Astorino Fails

05/08/2023

We were pretty harsh on Mr. Astorino . . . for good reason!
Final Grade: F - complete fail.

Now it's time to assess Mr. Latimer's tenure. To be honest, we are less than enthusiastic, but before we publish our views we would like to know yours.

Please post your thoughts!

02/23/2022

Here he goes again: "unscientific and cruel"?
Pandering is the most genuine form of demagoguery.

11/08/2017

Astorino Fails . . . to win re-election.
Mission Accomplished.
(Combine enough snowflakes, you get an avalanche!)

11/07/2017

Late Saturday evening, FiOS News reported a shocking investigation showing that Rob Astorino's Rolex is probably worth at least $7,000, rather than $2,000 as Astorino claims, and apparently substantiating Jona Reichnitz's dramatic testimony in Federal court that he bribed our County Executive.

After burying the explosive story from its website for almost 48 hours, Verizon/FiOS finally posted the report this afternoon. (A bit more ominously, it took Facebook almost 12 hours to approve this time-critical ad on the day before the election, although Facebook boasts that advertisements are normally approved within 15 minutes.)

Can anyone explain why this story was spiked? Did threaten Verizon?

Astorino's father was a corrupt cop and a convicted felon.

Like Father, Like Son.

11/03/2017

Astorino Fails . . . to tell the Truth about Taxes, Part 3.

So, what about Senator Latimer and taxes? Let's start with the claim that he owes $48,000 in property taxes. George's mother-in-law died a few years ago. Her house was willed to George's wife. But there is a legal dispute over that asset, among others. Lawyers are negotiating. Penalties and interest are accruing, just as for any other property.

Does George owe the tax? No, whoever gets the house will owe the tax. When the lawyers reach a settlement, the taxes will be paid, just as in any other dispute over estates.

Next, did George REALLY vote to raise taxes 46%? Astorino's minions did some simple arithmetic: they divided the County's total expenditures in 2005 by the same number in 1991. That was George's entire term in the County Legislature.

Anyone of voting age might remember that during that time period, property values and retail sales were booming - right up until the bubble burst in 2008. So property and sales tax revenues were booming, and this natural economic growth led to higher tax revenues for the County.

Latimer's response? He and the County Board actually voted to DECREASE the tax levy THREE SEPARATE TIMES.

Astorino's response? As a member of the Mount Pleasant Town Council, he let it ride. So during a SHORTER time period, 1991-2003, Mount Pleasant's taxes increased by more than 52%. Unlike George, Rob did not take the opportunity to lower taxes when natural economic growth was feeding HIS trough.

So, when times were good, did Rob invest in the future? Take a look at Pleasantville's roads and business district. The answer is obvious.

Pleasantville got Rob'd.

11/02/2017

Dear Friends: for 10 weeks, we have provided well-documented posts to help voters understand that, despite his affable disposition, Rob Astorino has simply Failed to provide either strong leadership or sensible governance for Westchester County.

Westchester is not only the wealthiest county in America, it is also perhaps the best educated and most informed. Westchester residents are some of the top leaders in America. This election matters not only for the future of our county, but for the future of our country.

"More of the same" means further diminution of County transportation and human services, fiscal jeopardy, lousy roads, crumbling bridges, raw sewage spewing into our recreational waterways, a failure to plan for the future and further degradation in our quality of life.

Tribal loyalties aside, is this REALLY the future we desire? Are we so disillusioned and cynical that we can't see that our choices of political leaders MATTERS?

George Latimer is a good and decent man, a collaborative legislator and a well-grounded leader. Rob Astorino is a failed radio producer who cashed in on a nice disposition and a rigid ideology to take control of this county's government. He held the line on property taxes while driving the county's finances into the ground.

Let's get to work and Get Out the Vote!

11/02/2017

Astorino Fails . . . to disclose his OWN family's entanglements. Rob loves to bash Senator Latimer about $46,000 in taxes due from his mother-in-law's unsettled estate, which George doesn’t control.

But did you know that Rob's own father is a convicted felon? As the Daily News reported, "his father, Robert Astorino, was convicted, imprisoned and stripped of his job as chief of detectives in the Mount Vernon Police Department after being caught in an FBI sting."

Perhaps that helps explain why Rob had no problem soliciting favors from another felon, Brooklyn's Jona Rechnitz. It all felt just like home!

Gosh, Rob, you seemed so nice. Freud might ponder whether that explains why you prefer "Rob" over "Robert" or "Bob." Or maybe ?

Rob'd indeed!

