Show Us the Money “What Do You Make?”
Research by Peter Brancusi, Nicole Egan, Elizabeth Giordano,
Marisa Lascala, Kimberly Papa and Alison Pierce
Photographs by John Fortunato
It’s a question that ranks right up there with such conversation-killers as “How much do you weigh?” and “How old are you?” It’s just not kosher to ask people about their paychecks. In fact, given what daytime talk-show guests routinely reveal to Jerry and Maury, salary might just be the last remaining taboo.
But we know you’ve probably wondered what your neighbor the nurse, your pal the professor or your sister-in-law the systems analyst brings home. And, because as journalists, we have no qualms about appearing impolite, we took it upon ourselves to ask the hard questions. The result is our first “everything-you’ve-ever-wanted-to-know-about-who-makes-what-but-were-afraid-to-ask” survey of local salaries.
Just how did we get people to show us the money? It wasn’t easy. We pleaded, probed and generally made pests of ourselves working the phones, navigating the ’Net and pounding the pavement. We sent out tons of e-mails (and got one response) and dispatched our intrepid interns to local malls (much better response). Roughly 90 percent of the private individuals we approached flat-out turned us down (some more nicely than others). But the salaries for employees of the government and public school districts are a matter of public record. And the top five salaries (of at least $50,000) for publicly traded companies and nonprofits are revealed on previous tax filings, which are usually also available—unbeknownst to many of those listed—on your friendly Internet.
The result of our efforts appears in these pages.
So what, you might ask, do we get paid for asking the tough questions? Not nearly enough—but hey, at least we don’t have to ask anyone about their sex life (yet).
-Regular People’s Paychecks-
What the man and woman on the street, actually, in stores, offices, and home offices make:
Adrienne Elia (Highland, NY)
Esthetician
Jurlique Wellness Spa Store, White Plains
$45,000
Edward Egan (Yonkers)
Mail Handler
United States Postal Service, White Plains
$41,858
Gregory Alan Cramer
Interior Designer, Gregory Alan Cramer Interior Design, Inc. and Forty-three Lawton Street Design, New Rochelle
$250,000-$300,000
Tonya Hall (Yonkers)
Sales Clerk
A Pea in the Pod, White Plains
$18,000
Ashley Southworth (White Plains)
Babysitter/Tutor
$12/hr
James Zimmerman, PhD (Elmsford)
Clinical Psychologist
Average Cost Per Session:
$160 – $200
Average Number of Clients:
20/wk
-Mental Health-
What does a mental health practitioner in Westchester, one with an MD (i.e., a psychiatrist), earn? It depends—on the age of the patient. If your patients tend to be young, that is, if you’re a child psychiatrist, then you’re in great demand: There aren’t many of you in the county. Ergo, you can charge relatively high fees—
at least more than adult psychiatrists. (Surely, you’re familiar with the economic principle of supply and demand?) Psychiatrists, on average, earn from $125,000
to $250,000 a year. Child psychiatrists tend to earn on the higher end of that spectrum—adult psychiatrists on the lower end. And psychologists? About $76,000 a year.
Michael Ciulla (Bronxville)
Office Supervisor
Coca-Cola Enterprises, Hawthorne
$18/hr
Mike Manuele (Scarsdale)
Counterman
Depot Cleaners, Scarsdale
$12/hr; $650/wk
Lauren Loeb (Ossining)
Graphic Designer
Goldman Sachs, Ossining
$25/hr
Ja-Ezuz Edwards (Valhalla)
Medical Assistant
Planned Parenthood, Greenburgh
$13/hr
Philip Bent (Scarsdale)
Sales Representative
Sunglass Hut, White Plains
$8.50/hr
Deirdre Kehayes (Yonkers)
Baker
Topps Pastry Shop, Bronxville
$11/hr
Jennifer LaSusa (Rye)
Accountant (2 days/week)
Rappaport Publishing, Manhattan
$45,000
Marie Egan (Mahopac)
Customer Service Representative
Ford Credit, Tarrytown
$43,500
John Hourican (Yonkers)
Detective
New York City Police Department, Manhattan
$85,000
Claire Coupar (Pleasantville)
Sales Representative
Victoria’s Secret, White Plains
$200/wk
Antony Giordano (White Plains)
Math Tutor
Tutoring Club, Brewster
$15/hr
Meghan Brown (Yonkers)
Front Desk Receptionist Westchester Country Club, Rye
$9.89/hr
Alexa Kocinski (Purchase)
Supervisor/Barista
Gloria Jean’s Coffees, White Plains
$7.50/hr
Isidora Bologna (White Plains)
Cashier
Turco’s, White Plains
$6.25/hr (1999)
John McGuirk
Assistant Manager
Consumer Opinion Center,
White Plains
$10/hr
Molly O’Gorman (Tarrytown)
Assistant Manager
Godiva, White Plains
$11/hr
Pete Egan (Mahopac)
Pressman
The Journal News, Harrison
$49,800
Chris York (Mahopac)
Assistant Manager
In Touch Wireless, White Plains
$14/hr
Marie Kittelstad (Yonkers)
Receptionist/Office Assistant
Law firm, White Plains
$8.50/hr (14 hours/week)
-Law & Salary-
According to FlipDog.com, the salary statistics database, the average Westchester attorney pulls in about $84,000. A typical New Rochelle lawyer earns about $85,323.
