Sunday, January 31, 2016

BREAKING NEWS: TOWN OF CORTLANDT DECLINES TO APPROVE COMMUNITY CHOICE AGGREGATION (CCA) CITING...

BREAKING NEWS: Cortlandt Declines to Approve Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) Memorandum of Understanding. According to two separate sources the Town of Cortlandt declined to approve the CCA MOU at their most recent meeting, citing a need for additional information. It is not known whether that additional information will be forthcoming before Sustainable Westchester's newest deadline of 2/16 to enroll.

MORE FABULOUS VINTAGE WEBSITES, FINDS, ETC. FROM EVERYTHING CROTON

--Now this is a real find, complete with box, and featured in a previous auction at Croton's own SERIOUSTOYZ.COM: the "Turbo-Jet Car", 1950s, by Ideal, 16", plastic w/ tin cranked “automatic launching platform”; NM in NM display box w/ inserts; great–looking & fun--it sold for over over $241 at auction. Click on the photo. Proof positive that if you have serious stuff, they have serious bidders SERIOUSTOYZ.COM

---A very interesting movie site called BACKLOTS; this post is MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM BACKLOTS and also features a video of Bette Davis selling war bonds  http://backlots.net/2015/12/25/merry-christmas-from-backlots-2/?blogsub=confirming#blog_subscription-3

--Love the graphics on this vintage Hornby Train Platform Station  http://toyconnect.blogspot.com/2012/07/hornby-platform-station.html

--So worth visiting repeatedly; the motherlode of tiny things for putz houses and villages http://www.tinythingsarecute.com/

--Putz house building inspiration; the 1935 Aladdin kit house catalog https://www.flickr.com/photos/daily-bungalow/sets/72157611591126849/with/3138471025/

--And in case you've never seen this: A TRIBUTE TO TINPLATE from the days before everything was made of molded plastic http://bigindoortrains.com/primer/buildings/lackie/tinplate.htm

Saturday, January 30, 2016

AN UPDATE ON THAI FOOD IN CROTON--NINE DRAGONS

2020 UPDATE --- PLACE NOW CALLED GREAT WALL.......waiting for additional information.

Thursday, January 28, 2016

THIS WEEK'S GAZETTE: A LETTER ON SUSTAINABLE WESTCHESTER FROM PAUL STEINBERG

Please take a moment to read a letter from Croton resident Paul Steinberg from this week's Gazette:

To the editor:

Greg Ball is back! Last week in Croton, a mysterious group of people combed the Village and the train station.

Claiming to have been affiliated with Greg Ball, they sought to get signatures on a petition in support of the Sustainable Westchester electric program.

When asked where they were from and who was paying them, the mystery people refused to answer. One of them even ran the other way when a commuter attempted to snap a photo.

The reliance on Mr. Ball’s reputational halo is telling. Most of us remember Senator Ball as an ethically-challenged politico who spent $23,000 of campaign funds at Brooks Brothers and Banana Republic. He retired from the Senate and decamped for Texas.

Much like Mr. Ball, the Sustainable Westchester program brings to mind Mark Felt’s dictum: “Follow the money.”

We are told that SW is “a consortium of Westchester County local governments.” In truth, SW is a domestic not-for-profit corporation. This is a critical legal distinction.

Governmental bodies such as the MTA are classified as “domestic government” entities and they are bound by various rules. And a municipal employee such as a Village Manager has a legal obligation to comply with ethics laws on penalty of criminal prosecution. By contrast, SW and their employees are not bound by the same ethical, procurement, transparency, and conflict-of-interest laws and regulations.

As a 501(c)(3) entity, SW is under the same “non-profit” rubric as organizations like Planned Parenthood or the National Rifle Association, and can raise unlimited amounts of money from donors whose interests may not correlate with the households who are automatically made customers of SW.

New York corruption is a national disgrace, and much of the scandal involves “not-for-profit” entities set up by government officials. The most egregious was Senator Espada’s 30-year looting of Soundview Health, and of course Senator Silver and Dr. Taub put their unique spin on “non-profit” funding.

