Where is the Open Government?
Perception is everything! The timing of the Press Releases about the NR Citizens' Panel on Sustainable Budget and the proposal review for moving The City Yard are very suspect. As are most releases from City Hall these days. The Mayor made mention of this panel back in December at Citizens to be Heard. We have known about the The City Yard but not the timing of the meeting for its review. You mean to tell me that it is just timing that they happen to come out on Friday the 13th just before the holiday weekend. The meeting for these will be tomorrow night right after the holiday weekend. Not much time to do any kind of follow up or speak with our council members or someone about them for detail and confirmation of information. These releases should have been done on the Friday before. If it were done on Friday January 6th, I can guarantee you that the Citizens to be heard this past Tuesday would have been full of people. I see no mention of these releases anywhere that I know of. The Journal News, Talk of the Sound, Sound Review or The Patch. If it were seen by someone than I am sure we would have seen some sort of comments somewhere. I said it last week; it is time for a change to how business is conducted with The City Council and the communications involved with governing the city. We need a true open government with transparency. Get back to the basics and follow the city charter and all the rules of and open government.
“Common Sense for the Common Good”
Fishy
The city yard relocation engineering detailed study was prepared by Dolph Rotfield Engineering Company. Michael D. Ritchie owner and consultant is the retired commissioner of planning and development of New Rochelle and has been doing business with our city since 2009.
Is this open government, can he be objective and was he responsible for the city yard when he work in New Rochelle?
Spending $13-$16 million on our city yard is totally unwarranted
Knitter, can New Rochelle continue to function with the current city yard without spending $16 million to renovate it? I certainly think so, but you seem to be knowledgeable on the subject so I figure I'd ask the question. Really a question to anyone reading this.
With NR's current dire financial situation, I would say that spending $13 to $16 million on our city yard is completely unwarranted at this time. If NR was sitting on $16 million that it wanted to figure out how to spend, I would say do whatever you want with the city yard, but that isn't the case and the mayor is proposing to borrow all of the money which will cost the city close to $1 million per year just to service (make payments) on the loan. That scenario really doesn't seem to benefit the taxpayer in any shape or form.
A Functioning City Yard
I do not want the city to spend the $13-$16 million on anything at this time.What is very troubling is the statement made by the city manager last night.He stated that the yard would have to move to a temporary location while work was being done. To me that means we will have three city yards! I cannot believe the council voted yes.
They did approve Forest City request for a sixty day extension of the Echo Bay redevelopment project. Lou and Al voted no. Jared voted yes.He needed more time to study the project(what has he been doing all the time he has been on council). Ivar Hyden voted yes, even though he was on the committee when the original project was proposed. Guess how Barry and Shari voted. It might be temporary, but I wonder if they realize the only large parcel of land is Ward Acres. The mayor thought that the new council members needed time to review the subject. This is more of the same old Bramson government.
A preview of 2012 politics and spending more of our money.
Can NR live with the current city yard with only minor changes?
I think they need a temp location if they renovate the current city yard, and that's really my question, does the current city yard really need $16 million worth of improvements? Or can we live with the current city yard with only minor minor changes?
The mayors point is that the current city yard needs $16 million (to do what I'm not sure) and if the city yard is moved the cost will be $13 million; a savings of $3 million. There can only be savings if city hall is serious about renovating the current city yard for $16 million and I'm wondering if any work has to be done at all to the current city yard?
Yes it would be nice to have a new city yard, but I don't think its mandatory and as such I wouldn't spend any money on it although I would put up a shed to keep the rock salt from washing away in the rain.
Is the Mayor thinking?
We will never know what the mayor is thinking. I feel it is a done deal with Forest City and he has no intention of keeping the yard where it is no matter what. This $16 million figure is just a way for him to get people on his side about moving the yard because $13 million sounds more reasonable. Who knows if this is a real figure and what has to be done in order to clean up the property. We will only know if a temporary location is needed until we know what has to be done.According to the city manager, nothing is worth saving at the location. I hope someone will get their questions answered, because I know for a fact it will not be me.
It is a done deal,
It is a done deal, but there's an outside chance they'll go away like Ikea did 10 years ago.
We need to recruit the Larchmont people to help us again but I don't know if they're willing.
