I was not able to speak at Citizens To Be Heard last night. I received some calls asking what happened. I had to leave before my name was called. I am not sure what happened. My name was on ordered sign-in slip number Five. Due to family commitments I get there early so that there is more than enough time for me to speak. I did not want to disrupt the proceedings and waited for my turn to speak. When I kept thinking I would be called next, I wasn't. I had to leave before I spoke. I feel the opportunity to speak before council was taken away. The Mayor says that he must follow the rules of the forum format. A mere mistake can be forgiven. But, Perception is everything as my comments were to state. Submitting my comments to The City Clerk are not the same as speaking before the full council body. I have attached my comments and will ask The City Clerk to enter them into the record.

Comments for February 14, 2012 Citizens to be Heard:

A new City Council in New Rochelle has been in office only a month, but it has been busy. Two developers are seeking a favorable vote to move ahead with their proposals. The City Manager has gone so far as to recommend that the City move the City Yard from Main Street to Beechwood Avenue. Several "gun-point" crimes has occurred. With this perspective the Westchester Guardian sought out former Councilman Richard St. Paul (who also ran for Mayor) to ask him for his perspective on the changes in the City that have taken place since he left the Council.

Questions and answers:

1. Many people feel your presence on the New Rochelle City Council will be sorely missed. Do you feel there are any areas of the Council's policy making powers that will change or be de-emphasized since you left?

Answer: One of the biggest differences now is that the Democrats have a super majority and there are no limitations on what they can do, such as bonding and overriding the tax cap. It is difficult for taxpayers and good government because the City no longer has a 4 (Democrats) to 3 (Republicans) split.

Highly Dense Housing Proposed for New Rochelle's Downtown by Peggy Godfrey

Russell Albanese, chairman of the Albanese company, and George Andrus presented their vision for a highly dense housing development in New Rochelle. An initial set of apartments along with a five deck parking garage would be build on a downtown city parking lot in the southern section of the City. Eventually these buildings could be followed by another seven story garage at the present Church-Division site along with an 23-24 story apartment building with 550 housing units. The project would be developed in several phases.

Where is the Open Government?

Suzi Oppenheimer's office released an announcement earlier today that she will not seek re-election. The Albany Times-Union is speculating that George Latimer or Amy Paulin may seek the Democratic nomination.

Official Statement:

State Senator Suzi Oppenheimer (D-Mamaroneck) announced today that she will not seek re-election this November. The Senator made her decision upon recently learning that she will have to undergo major shoulder replacement surgery in 2012.

Said Oppenheimer:

One of the hot issues being debated in Congress is the Stop Online Privacy Act or SOPA (a similar bill in the U.S. Senate is called Protect IP Act).  The internet world is waging a fierce battle against it, and I am pleased to see the opposition.

It is my view that SOPA is deeply flawed and being rushed through Congress without the proper due diligence of a substantive review.  I believe it creates a prior restraint of free speech on the internet and grants way too much power to the federal government to regulate speech and commercial activity, while eliminating rule of law safeguards to those regulated and sanctioned by the law.  I strongly urge opposition to this law as currently drafted.

I don’t deny that internet piracy is a real problem, but this law is a massively overbroad remedy to the problem.  Unfortunately, it appears to be moving quickly through both houses of Congress since it is backed by the massive money and power of the media corporate world.  The U.S. Senate vote is currently scheduled for January 24.