RyeCity REVIEW THE
May 11, 2018 | Vol. 6, Number 19 | www.ryecityreview.com
6 developers interested in Long Island Sound tunnel By FRANCO FINO Staff Writer
FLIPPING THE SCRIPT Rye’s Margaret Mitchell looks for an open teammate during a May 2 game against Bronxville. The Garnets topped their hosts 12-11 to earn their first win over the Broncos since 2012. For story, see page 15. Photo/Mike Smith
Rye police officer completes drug recognition program A Rye police officer has graduated from a program aimed at training law enforcement officials to recognize the signs of drug and alcohol impairment, according to the city public safety commissioner. Rye City Public Safety Commissioner Michael Corcoran said that Police Officer Lansing Hinrichs completed the Drug Recognition Expert, DRE, training program late last month and is now a nationally certified expert in recognizing individuals that are under the influence of both illegal and legal substances. Hinrichs graduated from the
course along with 15 other law enforcement officers from across New York state. The program trains drug recognition officers to also identify which category or categories of drugs an individual is under the influence of. “Lance is a rising star in the Rye Police Department,” Corcoran said. “He is an extremely intelligent, active and committed police officer. This designation is testament of his unwavering professionalism and is a tremendous accomplishment considering there are over 66,000 law enforcement officers throughout the entire state.” As part of the training, DREs
must complete a three-phased program prior to becoming certified. The phases include DREs completing a certification test and siting for 72 classroom hours, and requires law enforcement officers to observe and identify three out of seven drug categories in addition to a final exam. The training has been approved by the National Highway Traffic Administration and the International Association of Chiefs of Police. The program is also sponsored by the state Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee. Typically, DREs are utilized by police departments when a driver appears to be impaired, but po-
lice have ruled out alcohol as the cause of the individual’s impairment. According to Corcoran, Hinrichs is now one of nine police officers across Westchester County and one of less than 255 officials throughout the state to receive the specialized designation. Rye Police Officer Jon Klein became Rye’s first DRE in 2017. “We are extremely proud of Lance on earning this highly coveted certification,” Corcoran said. “[His] certification will benefit not only Rye but our law enforcement partners throughout the region.” -Reporting by Franco Fino
Six developers have expressed their desire to build a tunnel that would connect either the city of Rye or the village of Port Chester to Long Island, according to an elected official in Nassau County. Bayville Deputy Mayor Joe Russo, one of several elected officials on Long Island opposed to constructing the tunnel, said that he has been notified by Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office that six independent parties responded to the state Department of Transportation, DOT, request for expressions of interest, REOI. The DOT issued the request in late January, seeking input from private investors on engineering, environmental, operations and financial considerations for a future proposal. An REOI is used to assess interest in a project and to solicit ideas and information from interested parties. “We are taking another step to advance an ambitious project that would reduce traffic on the impossibly congested Long Island Expressway, improve connectivity and help ensure the region’s future economic competitiveness,” Cuomo said in January about the proposal. According to a DOT study, an 18-mile tunnel connecting Westchester County and Long Island could cost between $31.5 billion and $55.4 billion, and could potentially produce $500 million in tolls annually.
While the project is being met with outrage from several municipalities on Long Island that have formed a consortium to fight the governor’s proposal, communities in Westchester have also started to ramp up efforts to scrutinize the plan. The Rye City Council created an ad hoc Long Island Tunnel Advisory Committee in February to oversee the proposal, which suggests connecting the city to the town of Oyster Bay on Long Island, among other locations. “This project is still a long way away, but of course Rye’s concern is great,” Rye City Mayor Josh Cohn, a Democrat, said in February. Historically, city officials have always opposed plans to build a tunnel from Rye to Long Island. There have been several proposals to build either a bridge or a tunnel connecting two of New York’s most populated counties since the 1930s. In the 1960s, master builder Robert Moses and former Gov. Nelson Rockefeller, a Republican, pursued building a Rye-Oyster Bay bridge; however, the plan never materialized after facing opposition from local and state-elected officials in Westchester and Nassau counties. In February, Port Chester also created a committee to examine the plan’s potential environmental, traffic and density impacts. As of press time, there is no further information from the governor’s office on the state’s next plan of action. CONTACT: franco@hometwn.com
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