Driving nonprofit messages forward

Westchester County, with a population nearing one million residents, is the 450-square-mile county north of New York City. Its geographical setting is a favorable one, with the Long Island Sound on the southeast and the Hudson River on the west. Within the county’s borders, the terrain is largely rolling hills, intersected by the Croton, Bronx and Saw Mill rivers. It has retained much of its rural character, while adopting the urban and suburban lifestyles dictated by its proximity to New York City. 

FY Eye is working closely with Westchester County government by facilitating in the installation of highly visible digital screens and billboards in various locations throughout Westchester.  We hope to have this network up and running by Fall 2010. 

The Bee-Line Bus System, branded on the buses in lowercase as the bee-line system, is a bus system serving Westchester County, New York. The system is owned by the County's Department of Transportation and operated, on contract (except for four routes), by Yonkers-based Liberty Lines Transit, Inc.

The system's 64 routes are mostly concentrated in the more urban southern portion of the county, with more sparse service in the northern part of the county, with service concentrated near its slightly populated areas such as Peekskill, Ossining, or Mount Kisco, with paratransit service only in areas such as eastern Bedford, Lewisboro, North Salem and Pound Ridge. White Plains, the county seat and most centrally located city, is a major transportation hub, with many routes converging on the city's TransCenter, the station in which our screens will be installed. Yonkers, New Rochelle and Mount Vernon, the other major cities of the county (all located at the southern end), are the best served. All but the county's smallest, most rural communities have at least rush hour service.

The White Plains Bus Station is an ideal location for conveying messages to the public, especially during the morning and evening peak commuter hours.  About 8,500 people a day pass through the bus depot on weekdays and another 5,000 during the weekends.

The screens will display bus messages and commuter information as well as events listings and public service messages.

Saxon Woods Park is a 700 acre property offering a variety of recreational facilities including a pool, picnic areas and an 18 hole miniature golf course. It is also the site of the county’s only playground that is accessible to the disabled.

The screen will be located at the well-attended pool that gets approximately 75,000 visitors each season.  During peak hours there are long lines entering the pool with a captive audience.  During the winter season, the screen will be moved to the Ice Casino at Rye's Playland while the Saxon Woods pool is closed.

Westchester County Airport is a public airport located in the towns of Harrison, North Castle and Rye in Westchester County. It is approximately 9 miles east of the central business district of White Plains, New York. It serves the areas of Westchester as well as Fairfield County, Connecticut. It also serves, to a lesser extent, the New York metropolitan area, as it is located approximately 33 miles north of Midtown Manhattan. It is often used by those who wish to avoid the congestion of the other New York City-area airports. As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 511,559 passenger boardings (enplanements) in 2006, up from 462,256 enplanements in 2005. The Westchester County Airport currently has 9 airlines flying to 16 destinations around the United States and Canada.

Westchester has recently opened a cell phone waiting area where people can sit in their cars and wait for people arriving on incoming flights.  An outdoor electronic billboard alongside the electronic Arrivals Information Board will engage a captive audience of those killing time waiting for flights to arrive.