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WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- As the number of days left in 2011 dwindles, The Daily White Plains took stock of which local news stories mattered most this year. White Plains was embroiled in drama for much of 2011, as its former mayor was accused of domestic violence charges and resigned, neighborhoods weathered a tropical storm and freak October snowstorm, and residents flocked to two elections. Here's a glimpse at what made headlines in White Plains this year:
1) Hurricane Irene dulled into a tropical storm before roaring through White Plains, leaving thousands without power, tree limbs littered across roads, and a dozen families flooded out of their Cloverdale Avenue homes. The neighborhood accused White Plains and Westchester of bickering over whose job it was to maintain the sewage system, which residents said flooded their homes during Irene. Cloverdale Avenue considered filing a class action lawsuit against both municipalities.
2) A freak Halloween snowstorm shocked White Plains when police announced what appeared to be a wrong-way crash claimed the lives of three Bronx residents and injured two others driving on Mamaroneck Avenue.
3) White Plains learned Saxon Woods Park has become a "destination" for anonymous sex when county police arrested 16 men in "operation overexposed." However, details about the sex sting became scarce after Westchester acknowledged it illegally released sealed court cases when sending mug shots and arrest information to the press.
4) Four Manhattan residents traveling to Long Island were killed when a small airplane crashed near the Westchester County Airport this June.
5) Former White Plains Mayor Adam Bradley resigned in February after being convicting of domestic violence charges filed by his estranged wife, according to the New York Times. Mayor Thomas Roach won the executive position in a special election this March.
6) An eight-year police department veteran shot a White Plains man police said couldn't be subdued with a taser or beanbag gun before coming at an officer with a butcher's knife. Kenneth Chamberlain, 68, died hours later during surgery at the White Plains Hospital. Chamberlain's family, friends, and neighbors in the Winbrook Public Housing apartments called for an independent investigation of the shooting.
7) White Plains Parking Department and Recreation and Parks Department Commissioner Albert Moroni resigned a day after submitting an accident report detailing an incident with a city-owned car. Moroni, who served, the city for 30 years, lost the confidence of the Common Council before he stepped down.
8) Dennis Krolian, a trail lawyer and former Bronx assistant district attorney, was the only new representative elected to the all-Democratic Common Council this November.
9) The French-American School of New York (FASNY) submitted its plans to build a $60 million private school campus on the former Ridgeway Country Club grounds. The Gedney Farms neighborhood surrounding Ridgeway worries that if FASNY gets a special permit to operate the school, the neighborhood's streets, sewers, and traffic will be overburdened.
10) White Plains honored six residents lost during Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks at a memorial ceremony in Liberty Park. Governor Andrew Cuomo, Public Safety Commissioner David Chong, who was with the NYPD during the attacks, and dozens of local residents and politicians gathered at the White Plains Public Library to commemorate the 10th anniversary of 9/11.Click here to follow Daily Voice White Plains and receive free news updates.
