The Journal News - 11/03/2016 Copy Reduced to 47% from original to fit letter page

WESTCHESTER-PUTNAM BREAKING NEWS 24/7 AT LOHUD.COM THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2016 More on Election 2016. Exchange special, 9A

A NEW LEASE Mount Vernon ON LUXURY must pay up Judge rules for contractor for response center work

ERNIE GARCIA [email protected]

A state Supreme Court justice has ordered Mount Vernon to pay a con- tractor for work at an unfinished emer- gency response center. Justice Sam D. Walker decided that Mount Vernon must pay Creative Di- rection, a company owned by Council- man Andre Wallace, $234,065.09 for work at a firehouse at 50 W. Third St. Creative Direction sued the city Feb. 25 for the money after almost a year of delays in paying the money owed. Mount Vernon was supposed to have a new emergency operations center years ago, but with more than $1 million spent, the project sits unfinished amid finger-pointing and a lawsuit. The operations center on the second floor of the firehouse is empty, with missing ceiling tiles, holes punched in

See CONTRACT, Page 4A

Railroad sued over

Clockwise from left: Rendering of the 55 Bank St. project, looking north (LCOR submitted image); a view of the clubhouse at Quarry Place 2013 crash apartments in Tuckahoe; a view of the garden terrace at the Quarry Place complex (photos by Carucha L. Meuse/The Journal News); Mindy and Ken Andrusko, pictured in their rental apartment at Harbor Square in Ossining, moved there from a house in Chappaqua (Photo by Assistant conductor says Mark Vergari/The Journal News). Metro-North ‘negligent’

MATT COYNE $3,400 $2,895 $2,895 [email protected] The assistant conductor on the train In Manhattan, the median rent in In Brooklyn, the median rent in August In Queens, the median rent in August that crashed in Spuyten Duyvil in 2013 August was flat from a year ago is seeking $2.5 million from Metro- North. Verplanck resident Christopher Kelly filed suit in White Plains federal court Tuesday, alleging the railroad Developers confident amid boom in high-end rental market was negligent in allowing William Rockefeller to drive the train, which sped around a curve at 82 miles per AKIKO MATSUDA [email protected] “We are providing amenities, hour before derailing, killing six and in- juring 60 after Rockefeller fell asleep services and environment so at the controls. evelopers who are currently building thou- According to court papers, Kelly that they feel that they are on sands of new luxury apartments in Westches- See LAWSUIT, Page 4A vacation while at home. That’s ter say they remain confident that their units D very appealing to a lot of will be quickly leased once completed, even if people.” the rental market to the south in New York City is showing MARTIN GINSBURG, signs of cooling down. PRINCIPAL OF GINSBURG DEVELOPMENT COMPANIES President Barack Obama criticizes what he called ‘leaks’ by the FBI. Nation, 1B See LUXURY, Page 4A

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Lohud/Journal News Watchdog Editor Frank Scan- dale and reporters from the news organization’s watch- Insiders will enjoy dog team will host a panel discussion on their work — after a screening of “All the President’s Men,” at 7 p.m. access to special Events, Nov. 7 at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Yonkers. The panel will include conversation about local cov- Deals and Extras. HANDOUT, WARNER BROS. PICTURES erage of the presidential campaign that has pitted Dustin Hoffman (left) and Robert Redford in a scene from the 1976 film ‘All The President’s Men.’ See FILM, Page 2A Visit www.lohud.com/insider INDEX WEATHER, 2A Home delivery 800-942-1010 to log-in and get started. Copyright © 2007 The Journal News,Business a Gannett ...... 5A Lotteries Co...... 2A Inc. newspaperToday: P.M. t-storms serving Westchester,Main Number 845-358-2200 Rockland and Putnam Counties in New York All rights reserved. Use of this site signifies your agreement to the Classified ...... 5D Markets ...... 5A HIGH: 75 LOW: 43 Terms of Service and Privacy Policy/Your California Privacy Rights , updated ©March 2016 The Journal 7, 2007. News Comics ...... 8C Obituaries.. 10A Friday: Sun, wind Volume 128, Number 182 November 9, 2016 12:00 pm (GMT Crossword+5:00) ....9C Scoreboard.. 4D HIGH: 59 LOW: 31 WP $1.50 RETAIL Powered by TECNAVIA Dear Abby ....9C Television .... 2C FOR HOME DELIVERY PRICING, PAGE 2A 4A Thursday, November 3, 2016 A The Journal News lohud.com

