With proposals regarding the future of Rye Playland due next week, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino revealed the County's plans to evaluate the submissions Westchester receives.

As part of the process, he has appointed a 19-member citizen committee made up of representatives from all walks of life, including lawmakers from the city and town of Rye, the Westchester County Board of Legislators, local business and real estate officials as well as environmentalists, park experts and park users. 

Assisting the commitee will be Peter Tartaglia, Deputy Commissioner of the Parks Department and William Mooney, Senior Assistant to the County Executive. Astorino says the County will make its resources available as necessary for the panel to conduct its meetings and evaluations.

In the area of proclamations, the question is: What is a first for County Executive Rob Astorino?

The answer is....Presenting a proclamation to a computer.

(L-R: Assemblyman Robert Castelli, Assemblyman Steve Katz, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino)

Freshman Westchester Assemblyman Steve Katz today welcomed a contingent of local Westchester officials to Albany as the group paid a visit to discuss legislative concerns for the coming year.

A new study released today by Westchester Residential Opportunities (WRO) found that while inroads were made over the past six years, housing discrmination still exists in the lower Hudson Valley. 

In 2005, WRO says 46.5% of tests conducted found discrimination in rental housing in Westchester. In the current round of testing, the percentage was down to 17.54%. Discrimination in Rockland was 34.6% and it was 14.3 percent in Putnam County. 

The findings were released at a news conference hosted by Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino in White Plains.

Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino announced today that the County is a year ahead of schedule in reaching a benchmark in its landmark Affordable Housing Settlement.

In August 2009, following a lawsuit filed by the Anti-Discrimination Center of New York, Westchester agreed to build 750 units of fair and affordable housing in parts of Westchester with the least racial diversity.

Astorino says Westchester has met its first benchmark under terms of the settlement between the County and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. 

Reaction to the Governor's first-ever State of the State address is largely positive.

Republican State Senator Greg Ball said he liked what he heard and said he supported the Governor on such issues as a property tax cap.  Said Ball, "Hopefully that message will make its way into law and tax relief and doing what needs to be done. This state is hemorrhaging jobs, we're hemorrhaging people, folks are voting with their feet, and they need a governor and legislature to work together to get this state back on track." 

Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino says he's looking forward to working with Governor Cuomo in the year ahead.

Speaking with WestchesterNewsOnline.com, Astorino said, "By anyone's accounts, the prediction is it's going to be a rough year for 2011 with the economy. Governor Cuomo understands that, I have said publicly and privately to him that I would stand with him in making some of these tough calls that he's going to have to make."