[00:00:03]
HOPE EVERYBODY AS WELL THIS LOVELY EVENING.GREAT TO SEE SO MANY PEOPLE HERE.
UH, THE SECOND PART WILL BE MORE EXCITING HOPEFULLY, THAN
[Citizens to Be Heard on January 5, 2026.]
THE FIRST, BUT WE WILL BEGIN WITH CITIZENS TO BE HEARD.UH, REMEMBER, IF YOU ARE CALLED, IF YOU HAVE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK, AND I BELIEVE WE ONLY HAVE TWO SPEAKERS.
THE FIRST THING IS YOU SHOULD GIVE US YOUR NAME AND YOUR ADDRESS.
I WOULD ASK THAT THERE'S NO CLAPPING AND NO CHEERING.
YOU ONLY HAVE THREE MINUTES TO SPEAK SO WE CAN KEEP THINGS MOVING.
AND REMEMBER THAT WE ARE ALL WORKING VERY HARD.
AND WE SINCERELY ASK YOU TO SAY WHAT YOU NEED TO SAY, BUT TO PLEASE TREAT US WITH THE DIGNITY AND RESPECT THAT WE ARE ENTITLED TO.
GOOD EVENING, ESTEEMED COUNCIL MEMBERS OF THE CITY OF WHITE PLAINS.
CONGRATULATIONS TO THOSE THAT WERE SWORN IN LAST WEEK IT WAS BEING SWORN IN TONIGHT.
I COME BEFORE YOU TO DISCUSS PARKING FOR RESIDENTS AND THE AVAILABILITY OF THIS INFORMATION.
CAN I DO THAT PRIVATELY? I PREFER NOT TO SHARE MY INFORMATION PUBLICLY.
OKAY. I STILL CONSIDER MYSELF FAIRLY NEW TO THE AREA.
I CLOSED ON MY HOUSE IN JANUARY 2023.
I MOVED IN ON THE COLDEST DAY OF THAT WINTER.
AS THOSE OF YOU WHO MAY OWN A HOME KNOW, I QUICKLY FOUND MYSELF TO BE HOUSE POOR.
UM. I HAVEN'T HAD MUCH OPPORTUNITY TO EXPLORE AND LEARN THE AREA.
AS I TRIED TO FIGURE OUT MY FINANCES AS A SINGLE HOMEOWNER, I CAN FINALLY SAY I HAVE SOME THINGS UNDER CONTROL AND I'M EXCITED TO GET TO KNOW THE CITY I LIVE IN.
BUT THE OBSTACLE THAT I FACE IN EXPLORING THIS CITY IS THAT IT COSTS MORE TO EXPLORE MY CITY THAN TO GO TO A NEIGHBORING TOWN.
IT'S CHEAPER FOR ME TO WAIT FOR MY ERRANDS UNTIL I HAVE TO GO TO BOTH TARGET AND WHOLE FOODS AND GO OVER TO PORT CHESTER, WHERE I CAN PARK FOR FREE.
RATHER THAN PAYING FOR TWO PARKING LOTS HERE OR HOPING THAT I BUY ENOUGH FOR VALIDATION.
I'M CURRENTLY LOOKING TO JOIN A GYM.
IT WOULD BE CHEAPER FOR ME TO JOIN A GYM IN SCARSDALE THAN TO DO SO IN WHITE PLAINS, WHILE THE GYM MEMBERSHIP AT EITHER LOCATION WOULD BE $15 A MONTH.
IN ORDER TO GO 2 TO 3 TIMES A WEEK IN WHITE PLAINS WOULD BE $25 A MONTH.
IT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE A LOT, BUT AGAIN, I'M VERY MUCH HOUSE FOR I DON'T EXPLORE VERY MANY FOOD OPTIONS HERE.
I TRY TO AVOID USING ONLINE PLATFORMS SO THAT MONEY CAN GO DIRECTLY TO THE RESTAURANT, BUT ANY TIME I MAY WANT TO RUN OUT TO GET FOOD, I CONSTANTLY HAVE TO THINK ABOUT HOW FAR HOW FAR THE WALK WOULD BE TIMEWISE, HOW FAST.
