This will be brief! I join John D and many others in denouncing any of our representives who cast a vote for Echo Bay with the proviso that Forest City/Ratner are the developers.
As a matter of fact, I see Forest City, from a layman’s point of view, as unindicted co-conspirators at Ridge Hill in Yonkers although their legal grounds were carefully raked and covered with manure as well as dirt.
Any Council Man or Woman, any of the 7, Ceremonial Mayor/Councilman at Large and 6 District Representatives would be covered with this wicked mixture as well.
The integrity of our government, our beleaguered and divided City, cannot take another blow. We have much to clean up; from basic management, financial management, responsibilities, priorities, and so much more. Ridge Hill may be successful but even if there were nothing amiss, it is substantially different than Echo Bay. Many powerful enablers, entrenched politicians, kin of famed prosecutors, ex mayors, councilmen, etc were involved to their dishonor. But, Jereis and Annabi stand alone at the end of the day.
Read this time line and judge for yourself if they should and, more to the point of this report, should we spend one moment more considering this well-documented stain on ethics, these ENABLERS of weak and prideful political figures in New Rochelle who put politics before people.
1. on 11/22/2005 the Yonkers City Council votes to end the Ridge Hill Super Majority requirement by a 4 to 3 Council vote. Forest City is halfway there.
2. on 12/9/2005 the Yonkers City Council votes to pass the Ridge Hill zoning change by a 4-3 Council vote. Forest City is home free it seems. Annabi holds firm in the minority.
3. on 05/02/06 Justice Colabella vacates both the zoning approval and restores the super majority requirement for Ridge Hill. Forest City and the squad of ENABLERS step up their game.
4. on 05/08/06 the infamous Al Pirro sets up a meeting with Ridge Hill developers (Forest City gang) and opposing County Members purportedly to discuss matters and votes further. Annabi is not present. Note that this divide the Council is a strategy used by Forest City in New Rochelle; note further how Noam ceded the Communications machinery to Abe Naper(something) on the more lucrative earlier Echo Bay Plan.
5. on 06/02/2006 the always opportunistic Jereis meets with Forest City representatives in Brooklyn
6. on 06/09/2006 the infamous Jereis meets with Forest City Developers… actually in both cases, Forest City Executives in the Bronx.
NOTE: like the crafty rascals they are, neither of the above was held in Yonkers.
7. on 06/12/2006 Jereis sends his resume to Forest City.
8. on 07/11/2006 City Council APPROVES the Ridge Hill zoning change by a vote of 5 to 2. Annabi’s slip is showing as she goes over to Forest City.
9. on 10/06/2011 Jereis gets a $5,000 Consulting Contract with Forest City.
For the record, the major Forest City Executives subsequently resigned their positions and formed a seemingly “independent consulting firm.” Neither really can say why Jereis got a consulting contract and what value he actually brought to Forest City.
Oh Please, Noam, Barry, Shari, Al, Jared, Louis, Ivar do your duty and throw these rascals out and NOW.
MOU 60 days up?
Is the 60 days up? Is another extension on the horizon?
MOU 60 days up?
Is the 60 days up? Is another extension on the horizon?
Dump the New Dump and all the Forest City’s!!
On 3/13/12 at the City Council meeting, Forest City Residential presented the new proposal. Many questions were asked but not much was said. What we did find out. Forest City Residential & Forest City Commercial will handle the Echo Bay Development, Not Forest City Ratner. They handle different types of development. I don’t see much difference, but who am I? No one from Forest City Enterprises has been named in any of the accusations. If so, it was Ratner’s branch and not the residential and commercial branches of Forest City Enterprises. Forest City Enterprise is the Main Corporation. The others are four separate branches to protect the mother ship from invaders.
Municipal governments are now doing the same thing by creating an umbrella corporation to fly under the radar. This allows the government corporations to operate by different rules than they would as a government entity. No different than a corporation hiding behind its umbrella companies. Cover your butt. Our City management has gotten good at that. That’s not my responsibility, it’s his. Talk to him. They are running out of places to hide and the ability to deflect every questions. Two recent articles by Phil Reisman brought to mind one certain City Council and its leaders. Here are some of the first parts.
