From Westchester Times Tribune before the City Council approved this FEIS.
My mother used to say, “Don’t rob Peter to pay Paul,” but are the recommendations in the LeCount Square Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) doing just that? The New Roc garage will be used to supply some of the parking spaces for this LeCount Square project which will consist of mixed uses of retail, restaurants, residential, hotel and parking facilities. But the FEIS on page I-23 under the parking spaces section projects a deficit of 95 spaces in the New Roc garage during the day. The developer’s solution is to reduce the number of the New Roc hotel (Marriott Residence Inn) parking spaces on the top level of the garage.
Another vexing situation are the parking fees in this New Roc garage for residents of the LeCount Square project. At the previous hearing a comment was made that the $150 paid by the next door Trump Tower residents in the New Roc garage contrasted sharply with the City of New Rochelle’s monthly fee for the garage ($50). Further it was stated at the previous hearing that a number of Trump tenants had purchased City of New Rochelle permits for this New Roc garage. If Cappelli Enterprises can’t stop tenants in the Trump building from spending four and a half times less on a city parking permit, how can they force condominium owners in LeCount Square to use valet parking at a substantially higher price than the City charges for parking permits? Further, how will they prevent condo owners, shoppers and office workers from parking on nearby residential streets which are already experiencing severe parking shortages. With the projected 505 vehicles entering and 191 departing the project in the morning and 435 entering and 714 departing in the evening, what will this do to an already overburdened traffic flow and the nearby neighborhoods?
Another way this proposal will rob Peter to pay Paul is with the traffic that this huge project will generate. The developer’s solution is to “optimize traffic signals.” Of course, this means, for example, at Main Street and North Avenue, during the afternoon peak hours, increasing the green light 2 seconds for “protected southbound turns” and increasing the green light for 2 seconds in the east bound lane and 4 seconds northbound. No mention is made of how little time this leaves for pedestrians to cross the street. There is a pedestrian crossing light button at this intersection (if indeed it is working) but this is not factored into the traffic signal adjustment..
Although the hearings on this FEIS are set for November 10, residents still have an opportunity to send their comments to the New Rochelle City Council after that date. Among the other issues are the need for more police and fire protection, number of children the project will generate for the schools, water, sewage and tax abatements or payments in lieu of taxes. The FEIS can be read at the New Rochelle Public Library.
