Dancing to Dire Fiscal Parameters By Hezi Aris

600 to 800 Layoffs to be Exacted

Political Realities Trump Fiscal Concerns

Yonkers was shaken from its comfort zone upon hearing Mayor Phil Amicone’s announcement that the city faced a $50 million plus deficit. The foreboding scenario insinuated itself into a sanguine reality upon which the city has been fed. Economic development was upon us. It was to save us from the precarious financial instability that had gripped Yonkers for years. Now, when things were looking so promising, Yonkers has been hit with the reality that New York State’s $5 billion budget deficit would make it more difficult than in previous years to go to Albany with tin cup in hand. Yet that has been the dance to which all agreed was the winning strategy.

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600 to 800 potential layoffs are on the chopping block. The layoffs would affect every aspect of our city: education, fire, police, union workers, etc. No one would be spared, unless of course, if our Albany Delegation can produce another miracle infusion of funds to bridge the budget gap. To that end, Senators Jeff Klein and Andrea Stewart-Cousins are in the forefront, having arranged a meeting with Budget Director Laura Engel and with an invitation to Mayor Amicone, Yonkers Councilmembers, and others, to give voice and expression to Yonkers’ plight.

Mayor Amicone said, “As proposed, the budget stands to set us back decades. We could become another statistic.” Still, Mayor Amicone’s urgency is broken by his saying, “In the grand scheme of things, $36 million [city side of fiscal shortfall] is not all that remote. The deficit “will paralyze development. We can’t afford to take a step back when we have taken so many steps forward.”

Yet the battle cry has been sounded. The dance we dance in Yonkers has been taken onto the fiscal dance floor again. Should people worry? Perhaps, “Yes!” perhaps, “No!”

Has Yonkers slumbered into complacency by the humongous figures bandied about in billion dollar development projects? While planning for development did we forget to maintain vigilance over our fiscal ability to go the distance to claim the prize of development? Can Yonkers see development through its ultimate imprint without the 600 to 800 looming layoffs? Or is this another contrived situation to make those who have little historical reference to remember that we’ve gone through this process over and over again for over a generation in time. Albany, through all our elected surrogates has come through to save the days.

Perhaps we are not really immersed in a fiscal crisis but a political one. Perhaps we are witnessing an orchestrated attempt by City Hall, and specifically Mayor Amicone, to marginalize a possible candidacy by former Senator Nick Spano to challenge incumbent Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins from winning a second term in office. When Mayor Amicone yesterday said he would do nothing until after the Albany budget terms were concluded, one had to recognize that Nick Spano has only until then to make a decision  over whether he should challenge Stewart-Cousins. It seems some of Yonkers Republicans are supporting some of Yonkers Democrats.

The hope is that Yonkers will be deflected from the political jostling by the financial crisis in Albany, Wall Street, the plunging value of the dollar against other currencies, commodity price increases: gasoline prices, food costs, etc., to pay much attention to Yonkers budget gap. With Senators Klein and Stewart-Cousins diligently expending their political muscle for fiscal salvation, and $36 million not a remote figure to muster. It seems Yonkers will see another day, and will likely face similar challenges (lots of  laughs) in the 2009-2010 budget gap.

Comments

[beeks]

Didn't the state guve us 26mill recently for the slot machines? Are we seriously debating wheather development is still good or what? Every year we have this issue, its right here in our faces again....can we move along w downtown already?? Stewart cousins can't get the monies due to yonks like spano....he should run again.

[lost in yonkers]

facts are facts ...with a republican in the
state senate particularly the third most
powerful republican as nick spano would
be if he were re-elected, yonkers would
have a much better shot at getting
more money and avoiding a crisis

******* YONKERS TRIBUNE EXCLUSIVE*******

The Seminary has already received a bomb threat for the Pope's visit next month and residents on and around Seminary Avenue have been notified. This visit will produce complete gridlock with 500 school buses being parked on the Raceway property. Businesses on and around the general area will likley close for the day and many off the record, including the racetrack, are not too enthused in general.

Arch Stanton

Get rid of fatzy and a couple of hundred firemen. That oughta balance the budget gap right there.

Mayor Amicone wants bread, but he can eat cake.

Why should I, a non-Yonkersite susbsidize the City of Yonkers? My taxes go up every year and the elected officials in my municipality are professionals who do not waste money and who can balance the budget.

Let Mayor Amicone lay off EVERY employee for all I care.

I just don't want my tax dollars wasted in Yonkers.

Start by cutting the mayors staff, how about starting with spano's staff that Amicone hired, that's $1.5 million.

Why are you on the YONKERS tribune ? ? ? ?

Yes, Lopez, Peterson and all the other bottom feeders. Let the mayor start "tweaking" the city cars again.

Yonkers DOES NOT deserve any extra money from the state. Why doesnt the mayor clean up his own fiscal house. Look at all the abuse around the city, and I will only name a few, Cops making excessive overtime-over $100,000 in overtime and pensions over $100,000 was anything done-NO;city hall overstaffed with political hacks, was anybody let go-NO; City carstaken out of the city more and more cars given out-NO;DPW workers finishing their routes after four hours work, was any route extended-NO. Fire Department overstocked with expensive toys-did anybody ever say no-NO. It is time the mayor stopped being a good guy social service agency and started being a mayor. CUT the FAT. I predict double digit tax bill increases. Just watch.