In those cases, there was at least a degree of oversight insofar as funding came directly from the government and ultimately Mr. Espada and Mr. Silver were held to account.

It is far more difficult to rein-in abuse when an entity is funded by non-tax levy money, as Richard Grasso and Ken Langone can attest: even outrageous compensation packages will not lead to legal consequences.

SW will derive revenue from several sources, including a surcharge on every unit of energy provided to the taxpayers of Westchester. A surcharge of one mill/KwH by 130,000 customers using 500 KwH/month means that SW gets $780,000 each and every year. That is a conservative estimate, since SW will mandate small business participation and hence the KwH number will be higher. Once SW expands to natural gas sales, the amount is likely to be well over $1,000,000 per year.

If SW was really a group of municipalities, this money would be going to the municipalities and the expenses would reflect the compensation levels of public servants.

The mill surcharge is small potatoes compared with the capture of the spread. When SW was first presented, we were told that SW would follow the practice of programs in other states and that SW would capture a portion of the spread between the contract price and the “retail” (non-contract) price. Ostensibly this would be used to fund programs to reduce energy usage by means such as smart thermostats and the like.

If SW were subject to the procurement and conflict-of-interest rules that a government entity must follow, this would be a matter of routine governance and oversight. But as a non-governmental entity, those rules do not apply to SW.

SW finally got around to adopting a Code of Ethics in March 2015. That is adopted from the Colorado Assn. of Non-Profits, and as applied to SW there is no external oversight or penalty. If the Colorado rules become inconvenient, they can be changed at the whim of the Board of SW.

SW also adopted a policy in March 2015 which permits it to engage in lobbying activities. This being New York, it is understandable that an organization which will be raking in millions of dollars based on the caprice of the PSC and the legislature is going to lobby, and that money is going to be spent to further the goals of SW, including “support or opposition for legislation, regulatory actions, initiatives or other public policy efforts.”

SW has not even provided a single kilowatt of electricity, but it has plans for lobbying with your money.

SW Executive Director Leo Wiegman’s report of August 2015 notes that SW may consider a “Corporate Donation Policy.”

This is another feature of New York politics: spread money around as “donations” to create political allies. It is a favored tactic of NYC politicians facing term limits, who disburse money to charities outside their district to garner support for higher office, and Altria Group used donations to NY charities to fend off anti-smoking legislation when they were headquartered in NY.

If SW was merely a consortium of municipalities banding together for a discount on energy, it would have no need for lobbying and “corporate donations.”

SW operates under the mandate of the Public Service Commission, but it is not a governmental entity. If was a New York State government body, the key persons would have to file financial disclosure and that can be requested online at the NYS JCOPE site. By contrast, the SW conflict-of-interest policy restricts disclosure to SW top management.

How much oversight will be exercised by top management is unknown. Of the 12 Directors, only 5 are listed as being municipal officials and 7 have other affiliations which include entities which are involved in the sector which SW would operate. And those 12 do not include the former Croton mayor who now serves as Executive Director in addition to owning his own energy company. That former mayor submitted incorrect timesheets to Croton in order to obtain public benefits, which gives pause to anyone relying on SW to self-regulate.

It may be that the SW leadership is possessed of the highest integrity. But we do not rely on that assumption when it comes to our governmental officials, and we should not have to rely on that from an entity which uses the power of government to generate multi-million dollar revenue which will not be subject to the oversight required of government bodies.

A key reason that the PSC gave in approving the SW pilot program in February 2015 was that the program ensured the “safeguards, credibility, and accountability that an energy procurement program administered by a local government can provide.”

The SW program as presented to Croton does not provide that local oversight. In fact, even the basic terms of the contract are left up to SW: the choice is for Croton to sign the MoU and after that we are at the mercy of SW: the Village provides the credibility, but we only have the assurances of SW that it will have safeguards and accountability.

It is entirely reasonable to “follow the money” in any enterprise involving NY officials, and the mysterious petition solicitors who refused to disclose their identities and source of funding as they canvassed Croton last week gives me concern.