Aside from the $1 million annual expense of the bonds, what else is city hall giving away? I know the land will be free, but I bet there are sales and property tax abatements which means NO school funding even though the project is residential in nature. I also willing to bet the school board will use the population growth to circumvent the tax cap. Just wait & see. They're all seeing dollar signs, while all the citizens will see are continued, unrelenting property tax increases.
Exactly
You have captured exactly what is going to happened. The school board should be putting together a report concerning the impact on the schools in the south end if this project is a go.
The only way the city yard will stay as is, is if the north end realizes that perhaps Ward Acres becomes the temporary city yard. Could you think of another location? How will Barry and Shari explain that one to the citizens that voted for them? Perhaps that is the only way the north end will understand what is happening south of Eastchester Rd.
I have hope.
Its all a show!
They’ll never use Ward Acres, not even sure why they’d need a temporary location in the 1st place as nothing should or will be done to the current location. But if they do need a temporary location, it would have to multiple properties. For example, the city could lease 1/2 the Home Depot parking lot & park the trucks there but that wouldn’t be enough space for everything. You could also use the school parking lots in the summer or the Glen Island parking lots in the winter.
But again, city hall isn’t going to spend $16 million on the current facility, its all a show so that the mayor can tell everyone that we’re saving $3 million when in reality the city is spending $13 million that it doesn’t have or need to spend.
Post ANY items of interest
Bob, et al.
As long as it is about New Rochelle, you are all welcome to publish articles and press releases here.
Given this, I think it is a bit unfair to say that the press releases was not on Talk of the Sound when several people here had the press release and did not post it. I say this to all readers: you can wait around for me to do something on a story that interests you if you want but the site is set up so that you can just as easily do yourself. I definitely encourage that.
Why bother
It's time everyone realize what is going on in New Rochelle. New Rochelle is controlled by north end democrats who couldn't care less about the south end. The city yard has been an issue for decades and now we have a committee to explore what? The city spent $5 million for the proposed property on Beechwood without any community input. Why wasn't this committee assembled during the previous council? It's simple; every council member receives an appointment so under this council the committee will have a super majority of democrats to control the outcome. The citizens on the Iona committee got screwed royally in that they cannot debate the need for expansion as a prerequisite. Money, power and control equals New Rochelle politics and the democrats rule.
Unless you are in lockstep with the democrats you are wasting your time and efforts on any of these committees. We have a "core" project proposed for transit oriented development attracting people with disposable income. How does this differ from Avalon? It is the same failed policy which the taxpayers of New Rochelle subsidize to the tune of $2 million a year just for the education of school children from Avalon.
I too am wasting my time here attempting to make people see what is before their eyes. It appears I to will wave goodbye and wish friends left behind good luck as I relocate to a community with transparent and responsive government.
Questions don’t really matter as its a done deal already
I couldn't agree more OldTimer. Take Echo Bay for example, the city's broke and passed along 10-15% tax increases and now Bramson wants to spend (actually borrow) more than $13 million to do it and I'd like to know how a city that's as broke as New Rochelle can afford to borrow $13-14 million to redo its city yard? How's that make any sense at all? I say leave city yard exactly as & where it is now. Why does it need to be moved at all?
A $14 million loan ($13 million for the hard cost/$1 million for the lawyers/wall street) at 2% interest over 20 years will cost the city $850,000 per year in just principal & interest payments. Can the city afford that & how? Has the city saved ANY money to put towards this project or is it just planning to borrow all of it?
OldTimer's right, these questions don't really matter as its a done deal already, just pull out your check book and sign away. But who can afford sustained 10-15% annual tax increases?
I almost forgot to add that people with disposible income AREN'T moving to New Rochelle. Not to be a downer, but why would they move here, its not that great.
We Must Try and Start Some Where!
Why Bother?
