September 9, 2016 | Vol. 4, Number 37 | www.eastchesterreview.com
Bronxville to install digital parking kiosks
Infected
By COREY STOCKTON Staff Writer
After Westchester County reported its first case of the Zika virus in early February, county health officials are now scrambling to respond to an additional 19 individuals who have also been infected with the virus. Pictured is an Asian tiger mosquito, capable of transmitting the Zika virus. For story, see page 6. Photo courtesy CDC
Cuomo measures on campaign donors draw local criticism By FRANCO FINO Staff Writer Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a measure late last month that aims to toughen election, lobbying and ethics enforcement laws, in an effort to limit the power of independent expenditure campaigns. State Sen. George Latimer, a Rye Democrat who is running for re-election, said, “It doesn’t solve the problem.” The legislation would diminish the influence of a U.S. Supreme Court case known as Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which has encouraged wealthy donors to increase campaign contributions through independent expenditures to
publicly support or criticize a candidate, according to the governor. In 2010, the Supreme Court ruled that corporations have the same free speech rights as people. An independent expenditure is a political campaign communication that touts or expressively advocates for the defeat of an identified candidate that is not made in cooperation with or at the approval of a candidate, or a candidate’s authorized committee. Cuomo said, “Citizens United is one of the worst Supreme Court decisions in history, and in just six years has already had a profoundly corrosive impact on our democracy.” Under the new agreement,
independent spending groups— political consultants and lobbyists—are required to register with the state and may not be formed by a candidate or run by the candidate’s family members or former staffers. The law will also strengthen anti-coordination between independent spending groups and candidates, as it prohibits independent spenders from contributing directly to candidates and prevents political action committees, PACs, from making contributions to independent expenditure committees operating under common control. However, according to Rye City Councilwoman Julie Killian, a Republican candidate for the state Senate, political
spending is not necessarily the issue. “Corrupt and go-along career legislators are the problem,” she said. “If we really want to change the culture of corruption in Albany, we need to enact term limits for state officeholders.” Killian also criticized Cuomo for previously receiving business-backed aid. “It’s ironic that the governor, who has raised tens of millions [of dollars] from people who have state contracts, wants to now limit campaign donations from legitimate organizations who want to express their constitutionally protected free speech,” she said. In 2011 and 2012, a controversial business-backed group CUOMO continued on page 9
Over the past few years, the village of Bronxville has been working to make parking more “user-friendly” and up-to-date. Near the beginning of October, the village plans to further modernize the parking process by installing digital pay kiosks. Bronxville has purchased several parking kiosks from the company T2 Systems, and will install the first trio of “Luke II” model kiosks in the Garden Avenue parking lot, according to Village Administrator Jim Palmer. Palmer said the village decided to install the initial kiosks in the Garden Avenue lot because it has a range of allowable parking times. Some of the spaces are designated for two-hour parking, while other spaces are allotted for three or four hours. Longer-term parking is allowed for merchants with the required decals. According to Mayor Mary Marvin, a Republican, the kiosks will replace the traditional meters currently in place in that lot. But those who want to pay with coins will still be able to. Palmer said, “By putting the pay stations in, people have the option of using credit cards. They still have the option of using the mobile pay-by-phone if they like; they’ll still be able to use quarters, and they’ll be able to use dollar bills. It’s about offering other alternatives.” The kiosks will not require the “pay and display” method, which requires one to bring a ticket from the kiosk back to their car to display it on the dashboard. Kiosk users will
simply have to enter their parking spot number into the kiosk, and then pay. Bronxville has been modernizing the ways by which residents and visitors can pay for parking since last October, when the village teamed up with the company Pango, which designs a mobile app available to Android, Apple and Google customers that allows users to pay their parking fare by phone. Palmer said Pango usage in the village has continued to grow since the program was launched last year. According to T2 Systems’ website, the Luke II model will also be mobile-friendly, as it allows customers to extend their parking time via mobile phone, and also has the capability to send customers mobile notifications when their parking time is about to expire. In addition to making it easier to pay for parking within the village, Bronxville is also working to optimize the location of parking spaces with different time allotments. In April, Palmer hired Walker Parking Consultants, a firm which analyzes parking trends and makes recommendations on how best to organize parking spaces for efficiency. Palmer added that the Kensington parking structure, a 309-space underground parking garage being built in tandem with a condominium development, will be open for village use in 2017. The garage will be divided into Kensington resident parking— PARKING continued on page 8
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