If the canvassers were paid by SW from tax levy money, the Village should take action to terminate its relationship with SW. If the canvassers were not paid by SW, it raises the question as to who is funding this lobbying effort and why they will not disclose their identity.

Before any more money is paid to SW or contracts entered into with SW, the taxpayers have a right to know where the money is coming from, and where the money is going.

Paul Steinberg

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

AN IMPORTANT LETTER; WHY WAS THE COMMUNITY LEFT IN THE DARK ABOUT CCA?

Welcome to Everything Croton, a collection of all things Croton--our history, our homes, our issues, our businesses, our schools, our houses of worship--in short, EVERYTHING CROTON.

WHY WAS THE COMMUNITY LEFT IN THE DARK ABOUT CCA? The following letter by Joel Gingold was sent to the Gazette.

To the Editor,

It strikes me as ironic that, after having criticized the all-Dem village board for the past several years, I have become the Dems Facebook poster boy for CCA. Having achieved this status, I wonder if it means that the Dems will now take my advice on other issues facing the village.

It is, of course, true that I did, “with a lot of reservations and more than a little trepidation,” suggest that the board approve the program. As we all know, they chose to move in another direction.

In the four pages of comments on CCA I sent to board members prior to the meeting, I highlighted what I felt were critical uncertainties and unknowns associated with the program as described to date. I also noted that Sustainable Westchester (SW) did a very poor job in rolling out CCA. I suggested that the most desirable outcome would be to delay the decision until all of these questions could be answered. Unfortunately, SW would not grant such a hiatus. READ MORE HERE https://www.facebook.com/crotonunited/posts/539448639545505

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN: THE 1960 AUTOMATIC SWIZZLE STICK!

Everything Croton continues its very popular series GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN....and so without further ah-doo...

Courtesy of our fiend Classic Film--from 1960--THE AUTOMATIC SWIZZLE STICK. We'll let the ad do the talking; click on the photo!

Monday, January 25, 2016

ERROR CLOUDS SOLAR FIRE-SAFETY REGULATIONS

A must-read: ERROR CLOUDS SOLAR FIRE-SAFETY REGULATIONS, Poughkeepsie Journal 1/24/16

-The future of proposed rules limiting rooftop space for solar panels in New York will depend on whether the state accepts national standards that were published by mistake, the Poughkeepsie Journal has learned.

-The state's Fire Prevention and Building Code Council is weighing new codes that would require a 3-foot setback from the edge of residential rooftops to allow safe access for firefighters. But the model rules were published in error in 2014 by the International Code Council, a group that develops building and fire-prevention codes for structures...All 50 states have adopted them at some level.... 

-An official for a statewide solar industry association opposes the changes...they say this could reduce rooftop space in NY by 40% or more.

-Firefighters who support the changes say they are needed not only to reduce the chance of electrocution, but also to provide safe access.

READ THE REST OF THE POUGHKEEPSIE JOURNAL'S INVESTIGATION HERE

HOT DIPPITY DONUTS COMING TO CROTON @ BAGELS ON HUDSON

Welcome to Everything Croton, a collection of all things Croton--our history, our homes, our issues, our businesses, our schools, our houses of worship--in short, EVERYTHING CROTON.

A VERY BIG EVERYTHING CROTON SHOUT-OUT!

HOT DIPPITY DONUTS IS COMING TO BAGELS ON HUDSON IN THE CROTON COMMONS SHOPPING CENTER--we'll keep you posted...

A sublime vanilla cake donut made to order and topped with your flavor combinations.... yes they're customized! Click on the photo for only some of the details. And stay tuned.

UPDATED 2/12/16--NOW OPEN 

1960, LOCAL BOY MAKES GOOD, LARRY MARICLE

Welcome to Everything Croton, a collection of all things Croton--our history, our homes, our issues, our businesses, our schools, our houses of worship--in short, EVERYTHING CROTON.

Courtesy as always of THE CROTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY: 1960 LOCAL BOY MAKES GOOD, LARRY MARICLE. Click on the images below.