Because, it is never too late to effect change. If more people had kept up the pressure over the years and let The City Council and City Manager know that we do care and are watching them, things could be different. The citizens are also to blame by turning a deaf ear and throwing up their hand in defeat. Problem is that the people that want to say something haven’t or are afraid to for fear of retribution or ridicule. Now we have a venue to speak out here on “Talk of the Sound”. Things have changed due to the coverage this site gets. As you said, we have a committee that did not exist before. The discussion of these committees did not exist a year ago, so it’s a start. The citizens on the Iona committee got the same type of deal. Is it perfect? Not really, but they did something. The Dorm Proposal was dropped for now. Matters such as this and many others were once handled in secret session and such. They were once free from scrutiny and oversight from the community. The Sustainable Budget Committee like the Iona Dorm Committee must be watched the best we can and remind them that we are watching. Otherwise with the super majority we will see things just get rubber stamped as in the past. If any of the council members are looking towards any other public office in the future they may be a little bit more attentive. Even change. I hope! We may not be big brother but if we all begin to speak up we can and will see change. Your voice and the pen are more powerful today than they were in the past. Get back to the basics and follow the city charter and all the rules of and open government. The conversation must start somewhere and somehow. With conversation eventually comes communication, debate and hopefully change. We can’t change things if we don’t try.
“Common Sense for the Common Good”
Time is runnig out
I totally agree that this venue does put things in a different perspective. The problem is that people don't care unless they are personally effected. The west end approached council many times at citizens to be heard and no one cared. The cancer spread to the south end and no one cared. Now the center part of the city around Iona is effected and they are up in arms. The didn't care or support the south or west end when they were in need and now the west and south say you didn't support me so you're on your own. This is about quality of life whether it's beer cans and condoms in the west end, over occupancy in the south end or out-of-control college students in center city. There is no interaction among community organizations citywide and in fact that is discouraged by the legally mandated council district system.
While you didn't have the Iona committee before and TOTS is the driving force let's not forget the min reason Iona came to the table was that they were caught over occupying dorms. And what did the city do? They entered a legal agreement stating they would IGNORE CITY CODE leaving taxpayers in danger of onerous lawsuits in the event of an emergency. That is what drives most quality of life issues: SELECTIVE ENFORCEMENT. So I wish you well and as long as I reside in NR I will continue to be part of what I consider to be the solution but this will be extremely hard now that the powers who control the city have a super majority on council.
While it many never be too late, time is runnig out.
It’s only Half Time!
It’s never too late so long as there is a pulse. Yes Iona was caught for over occupying the dorms. That was because people from different parts of the city got together to speak and then review the Scoping Document. Head count was one of the requested changes to the original plan. There were more changes that were asked for. With more review came more questions and debate. That’s when it grew from a Mount Joy Place issue to a city wide issue. This was with the help from people from all different parts of New Rochelle. At one Citizen to be Heard there were over twenty people from around New Rochelle that spoke out about the dorm issue. Only a few were from our association.
Yes, interaction among community organizations citywide is discouraged. I don’t believe it has as much to do about the boundaries than it does the people in office. The legally mandated council district system is for voting not for citizens’ rights. If that is so, then get help from another source. Just don’t let the system stonewall you. As a citizen you can approach any council member for help with a question. Not all of them will brush you off. If some neighborhood associations would be more active in government it would help this city immensely. You are right that it seems that most look after their own interests. Associations should not just be about Tag sales and Block parties. They need to look at the city as a whole and be more involved. We could do some good. There are groups out there that do help. New Rochelle Confederation of Neighborhood Associations or NRCoNA is a great resource. Any association can join. New Rochelle Citizens Reform Club is another. Both groups meet monthly to discuss different local and association issues. Not many people know how to put together an association. I have helped several. Maybe there should be a section on the city web site. I am going to ask that question next. Just like the Occupy Wall Street movement, the people of New Rochelle need to not be afraid to speak up. It starts with a few and can turn into many. I am not going to let the system that should be working for me run or ruin my life because they seek higher office and favors. Is this a pipe dream? We will see!
Believe it or not
This might be hard to believe, but I do trust my neighbors. That includes people living in the North, South, East and West ends of New Rochelle. Just think what we could do if we took one concern at a time discussed or even debated the issue, find a solution and see if the outcome would benefit all of New Rochelle.If the city council cannot solve our problems in this matter, it is certainly time we take control.
I trust the people. I do not trust Mayor Bramson.
Why have we given up?
This is no longer a perception, it is a fact. We can no longer put up with this type of government. What happened to all the campaign promises? If Forest City is allowed to receive an extension, the Armory will go the way of the North Ave. church. This cannot happen. With all the development happening south of Eastchester Rd., we need all the vacant buildings to be available for the school district to house programs or classrooms. We cannot afford to have overcrowded schools or build a new school.
What is happening now is not the way to rebuild this city.