Yonkers Tribune

Yonkers City Council Meeting of May 13 to be Held at Roosevelt High School

YONKERS, NY – The agenda for Tuesday’s Council Meeting of May 13, 2008, which will be conducted at Roosevelt High School begins  at with an Environmental Policy and Protection Committee meeting at 5:30 p.m. The Committee of the Whole will begin at 7:30 P.M., and the Stated Meeting at 8:00 P.M.

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Murtagh Bill Would Guarantee a “Green” Yonkers

Councilman Proposes Adopting USGBC “LEED” Certification Standards

YONKERS, NY -- Yonkers City Councilman John Murtagh has introduced legislation which, if adopted, would make Yonkers the leader in Westchester County for Green building practices.

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Gronowski Introduces GPS Tracking Legislation and Resolution to Undertake Yonkers Property Reassessment

YONKERS, NY -- Yonkers Third District Councilmember Joan Gronowski has introduced two pieces of legislation. The first calls for the installation of Global Positioning Systems (GPS) tracking devices in all city-owned vehicles. The second resolution asks the administration to direct the City Assessor to undertake a reassessment of all real property within the City of Yonkers.

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Greyston, Lesnick Seek to Subvert Landmarks Law

Council President Applies Double Standard to Big Dollar Developers

YONKERS, NY -- Yonkers Councilman John Murtagh (R-5) today accused the Greyston Foundation and Council President Chuck Schorr-Lesnick of trying to undermine  efforts to protect historic properties in Yonkers downtown which Greyston seeks to bulldoze for development.

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Annabi and Gronowski to Hold Community Meeting April 16

YONKERS, NY -- Yonkers City Council Majority Leader Sandy Annabi (D), Council Member for the Second District, and Council Member Joan Gronowski (D), representative for District Three, have announced a joint Meeting with the Community for their constituents in the South Broadway and Riverdale Avenue area. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 16, 2008 from 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm at Our Lady of Fatima Portuguese Church located at 355 South Broadway.

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Majority Leader Annabi Continues Push for Closer Scrutiny and Stricter Safeguards for Use of Public Funds

YONKERS, NY -- Majority Leader Sandy Annabi (D - District 2), has introduced two legislative proposals this month aimed at increasing the accountability of grantees of City funds. The first, which was prompted by the alleged, sizable theft from the South Broadway Business Improvement District (BID), is on the Council Agenda for a vote by the entire Yonkers City Council at their regular meeting, Tuesday, March 25, 2008. The second resolution deals with examining methods for stricter controls on the City side, which would ideally be universal to all applicants and grantees, as well as requiring stricter accounting practices by grantees.

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Annabi to Discuss Legislation to Safeguard Use of Public Funds

YONKERS, NY -- A pending piece of legislation introduced by Majority Leader Sandy Annabi, (D, District 2) and Council Member Joan Gronowski (D, District 3) at the City Council’s last Rules meeting shall be discussed by the Legislation and Codes Committee. Their next meeting is set to occur at 6:00 pm on March 11, 2008 in the City Council Conference Room on the Fourth floor of City Hall.

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Yonkers City Council Committee Meetings, Committee of the Whole, City Council Meeting for March 11

YONKERS, NY -- The Education Committee Meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday, March 11, 2008, at 5.30 PM in the Council Conference Room, City Hall, 4th Floor.

The following item(s) will be on the Agenda:

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Flawed NYC “Congestion Pricing” Unfairly Burdens WestchesterResidents

YONKERS, NY -- Yonkers City Councilman John Murtagh (R-5) last night introduced a Resolution before the Yonkers City Council calling upon the New York State Senate and New York State Assembly to reject the so-called “Congestion Pricing Plan” being promoted by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Murtagh called the plan, which would impose steep fees on drivers entering midtown and downtown Manhattan, “seriously flawed” and called upon New York City officials and the State Legislature to take a go slow approach and to consider alternatives.

 

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Councilmember Gronowski Cites Violations of Civil Service Regulations

YONKERS, NY -- Joan Gronowski, Third District councilmember, met with NYS Civil Service officials in Albany last week to request a forensic audit of the Yonkers system.  The last audit was conducted in 1994 and it found that the city’s administration of civil service was "poor".  The most significant violation, among the many cited at that time, was the city’s abuse of provisional hiring.  State officials confirmed that Civil Service law allows a maximum of nine months for a person to be in a provisional status and that the city is obligated to call for a test within 30 days of the date of hire. If an employee has not achieved permanent status in nine months, they must be dismissed. The New York State Court of Appeals has recently affirmed the nine-month provision. (In the Matter of City of Long Beach, Respondent, v Civil Service Employees Association, Inc.—Long Beach Unit, Appellant. Louis D. Stober, Jr., for appellant.)  During this meeting, Gronowski was also informed that it is a misdemeanor under New York State Civil Service law for a city official to certify a payroll that contains illegal employees.

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