I THINK THE RESTAURANT WOULD BE ABLE TO COMPLETE THE ORDER, AND IF IT'S WORTH IT TO SPEND THE MONEY ON PARKING.
NOR DO I UTILIZE THE APPS TO DECREASE FOOD WASTE TO SUPPORT RESTAURANTS, BECAUSE AGAIN, I HAVE TO FIGURE OUT PAYING FOR PARKING.
DO I HAVE TO PAY FOR A WHOLE HOUR? I CAN'T JUST RUN IN AND RUN OUT TO SUPPORT MY LOCAL RESTAURANTS.
I'M NOT HERE TO DEMAND FREE PARKING, JUST EASIER ACCESS TO INFORMATION.
I LOOKED AT HOUSES IN VARIOUS AREAS UP HERE.
THE PARKING FEE AND PARKING ENFORCEMENT ARE THE REASON THAT MY TAXES ARE NOT $20,000 A YEAR, LIKE THEY WOULD BE IN NEIGHBORING TOWNS.
I KNOW RIGHT NOW YOU MAY BE THINKING THAT, WELL, THERE'S A RESIDENT PARKING PASS, WHICH I DID APPLY FOR AND I WAS APPROVED FOR TODAY, BUT THERE IS NO INFORMATION ANYWHERE THAT I CAN FIND AS TO WHERE I CAN PARK.
I DID UTILIZE THAT PARKING PASS TONIGHT, UM, FOR ONE OF THE GARAGES OVER HERE.
I DON'T KNOW IF I'M GOING TO GO BACK TO MY CAR BEING TICKETED OR NOT.
I'VE CHECKED THE WHITE PLAINS WEBSITE, I HAVE CHECKED, I'VE ASKED CHATGPT.
I'VE LOGGED INTO THE PARKING PORTAL.
I DON'T SEE ANYWHERE WHERE IT LISTS WHERE RESIDENTS CAN PARK UTILIZING THAT PARKING PASS.
I KNOW WE HAVE A LOT OF GARAGES AND THE MOST I CAN FIND IS THAT I CAN PARK IN MOST OF THE DOWNTOWN GARAGES.
UM, I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO BRING TO YOUR ATTENTION THAT THE WEBSITE THAT YOU DO CURRENTLY HAVE IS NOT VERY FRIENDLY ON A MOBILE PLATFORM.
I AM NOT QUITE A DIGITAL NATIVE, BUT I DID HAVE A COMPUTER WHEN I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL AND GOING INTO THE PARKING PERMIT PORTAL AND.
TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO LOG IN AND UTILIZE IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT.
TRANSPARENCY AND MAKE THE INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO YOUR RESIDENTS.
SO YOU DON'T HAVE RESIDENTS LIKE ME THAT ARE UTILIZING OTHER AREAS INSTEAD OF THE CITY AND TOWN THAT WE LOVE.
TO BE HERE ON THE FIRST NIGHT AND MEETING, OF OF THIS ADMINISTRATION AND NEW COUNCIL MEMBERS.
UM, SO I'M HERE ON THE ISSUE THAT I'VE BEEN HERE ALL ALONG,
[00:05:03]
WHICH IS, UH, THE TELECOM SITUATION.SO I'M GOING TO READ A FEW EXCERPTS FROM A LETTER BY ERICA ROSENBERG, A LONGTIME ENVIRONMENTAL ATTORNEY WHO WORKED FOR THE FCC, RETIRED FIVE YEARS AGO.
RIGHT NOW, THERE ARE TWO NEW FCC PROPOSALS.
AND BY THE WAY, EVEN THOUGH IT'S FEDERAL, WE ALL IMPACTED.
AND I'M GOING TO TELL YOU HOW TWO NEW FCC PROPOSALS WOULD RENDER AN ALREADY WEAK ENVIRONMENTAL PROCESS LARGELY MEANINGLESS.
