03/26/11 Where The Hell Is The Westmore News? Code Enforcement: Irving Avenue Eyesore 'Will Be Dealt With' and more from Port Chester Patch

If You Want Something Done Forget About The Westmore News, Call Up The Port Chester Patch


Political Operative Richard Able Doesn't Have Time For Your Silly Little Problems In Port Chester.

Political Operative Richard Abel Has To Help Rye Town Supervisor Joe Carvin Win The Next Election, Because Good Ole Joe Let Ricie's Daddy, Bernie Able, Off The Hook After The State Of Florida Called Up Investigating His Latest Tax Dodging Scam.


In The Meantime, Former Westmore News Reporter Nik Bonopartis Has Scooped Westmore News Publisher Richard "My Daddy Gave Me This Newspaper After He Forgot To Pay Over 100 Property Tax Bills" Able

Westmore Snooze Readers Are Always Last To Know What's Going On In Port Chester

View as Webpage Today 38° 23° Tomorrow 40° 23° March 26, 2011 Your News Code Enforcement: Irving Ave. Eyesore 'Will Be Dealt With' Nik Bonopartis | Mar 25, 2011 | 1 Comment Building officials in Port Chester haven't forgotten about a partially-collapsed building on Irving Avenue, and the eyesore "will be dealt with," Code Enforcement Director Christopher Steers said. The issue was raised Thursday by Patch readers, who called attention to the 303 Irving Ave. building in the comments section of another code enforcement story. Along with a gaping hole in the partially-collapsed roof, the building has also been spray-painted with graffiti. "If you're stuck at the light and look up you can see the sky through the side window," reader William Beadle wrote. "I've e-mailed the code enforcement office about this because I feel it's a public hazard and no action has been done." Readers were responding to a Wednesday article about a code enforcement database dubbed "a wall of shame".... ...."The property owner, Peter Sinis is making arrangements to have an engineer assess the structural integrity of the building and have an architect draw up plans for the renovation, if it can be saved," Gray wrote. " I expect to hear back from him within a week." It's not clear what happened afterward, or whether the case was shelved due to ongoing problems at the building department in the wake of a criminal investigation. Sinis couldn't be reached for comment. The building department was closed down earlier this month by police as part of the ongoing investigation. This week, the Board of Trustees voted to hire a new building inspector, and Steers said residents should expect a resolution soon..... Frugal Family: This Week's Local Discounts Lisa DiCarlucci | Mar 25, 2011 | 0 Comments We've scoured the area for this week's best deals... See more News » Community Bulletin Social Services Free Workshops Available to Women Looking for Jobs Laura Spear | Mar 25, 2011 WJCS is offering free, job searching workshops for women, Women-Helping-Women. Registration is required. Please contact Women-… See more Announcements » Things to Do 8:00am Motivators and Creators Women's Group Inaugural Women's Entrepreneurial Summit Press release from Motivators and Creators Women's Group: MACs, Motivators and Creators Women's Group, is pleased to announce our … 10:00am Westchester County Earned Income Tax Credit Program Assistance Walk-in tax help. Read the following before coming: (Mira abajo para Español) Items to bring to the VITA/TCE site to have your tax … Saturday, March 26, 2011 8:00am Motivators and Creators Women's Group Inaugural Women's Entrepreneurial Summit 10:00am Westchester County Earned Income Tax Credit Program Assistance 10:00am Showstoppers of Spring at the Botanical Gardens 10:30am Water, Beautiful Water! Puppet Show 11:00am Insider's Tour of Stone Barns Center 12:00pm Homebuyer Orientations 3:15pm Vidal Sassoon: The Movie 5:00pm TheNetWorks.org Networking Mixer 6:30pm The Inaugural Father Peter M. Rinaldi Awards Dinner 7:30pm The Blues Brothers: Free Film Screening 8:30pm Leslie Pintchik Trio at Watercolor Cafe See more Events »

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03/13/11 Richard And Jananne Abel Throw Former Westmore News Columnist Bart "The Bigot" Didden Under The Bus In A Hard Hitting Editorial That Tells It Like It Is

Forget About Bart Didden: Westmore News Endorses Mayor Dennis Pilla For Third Term In Port Chester

Re-elect Dennis Pilla For Mayor 

To Keep Port Chester Moving Forward

Two bright but starkly different candidates are running for mayor of Port Chester on Tuesday, Mar. 15. Both incumbent Democrat Dennis Pilla and Republican-Independence candidate Bart Didden, a village trustee since July, are motivated to do what they think is best for the village. Because of their sharply contrasting ideas on almost every issue, we need to keep them both on the Board of Trustees for a healthy balance of ideas. We therefore advocate returning Pilla, a moderate, to office for another two years. Didden, a registered Conservative, still has two years left on his term.