was approved by federal Contract agencies that inspected the site and then released Continued from Page 1A grant money to Mount Vernon to pay Creative Direction. the walls and a new eleva- “When you’re dealing tor that’s not in service. with Homeland Security, The room isn’t wired for you have to be on point,” computers or other equip- said Wallace, whose com- ment, and hundreds of pany has already been thousands of dollars in paid most of the money work remains undone. owed for the project. “You Mayor Richard Thom- don’t get paid until they as’ administration, which measure you.” took office in January, op- Wallace said the unfin- posed the payment in ished work is supposed to court, claiming that work be done by other contrac- at the response center tors, not by his company. was defective and shoddy. Walker noted that even In his ruling, Walker dis- if city officials had made missed those claims be- objections to Creative Di- cause “to date, Creative rection’s work, there was Direction has not re- no language in the con- ceived any notice from tract that outlined a proc- the city concerning any ess for resolving such defective or deficient concerns. work.” Mount Vernon corpo- Still, Walker ordered ration counsel Lawrence the parties to return to Porcari called the con- court Nov. 28 to hear the tract “irregular.” city’s counterclaims re- “There’s no language garding defective work in there that addresses and the payment of the any concern the (city) money to Wallace will be would have when hiring a held up until the city’s contractor,” said Porcari, counterclaims are evalu- who will bring an engi- ated by Walker. neer to the Nov. 28 hear- Wallace, who didn’t sit ing to testify on the city’s on the City Council when behalf. he won the contract, said Twitter: @ErnieJourno MARK VERGARI/THE JOURNAL NEWS on Tuesday that his work Mayor Richard Thomas stands inside the unfinished emergency response center. The Journal News - 11/03/2016 Copy Reduced to 66% from original to fit letter page

