NEW ROCHELLE, NY — Asked to express confidence in City Manager Charles B. Strome by approving a controversial plan to reorganize the New Rochelle Police Department, the City Council responded by roundly defeating the plan in a bi-partisan 5-2 vote. Democrats Shari Rackman, Ivar Hyden and Jared Rice joined Republicans Lou Trangucci and Al Tarantino in voting against the administration’s plan. Mayor Noam Bramson and Barry Fertel voted for the plan.
Before calling a roll call vote on the council measure, in a room packed with off-duty officers from the New Rochelle Police Department, Bramson took the unusual step of making the vote a referendum on Strome’s leadership.
“If we’re not going to trust the City Manager in this, we should get a new City Manager,” said Bramson.
City Clerk Bennie Giles read the roll.
Lou Trangucci…”No”
Al Tarantino…”No”
Jared Rice…”No”
Ivar Hyden…”No”
Barry Fertel…”Yes”
Shari Rackman…”No”
Noam Bramson…”Yes”
The measure failed 2-5.
The vote was a stunning rebuke not just for the City Manager and Police Commissioner but for Bramson.
The resolution was an Ordinance to amend the 2013 Budget to establish three Assistant Police Commissioner positions. Over the past week the Mayor and City Manager have sought to portray the vote as a required procedural step with no special significance.
During a robust question and answer session, with Police Commissioner Carroll at the City Council table, the six Council members engaged the Commissioner, the City Manager and each other. Mayor Bramson watched but said nothing.
Time and time again, Carroll and Strome provided misleading, incorrect or inaccurate information.
Shari Rackman was tenacious.
After Lou Trangucci asked Carroll how many disciplinary hearings for Sergeants, Lieutenants and Captains had occurred during his time as Police Commissioner. Strome answered for him.
“I came prepared for that question,” said Strome. “There were 54 command discipline cases.”
Rackman followed up, demanding to know how many hearings had been held.
Carroll meekly offered an answer, “a handful”.
This statement is false. During his time as Commissioner there have been zero disciplinary hearings for superior officers.
Jared Rice came with a number of good questions.
He wanted to know if converting police captains to a civilian position had any precedent in taking people out of their union. There was no answer.
Rice asked a pointed question about the issue of retirement age for members of the police department. Strome implied that the decision on the retirement age of a member of the police department in New Rochelle was decided by the New York State pension system. This is false. Each municipality in New York State decides its own retirement age. The New Rochelle City Code states the retirement age to be 62.
Rice stumped the City Manager and Police Commissioner after Carroll stated that the main justification for the reorganization was that in the current system, if someone were ranked 5 or 6 in the Captain’s eligibility list he could not select them if he had to replace the current three captains.
Rice said that Carroll could pick the 5th person in replacing the third captain if all three were replaced. Carroll and Strome confidently insisted this was not the case.
Rice was correct. In replacing the first Captain, the Police Commissioner would have to select from 1 of 3 on the eligibility list. For the second Captain, 1 of the first 3 on the list would now be a Captain and so the 4th person on the list would move into the top 4. For the third Captain, the 5th person would now be among the top 3 as two would now be Captains.
Carroll admitted that the current system worked pretty well, in response to a question from Al Tarantino, while arguing that the current system did not work which is why he wanted to change it.
Strome said the Council had been exposed to the proposal since August, 2012. This statement was false. Strome told Talk of the Sound he first shared a memo on the proposed reorganization with Council in October. Most Council members said they had no recollection of seeing the memo and that the first they heard about it was from Talk of the Sound.
Bramson made an incoherent argument based on the odd notion that since no one on Council had been a member of a police force none of the was fit to make an independent judgement and should be deferential to the wishes of the Police Commissioner.
No one on the City Council has worked in a job driving a garbage truck or filling pot holes either. The Mayor has never made a similar argument about budget votes on the DPW.
