YONKERS, NY: Mayor Amicone Press Release

Mayor Amicone Press Release.

Mayor Amicone announces multiple improvements to city services and facilities
Fire/Police equipment, playground rehabilitation & online water bill payment highlight city contract agenda

Yonkers, N.Y.—At the city’s monthly meeting of its Board of Contract and Supply (BOCS), an entity that reviews all major city purchases according to public bid requirements, Mayor Phil Amicone today announced multiple improvements and upgrades to services and facilities across Yonkers.

“The contracts we’re announcing today will give our cops and firefighters the tools they need to adequately protect our residents, make needed improvements to city sidewalks and playgrounds, and provide critical grant money to promote new participation in the city’s growing economy” Mayor Amicone said. Amicone also noted, “These are all items already earmarked in our current budget, so the expenditures mark no additional cost to our taxpayers.”

A description of several highlighted items follows.

Online Water Bill Payment

Beginning immediately, city residents will be able to pay their water bills online. The new initiative will join already computerized parking ticket and property tax online payments as part of Mayor Amicone’s effort to further modernize city services and reduce costs of traditional bureaucratic paperwork. The service is available at www.cityofyonkers.com, where residents will be able to pay their water bills by credit card or by electronic check. Water bills can also be paid by credit card through the telephone at 866-377-9665. An item for $3,400 of additional printing costs to notify water customers of the new payment options was on the contract board’s agenda.

Sullivan Oval Playground Rehabilitation

A Parks Department contract of $375,000 contract will be awarded for the rehabilitation of Sullivan Oval Playground. This rehabilitation project will include resurfacing of the basketball courts, installation of fencing, bench seating, playground equipment, rubber safety surfaces, rims and backboards

New Police Communications Equipment

The Yonkers Police Department will receive new computer equipment that will aid communications in the event of a large scale emergency at the Transportation Management Center (TMC) located in Hawthorne, N.Y. The TMC houses representatives from the Emergency Management Office, New York State Police, Westchester County Police and local Police Departments, including Yonkers PD. The equipment, Motorola Gold Elite Version 2 dispatch console, costs $157,700 and will replace the existing system that is over 10 years old.

New Firefighter Equipment

The Yonkers Fire Department will see several new pieces of equipment including new carbon monoxide detectors for its Hazardous Materials and Technical Rescue Units. The detectors cost approximately $3,400 each. Firefighters often respond to calls in where people report noxious fumes or multiple cases of sickness or lightheadedness, calls that Fire Commissioner Tony Pagano says “99 percent of the time are cases of carbon monoxide gas, which is deadly.” The commissioner says the detectors will allow firefighter to know within a few seconds whether or not to evacuate a building. The department will also purchase specialized heavy rigging equipment that will aid firefighters in confined spaces or building collapses. The rigging equipment costs about $18,000.

Street Lighting for Downtown Business Improvement District

A $15,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)—mostly federal money—will be awarded to the Yonkers Downtown Waterfront Business Improvement District (BID) that will be used for year round street lighting along Main Street from Warburton Avenue to Buena Vista.

Grant for Small Business Development Center

Another federal CDBG grant of $250,000 will be awarded to The New York State Small Business Development Center to be used for administrative costs associated with the center. The New York State Small Business Development Center is located at Mercy College in the iPARK complex and provides counseling to small business owners.

Alexander Street Renewal Monies

$175,000 will be added to existing funding of $320,000 for the expansion of design and analysis services for the Alexander Street Urban Renewal Area which will now include the JFK Mariana, Trevor Park, the Hudson River Museum, JFK Memorial Drive, proposed new residences and the MetroCenter at iPark.

Cable Channel 78 Video Server

The city-run cable station—Channel 78, as per its franchise agreement with citywide provider Cablevision—will also be upgraded with a new computerized video server. The server will replace two mechanical tape decks on manual timers and will now allow the city to automate its lineup of informational programming and add additional community announcements and bulletins. The server is anticipated to cost just over $30,000 and marks the most significant upgrade to the cable channel in years.

Sidewalk Repair

$600,000 was earmarked on the contract agenda for repair of city sidewalks across the city. City Engineer Andy Api said the repairs were a normal expenditure for the city, which must replace broken sidewalks when notified by residents as a safety precaution. Most sidewalk repairs occur when trees uproot and break apart existing concrete, he said.

City Council Attorneys

Democrat Harvey Kaminsky and Republican Mark Constantine have been hired as the Majority and Minority Counsels, respectively, to the Yonkers City Council. Both men served previously as attorneys for the City Council, but have now swapped positions as Majority and Minority Counsels since control of the Council changed from Republican to Democrat at the beginning of this month. Kaminsky will be paid $225 per hour, not to exceed $90,000 for the two year term; Constantine will be paid at the same rate, not to exceed $60,000 for the same two years.

Posted By Yonkers Newswire Editor Brian Harrod