You may also enjoy: http://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2014/09/new-croton-history-mysteries-harmon.html

Sunday, January 24, 2016

1937 ADS & ARTICLES: THE LITTLE RASCALS A.K.A. OUR GANG

For fans of The Little Rascals a.k.a. Our Gang, a small collection of vintage ads and articles from our collection of vintage magazines, 1937 (includes a great Christmas item from a scrapbook too). Click on the photo to see just one featuring Darla.

Click on the link to see the rest bit.ly/1JvzjNJ

You may also enjoy these related links: 

DICKIE MOORE; click here

And reading more about THE LITTLE RASCALS here 

Darla Hood died young https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darla_Hood

Saturday, January 23, 2016

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY THANKS FRANZOSO CONTRACTING

Welcome to Everything Croton, a collection of all things Croton--our history, our homes, our issues, our businesses, our schools, our houses of worship--in short, EVERYTHING CROTON.

Franzoso Contracting has donated the roof for 300 King Street in Chappaqua; read and see more at Habitat for Humanity of Westchester's FB page:

on.fb.me/1OFVkZ1

MORE FABULOUS VINTAGE WEBSITES, FINDS, ETC. FROM EVERYTHING CROTON

Our Flickr Friend File Photo continues to upload pages from the 1955 Howdy Doody Merchandise Catalog. For those of us who build putz houses and are fans of tinplate--vintage, faux or otherwise--here's Howdy Doody's General store. Click on the photo.

To see more of the 1955 Catalog, visit bit.ly/1OFm1dd

A history of GO-GO Boots! http://www.coololdstuff.com/gogoboots.html 

No putz village or model railroad set-up is complete without…BILLBOARDS…and they are so easy to make—check it out at http://www.littleglitterhouses.com/paul/spook_hill/billboards/hl_spook_hill_billboards.htm 

The above are courtesy of Paul Racep www.bigindoortrains.com and www.cardboardchristmas.com and of course Lamey of www.littleglitterhouses.com 

A fascinating look at Barkcloth, Then and Now http://www.coololdstuff.com/barkclothtext.html 


For the vintage collector who loves 1970's Christmas tree lights, you may find these links of interest http://www.oldchristmastreelights.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=13

JAN. 2016 SNOWSTORM @ THE DUCK POND

Welcome to Everything Croton, a collection of all things Croton--our history, our homes, our issues, our businesses, our schools--in short, EVERYTHING CROTON. 

Amazing how the duck pond changes from season to season; we could never live in a place without seasons! Click on the photo to see the first snowstorm of January 2016.  You may also enjoy THE TOP FIVE MOST READ 2013 DUCK POND ARTICLES here at Everything Croton, a collection of vintage and current Duck Pond items http://www.everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2013/12/top-five-2013-duck-pond-articles.html

CONGRATULATIONS JOE COSTANZO, 2016 KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS MAN OF THE YEAR

Welcome to Everything Croton, a collection of all things Croton--our history, our homes, our issues, our businesses, our schools, our houses of worship--in short, EVERYTHING CROTON.    

A BIG EVERYTHING CROTON SHOUT-OUT TO THE 2016 HOLY NAME OF MARY KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS MAN OF THE YEAR...DRUMROLL PLEASE:

GRAND KNIGHT JOE COSTANZO

Click on the photo.

Your editor has known Joe and his lovely wife Gina for quite a few years now. They are active members in our community who walk the walk--and not just talk!

Click on the link to see photos--courtesy of Tom Faranda's Folly--from the recent dinner honoring Joe here: http://tomfaranda.typepad.com/folly/2016/01/joe-costanzo-k-of-c-man-of-the-year-.html

Friday, January 22, 2016

MORE FABULOUS VINTAGE WEBSITES, FINDS, ETC. FROM EVERYTHING CROTON

A wonderful Christmas photo courtesy of Jim Griffin, circa 1910--and yes, that does look like a By-Lo doll on the tree! Click on the photo.

