Students have been signing petitions and threatening to march on City Hall in order to re-open the Deli Mart store on North Avenue at the corner of Hubert Place near Iona College. The Board of Appeals for Zoning (BAZ) has responded by moving the meeting scheduled for tomorrow night (Tuesday, March 6th at 7 p.m.) to the City Council Chambers in City Hall. Neighborhood associations including those from Halcyon Park and Mount Joy are organizing opposition to an appeal by Deli Mart to allow Deli Mart to operate 24/7.
There is a second appeal on the schedule for United Gourmet Deli, located at the corner of North Avenue and Sickles Avenue, which has generated little attention.
The focus has been on Deli Mart as a proxy for the ongoing battle between Iona College neighborhoods in, around and among the Iona College campus and buildings: Halcyon Park, White Oak, Beechmont, Sunset View Park, and Mt. Joy. Outmaneuvered by the Mayor on the Mayflower dorm, these residents are angry.
The loudest voices on this topic have been Greg Varian, Bob McCaffrey and Joyce Furfero. The attorney for both delis is Cynthia Lobo, president of the Chamber of Commerce and former judicial candidate for the City of New Rochelle Court.
Writing on Talk of the Sound, McCaffrey recently stated: “If you speak to the people that live there you will hear their stories of drug dealing from cars and groups of noisy, disrespectful kids and people of all back grounds. ”
There is virtually no doubt that the Board of Appeals for Zoning will deny the requests by the two deli owners to operate 24/7, setting up an eventual court fight.
In a recent letter to City Officials, Furfero argued that allowing Deli Mart to remain open 24/7 is a violation of New Rochelle City Municipal Code Article VIII, §§331-41 (Multifamily Residence District). How exactly the Deli Mart operating 24/7 is a violation of §§331-41 is unclear.
The letter goes on to state that the application for extended hours would allow Deli Mart to violate §§331-61(I)
Article VIII §§331-61(I) Extended hours. A convenience store, carry-out restaurant, fast-food restaurant, motor vehicle filling station, or motor vehicle service station shall be prohibited to operate during extended hours when such facility is located on a lot which is adjacent to a lot which is partially or totally located in a residentially zoned district.
[Added 9-21-2004 by Ord. No. 198-2004]
The 24/7 operation of the Deli Mart would be a violation of §§331-61(I). However, the same Municipal Code does allow for an appeal the Board of Appeals for Zoning.
Despited repeated requests, opponents of the Deli Mart appeal have not provided Talk of the Sound documentation to support their claim that the past operation of the Deli Mart on a 24/7 basis (as was the case up until November, 2011) has been disruptive to the neighborhoods surrounding the corner of North Avenue and Hubert Place.
Driving a great deal of the opposition was the BAZ decision several months ago to permit the nearby Dunkin’ Donuts store, on North Avenue at the corner of Mayflower Avenue to open 24/7 on weekends and from 4:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. on weekdays.
Joyce Furfero is particularly hostile towards Iona College students, insisting that members of the BAZ ignore them and generally being dismissive towards their concerns:
…Iona students lack the necessary time-management skills to buy their chips and sodas before 11:00 pm and they are too incapacitated to walk another 100 feet to On the Run at the Mobil station which is open after 11;00 pm. They may want the flexibility of running across North Avenue at 3:00 am to get cash from an ATM (why does a student need to get cash from an ATM at 3:00 am?), but the neighbors do not.
Long before there were Iona students, and long, long, long before there was Deli Mart (or United Gourmet Deli), families lived and continue to live in the neighborhoods around Iona. These families live in homes, pay property taxes, work, and vote. The students are transient and do not pay taxes. Not even the students’ landlord, Iona College, pays taxes. These students come to New Rochelle, for, maybe 4 years, graduate, get jobs, move away, marry, and have children…
In fact, Iona students do pay taxes in New Rochelle including school taxes, sales taxes, hotel occupancy taxes and, when renting apartments, their rent goes towards paying property taxes. They also generate a great deal of economic activity as is evident based on the number of restaurants and retailers operating in the area around the Iona campus.
The fact that the Mobil station (and the Mirage Diner) surround the Deli Mart and are open 24/7 belies the claim that the Deli Mart is responsible for bringing people into a residential neighborhood late at night. The vast majority of Deli Mart customers between 11 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. are students from the dormitories directly across the street. Which business is more likely to attract people in cars from outside the area? A 24/7 gas station and convenience market? A diner? or a small deli whose late night clientele is almost entirely students who walk across the street from their dorm rooms?
