that Gronowski worked in city government for 20 years before being fired by former Mayor John Spencer. Gronowski sued the city for wrongful termination and won.
    Amicone, who served as deputy mayor under Spencer, has had to deal with the baggage from the Gronowski-Spencer battle in his administration once Gronowski won the council seat.
    On the record, Gronowski told the Home News & Times that she had not been invited to a recent council briefing by the mayor over the Struever Fidelco Cappelli (SFC) development project.
    While the mayor has publicly admitted that Gronowski was not invited, officially the briefing was for the council leadership of President Chuck Lesnick, Majority Leader Sandy Annabi, and Minority Leader Liam McLaughlin. Councilwoman Pat McDow was also invited because of her role as co-chair of the Council Real Estate Committee.
    Off the record, the Rising Times blog has heard a lot of grumblings from both sides. They include:

I-From the Mayor’s Camp: “Joan will never forget and forgive her firing, which she now blames on the mayor. With this as a backdrop, it’s impossible for them to work together on anything. Her vote against the FEIS was the last straw.”

II-From a City Council Source: “The mayor’s latest episode with Councilwoman Gronowski is another example of how bad relations are between the mayor and the council. While the mayor has some allies on the council, there’s no one willing to carry his water and go to bat for him, partly because of his treatment, by him and his staff, of council members like Joan. The mayor should realize that the council needs to work together, and they can’t support his shunning of her.”
     Back on the record, the mayor did hold a separate meeting with Gronowski to update her on the progress of drafting a Land Disposition Agreement (LDA) for the SFC project. (See our other entry entitled “SFC update.”)
     Another thorn between the two is Gronowski’s inquisitions into the use of city-owned vehicles and the civil service hiring practices of the Amicone administration. And on both issues, Gronowski’s actions are supported by the vast majority of Yonkers residents, and by Yonkersrising.com.
     To the mayor’s credit, his administration has reduced the size of the city’s car fleet and has reduced the number of non-civil service employees in City Hall.
     While tensions between the two remain strained, let us end with the hope that during this holiday season, “Can’t we all just get along?”

SFC Update

     Tonight, the Yonkers City Council Real Estate Committee met and set a date for next Wednesday, November 5, to vote on the Findings Statement for the SFC redevelopment project. While the council has reviewed the massive $1.6 billion plan for downtown Yonkers for more than one year, the vote next week will be the first in which the people of Yonkers find out where the council stands on this project.    

     A previous vote last month to accept the Final Environmental Impact Statement as complete was not a vote for or against the project, just a vote to conclude the environmental review. The council vote on accepting the FEIS was 5-2, with Councilwomen Sandi Annabi and Joan Gronowski voting no.

     Whether or not Annabi or Gronwoski’s “no” vote is a prelude to their opposing the project is anyone’s guess, and it is still unclear what the final vote is on the Findings Statement, which outlines some of the details of what the council would like to see as part of a final agreement between the developers and the city.
     But it is expected that there will be at least four votes to approve a findings statement next Wednesday. This would move the project along to the next step, which would be for the council to approve a Land Disposition Agreement (LDA) for the SFC plan.

     The LDA is where the details of the project are finalized, after negotiations between the mayor, the council and SFC. Mayor Amicone, in an effort to move along the process, has begun to draft an LDA and has had briefings on it with the City Council (these meetings are the subject of our other blog entry — mayor and Gronowski).
     Eventually, all parties must get together and negotiate the term of the LDA. These sessions have not yet begun, in part because parts of the Findings Statement will determine the details of the LDA.
     Look for LDA negotiations to take some time, because the council and the developer remain far apart on a few issues. They include:

I-Affordable housing — SFC has proposed that 6 percent of the residential units they build be set aside for affordable housing. The City Council has proposed 20 percent, led by Councilwoman McDow on this issue. The developers claim that 20 percent won’t work. An agreement north of 10 percent is the most likely outcome.

II-Yonkers Fire Department (YFD) — Yonkers Firefighters Local 628 President Hugh Fox has commented again and again at council meetings on his concern about the ability of his members to safeguard the community if the SFC project is built, without more manpower and equipment. We’re hearing mixed messages from within the Fire Department on SFC, and while Fox is opposed to the project, without increases to the YFD budget, others claim that SFC is already doing enough (building a new firehouse and fire headquarters) to more than adequately protect the public. More on this in next week’s Home News & Times.
    The issue remains unresolved, with several councilmembers questioning the SFC plan for the YFD, based on Fox’s comments.

III-Sale of land by the city to SFC — In order to build their project, SFC must acquire several parcels of land from the city. This includes parcels in and around Getty Square and Chicken Island, and riverfront property downtown.
    It’s the riverfront properties, known as parcels H&I, that are the most valuable asset. With a looming budget deficit facing the city, look for the City Council to try and negotiate a multimillion-dollar payment for the H&I parcels to ease next year’s budget pain.

    The issue of the landmarking of 87 Nepperhan Ave. appears to have fizzled, with a majority on the council not in favor of landmarking. No council vote has been planned to designate 87 Nepperhan a landmark, an indication that council may take a pass on this issue.