Since Pilla has been mayor over the past four years, the village has been going in a positive direction with a good management team, transparency in government, strong finances, a solid, comprehensive code enforcement program for the first time in the village's history, a good working relationship with neighboring communities and a forward-thinking attitude. Corruption is being routed out and the rebuilding has begun. There is no compelling reason to upset the apple cart.

The current board is comprised of strong personalities who, when they're not fighting, have had some healthy discourse on appealing the voting rights case decision and whether to use money left over from old capital projects for the purpose for which it was originally borrowed or return it to contingency are a few recent examples. Diverse opinions and healthy discussion make for good decisions. Eliminating Pilla's pragmatic voice and leaving an empty seat on the board which might not be filled until the next election in two years would be a huge mistake for the village.

Putting his career on hold and devoting all of his time to the job of mayor, Pilla has used his skills as a former management consultant to tackle the multitude of problems facing Port Chester. He took the lead on developing a downtown revitalization strategy being funded largely by grants which has only partially come to fruition. It includes new lights, trees, sidewalks, signs, trash receptacles, a facade improvement program, rezoning the central downtown district to eliminate industrial uses, enhancing the sidewalk cafe ordinance and entertainment regulations.

Pilla is also innovative, forging a first-time partnership with Purchase College and the MTA on a train bridge art project which is in the works. In addition, through his efforts, talented Purchase College graphic arts students are designing gateway signs to the village. Both of these projects will be paid for with grants and need Pilla's guidance to see them through.

Both candidates have their failings. Pilla's is a drunk driving arrest in New York City back in June 2009 for which he later apologized. That was a onetime personal issue. Didden's is the controversial 2007 flyer he authored which was deemed by the federal judge hearing the village's voting rights case to be a racial appeal. Much has been made of that flyer during this election campaign. However, it's not just the flyer and whether or not Didden apologized for it that should be considered here. It's a mindset of inclusion of all races, and we don't believe Didden has that mindset. He might be on his best behavior and trying to reach out to all segments of the community during this election campaign, but how would he treat new immigrants once in office acting as an ambassador for a village that is more than 50% Hispanic?

To Pilla, on the other hand, married to a Colombian, inclusion comes naturally, and he never fails to mention in a positive light the beautiful mosaic that is Port Chester and makes it so appealing.

Pilla has a forward-thinking attitude while Didden looks to go back to the way things were appealing the voting rights decision, for instance. Maybe that works in the short term during an election campaign but certainly not when it comes to the long-term health of the village.

We disagree with appealing the voting rights decision and wasting the taxpayers' dollars with little chance for success. We agree with Pilla that we'd be far better off negotiating with the Department of Justice to get staggered terms, for instance, than gambling on a very unsure bet.

Even though the majority of families living in the village have an income of $80,000 or less and would qualify for affordable (not low-income) housing, Didden is opposed to creating any more affordable units in Port Chester. He's even for doing away with the required 10% set-aside of affordable units within newly-constructed buildings of 10 units or more in residential zones which is currently on the books. Pilla is for changing but not eliminating what he calls an ineffective ordinance. He's for creating an incentive for developers to build affordable units rather than making it punitive and establishing an “in lieu of” fee which would go into a fund to promote single-family ownership and provide home ownership assistance. Didden's close-minded attitude could prevent the village from getting future federal Community Development Block Grants through the county which have been so important to Port Chester's forward momentum.

Village government has never been more open than it is today under the Pilla administration. The Board of Trustees, Planning Commission and Zoning Board meetings are broadcast live on cable TV and streaming live on the internet. We are concerned about the future of open government under Didden who often advocates for topics to be discussed in closed rather than open session.