More to the point, Bramson has never worked as a fire fighter but he routinely votes against the recommendations of the leadership of the New Rochelle Fire Department.
Bramson began his soliloquy by accusing Council Members of “failing to see the forest from the trees” before criticizing Council Members for their “exploration of minutia” and “overstepping a wise course of action for a City Council”.
Bramson came across as angry and exasperated that elected officials at the table might have their own concerns and questions independent of the Mayor’s deference to Mr. Carroll.
Tarantino asked the best question of the night. After repeatedly implying that the vote was a required technical measure to satisfy the state government, Tarantino asked whether, after the vote tonight, the City Manager would return to Council for any further approvals. Carroll and Strome responded with silence before Strome finally answered “no”.
The five members of City Council who voted the plan down did a great thing for New Rochelle. Not only did they defeat a ploy by the administration to enrich their friends at taxpayer’s expense but they sent a strong message against the sort of deceptive legislative maneuvering that has occurred in bringing this matter to a vote.
Rackman, Rice, Tarantino, Trangucci and Hyden had clearly done their homework and peppered Carroll and Strome with well-aimed questions. In the end Carroll and Strome had no real answers and resorted to pleading.
Even before Bramson’s “No Confidence” vote, Strome had turned the resolution into a loyalty vote.
“This is your administration recommending this,” said Strome.
Rackman, Rice, Tarantino, Trangucci and Hyden were unmoved by Strome or Bramson.
The political ramifications for Bramson remain to be seen. He went “all in” when he said the Council should get another City Manager if they voted against the City Manager. Members of his own party, including Rice who serves on his campaign committee for Westchester County Executive, voted against the Mayor.
Done
Contribution paid by PayPal. Keep up the great hard work and I know you will win the board of Ed seat.
Any News on This?
Has the Commish put in his papers? Who is going to help the senile coot fill them out. Right now he is drooling all over them.
Has Strome begun to pack up his papers and burn all the dirt under his rug? Its like the Nazi’s burning their files as the allies close in on the hidden looted art.
Has Bramson begun to see how corraled he is within his career path? Tough to sell the good guy Harvard home grown bull sh** when you are stained by what you have created…
The Jig is up. Except for some petty theiving there is little left for these guys to fleace from the tax payer. This is begining to look like April 1945 when will they get out of the bunkers and head to Argentine soil.
Ummm, I guess you have never heard the axiom…
**** up, move up.
I don’t know about the other two, but I’m betting Bramson, aka Idoni II, will be rewarded by sitting at the side of his mentor in corruption, Idoni I, AND that the myopic citizens of New Rochelle will elect his chosen crook, Idoni III.
You heard it here first.
Managerial Judgment and Ethics Sorely Lacking
It’s one thing for Commissioner Carroll and Deputy Murphy to conspire with the three Captains for personal gain, but for City Manager Strome and Mayor Bramson to go along with this charade indicates a serious lack of managerial judgment and or ethics. The answers put forth by Mr. Strome and Mr.Carroll to questions by Council members certainly verifies this observation. Mayor Bramson indicated that if the Council didn’t believe or support Manager Strome in this matter then the Council should look for a new manager. A “5-2 knockdown” by Council speaks volumes. Mr. Mayor: Are you a man of your word or merely more political rhetoric?
These brain trusts actually said it was something discussed five years ago. Why wasn’t the scheme attempted then? What has changed as Mr. Carroll stated that he has promoted only one Captain during his time? Why would Mayor Bramson be so gullible? Some say it would help him as he campaigns for County Executive position. Given this ill-conceived scheme to eliminate three Captain positions from the union, it begs the question of why would any union member vote for Mr. Bramson. Actions speak louder than words!
Homeowners need to bring this to the Attention of NY State AG
This kind of Machiavellian maneuvering on the part of the Highest Level of New Rochelle Government must be brought to the attention of New York States Attorney General.
