New Rochelle City Council voted 7-0 to sell Lot 50 and Lot 45A to DeRaffele which plans to place a diner on the combined parcels which will be reconfigured to remove Industrial Way and add new traffic lane around the three remaining sides of Lot 50.
Mayor Noam Bramson described the diner as a “expression of interest in the community.” Council Member Louis Trangucci described a meeting of the South End Civic Association the night before, saying “they were all excited about the diner”. Council Member Ivar Hyden hoped that the diner could be an attraction for New Rochelle.
RELATED: New Rochelle City Council: Everyone Loves Going to the Diner Until the Check Comes
Before the vote, New Rochelle Development Commissioner Michael Freimuth said the City was projecting the proposed diner would have $3.5 million in sales expected to generate $87,000 in sales tax for the City or about $7,250 a month.
The traffic flow in the area of Weyman Avenue and Main Street is already considered among the worst in New Rochelle. Freimuth told the Council that the traffic engineering study would be done after CostCo completed work on new gas pumps. CostCo intended to sell heavily discounted gas to members, a move expected to cause a significant increase in traffic.
Many residents have expressed fears about traffic backing up onto the New England Thruway. They believe removing Industrial Way, the addition of gas pumps at CostCo and the ingress/egress for the diner are expected to make traffic significantly worst.
another give a way
Not one question asked about what the land was worth. New Rochelle government at it’s best.
City give away
Prime example of insider trading.
Branson stepped real low on this one. Look at comparable sales on property shark and loop net.