Marie Kittelstad (Yonkers)
Bagpipe Player
$2,000 (20 hours/year)
Amanda Grossman (Ardsley)
Catering Worker
Sam’s of Gedney Way and the White Plains Women’s Club, White Plains
$12/hr
Bayard Templeton (Bronxville)
Teaching Intern
Stanwich School, Greenwich, CT
$20,000
Corey Patton (Yonkers)
Maintenance Worker
Theodore D. Young Community Center, Greenburgh
$7/hr
-Nannies, Au Pairs, Etc.-
Some parents would say an extra pair of hands is priceless (especially when one of their youngsters is smearing the peanut butter on the Oriental rug and another is in desperate need of a diaper change). But those who employ au pairs or nannies are legally obligated only to pay them a minimum weekly stipend of $139.05. “This figure, which is standard across the country, is established by the United States government,” explains Au Pair in America Community Counselor Paul Zwiren of Hartsdale. “It is calculated by multiplying the minimum wage times hours worked per week, minus the cost of room and board.”
Lauren Smith of South Africa receives a salary of $140 a week for helping take care of three children in Pelham Manor. “That’s what everyone in my neighborhood pays,” comments her employer Valerie Alley.
In addition to paying a weekly stipend, employers who hire through such agencies as Au Pair America also pay up-front fees of about $6,400, making the average weekly cost for an employer approximately $265.
-Notable Neighbors’ Earnings-
They’re famous and they bring
in the big bucks, too. Here’s
how much:
Susan Sarandon
(until recently of Pound Ridge)
Actress
$7-$8 million for Moonlight Mile (2002)
David Letterman (North Salem)
Talk Show Host, $31 million
Meredith Vieira (Irvington)
$4 million (2002-2003)
Paul O’Neill (Rye Brook)
Former Outfielder,
New York Yankees
$7,250,000 (2001)
Bill Clinton (Chappaqua)
speaker fees of $100,000 and up per engagement, plus $10 million advance for a book
Bernie Williams (Armonk)
Professional Baseball Player,
New York Yankees
$12,357,143 (2003)
-The Billionaires Among Us-
So, who in Westchester is worth ten figures? The following six county residents made it onto the most recent list of billionaires in Forbes magazine’s annual salary survey:
George Soros
(Bedford)
Hedge Fund Manager
$7 billion
Preston Tisch
(Harrison)
Founder, Loews Corporation
$2.7 billion
Ralph Lauren
(Bedford and Pound Ridge)
Fashion Designer
$2.3 billion
David Rockefeller Sr.
(Sleepy Hollow)
$2.5 billion
Laurance Spelman Rockefeller
(Sleepy Hollow)
$1.5 billion
Jerome Kohlberg Jr.
(Mt. Kisco)
Retired, Private Finance
Industry Mogul
$1 billion
-Public Service Paychecks-
They work for us, right?
Here’s what we pay ’em:
Eliot Spitzer
Attorney General
(New York State)
$151,500
Sue W. Kelly (Katonah)
Congresswoman
$150,700
Joseph Burton
Chief of Police in Ossining
$112,190
Nita M. Lowey (Harrison)
Congresswoman
$150,700
Charles E. Schumer
U.S. Senator
$154,700
Elaine Price
Consumer Protection Director
Westchester County
$99,575
Hillary Rodham Clinton (Chappaqua)
U.S. Senator
$154,700
Anthony Sutton
Commissioner, Department of Emergency Services
Westchester County
$135,335
Rocco A. Pozzi
Commissioner of Corrections
and Probations
Westchester County
$135,335
Andrew J. Spano (Yorktown)
County Executive
Westchester County
$143,535
Dr. Joshua Lipsman
Health Commissioner
Westchester County
$151,405
Jeanine Pirro (Harrison)
District Attorney
Westchester County
$136,700
David Herbert
Deputy District Attorney
Westchester County
$138,532
Dr. Norman J. Jacknis
Chief Information Officer
Westchester County
$150,950
Alison Greene
Human Rights Commissioner
Westchester County
$121,035
Joseph Montalto
Director
Playland Amusement Park
$108,825
Camille F. Murphy
Director, Office for Women
Westchester County
$91,255
Marlene Furtick
Youth Bureau Director
Westchester County
$88,505
Jonathan Lippman
Supreme Court’s State Chief Administrative Judge
$136,700
Joan O. Cooney (Mt. Pleasant)
Supervising Judge of
Family Court for the 9th
Judicial District
$136,700
-Corporate Paychecks-
Big business means the big bucks (or as they say in corporate-speak, “compensation”). What do the suits conferencing in the corner office get paid to climb
the corporate ladder and market the widgets? (Hint: way more
than editors). Salaries include bonuses:
Mario J. Gabelli
Chairman, Chief Investment Officer and CEO
Gabelli Asset Management, Inc. Rye
$37,728,104 (2002)—down from $47.12 million in 2001
Richard H. Shuyler
Former CEO
Atlas Air, Purchase (a company spokesman reports company filed for Chapter 11)
$467,950 (2001)—down from $5,687,549 (2000)