There are those who commit crimes with a gun and in the case with a Gun and a Badge. Its is White Collar crime at the highest level. This kind of unethical behavior should not be tolerated. The poor slob of a homeowner deserves much better. They deserve a Mayor who’s only motive should be what is best for New Rochelle not what is best for his political career. They deserve a City Manager who’s only motive should be the City of New Rochelle running ethically and properly without padding pensions for friends, not sweeping feather bedding and waste under the City Manager Rug and they certainly deserve a Police Commissioner who is committed to honesty.
What we have is a Mayor interested in his Political Future over the Backs of the City of New Rochelle tax payers, a City Manager who is corrupt in so many ways and a Police Commissioner who should take his multiple pensions and Run as he is stinking up City Hall so bad. This kind of Corruption has not existed since the days of Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall. We have multiple Boss Tweeds. Please NY State we need relief from the Crooks.
Homeowners need to bring…..
BRAVO!!!
The “Trio” must leave
Last night’s Council meeting was extremely illuminating. The Mayor said the Council should support City Manager Strome, Police Commissioner Carroll and Deputy Murphy each of whom strongly recommended the elimination of civil service rank of Captain. There were so many misleading statements. To cite one: Mr. Fertel asked the City Manager if there was any difference in salary if the change took place. Manager Strome answered NO. Question: Why was the new salary scale listed at $172,000 plus for the Asst/Commissioner position as the Captain position shows a salary of $150,000+-.
Will Manager Strome be asked to explain this answer and the many other misleading statements by him and Commissioner Carroll. The Commissioner didn’t even know how many Lieutenants are on the Captain’s list. Does he even know who is on the list. According to info on TALK OF THE SOUND there are 9 officers on the list.
Thankfully, the 5 clearer thinking Council members saw through the heavy-handed attempt to allow Commissioner Carroll and Deputy Murphy (who attempted to sway the Council at the secret meeting last week by mocking the State Civil Service test) to promote their “cronies” to a new position with an ENHANCED PENSION.
Citizens of New Rochelle and members of the New Rochelle Police rank and file (save the three captains who were active participants in the attempted theft of the Captain position) owe a great deal of THANKS TO Mr. Robert Cox of TALK OF THE SOUND for exposing this form of governmental corruption. And Council members Rackman, Rice, Tarantino, Trangucci and Hyden deserve our applause and respect for voting their conscience despite the strong arm lecture by the Mayor.
Two-Step
I believe the salary for captains is $145,000 (someone correct me with the exact figure) and they get about $10,000 in OT. That was the high end of the range for that position.
The salary range for the APC was to have a high end of $172k.
The City Manager cannot create positions or establish a salary range, only council can do that; what he can do is move someone’s salary within an established range.
The plan was on Tuesday vote to create the APC, Wednesday the salary for the new APCs would still be $145k so Chuck could say that salary would not be changed by the vote. That was true. It was also misleading because on Thursday he could raise the captains to $172k without council approval.
This same maneuver was used previously to pad the pensions (and increase the salaries) of Parks Commish Bill Zimmerman and NRPD Dep Commish Anthony Murphy a couple of years ago.
You have to understand the relationships here.
Zimmerman, Murphy and Strome are close. They work out together every day at lunch. Murphy and Schaller are close friends.
At the end of the day this is about Chuck keeping his friends in place (Zimmerman and Murphy had planned to take a buy out a couple of years ago; Chuck convinced them to stay with more money and a bigger pension)..
Schaller is past retirement age so this not only let him stay but gave him more salary and a much bigger pension.
Big deal. Idoni II still rules…
and if the citizens of New Rochelle are as big a bunch of idiots as I think they are, he will muscle them to accept his appointed clone, Idoni III and he will spend his days (like Roger the Dodger Mahony in Rome) at the right hand of Idoni I and New Rochelle will continue to sink further (IF that’s possible) into the sewer of rotting devolution that it’s been sinking into for 30+ years.
Big whoop. One victory in 30+ years. Give me a break.