Additionally, Didden has demonstrated that he won't work well with neighboring communities. He seems to have a contempt for them rather than an interest in seeing how they can work together for the benefit of each. In this day of federal and state budget cuts and a greater need than ever to share services, that attitude is short-sighted to say the least.

Pilla, on the other hand, was instrumental in getting the villages of Rye Brook and Mamaroneck and the Town of Rye to partner with Port Chester on applying for a $50,000 state Local Government Efficiency Grant to study whether to dissolve the Town of Rye. The grant was received and bids for a consultant to undertake that study are currently being sought. Even if the decision is made not to eliminate the Town, the study should be useful in identifying additional shared service opportunities across the participating communities.

Lastly, how can we elect a mayor who is unable to deal with the largest property owner in the village, downtown developer G&S Investors? Didden has been advised by village attorneys not to even discuss or vote on anything relating to G&S because of his ongoing lawsuit involving the developer. Pilla has been instrumental in that regard, encouraging G&S to do faux painting within the fake windows on the facade of its building on South Main Street, paving the way for the developer to finally improve the intersections for which it is responsible this spring, and working with G&S to help come up with a reasonable solution to the collapsing bulkhead behind Costco. Delegating such important authority to another trustee, as Didden has said he will do, is scary, especially when we don't know who that individual will be.

The Pilla administration has been the village's most productive in years even though, as the mayor himself admits, there's so much more to do. Based on his past record, Mayor Pilla deserves the chance to continue the positive momentum he has started for another two years.

PLEASE ALSO SEE:

THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2011

03/10/11 Journal News Slams Bart Didden And Endorses Mayor Dennis Pilla

On Election Day Tuesday, Port Chester Voters Should Help Put The Past Behind Them, And Re-elect A Mayor Who Knows How To Look Forward


The race for mayor in Port Chester, one of Westchester's most closely watched villages, should be no contest at all — Mayor Dennis Pilla has done that outstanding a job the last four years, and as a trustee earlier. That it is, indeed, a race may say more about the resiliency of bigotry, mainly of the thinly concealed variety, than about his stewardship. Village voters should make a plain statement Tuesday that they support smart, fiscally responsible and progressive leadership, and vote to return Pilla for a third term. The alternative, Trustee Bart Didden, really is no option at all....

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03/11/11 Westchester Fair Campaign Committee Finds Fault With Bart "The Bigot" Didden In Mayoral Race

The Fair Campaign Practices Committee said Extremist TEA Party Lunatic Bart "The Bigot" Didden has misrepresented facts

Mayoral candidate Bart Didden misrepresented the facts when he accused incumbent Mayor Dennis Pilla of cutting code enforcement positions.

Didden claimed Pilla had slashed the number of inspectors, but the committee said Didden used information from 2009.

The fair campaign committee correctly noted there are two current vacancies in the department – but said Didden falsely misled voters when he didn't acknowledge that the part-time positions were vacated when two employees were promoted to full-time inspectors.

Thus doubling the number of code enforcement man hours.

Didden also failed to tell voters that Port Chester is currently looking to fill two part-time code enforcement jobs, which will also boost code enforcement man hours by another 50%.

Those were the findings of the Westchester County Fair Campaign Practices Committee, a non-partisan group tasked with reviewing the campaign literature and practices of local political hopefuls.

The committee also said that Didden was "mistaken" when he claimed in an editorial that "Pilla negligence could cost taxpayers more than $5.8 million."

Can Extremist TEA Party Lunatic Bart "The Bigot" Didden Get Anything Right?

To Bart Didden's credit the fair campaign committee noted ....

"Mr. Didden admitted that the information was mistaken," the ruling reads.

However ....

"The committee determined that he had not corrected the website posting when he learned of the error."

Moreover Didden's Complaint that Mayor Dennis Pilla's ad challenging him to be be fair, honest and civil was a personal attack, as expected, went absolutely nowhere.

Perhaps someone should tell the Westchester Fair Campaign Practices Committee that Bart Didden has broken the law and twice failed to report failed to file his campaign financial disclosure forms.

