Hanan Kamal did a live shot in front of the controversial Huguenot Hills condo development on Main Street in New Rochelle. Broadcasting from across the street during the noon broadcast of Channel 12 News, Kamal reported on the large icicles that had formed, causing the City to put in place police blockades along the sidewalk in front of several retail store fronts.
Kamal did not cover why the dangerous ice was forming but was later informed by a New Rochelle resident about the missing roof drainage system. She did say that no one was willing to go on camera. Someone told her to call Talk of the Sound — so thanks for that!
I got a call from Hanan Kamal around 1:30 pm and taped an interview with her at 2 pm. She said it would start to run at 4:30 pm so tune in to Channel 12 News today. Hopefully, I will not end up on the cutting room floor.
I explained about the missing roof drainage system, the need for Con Ed to wrap the wires, the cost and that the developer, Bob Young, was balking at paying for the work to done done. I also said the building should never have been approved for occupancy, that it was a sign of the corruption in the City.
Corruption at its worst
This is a peek into corruption in New Rochelle. The building was not built to certified plans yet it received a Certificate of Occupancy. The architect, building inspector and builder (Robert Young) should be held accountable. The current problem is that the builder (Robert Young) will not pay for Con Edison to wrap the electrical wires so the gutters can be installed as designed. It’s all about profit, the pre-sales campaign did not sell as expected so the builder cut corners to salvage profit by eliminating some gutters. Unfortunately he wasn’t very bright and eliminated gutters on the front of the building, which not only would be most noticeable but also would guarantee complaints from tenants who could not access their businesses due to unsafe sidewalks.
This is the worst type of corruption, which puts profit before public safety. This building violates state, county and city building codes yet a certificate of occupancy was issued and the building allowed to be occupied. The architect should be fined, the building inspector fired and unfortunately there can be no action taken against the Deputy Commissioner as he has retired. The builder should be issued a fine which doubles daily until the building is brought up to code.
Alas, this is New Rochelle and as one of the “in-crowd” Mr. Young will continue to ignore his legal obligation and get away with it. Things will be swept under the rug so long as he continues to make political contributions to Mayor Bramson.
The model for this building??
Anyone who saw the model for this building knows that it was not the same as the actual building. Of particular note is the greenery and other borders that never appeared.
Young,Cappelli, Forest City, All Misrepresent
Whether by design or by necessity, none of these projects finish according to the original sales pitch. They need to make it as palatable as possible to get approval, then the requests for changes start to arrive.Cappelli’s constant requests for “tweaking” the Lecount project (we need more height, we need less landscaping etc.) show how the initial pitch is to get the foot in the door , as it were. Forest City outright lied to our neighborhood president by telling her there wouldn’t be a hotel near the sewage plant because they did’t even have the property yet. Oddly enough, 2 days later they were proposing a hotel to the city council as an enhancement to their project. The East End neighborhood of New Rochelle will be decimated if Forest City is to have their way and after contributing $5,000.00 to the mayors campaign, it’s hard to believe they won’t. Please, get involved, stay involved and most of all Follow the Money.