Check out the Winter Loggie Mantle for 2016, featuring putz houses from Karl Fey and Howard Lamey bit.ly/1ZFRty6 

As you may know, Pete Oehmen has discovered how to make "coconut", that shiny floss-like material that covered vintage made in Japan cardboard Christmas houses; we get questions on it from time to time--you can read more about that here http://www.cardboardputzhouses.com/ 

But for tips on how to use it, visit http://www.cardboardchristmas.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=434 

Royalite vintage Jolly Christmas Santa Light http://www.flickr.com/photos/48144295@N08/9842650545/

Howard has started another flattie project! http://www.cardboardchristmas.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=1018

Beautiful unsilvered Christmas ornaments on.fb.me/1KtWmDq   

Thursday, January 21, 2016

GAZETTE ARTICLE: SUSTAINABLE WESTCHESTER

The following are highlights only from today's Gazette article: Croton Passes on Bulk Electricity

-Editor's note: Everything Croton continues to receive anonymous comments insisting that the head of Sustainable Westchester (former mayor Leo Wiegman) is an unpaid Executive Director of the organization. This is false. It has already been established in multiple forums that Mr. Wiegman is salaried.

Highlights from the article which you are encouraged to read in its entirety:

--Residents and small businesses who use Con Ed have already been placed into the program automatically. To get out, they must affirmatively opt out of the program. 

--The vote was 3-2; Trustees Pugh and Gallelli voted for the CCA Memorandum of Understanding/contract; Trustees Walsh and Anderson, and Mayor Schmidt voted against.

--The Gazette states: The former all-Democrat board, under the administration of Mayor Wiegman, would have almost assuredly have passed the measure....After Mayor Wiegman, a private energy consultant was appointed Executive Director of Sustainable Westchester last year, he recused himself during deliberations and votes regarding Sustainable Westchester and CCA  (Editor's Note: all such votes were carried unanimously by the all Democrat board without exception. In short, instead of these votes being 5-0, they were 4-0.)

--Under questioning at the recent board meeting, Sustainable Westchester's representative admitted repeatedly that they cannot guarantee you will receive a lower rate. Indeed The Gazette states: "Under one of the expected CCA bidding scenarios, instead of guaranteeing rates lower than Con Ed's (or NYSE&G's), bidders could propose a fixed rate on an average of Con Ed rates over the prior 12-month period. To that extent, if Con Ed or NYSEG rateswere to decrease over the two or three year period of the Sustainable Westchester/CCA contract with the chosen ESCO, it is possible that Sustainable Westchester's rates could be higher." (Also both Trustee Walsh and Mayor Schmidt, per the Gazette, "noted that Sustainable Westchester 'cannot guarantee' that its charges would be lower than Con Ed's.")

--While Mayor Schmidt said he fully supports the concept of a CCA, he "continued to say he had several unanswered questions which needed to be responded to, such as what Sustainable Westchester will be doing with the significant amount of profits it would realize as the supplier to possibly 100,000 plus Westchester customers." 

--The SW representative was asked if the board could be given an additional two weeks to consider the proposal, get answers etc. The SW answer was no. It does not PER THE GAZETTE "conform to their timetable".  

--Mr. Walsh stated that he would have voted for the program if it had been an "opt in" program (where you the consumer get to decide). He also stated that he didn't believe enough residents were aware of the program. 

PETITION UPDATE, EDITOR'S NOTE: Unfortunately we continue to get reports of petitions circulating in the village in which the unknown carriers are insisting that savings are guaranteed, can be as high as 10%, and that the program is 100% renewable. This is simply not true. It is their stated intent to force a re-vote "yes" into the Wiegman program. In addition, an email is circulating--and several residents have sent your editor copies--in which the writer states that the program will "serve to lower our electricity rates". Once again, per Sustainable Westchester's own representatives and in the Gazette, there are NO guarantees that your rates will be lower.

PETITION CARRIERS?

It has come to Everything Croton's attention that unknown individuals are currently walking throughout the village soliciting residents to sign a petition that would force a re-vote of the Sustainable Westchester memorandum that was discussed at the board meeting of 1/19.  If you are approached by such an individual, please make note of the representations being made about the program.  For example, we have heard that claims have been made that the program is 100% renewable and that a savings of 10% is guaranteed -- both false.  If at all possible, read the petition personally, ask the name of the person carrying the petition and ask what organization they are working for.  

Thank you.