PLEASE SEE:

03/09/11 Sloppy Businessman And Mayoral Candidate Bart "The Bigot" Didden Has Twice Failed To File Financial Disclosure Reports With Authorities

PORT CHESTER MAYORAL CANDIDATE AND INFAMOUS RACIST BART DIDDEN REPEATEDLY GETS AWAY WITH FAILING TO FILE FINANCIAL FORMS

Extremist TEA Party Lunatic Bart "The Bigot" Didden, who is the owner of USA Central Station Alarm Corp and has been running around Port Chester bragging that he is going to spend $80,000 to win the Port Chester Mayoral job that pays 12,000 a year.

A check of Port Chester financial disclosure records shows that the only sloppy record keeper was Bart "The Bigot" Didden.

It wasn't until the last week of January that perpetual law breaker Bart "The Bigot" Didden got his act together and filed his Port Chester Trustee financial reports that were due in July of last year.

So far this year Mayor Wanna Be Bart "The Bigot" Didden has missed TWO campaign financial report deadlines........

PLEASE ALSO SEE:

03/09/10 ONLY IN PORT CHESTER: Even If You Tried You Just Couldn't Make This Stuff Up

Once Again Port Chester Voters Are Wondering What Kind Of LSD Are The Putting In Bart Didden's TEA

Extremist TEA Party LuniticBart "The Bigot" Didden Is Seeking To Put Spiritual Leaders From Port Chester's Churches And Temples In The Middle Of A CampaignPractices Complaint About This Year's Mayoral Election.

Yes It Is True, Bart "The Bigot" Didden Says That He Going To The Next Westchester Fair Campaign Practices CommitteeToday To Whine And Complain That Port Chester Mayor Dennis Pilla Has A Factual Ad That Says He Refused To Sign A Port Chester Clergy's Pledge To Keep The Election Civil.

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03/05/11 Forget About Bart "The Bigot" Didden And Vote For Port Chester Mayor Dennis Pila

Give Port Chester's Pilla a third term
Journal News

DON'T VOTE

Don't vote in the Port Chester race for mayor if you want to elect someone who was involved in writing and distributing racist election literature, lied by publicly denying involvement, and then "fessed up" only under threat of perjury. Don't vote if you believe that someone who lies in public when they need your vote to get elected will stop lying after they get your vote and got elected. Don't vote if you believe promises, ignore history and deny facts.

On the other hand, do vote if keeping property taxes to just over 1 percent these past two years makes your wallet smile. Do vote if expanded code enforcement is making your neighborhood cleaner, friendlier and safer. Do vote if downtown and the waterfront are becoming places where you again cherish hanging, walking, eating and shopping. Do vote if corruption burns you up and stopping corruption cools you down.

In conclusion, don't vote for Bart Didden, the Republican candidate for mayor. And, if you do vote, do vote for Dennis Pilla, the Democratic incumbent.

A.J. Kleinmann

Port Chester

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03/03/11 A Recap Of Last Nights Port Chester Mayoral Forum Hosted By The League Of Women Voters

League Of Women Voters Forum Was Ba Ba Ba Ba Booooooring ........

Port Chester Residents Looking For Fireworks Were Disappointed Last Night

Last Nights’s public forum for the Port Chester mayoral candidates brought a few differences between Bart "The Bigot" Didden and Port Chester Mayor Dennis Pilla.

The decision on whether to spend another million dollars to appeal the voting rights decision,

Bart's perception of the village finances

Overall, incumbent Mayor Dennis Pilla clearly demonstrated progress on everything from code enforcement to corruption-fighting within the ranks, while Republican nominee and Trustee Bart Didden repeatedly tried in vain to put together an argument of “mismanagement.”

Mayor Dennis Pilla noted the recent upgrade of Port Chester’s bond rating to its highest ever, coming despite declining sales and mortgage taxes.

A couple times, the candidates were asked what they would do to foster more unity and tolerance among village residents.

Extremist TEA Party Lunatic Bart "The Bigot" Didden avoided the question by saying, “The divide is between government and the people.”

Mayor Dennis Pilla said the community is mainly tolerant but that the board itself had to set a more civil tone, rather than fan the flames.

