In the January 5, 2011 issue of the Westchester Herald
In November of this year the City of New Rochelle will hold an election for City Council members and Mayor. One way of assessing whether the City is going in the right direction is to look back on the events of 2010, especially Council decisions. There are unresolved issues which each resident needs to evaluate when deciding what the future should hold for New Rochelle. Some questions are presented to highlight some of these issues.
1. Will the City of New Rochelle be able to regain its recently lost AA2 bond rating which was attributed to a lower fund balance in the City budget? How will the City find the revenue to increase this fund balance? Will the tax abatements granted by the New Rochelle IDA (Industrial Development Corporation) as Councilman Lou Trangucci has suggested, now come “back to hurt the taxpayers?”
2. Will there be changes in the proposed GreeNR Sustainability draft to make it more equitable to the southern half of New Rochelle? This would include the need brought up by Robert Cox, Founder and Editor of New Rochelle Talk of the Sound, that the report should be translated and circulated since l0% of the City does not speak English, 20% do not have internet and 50% do not have broadband. The present plan anticipates a high percent of housing units being placed near the train station. There is no discussion of the greater density that will be created for his already overcrowded area and the intensifying of the congestion, parking and pollution problems. At Mayor Noam Bramson’s November 22 meeting, residents told him they had “had enough.” It was suggested to him that new buildings should not be located in the densely populated southern part of the City.
3. Downtown revitalization continues to be a major topic as more buildings are proposed with the prospect of more tax abatements. Will the LeCount Square development be denied since Cappelli has not made an arrangement with the U.S. Post Office? Will future development consider the best interests of all the residents? Certainly it is a reasonable conclusion this has not happened in the past as the City finds it must use a high proportion of City services for the downtown area which also has heavily tax abated properties. Will Forest City Residential be allowed to continue, especially if they do not produce a revised downsized plan? If not, will the residents be presented a rationale from Council members voting in favor of these two developments on the newly proposed 17 Locust Avenue and the Church-Division project? Developers should understand the citizens of New Rochelle want their developments to strengthen the city’s resources as well as its finances. Abatements should be short term and reasonable.
4. Will the City Council listen to the residents and act on their concerns? Even Council woman Roxie Stowe expressed reservations about the the development fn downtown New Rochelle and questioned whether it was helping the City. The 17 Locust Avenue proposal is in Councilman Al Tarantino’s district and he has said the area is very densely populated. Many of the residents in the area are faced with lack of adequate parking now and there have been requests to change the building code so that each new apartment would have two or three parking spaces. Will the City Council listen and act on this zoning request and add more parking spaces? Recently the City Council authorized charging for overnight parking in downtown lots. Will the Council be able to figure out how to allocate parking spaces and parking fees in lots and on the streets to maximize business’ ability to profit from the regulation.
5. When the City is redistricted, as mandated by population changes, will they consider strengthening neighborhoods as a top priority, and not splitting them for political gain? Will this looming redistricting of the six districts be made through party politics or by an independent committee? Will the lines be drawn to not only respect those in a minority district but also all the residents of New Rochelle?
6. An IDA audit showed projects had not been properly documented when benefits were given. The IDA was criticized for not performing an analysis to see if the benefits they gave would exceed the cost of providing tax abatements. There was no monitoring of projects to see if they were meeting their goals. For example, New Roc Parcel 1-A was supposed to create 358 jobs but had only created 98 by 2008. Will any of the Democrats on Council join with the Republican members of Council who want a state law passed that would allow the City Council to have the final say on abatements? Do we need the IDA abatements to bring businesses here? Shoprite came to New Rochelle this year with no tax abatements.
7, Will the City show respect and honor for veterans, living and deceased, and the citizens who died on 9-11, all of whom willingly served our nation. The ceremonies at Memorial Plaza and at the Armory in the last few years honored these unsung heroes. Former New York State Assemblyman Ron Tocci has articulated how the Declaration of Independence in 1776 emphasized our liberty and happiness “granted by God,” adding that the blood of our military has been shed for countries all over the world.
8, Will the looming promised tax cap on real estate taxes by newly elected Governor Andrew Cuomo have unintended consequences? Councilman Barry Fertel during the budget hearings suggested a one percent transfer fee on real estate sales, but City Manager Chuck Strome did not think the State would allow this fee if the cap was imposed. Will the Council put a high priority on keeping the taxes low?
9. Fear gripped some residents when a young man was killed in downtown New Rochelle, Will Jim Killoran, his SoNo group, and the more than l,000 residents who signed petitions requesting a police station and walking police in downtown get their request?
New Rochelle will be preserved as Queen City of the Sound when the residents are thoughtful and vigilant. Great care and attention should be given by residents when they select officials. Future generations are depending on decisions that necessarily need to be made today.