pening in New York City burg Development Com- More to come Luxury has a limited impact on panies, the Harbor Westchester’s rental mar- Square complex started GDC opened another Continued from Page 1A ket. leasing its 169 market- luxury complex called “I think the less signifi- rate units in June. As of The Lofts on Saw Mill cant element of demand in October, more than 60 per- River in Hastings-on- “We are not con- Westchester is people get- cent of the units have Hudson in September, of- cerned about overbuild- ting pushed out of the city been leased, according to fering 54 market-rate ing,” said Arthur Collins, and looking for affordable the company’s website, units. The site on Saw Mill president of Collins options,” Pinsky said. “I which advertises two River Road was a former Enterprises. think the more significant months of free rent for se- industrial parking lot His firm, in partner- element is the Westches- lect units. across from Acorda ship with Strategic Cap- ter-specific market. Peo- Ginsburg said the de- Therapeutics, a biotech ital, is currently devel- ple who want to live in veloper is offering such firm. oping its third luxury Westchester are looking incentives during an ini- Ginsburg said the loft- rental building, to be for a certain lifestyle — tial renting phase to main- style apartment complex known as Hudson Park more urban lifestyle, wal- tain balance among dif- just off Saw Mill River River Club, on Yonkers’ kable lifestyle, where ferent unit types. The Parkway is a bargain com- waterfront. you’re renting instead of company is on track to pared to similar units in “Basically, there’s a owning.” achieve its goal of leasing New York City. GDC is shortage of housing in The trend is backed by all Harbor Square units also building two other New York City,” he said. statistics, according to by summer 2017, he said. rental complexes — River “So our theory is it will Paula Munger, director of Martin Ginsburg, prin- Tides at Greystone and FILE PHOTO BY SETH HARRISON/THE JOURNAL NEWS take an awful lot to actu- industry research and cipal of GDC, said Harbor 1177@Greystone — in Emergency personnel at the scene of a Metro-North train ally build out (here) to analysis for National Square has attracted a di- Yonkers. that derailed just north of the Spuyten Duyvil station in the meet what the market Apartment Association. verse group of tenants — “We are an under- Bronx on Dec. 1, 2013. demands.” “Westchester and from millennials to emp- served market in West- More than three-doz- Rockland counties are ty-nesters — because the chester,” Ginsburg said. en rental projects — to- some of the fastest grow- complex offers units at “We are a relatively afflu- Kelly was hired by taling nearly 7,000 units ing areas in the state. In different price points. ent community, and we Lawsuit Metro-North in 1999, ac- — are currently being Westchester, (the apart- Mindy Andrusko said the really haven’t had much cording to NTSB docu- built or proposed in ment market indicator) couple pays about $5,000 luxury housing quite a Continued from Page 1A ments, and became a Westchester. Develop- Yardi Matrix shows 99 in monthly rent. few years.” conductor in 2008. He ers say their target mar- percent of high-end units “We are providing In Tuckahoe, a 108-unit told the NTSB that he kets are millennials who that were completed be- amenities, services and luxury rental complex was thrown around the and Rockefeller evacu- look for convenience of tween 2012 and 2016 have environment so that they called Quarry Place just train car, suffering sever- ated everyone they transit-oriented living been leased,” Munger feel that they are on vaca- started leasing in mid-Oc- al injuries including “Post could off the train in the as well as empty-nesters said. tion while at home. That’s tober, as workers put the Traumatic Stress Disor- aftermath of the crash. who want to be relieved “The census shows that very appealing to a lot of final touches on the two- der, depression, chronic Kelly is suing under from the burden of own- the national absorption people,” Ginsburg said. building complex along anxiety, lack of sleep, the Federal Employees ing homes. rate for new (apartment) In Port Chester, Brian Midland Place. Prospec- short temper and fear and Liability Act, which Collins’ 213-unit stock over the last nine Greenberg, 33, along with tive renters have already fright.” grants railroad workers building is expected to months is 91 percent,” she his fiancé, Sarah Ross- been flocking to take a The National Transpor- the ability to sue for in- be completed in the late said. “This (Westchester) Benjamin, 29, started peek inside the complex tation Safety Board found juries sustained on the 2017 or in early 2018. market is extremely tight their new life together at equipped with modern Rockefeller fell asleep job. The employee must with room for growth.” The Castle, a 120-unit lux- features such as gigabit due to undiagnosed sleep prove the railroad was at A comparison ury rental apartment internet and a high-tech apnea exacerbated by a fault or negligent. Apartment living complex that opened package locker system as sudden shift in his Twitter: Rents soared in major about a month ago. As of well as amenities such as schedule. @coynereports cities across the country Ken and Mindy An- this week, 35 units have fitness and yoga studios, a in recent years, includ- drusko moved into their been leased, according to club room and a garden ing New York City, mak- spacious two-bedroom the Bozzuto management terrace with kitchen. ing Westchester more apartment at Harbor company. Each apartment comes attractive as a less-cost- Square in Ossining in mid- The Castle’s sister with hardwood flooring, ly alternative. August. complex, the 100-unit stainless steel appliances, But a glut of rental Until recently, they Mariner, which opened in marble countertops and buildings in New York had lived in a 4,000- 2012 in Port Chester, has in-unit laundry. City now appears to be square-foot home in Chap- also been popular. It’s cur- “I think this is the nic- causing some market paqua where they raised rently 95 percent occu- est luxury rental in West- slowdown there. their son, Marc. pied, according to its chester County by a long The median rental But since he left home website. shot,” said Glen Vetro- price for Brooklyn in to live on his own in New The couple moved to mile, managing partner August was $2,895, down York City, the cost of Port Chester from Stam- for Glenco Residential, by 1.9 percent compared maintaining and caring ford, Connecticut, so that which is developing the to a year ago, according for the large house be- Ross-Benjamin can meet complex, in partnership to Elliman Report, pro- came unjustifiable, Min- the New York residency with Mac-Cali’s Roseland. duced by Douglas Elli- dy Andrusko said. requirement for her job Units are expected to man in conjunction with “Who wants to worry as assistant district attor- be ready for occupancy we DTive. Miller Samuel Real Es- about snow and landscap- ney in the Bronx, said sometime in November. tate and Appraisal. ing?” she asked rhetori- Greenberg, who com- In White Plains, LCOR In Manhattan, the me- cally. “And property taxes mutes to Tarrytown. is building a 16-story, 288- you PNa[. dian rent in August was in Chappaqua happen to Their spacious one- unit luxury rental build- flat from a year ago at be extremely high. If you bedroom apartment — ing with 3,000 square feet about $3,400, while in don’t have a kid in the equipped with a modern of retail as the first phase Ride with Funaway Tours & receive Queens, the median rent school system anymore — kitchen, walk-in closet, in- of its 561-unit rental de- in August was $2,895, up it’s well worth it if you do apartment washer and velopment at 55 Bank St. $40 BONUS by 5.3 percent from a — there’s no reason to pay dryer, and large bathroom The first units are expect- year earlier. for that.” — is also conveniently lo- ed to become available in Rents are stabilizing The Andruskos said cated for the couple to vis- the fall of 2017. PACKAGE or starting to come down they enjoy what their new it their families in Fair- James Driscoll, Free $20 Bonus Slot Play in the areas where a sig- apartment has to offer, in- field County and their LCOR’s senior vice presi- Free Buffet ($20 value) or $10 Food nificant number of new cluding amenities such as friends in Westchester, he dent, said the supply of Bonus package subject to change without notice. apartments came on the a spa and a gym as well as said. luxury rentals have been market at the same time, its proximity to the Met- “We would’ve pre- scarce, particularly in said Seth Pinsky, an ex- ro-North train station and ferred to stay in Stam- White Plains. CAll FUNAwAy TOUrS ecutive vice president at spectacular views of the ford, but this is really, “There hasn’t been any 914-375-2169 RXR Realty. Hudson River. really great. It worked out development — no major For pricing, service locations & reservations. “But citywide, there’s “The river is life- very well,” Greenberg ones — in White Plains real imbalance between changing,” Mindy An- said. “It’s walking dis- since 2009,” he said. He total new supply and drusko said, saying they tance to everything we believes White Plains will population growth,” he have been “binge-watch- want to be near in Port be particularly attractive said, adding that he be- ing” the river from the Chester.” to prospective renters be- lieves an overall short- deck and through the The couple pays a little cause of its established age of rental apartments floor-to-ceiling windows less than $2,500 for their business, shopping and will continue. in the living room. apartment, including dining districts. At the same time, Pin- “It’s incredible,” her $2,177 in rent and fees for “What people are look- sky, whose firm is cur- husband said. “I sit on my parking and amenities. ing for is not just a place to rently developing two deck every night, with a “It’s a pretty good val- live, but also a place to major rental complexes glass of wine, and just ue,” Greenberg said. work and play,” Driscoll in Yonkers and New Ro- watch what happens.” said. “White Plains has it.” Twitter: @LohudAkiko WP-0000246264 chelle, said what’s hap- Developed by Gins-

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