“If you watch the meetings on TV, and I don’t mean to disparage, but it’s as though they’re throwing lighter fluid on a fire that’s already partially lit,” the Mayor Pilla said.

One specific policy difference that I hadn’t heard before was on the potential for sharing services with Rye and Rye Brook.

Mayor Dennis Pilla said he and the village manager met recently with Rye about sharing code-enforcement functions and fire services. He noted that Rye Brook already pays a fee in return for service from volunteer firefighters.

Bart "The Bigot" Didden dismissed the notion that the wealthy, less-racially-diverse neighboring communities wanted any deals with Port Chester.

“You think Rye Brook wants a lot to do with Port Chester? Asked Extremist TEA Party Lunatic Bart "The Bigot" Didden.

The City of Rye, they don’t want us over there. They don’t want us in their park, they don’t want us on their beach, and we have to maintain our rights and our ability.”, Extremist TEA Party Lunatic Bart "The Bigot Didden Continued.

It looks like Extremist TEA Party Lunatic Bart "The Bigot" Didden is arguing that those Rich WASPs in Rye And those Rich Jews in Rye Brook want nothing to do with those down and out Guidos and Wet Backs in Port Chester.

It sort of reminds one of when Bart "The Bigot" Didden's racist political flier said,"The Hispanics Are Running The Show In Port Chester." and when when Bart "The Bigot" Didden's racist political flier continued with,"Don't elect carpet baggers [ie. Hispanics], elect people who care about our history, heritage and what our kids will be told about us in the future. Are we to be known as racists or law abiding free Americans?"

There was no discussion of Extremist TEA Party Lunatic Bart "The Bigot Didden's racist political flier 0r the fact that Bart's Downtown Office Had No Certificate Of Occupancy at the League Of Women Voters event last night.

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03/01/11 What A Gavone - Bart "The Bigot" Didden Had No Certificate Of Occupancy At His Downtown Office. Bart Is Just A Fake, Phony And A Fraud.

Is Former Planning Board Member Bart "The Bigot" Didden On Drugs Or Is The The Furniture Upstairs In His Head Just Re-arranged In All The Wrong Rooms?

For Many Years Extremist TEA Party Lunatic Bart "The Bigot" Didden Worked Out Of A Downtown Port Chester Building That Had No Certificate Of Occupancy And Had Many Other Serious Building Code Violations.

Bart "The Bigot" Didden Appears To Be Mentally Ill As He Has Trys To Take Aim At Port Chester Village Manager Chris Russo Over Code Enforcement.

Through The Murk Of Bart "The Bigot" Didden's Long History Of Corruption And Building Code Violations He Now Procliams That "Downtown Is An Embarrassment To Village Residents And That Port Chester Has Not Done Enough To Crack Down On Safety Violations.

Manga-Looch Bart "The Bigot" Didden also accused Port Chester Mayor Dennis Pilla of going back on his promise to increase code enforcement staffing, saying the mayor "transferred funding for two additional code enforcement officers to a contingency fund."

Mayor Dennis Pilla disputes Didden's hallucinations, saying the vacancies in the part-time positions were created when the part-time code enforcement officers were promoted to full-time positions. He pointed to an internal e-mail exchange with Village Manager Christopher Russo.

"Two of the full-time positions were filled by the part-time code enforcement officers being brought up to full time pending civil service exam, of course, but they are legally in the positions provisionally," Port Chester Village Manager Chris Russo wrote. "This resulted in two part time positions now vacant for which we are actively recruiting."

Since taking over code enforcement duties, Christopher Steers has been highly lauded by both Democrats and Republicans on the board. Code enforcement was traditionally part of the long-corrupt building department, which was raided by the Port Chester Police Department early last year, resulting in the retirement of Acting Building Inspector Frank "Dirty Deals Done Dirt Cheap" Ruccolo after he was suspended without pay in May.

Frank "Dirty Deals Done Dirt Cheap" Ruccolo, assistant to longtime building inspector Leonard Cusumano, is widely rumored to have taken bribes.

Several sources say police raided the building department after police received credible evidence that Ruccolo had taken a $1,500 bribe to approve an illegal dwelling, but the investigation has been ongoing for 10 months without a comment from police.