STRIP LOCAL AND STATE GOVERNMENTS OF NEARLY ALL OF THEIR CONGRESSIONALLY GRANTED AUTHORITY, AND LEAVE THE AGENCY EVEN LESS ACCOUNTABLE TO THE PUBLIC, LEADING THE FCC.
HISTORICALLY, STATES AND LOCALITIES HAVE RETAINED THE AUTHORITY TO CHARGE INDUSTRY REASONABLE FEES AND TO REGULATE FOR PUBLIC WELFARE, SETTING STANDARDS FOR STRUCTURAL SAFETY, WILDFIRE RISK, FLOOD EXPOSURE, RESILIENCY, DECOMMISSIONING, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, AND AESTHETICS.
BEFORE SITING, CITY COUNCIL BOARDS OF SUPERVISORS AND OTHER OFFICIALS EVALUATE THE IMPACTS OF LARGE INDUSTRIAL TOWERS ON HOMES AND CRITICAL COMMUNITY ASSETS LIKE PARKS AND SLOPE STABILITY OR HISTORICAL BUILDINGS.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE FAILURES AND VISIBLE ARE VISIBLE NATIONWIDE.
PROTECTED LANDSCAPE AND HISTORIC NEW SHEDS ARE MORE WETLANDS FILLED.
UNDERWORLD OF WATER ENVIRONMENTS ARE DEGRADED.
THIS IS WHAT'S GOING ON NOW WITH THIS ROLLOUT AND PUSH.
EQUALLY IMPORTANT, THE VOICES OF COMMUNITIES AND CITIZENS HAVE BEEN SUPPRESSED AND IGNORED.
BOTH OF THE FCC PROPOSALS ARE A DRACONIAN SOLUTION TO A NON-EXISTENT PROBLEM.
AT THE END OF 2024, INDUSTRY STATISTICS SHOWED 651,000 CELL TOWERS AND WIRELESS FACILITIES OPERATING NATIONWIDE, WITH THOUSANDS MORE, INCLUDING SATELLITES, APPROVED OR UNDERWAY.
EVERY MAJOR WIRELESS CARRIER HAS NATIONAL NATIONWIDE COVERAGE.
INDUSTRY HAS PREPARED FEW ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENTS OVER THE YEARS, AND THE FCC HAS NEVER PRODUCED A MORE THOROUGH ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT.
CONTRARY TO INDUSTRY CLAIMS, RED TAPE HAS NOT HINDERED DEPLOYMENT AS WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES PROLIFERATE, WITH PRESUMABLY PRESUMABLY EVEN LESS SCRUTINY, OVERSIGHT AND PUBLIC INPUT.
THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND COMMUNITY IMPACTS WILL ONLY MULTIPLY.
SO SINCE I'M BEING STOPPED, I'M GOING TO JUST SAY THAT UH, REPLIES WERE, UH, COMMENTS WERE ASKED DURING THE MONTH OF DECEMBER, THE PERFECT MONTH TO ASK PEOPLE WHO BE IMPACTED BY THIS TO MAKE COMMENTS.
RIGHT? UH, THAT WAS INTENTIONAL AND MALICIOUS.
UH, BUT NOW WE HAVE A TWO WEEK PERIOD FOR REPLY COMMENTS, AND THOSE ARE EVEN AS IMPORTANT AS THE COMMENTS.
SO TOMORROW I'M GOING TO SEND IT TO YOU, EVEN THOUGH YOU MAY KNOW IT ALREADY.
EXACTLY WHERE AND HOW TO MAKE THOSE REPLY COMMENTS.
AND ANYONE WHO'S LISTENING TO THIS CAN MAKE IT INDIVIDUAL.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR DOING THAT.
OKAY. THAT CONCLUDES CITIZENS TO BE HEARD.
WE WILL RECONVENE FOR OUR REGULAR STATED MEETING AT 730.
THANK YOU EVERYBODY.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.