There may be a case to be made against the Deli Mart but, so far, that case has not been made.
In a letter to Councilmen Jared Rice and Ivar Hyden, Furfero adds:
Cynthia Lobo, Esq., represents the delis and she is expected to bring a 4,000 Iona students to support the Deli Mart appeal…
This would appear to be highly unlikely, and even a bit hysterical, but something Talk of the Sound would happily cover if it happened.
One question raised by the alarmist nature of the letter sent by Joyce Furfero is who exactly does she purport to represent? She signed her letter as “Co-Chair of the New Rochelle Confederation of Neighborhood Associations”.
Talk of the Sound is familiar with the Confederation of Neighborhood Associations and their by-laws. This is an organization formerly led by Marie Rizzo that was very active when Ikea was looking to open a location in New Rochelle. Others involved in the past include Joan Bristol, Peggy Godfrey and Lorraine Pierce. By the time Joyce Furfero got involved there were few meetings and virtually no neighborhood associations participating.
Several years ago there were efforts to revitalize the Confederation of Neighborhood Associations by holding elections but those elections were never held. Instead, Furfero simply assumed the position of “Co-Chair” of the Confederation of Neighborhood Associations. Who she is “co-chairing” with remains a mystery.
The by-laws require voting through procedures under which each neighborhood association is given two votes apiece. In practice, few neighborhood association presidents or vice-presidents attend Confederation of Neighborhood Associations meetings, quorums are not established, no rules of order are followed and “voting” largely consists of a random assortment of people, virtually none of whom are designated as representatives by their respective neighborhood, saying “yes” to whatever Joyce Furfero wants.
In other words, the Confederation of Neighborhood Associations is little more than a letterhead to which one person claims to speak for every neighborhood association in New Rochelle. The way Furfero operates is to find an issue, often a zoning issue (Mercedes-Benz, Dunkin’ Donuts, Deli Mart, etc.), and insert herself into the issue by sending out harshly worded letters.
If large numbers of Iona College students turn out tomorrow night who deserves more consideration? Joyce Furero and her paper tiger of an organization or actual students who patronize the Deli Mart?
The fact is that the BAZ is all but certain to deny the request for extended hours for both delis. At that point, they may then go to court and sue the city at which point it will be up to a judge to decide.
Consider tomorrow night as Round One of what is sure to be an interesting battle.
A Response to Mr. Cox
Dear Mr. Cox,
Just to clear up some confusion:
First, the “331-41” was a typo. The operative sections of the Municipal Code are 331-4 and 331-61(i). Section 331-4 defines extended hours as 11:00 pm to 6:00 am and section 331-61(i) prohibits a retail establishment from operating during extended hours “when such facility is located on a lot which is adjacent to a lot which is partially or totally located in a residentially zoned district.” The Building Department and the Board of Appeals for Zoning are aware of the operative provisions. If you had wanted clarification you could have emailed or called me.
Second, in Ms. Lobo’s application for appeal on behalf of Deli Mart, she listed “4,000” as the number of persons joining her on the appeal. In her application on behalf of United Gourmet Deli, she left the number of persons blank (0). You draw the conclusions.
Third, please print my whole letter. Do not take portions of it out of context for your convenience.
Fourth, Mr. Cox is listed by City Hall as the President of the Highland Park Neighborhood Association and has been for as long as I have been Co-Chair of the New Rochelle Confederation of Neighborhood Associations. As President, he gets regular emails from me regarding meeting notices, agendas, and actions to be considered by the Confederation. The Confederation has a website on which meeting notices, agendas, and actions to be considered by the Confederation are publicly posted for all neighborhood association representatives and residents to see: http://www.nrcona.org/. Nothing is covert or clandestine as Mr. Cox suggests. In fact, Mr. Cox knows exactly what is in the Confederation’s letter to the Zoning Board, because I personally emailed it to him along with all of the other neighborhood representatives of record! He is the only one who appears to have a beef with it.
Fifth, unfortunately, as a confederation, membership is voluntary. I cannot twist arms to make neighborhood representatives attend meetings and participate. Also, unfortunately, Mr. Cox has intentionally chosen not to attend meetings and participate on behalf of his neighborhood association. This failure is a major loss for him and his neighbors.
Finally, I am extending a personal invitation to Mr. Cox to attend the next Confederation meeting that is scheduled for Wednesday evening, March 21, 2012, at 7:30 pm, in Room B1 of the City Hall Annex at 90 Beaufort Place (the old police station). Please join us!