The people of Yonkers deserve 20% tax increases for re-electing Amicone. He's given away the City's assets to the developers and he has bankrupted the fisc of the City. The State should screw Amicone and the suckers who live and pay taxes in Yonkers. Too bad for the uncivil servants and the taxpayers of Yonkers. I'm just glad I got the hell out of there.

6:54 is spot on. The city is filthy, the roads are crumbling. Why should these DPW workers be going home after only 4hrs. of work. Trapper John Liszewski must be on vacation in the Catskills with Rip Van Zzzzzzzisman.

And after their four hour work days the garbage men in Yonkers shake down homeowners and superintendants to either pick-up trash they should remove or to remove refuse construction and commercial refuse that should not be collected by the residential collection trucks. Only in Yonkers does this blatant practice remain.

Phil Amicone, doing what's right for Yonkers???

What's the matter Phil? No more $150 million dollar leases (like Ridge Hill) to sell for $5 million this year? Have you sold every possibly asset the City has already? What a joke this guy is.

the developers who are on amicone's top ten financial contributors should be the one's to pay - they receive sweetheart deals and pure giveaways - the also get huge tax breaks - amicone should be impeached

Eleven cops make 100,000 in OT, how many more? What about the rest of the city OT?

Nothing is going to change except our tax bill and it will be going up. One just has to look at the county they weren't interested in any cuts these guys wanted raises. They all stink.

Bloomberg ordered cuts across the board NOW midstream in the budget year, what has Amicone ordered? Nothing but more spending and more and more overtime. More overtime please!!!!!

[lost in yonkers]

this is addresed to the non yonkersite
the money that westchester receives from
the state budget is not just for yonkers
nassau and suffolk got 71 million more
because of dean skelos a republican
westchester got bupkis....if spano
were the state senator that number
would have been split betwen long
island and westchester which would
have meant lower taxes not only for
yonkers residents but for all of
westchester including greenbur

GET RID OF FATZY AND ABOUT A COUPLE OF HUNDRED YONKERS FIRMEN. THAT OUGHTA BALANCE THE BUDGET GAP RIGHT THERE.

If they hadn't pushed for the removal of the control board we would not be in this crisis

Woooooooo, what happened to the balanced budget and 3% tax increase Ameridiot gave us in November (5 months ago), before re-election. Now, we are $50 million in debt. Where the F*&# did this $50 million come from or go. Why 5% pay raises for police, fire, sanitation, teachers, CSEA (nationwide it’s never more than 3%). Where the F is this money coming from????
AMICONE doing what’s right for his friends.

Let’s hire another 50 Lopez’s at $150,000 a year + car + expenses + housing. That will balance the F-in budget. IDIOT!!!!!!

absolutely BRING BACK THE CONTROL BOARD!
Yonkers is lost but let's go down with a fight, not Amicone shoveling money out the back door to his friends and family.

Some of the usual complainers are at it again. Times are tough everywhere. If there isn't new development, soon, the city will die. So enough carping about "giveaways" to developers. It's b.s. Worse, it's unadulterated, festering b.s.

Downtown needed to be fixed at least 40 years ago. Nobody did a damn thing for decades, including the Council and Martinelli and others. And then the Council screwed up again in the '80s by refusing a reasonable settlement and you got the hated BUSING -- because of the Council's foul ups.

It is a fact that Yonkers has been short-changed for a long time by Albany on schools money. That isn't a myth.

Bloomberg has ordered 5 percent cuts city- wide in New York. Yonkers should do the same. But one of THE biggest problems in all of NY state is the UNIONS. Fat cats with fat pensions and early retirements draining the taxpayers forever. That's ALL the unions, including the teachers. That's a state problem, but Albany is too corrupt and sold-out to the unions to fix it.

City Hall in Yonkers should trim, and probably will. But any of you groaning about development should go back 40 years, when it should have been done, but wasn't. Now, some want to delay another ten years. There wouldn't be a real "Yonkers" by then. It would be on its last legs.

And never forget the Council of the '80s for the busing, which drove many people out of the city and if not, out of the public schools.

PS: If Albany doesn't do what it should, someone should tell Pierorazio to stick it with his request for another 5+ percent increase at the BOE. There is NO MONEY, and the taxpayers do enough, and they have their own rising costs to contend with.

If the city has to lay off 200 in the schools and 200 on the city side, that would be tough. Unfortunate. But that's life sometimes. For everyone.

Do you want to know where the money is going?
Here are some jobs currently on the COY web site that Amiclown is filling with his friends
Senior Budget Analyst, $123,000 per, Requirements HS OR GED
Director of Public Works, $151000, Req. HS or GED
Database Administrator, $98,000 Req 2 yr college
Budget Analyst, $86,000 Req HS or GED
Lead Automotive Mechanic, $70,000 Req HS or GED
I shit you not. Check out the COY Web Site
Don’t bother to apply though, they’re all earmarked for Petersons, Blanchards, Dugans, Halaveys, and so on.

Yeah Fill, tell Albany you need more money IDIOT!!!!!