Councilmember Lumber Jacks!
The City Council was prevented from seeing the forest for the trees. If council didn’t ask more about the trees, the big picture council would have found is that the trees on the other side of the forest were already clear cut in anticipation of get one over on the other lumber jacks. The wood was already being shipped to the mill. Once council got through the only trees left they would be left with no vision, just a clear cut field with no growth or potential. Can anyone say Downtown?
Sometimes you need to get through the little things to be able to see the big picture, especially if the picture was not clear to begin with.
I saw a different council last night. Now they need to use that same process going forward and take the time to look back at some of the past decisions that were made. Could they have been done differently? For some you may have the same result. But for others when reviewed with a different perspective there may be a totally different outcome. It is not too late to impact decisions that are in the development stages. Council has a lot on their plate regarding The City Yard, Forest City, Albanese, Parking garages, Iona College, Monroe College, Downtown and so much more. Don’t jump for the sake of jumping. Make sure you know you are on solid ground and aware of where you will land because those jumps will need to direct you towards the future of New Rochelle. Let’s get it right the first time. That is one way to save time and most importantly money.
New Rochelle has been on this track for several years and it is not going to be fixed overnight. It will take time and effort. It will all be worth it in the long run. Get the people of New Rochelle involved. Reach out and many will be glad to help and contribute for a better, stronger and greater New Rochelle. Have the vision that has been lacking. We can become a community once again.
“Common sense for the Common Good”
Revised Puppet Scale
Revised Puppet Scale
Lou Trangucci…”No” Not a puppet
Al Tarantino…”No” Not a puppet
Jared Rice…”No” moving to not being a puppet
Ivar Hyden…”No” moving to not being a puppet
Barry Fertel…”Yes” Big big Puppet
Shari Rackman…”No” moving to not being a puppet
Noam Bramson…”Yes” Head puppeteer
No guts no glory!!!
Nice to see the City Council using their
heads deciding an issue rather than voting
in lock-step with the Mayor.
Fraudulent scheme
We must thank the 5 council members for their courage to stand up against the city manager and police commissioner in voting no. They saw what we seen since the birth of this money grab scheme and the manipulation of the pension system by the “men’s club” in the police department for selfish reasons. The long and short of it was just to fatten the pockets of the two senior captains by permitting them to cross over into the civilian pension system and reap the windfall of money.
For those who watched it last night, you are left with the feeling he does not think highly of his supervisory officers. When asked why he wanted to “appoint” from the lieutenants ranks to the proposed new title of Assistant Deputy Commissioner, Carroll’s reply was he was looking for someone that will carry out his edicts, without hesitation, and possess the aptitude necessary to carry the department well into the future. Carroll wants the authority to “hire” one of the present 10 lieutenants as the Assistant Deputy Commissioner and for that matter “fire” him/her from that position if they do not march to his drum. He characterizes the present NYS civil service testing method for captain as simply memorizing the information that will be tested for when taking the exam. Carroll stated the exam is “a lot of memorization, and it doesn’t show you the aptitude of the person”. Isn’t that an amusing statement from a person who, when he was a lieutenant and sat for the captains test in the NYPD, he had to memorize the information for the exam. I guess his memory was very sharp back then. He was promoted to a captain in the NYPD and interestingly, that goes for his present 3 NRPD captains. They too must have had a sharp memory when they sat for the captains exam. Oddly enough, the NYS civil service law gives Carroll the authority to choose 1 of the top 3 lieutenants from the captains promotion test list once it is established. How many of his 10 lieutenants are so maverick in their attitudes and lack the aptitude that he couldn’t find just one captain to promote?