Joyce Furfero, Co-Chair
New Rochelle Confederation of Neighborhood Associations
Zoning laws
How about we do something new like uphold our crrrent zoning laws.
Im sick and tied of picking up beer cans and MacDonalds garbage as the low lifes throw it out there windows getting on the highway.
And for the 4000 supporters, Id like to see them march on City Hall. ( Calling your Bluff )
It would be refreshing if the
It would be refreshing if the cops doled out a few hundred, no make that a few thousand tickets for litering. Its a real quality of life issue.
Shame!
This is just another fine example of The City of New Rochelle hindering the growth of local business through over regulation and wasteful legislation. As a city that supposedly wants to “attract” new businesses & retain existing, they are doing a very poor job. If the guy has to pay rent for 24 hours of the day, insurance 24 hours a day, utilities 24 hours a day, why cant he be open 24 hours a day??? I personally think its rediculous of residents in these areas complaining of noise… You live in a CITY! Noise in a city is simply a negative externality, you live above a bar, you gonna call the cops because they are playing music at 1 am??? Reality check, you live above a bar! You move next to the train station.. Gonna complain about the train at 2 am making too much noise?? Lets petiton the MTA! Lol seriously get real. You people are too much. New rochelle… “The City That Never WAKES UP”
I see little benefit to letting more bodegas operate 24/7
There are already plenty of stores that are open 24/7, why would we want attract more of the unruly late night crowd?
As a resident, I see little benefit to letting more bodegas operate 24/7. Enough is enough, we all need a little peace & quite every once in a while, like when we go to sleep or should be asleep.
Reality is
Reality is that the train tracks have always been there. People didn’t buy the houses next to the train tracks. They bought them a long time ago in a residential area before the deli opened up. That is where the problem lies. You are not seeing the whole picture. Talk to the people near the Deli Mart,the Mercedies Benz Dealership and by the Dunkin Donuts. Like I said, each location should be reviewed and the laws should be followed. That is part of the problem. Deli Mart continues to break the law and now wants to change the current zoning laws to fit their need. There is your reality check.
Please Support United Gourmet Deli, Corner of Sickles & North
I wish to remind everyone, that there will be a Zoning Board meeting at 7 pm, Tuesday March 6, in the City Council auditorium. It will no doubt be transmitted on TV, probably live with rebroadcasts.
As I understand it, due to a large expected turnout, there will be a three (3) minute limit to speeches, so I suggest preparing oneself for that time limit.
My own concern is not the area near Iona College, and I will not speak on that.
I will speak about permitting 24-Hour Deli’s and Restaurants to operate on North Avenue, between City Hall and Main Street. I hope many other speakers will agree, that area is part of the downtown commercial zone, and is appropriate and desirable for 24 hour establishments. It will also provide our government much needed additional revenues from sales tax.
In particular I am concerned about the Deli at the corner of Sickles and North Ave. This Deli is forced to close at 11 pm, but used to remain open 24 hours until very recently. Goffman’s had been a 24-hour Deli for many decades. United Gourmet Deli, is owned by the owner of Goffman’s, who a few years ago took the initiative and at great expense, moved his Deli from its original location in the middle of the same block to its current larger location at the corner, and renamed his Deli. The owner and people of New Rochelle should not be punished for this, and this Deli should regain its 24 hour status.
United Gourmet Deli, 398 North Ave, is an excellent Deli that offers generous portions of excellent food at very reasonable prices. It is near the hospital and a number of buildings inhabited by doctors, nurses, elderly and disabled, and who need a 24 hour Deli nearby. It is conveniently located near entrances/exit to I-95 the New England Thruway. It is exactly where New Rochelle needs a 24 hour Deli. Please come to City Hall, and speak up in defense of this Deli.
Thank you.
Bad things are more likely to happen in the middle of the night
I really don’t see a need for this to store to be open 24/7.
Bad things are more likely to happen in the middle of the night and not during “regualar” business hours.
Don’t the dorms have vending machines? That’s where we used to go to when I was in college. Plus as you mentioned the Mobil Mart is open 24/7 just down the block for those seeking a fix of some sort.
So in answer to your question, no I don’t support this deli being open 24/7 as I just don’t see a need.
Deli Mart 24/7
I agree there is no need to sell beer to the students after the bars close. Did we not have a student die a couple of years ago from Intoxication.
Let the students march, they will get a little exercise.
let the market decide
If there is not enough business to support remaining open after 11 pm, the owners of the Deli Mart will not hesitate the close up the store late at night.
They want to remain open — as does the Mobil, the Mirage and other places – because they can make money during that time.