Remnants of the alleged corruption surfaced earlier this month, when maintenance worker Daniel DeLisa was fired for allegedly outsourcing his $5,400-a-year cleaning job. DeLisa told authorities the late Cusumano gave DeLisa his blessing to outsource the job a decade ago; DeLisa had been paying a woman to do the work since 2001.

After the scandal surfaced, Didden was forced to backpedal after claiming he'd "uncovered" the corruption.

Although the police investigation is ongoing, Cusumano passed away in 2007 and Ruccolo was allowed to retire, it's difficult to find a resident in town who does not have a corruption story about the building department.

It all adds up to a staggering amount of corruption Steers has had to contend with as code enforcement director, and in January he threatened to quit after Trustee Sam "Wine, Dine And Pocket Line" Terenzi was dangling a promotion in front of Steers in exchange for political support.

Years Ago, Port Chester's Most Influential Newspaper, The TRUE BLUE CONSERVATIVE REVIEW Reported On The Bart Didden And Lenny Cusumano Corruption Story

THE TRUE BLUE

CONSERVATIVE REVIEW

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Port Chester's most influential newspaper.

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For Years And Years Bart Didden Has

Been Threatening To Send

Corrupt Members Of The

Mayor Gerald Logan' Patronage Machine To

The Port Chester Ethics Board......

For a year Bart Didden was filing Freedom of Information requests against Port

Chester Trustee Bob Sorensen.

Bart Didden went so far as to threaten Robert Soresen, by saying that he would release

the information unless Mr. Sorensen did not immediately resign. Then Bart Didden went

on cable TV attacking and threatening Mr. Sorensen.

Worse yet, Bart Didden was taking the information about Bob Sorensen to the Westmore

News in "anattempt to get bad articles written about Trustee Bob Sorensen. Further, Bart

. Didden contacted Liz Sadler of the Journal News in order to get even more articles

printed about Mr. Sorensen and his family.

Bart Didden was the driving force behind organizing the "Letter To The Editor" writing

campaign agaipst Mr. Sorensen's family.

But that was not enough. Bart continued the attacks for about two and a half months calling for Mr. Sorrensen to be sent to the Port Chester Ethic's Board.

When all was said and done the Bart Didden's information about the Trustee Sorensen's parking tickets was not very good and was in fact a hyped up attack against Mr. Sorensen.

For the record Trustee Robert Sorensen was never ever

referred to the Port Chester Ethics Board.

The Port Chester Official That Should Be

Dragged Before The Port Chester Ethics

Board Is The Lawbreaker Bart Didden.

Bart Didden has sat on the Port Chester Planning

Commission, while having

No Certificate Of Occupancy

For one year Port Chester Building Inspector Lenny

Cusamano has been afraid to inspect Bart Didden's

Main Street Business even though G&S testified at a

public hearing that Bart'Didden's building is not in

compliance with Port Chester Buildin Code Laws.

Over one year ago Port Chester Building Inspector

Lenny Cusamano was asked to produce a copy of

Bart Didden's Certificate Of Occupancy and could

not produce a copy.

Bart Didden Is A Lawbreaker And A Criminal.

It Is Landlords Like Him Who Have

Ruined Downtown Port Chester

The True Blue Conservative Has Always Said

That When Planning Board Member Bart Didden Says Jump.

Building Inspector Lenny Cusumano

Says,"How High?"

Perhaps we should now start saying...

"When Bart Didden says jump fetch beg or

bark and Cusumano does it."

The single-family homeowners of Port Chester Hate The Fact That

Planning Board Member Bart Didden Has The Very Corrupt Port Chester Building Inspector Lenny Cusumano Wrapped Around His Little Finger.

First Bart Didden sues the single-family homeowners of Port

Chester for 10 Million Dollars and then he uses his cash to become

a big shot in the Republican Party that he repeatedly called corrupt.

BART DIDDEN IS NOT A PART OF THE SOLUTION

BART DIDDEN IS A PART OF THE PROBLEM

Port Chester Taxpayers Suffer, Because Of

Downtown Building Code Violators Like Bart Didden

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