It is a sad commentary for the 10 lieutenants that he requires college education for that rank and then minimizes them and their abilities by saying they have to “memorize” the test information for the captains promotion test. He falls to say that the lieutenant have “paid their dues” by serving as the highest ranking officer on the street on the 4:00 pm to midnight shift and the midnight to 8:00 am shift, making all the critical decisions, in the heat of the moment, and how they are all held responsible for the patrol officers, detectives and sergeants under their command. That “on the job” experience cannot be “memorized” it must be developed as honed into a skill and that is obtained by doing the job of a lieutenant. Carroll failed to mention if one of captains were to work during these hours they would be paid overtime. What a professional leader would do when speaking in public is commend his supervisory staff for a job well done by working with less staff on the streets and without a raise for nearly 4 years now. Rather, Carroll elects to totally degrade them in the public arena in his attempt to sell his bogus plan.
Now, please, think how many times there have been major controversies within the department? Why hasn’t there been any? For those working street lieutenants “memorizing” all aspects of the job and carrying out the mission of policing under some trying situations. That’s why. The proper training they have. That’s why. His 10 lieutenants deserves a commander who will be there to support them, advocate for them, lobby on their behalf, not publically humiliate them by saying is it “a lot of memorization” in order to take the captains test. Shame on you, Mr. Carroll. Shame of you to publicly demean them in the manner you did to move forward a corrupt, back door plan to give more money to your two captains upon their retirement for the job.
Talking about controversies. Think how many times Carroll decisions cost our community hundreds of thousands of dollars in lawsuits caused by his illogical thinking. I guess that stems from his chevalier attitude towards lawsuits that he must have memorized from the NYPD way of doing business.
Carroll speaks to the fact that he has been the commissioner of the department for nearly 20 years now and has promoted 1 captain during that time. I would have asked him during those nearly 20 years did he ever want to replace one of existing captains during that time? If not, where is the need to have his draconian control of his staff; to subvert NYS civil service law? The law is in place to prevent exactly what he was trying to accomplished, to promote based on favoritism. That was his ruse. To say he wants control, but really it was to give some of the members of the “men’s club” a raise upon retirement. Nice try, Commish. Boy I wish I was a fly on the wall at Posto 22 on Division street. Can you just imagine the lunch time talk around the table? The 5 council members ears must be ringing.
Again, bravo for the council members who voted with their conscious and not as a result of Bramson’s last minute pitch when he and Fertel voted for it. The 5 council members saw through the lies and a well crafted scheme to take advantage of “the system”. And, just think Bramson wants to be County Executive. Hah!
Brilliantly written
Brilliant and eloquently written. Thank you for your intelligent support
Another thought
If Carroll is so concerned about the captains disciplining other members of the union, he can direct deputy murphy to do the job.
It is really simple.
For the few supervisors that are brought up on charges, and since his captains are unable to separate job responsibilities and professionalism from the work place relationships, he can have Murphy do the job. Murphy is not in the union.
And….
How about the times have the lieutenants disciplined the sergeants. For that matter the internal affairs officer is himself a lieutenant. Should he and the other lieutenants also be removed from the police retirement system?
What a crock for using the limp excuse of being unable to discipline members from the same union as a reason to hand pick the position of ADC.
Carroll tells us that if the captain falls to go along with his policies, he is unable to remove the captain due to their union affiliation. This is the farthest thing from the truth. What he describes is insubordination, which he could handle in house. Again, another crock, limp excuse he offers as a reason to make the change.
See this for what it is. A golden parachute grab for the senior members of the “men’s club” in the NRPD.
Shame on Chuck, Noam and Barry for acting in concert.
Great job
..to the Council for seeing through this charade and listining to the voters.There is hope.
Great article Mr Cox and thank you for exposing this back room deal.
Mr Mayor,Mr Strome and Mr Carroll, you are not untouchable.
Mr Fertel, you truely are a clueless, pompus ass.
Does this City really need a senile Police Commissioner who is nothing more than a shakedown artist.
There is hope!
Bramson was Never a….. You fill in the blanks
Bob, the words below are a great argument but in keeping with the theme I would like to add one other. “Bramson was never Parks and Rec commissioner but he did see fit to push through bike paths to nowhere into a city budget”
“Bramson made an incoherent argument based on the odd notion that since no one on Council had been a member of a police force none of the was fit to make an independent judgement and should be deferential to the wishes of the Police Commissioner.
