This letter to the Editor appeared in the Journal News on May 1st. It speaks to the impending swer tax New Rochelle will be hit with.
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In response to the April 22 article, “New Rochelle sewage work to hit taxpayers,” I appreciate the importance of a clean Long Island Sound and understand that upgrading sewer treatment facilities is vital to this goal. What I don’t comprehend is why residents of the New Rochelle sewer district alone could be footing the bill at approximately $1,000 per household.
It also escapes me as to how two elected officials representing our city can have such a differing viewpoint regarding this burdensome, let alone unfair, tax levy. While county Legislator Jim Maisano expresses his outrage over these developments, Mayor Noam Bramson, through the issuance of another innocuous quote, is willing to let the residents of this city take another one on the chin.
Yes, the upgrades are state mandated and not the city’s doing, but we as a city don’t have to like it. The mayor must defend his constituents. This is something to get angry about. He has stated he will not govern out of anger – although the recent exchange with Councilman Richard St. Paul offers evidence to the contrary – but this is an issue in which the mayor and the City Council can voice the unified displeasure of the 72,000 people they were elected to lead. It is OK to ruffle feathers if what you speak out for is right. New Rochelle deserves better.
Bruce K. Negrin
New Rochelle
The problem is that it is
The problem is that it is too late. This issue was settled long ago. That the way most people will find out is when they get the bill is more a commentary on the sad state of affairs where not a ingle mainstream news outlet has a reporter that covers the 7th largest city in New York as their beat. It is one thing to lose the Standard Star but to not have a single reporter assigned to cover New Rochelle every day is extremely unfortunate.
Yes it is too late.
Yes it is too late. Overdevelopment created the problems of too much sewage and flooding. The City of New Rochelle had a letter dating back more than 25 years that said our sewage processing plant was operating over its capacity limit. Yet the Council kept approving more and more development. A sad ending which could have been avoided.