Phil Reisman March 19, 2012: Official is fluent in bureaucrat-ese
Somewhere there must be a school for government bureaucrats that features an advanced course on how to respond to questions at length and with gravitas, but also in such a way as to say absolutely nothing. The desired effect, I mean, is to lull the questioner into a brief coma.
Phil Reisman March 29, 2012: Corruption can sometimes be legal
Corruption is rotten and needs to be rooted out of government, but it isn’t always criminal. And that is what drives honest, taxpaying citizens crazy — they wonder how greed-driven officials can wrongfully gorge at the public trough without fear of penalty. They ask: How come these nickel-and-dime chiselers get away with it?
As I have said, “Perception is everything.” Just when I thought I had seen enough parallels, I saw the CBS Morning Show with Mayor Michael Bloomberg yesterday. What he said was so true in our political climate here in New Rochelle.
On 3/29/12, on The CBS Morning Show Mayor Bloomberg said, “Most career politicians generally only care about three things. 1) Get re-elected because that is how they make their living. 2) Keeping their party in power by pushing the party agenda which makes it easier to get re-elected. 3) See number one”.
It is time to Dump the New Dump, Dump Forest City and get on with making an actual plan for The City of New Rochelle. Do it for now and the future of our city.
“Common Sense for the Common Good”.
It Was Always Forest City Residential
Forest City Residential was always the business unit since they were anointed by the city council. FC/Ratner never was involved in NR. It doesn’t matter though they’re all owned by the parent Forest City Enterprises. What’s key is the political donations by the board of directors for FCE. All Ratners. The donations from the now defunct HRH construction co., whose vp’s , ceo’s and other officials were a who’s who of former Forest City project managers and planners. Let’s not forget the legal team that FC Residential has representing them in New Rochelle City Hall. A connection? The law firm of DelBello, Donnellan Weingarten etc. are contributors to the Bramson Campaign and Al DelBello’s name floated around the Annabi trial. One big happy family. As i’ve said, it is all legal, but to me, it doesn’t look good. As Mike Scully asks, does this pass the “smell test”?
John Knows!
Of course it doesn’t pass the smell test. John provides us with a litany of other contributors. The list of ENABLERS grows!
Let’s move on. Lets reinforce the simple message that this doesn’t pass any known test from the profane, a smell test if you like, or the sacred, simply good business.
So, I repeat my earlier question. Why does a “ceremonnial” mayor with clear City Charter duties and responsibllities have a contribution or war chest of over $150,000? You folks who read and move on better understand that you are abetting and aiding bad government, reinforcing social unrest, poor development, tax problems, continuation of Certiorari at unheard of levels because people like John and I have to continually post a set of basic facts in a non-offensive, no prejorative and with no malice in our hearts…….. we need the City Council to manage the affairs of this city as the City Charter indicates, that our mayor assume the role only allowed by the Charter since voters have said on several alternatives that they did not want a “strong mayor” for New Rochelle, and so, again, again, again, Forest City, by what nom de plume they adopt for individual business deals, by whatever spin-offs they have over to executives “resigning” to form “consulting firms” with single clientele, and so
Any delay in the inevitable, any vote yea for Echo BAy does not pass Scully’s smell test and since Scully has receive a ton of acknowledgement for this insight, he might want to excite our other senses, say the sight test, by looking at the water’s edge and sightline and note the growing tower and just what else some hapless resident might get if this monstrosity of mismanagement was built.
ENOUGH! Maybe an actual listing of our contributors such as DiBello might convince you… there are others associated with Ratner but how much do you need?
Lets move on to Charter adherence or revision, building a commercial business district and protecting it consistent with what would work here, and others too numerous to mention.
My 2 cents – For what it is worth
Thank you for the time line and Forest City history with Yonkers,etc. Now to add my thoughts, I drove to Ridge Hill or should I say Ridge Mountain and felt I had landed in a Disney location. Sure the streets are clean, drivers are courteous, no one is hanging around, it seems safe and lovely landscape with benches. Who would not like to live in that world? This costs mega bucks, somethings Forest City does not have. What I see is Ridge Hill will be sold in 5 years to another developer and in 10 years it will totally disappear from the landscape. So city council and mayor tell Forest City thanks but no thanks, we want more for our great city. It has been nice knowing you, but please move on. This will be the best political move they could make in their careers.