Raiding an apartment where they believed a fugitive from Florida was hiding, three Mount Vernon police officers stole $10,000 from a gym bag filled with cash last week and the incident was captured on videotape, Federal prosecutors said today. The officers, including the department's chief of detect...

11/02/2017

Astorino Fails . . . to explain WHY he met with Brooklyn gangsters in 2013, and why he went shopping in the Diamond District with a confessed felon.

"Astorino confirmed his office has been blitzed with subpoenas from Bharara’s office," according to the NY Post.

The Rolex may be the tip of the iceberg. And THAT'S why he wants to talk about Parking Tickets.

Excerpts from the Post's report:

"FBI agents also quizzed politically wired cabby advocate Fernando Mateo, who introduced Rechnitz and Reichberg to Astorino. Reichberg, a Brooklyn resident who had no known previous ties to Westchester County, was named a volunteer county police chaplain in June 2013.

A few days later, entities tied to his pal Rechnitz donated $25,000 to Astorino’s re-election campaign.

“The FBI agents wanted to know everything they could about the Astorino relationships with Rechnitz and Reichberg,” the source said.

Mateo, a Latino civil leader, supported Astorino’s re-election in 2013 and was appointed to the Westchester County Police Advisory Board. Mateo also is in hot water after admitting to The Post that he secretly bundled campaign money.

Reichberg was indicted in an NYPD scandal, in which he allegedly provided cops cash, free trips and even a pr******te for a Super Bowl bash.

Rechnitz has become a government cooperator in the case that has ensnared and disgraced a growing number of top-ranking cops in what has become the worst corruption scandal to hit the department in decades."

Say, wasn't Astorino's father a crooked cop?

US Attorney Preet Bharara’s corruption probe into the dealings of two shady businessmen and donors to Mayor de Blasio has expanded to Westchester County, The Post has learned. Bharara has subpoenae…

10/31/2017

Astorino Fails . . . to deliver on the Austin Avenue real estate deal.

In May 2016, with much fanfare, Astorino announced a new retail development on the land adjacent to Stew Leonard's and Costco in Yonkers: 560 full time jobs, 255,000 square feet of retail space including a new Target Store, and 400 residential units on the 75 acre property. Yonkers/Greenburgh residents would also have a beautiful new park and trail system on the NE portion of the property.

With 28% of the County's budget supported by Sales Tax revenue, this was a Big Deal, indeed!

Eighteen months later: nada. No Target, no housing, not a backhoe in sight. And in the process, the County surrendered all the rent revenue from Home Depot, Costco and Stew's.

This was another Rob-ery. Rob needed to plug a massive hole in his 2016 budget, misusing a county Capital Asset to fund routine operations. That's one reason Moody's cited the County's "multi-year trend of structurally imbalanced budgets" when it downgraded the County's credit rating last year.

Rob'd again.

[http://www.realestateindepth.com/news/target-deal-in-yonkers-helps-fill-westchesters-17m-budget-gap/]

10/30/2017

Astorino Fails . . . to impress Michael Kay.

10/25/2017

Astorino Fails . . . Westchester Airport travelers. Between 2010 and 2016, the Board of Legislators authorized over $50 million for Airport improvements including modern jetways and luggage management systems, spacious waiting rooms with contemporary technology support and other amenities of a modern airport. After all, airport travelers generated more than $7 million profit for the County in 2016, and the Airport Fund has more than $38 million in cash on its balance sheet.

Rather than move forward with these necessary and affordable improvements, Mr. Astorino bumbled, causing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to take notice. After two years of County inaction, the FAA rescinded Westchester’s ability to collect Passenger Facility Fees to pay for improvements, costing the County $7 million in lost revenue. (Astorino's spokesman incomprehensibly argued that the lost revenue was "good for taxpayers.")

Astorino complains that FAA rules require Airport revenues to be spent on Airport facilities. There's a reason for this rule: otherwise, unscrupulous politicians will use the funds for political payoffs; that is, exactly what Astorino intends to do.

Why not spend the money as the law requires? Spend the funds on the travelers who generate the revenue! Upgrade the cramped and noisy terminal with modern facilities for business travelers, for conferencing and communicating, for charging phones and computers, for affordable parking, for improved airport access, for faster baggage handling, and maybe even, omg!, modern jetways so travelers don't have to trudge through the rain and snow to access their flights.

C'mon Rob, Do Your Job!

The FAA suspended Westchester's ability to collect the passenger charge at Westchester County Airport for 25 months, costing the county $7 million