I am the Treasurer for the campaign to elect Ilyse Spertus to City Council representing District 5. Ilyse asked me to join her team after examining some of the analytical work I did for Bob Cox when he was running for School Board. So, in addition to managing the campaign’s cash flow, Ilyse has asked me to look into the state of affairs for our city.
Where the school had a spending problem, the city has a revenue problem. Unfortunately, that means the city’s deficiencies will take more time and effort to correct. A lack of engagement by the community (myself included) has led to the creation of a local government that is lacking in some needed skills and, worse, has a mindset that we need to beg for business. But New Rochelle has some fantastic assets: an ethnically diverse population with a wide range of skills (from real estate to finance to contract negotiation to marketing and more), fantastic topography like our crown jewel waterfront properties, and a fair amount of affluence. These assets are just begging to be tapped, and one reason I support Ilyse is because she wants to lean on the community to help our city realize its potential.
Over the summer, we found out that a developer was looking to privatize and renovate the Maple Avenue Senior Center. Since ownership was changing hands and the new owner will be a for-profit enterprise, the developer needed City Council to approve tax abatements in order to move forward. From watching video of a city council meeting, it looked to us like the council intended to approve the deal, and with good reason: the renovation would cost the city nothing while improving the lives of the people who lived in the building. Further, the property would pay $60,000 of annual fees to the city where before it paid nothing. It sounded like home run.
But relative to the money being invested in the deal, it didn’t look to us like New Rochelle was getting its fair share. Ilyse asked me to get involved to see if we could improve the terms of the deal for New Rochelle. City Councilman Richard St. Paul was able to get me some financial details about the deal, and I reached out to a contact who had experience with similar projects to help me with the analysis. I concluded there was room in the project for New Rochelle to earn higher fees than what had been suggested.
I reached out to Mayor Bramson who facilitated a meeting with the Commissioner of Development, Michael Freimuth. Michael is fairly new to the city, having been hired in 2010. He is a consummate professional and a great hire. We met for two hours in his office to discuss the Maple Avenue project and he agreed to try to renegotiate the deal to our benefit. Keep in mind that this was happening at the 11th hour, so that was no easy task. In the end, Michael managed to obtain an additional $170,000 for New Rochelle over the life of the deal. If you see Michael walking the halls of City Hall, make sure to thank him!
Think about the progression of events here. New Rochelle will benefit from extra revenues because a few easy things happened: Ilyse Spertus provided leadership, I put in a few hours of work, Mayor Bramson provided access, and Commissioner Freimuth was open to hearing outside analysis about this deal and then ran with it.
With the right people in government and an engaged citizenry, we can make this city something special. But urban renewal doesn’t happen by itself, and it will require contributions from everyone who lives here. It starts at the ballot box, and we can take a big step toward redevelopment by electing Ilyse Spertus to City Council. Once we have her working for us in city government, I am sure she will reach out to all of us for ideas and help in making New Rochelle the best place to live in Westchester County.
If you would like to meet Ilyse, we are having a fundraiser for her this Thursday, September 15th. Cut & paste this link into your browser to see the invitation: http://www.punchbowl.com/parties/2383349-support-ilyse-spertus-for-city-council-district-5
Spertus Trounces Fertel
First let me congratulate Ms. Spertus on her landslide trouncing of incumbent District 5 Councilman Barry Fertel. According to the Westchester Gov. election results, with 50% of the precincts reporting Ilyse is trouncing Barry by a 60% to 40% vote tally. Inside results appear that the margin of victory will be considerably higher when all precincts have reported. Both Adam and Warren are on target as Ilyse is the quintessential candidate considered a “moderate” in any political party. There is no absolute right and wrong so a moderate with the ability to listen and reason is New Rochelle’s only hope for prosperity and Ilyse is such a candidate. Once again congratulations on an inspiring victory and much luck in the upcoming general election.
Adam’s Blog
Adam, welcome. Well done! Hopefully you and perhaps your candidate will bring much needed energy, critical thinking, and problem solving to the City. It is needed desperately.
Your posting comes at an opportune time. The latest litany of fog, rationalizations, and non-contextual thinking from political figures on both sides of the aisle have pretty much pointed out that community driven change is our best hope locally and nationally. I hope you and others can see and react to what is happening in a rapidly changing city, nation, and world which no longer can afford ideological and restrictive thinking.
I think that we have too long ignored basic issues that define a city and speak of today’s challenges; not yesterdays mistakes or tomorrows dreams. These are (1) educating the voter/taxpayer to the explicit roles, relationships, and responsibilities of our mayor, city council, and business manager in the City Charter. This is not trivial as it drives the political engine. Summed up it indicates a shared responsibility for the city and people need to know how much power the Council has to enact change and the importance of the ballot box. If we don’t like the content of the Charter you demand a change via referendum on the ballot. Second you define the school district as a cost center and indeed it is. Adam, cut new ground. It is much more than that. I have enormous issues with the City using the somewhat sophistic argument that it has no direct responsibility due to how the school board is elected, etc. It is impossible to see how you can grow a commercial and or residential tax paying business base when the district is as costly and non-productive as it is. I have never heard one political voice question the role that the school district actually plays in the process of development. Why would business and people want to move here given the well documented results of a system that is falling behind both statistical data and parents expectations. YOu will find Bob Cox to be more knowledgeable than anyone in the City on the district.
Finally there is downtown development. What we have done to date is largely, at best, cosmetic. It is deteriorating, becoming more dangerous, and needs remedial action beginning with providing safety and security to residents and visitors. If you question why a police facility is not available or ask why the city has not moved operating departments from city hall and elsewhere to show the city colors downtown, you get rationalizations or no response. It is equally untenable to hold a position of growth and development for the city given these circumstances.
The ordinary man and woman can make a difference. I have seen it happen. If your candidate and you commit to that, to looking at new ways of thinking about urban development, to citizen enfranchisement, and to a positive, optomistic outlook, welcome. If not, great post and welcome again.
What’s the chance of Bramson staying within the tax cap?
I’m all for a revival. Let’s hope it happens.
What’s the chance of Bramson proposing a budget for 2012 that stays within the tax cap?
Same chance you have of
Same chance you have of winning the lottery for $100 mil
That’s depressing!
That’s depressing!