No one on the City Council has worked in a job driving a garbage truck or filling pot holes either. The Mayor has never made a similar argument about budget votes on the DPW.
More to the point, Bramson has never worked as a fire fighter but he routinely votes against the recommendations of the leadership of the New Rochelle Fire Department”
Acting Like Citizens
I have taken my shots at the city council via this website or my radio show but when they do the right thing (or at least 5 of them do) they need to know. Thank you for acting like citizens of New Rochelle and not just politicians. It seems to me they realized that they would be bearing the brunt of this move themselves. You can’t add line items to a budget you just tried cut. Good for you.
I don’t look at this as a vote against the mayor or city manager (but believe me they will see it that way especially since Johnny Drama Bramson made it a vote of confidence in the city manager) as much as a vote for the citizens of New Ro. City Council ( 5 members ) you did your jobs as tax payers and you spoke for US and not for an “administration”
GREAT VICTORY!!!
Thank you to all the loyal and brave Council Members who showed your loyalty to justice and our city.
SHAME ON YOU CHARLES STROME, NOAM BRAMSON AND PATRICK CARROLL. You three have been the biggest failures of this city and your time of reign is coming to a close. At least ANTHONY MURPHY, the next Police Commissioner with his silver tongue had the good sense to stay out of it. Most likely because Carroll never lets him talk anyway. FERTEL, enjoy your stay. You will be a one term council person.
BRAVO Talk Of The Sound and Mr. ROBERT COX, you are a true pioneer who has done a wonderful job for this city and I am pledging a $100.00 contribution to your cause. Please email me, Bob so I can send that to you!
You can donate via credit
You can donate via credit card with paypal
Or you can send a check to me at 34 Aberfoyle Road, NR, NY 10801
The check is in the mail.
The check is in the mail.
The check is in the mail.
The check is in the mail.
The check is in the mail.
The check is in the mail.
BIG, BIG LIE
There has NOT been a superior officer in a hearing for more than 35 years.
NOT THE “HANDFUL” AS STATED BY STROME AND CARROLL.
Come on people!!! Why are we not pooling together to get these bums out of city hall.
IF CARROLL AND STROME HAD ONE DROP OF PRIDE THEY WOULD LEAVE NOW TO SAVE WHATEVER DIGNITY THEY HAVE LEFT!
We should be getting a new city manager
The best quote of the debate goes to Bramson; “If we’re not gonna trust the judgement of our city manager on an issue of this kind we should be getting a new city manager”. Mr. Mayor. your bully pulpit crashed and burned. Let’s see if you are a man of your convictions. A bipartisan super majority of council did not trust the city manager so by your edict we should be getting a new city manager. Let’s see if you have the gumption to make a motion in that regard at the March council meeting.
We should be getting a new city manager
The best quote of the debate goes to Bramson; “If we’re not gonna trust the judgement of our city manager on an issue of this kind we should be getting a new city manager”. Mr. Mayor. your bully pulpit crashed and burned. Let’s see if you are a man of your convictions. A bipartisan super majority of council did not trust the city manager so by your edict we should be getting a new city manager. Let’s see if you have the gumption to make a motion in that regard at the March council meeting.
Aftermath
I will have more on this subject later but for now it is clear there is at least one piece of business awaiting City Council.
The City Manager claims that the retirement age of 62 for police that appears in the City Code does not apply because police are no longer in a local pension system but rather a state pension system.
New Rochelle police have been in 384-d, the state pension system for cops, since the 1960’s yet the retirement age for cops and firefighters has always been understood to be 62.
Chuck is conflating two unrelated issues.
The retirement age for 384-d was changed to 65 in 2009 to deal with the state pension crisis, the idea that by raising the retirement age in the pension municipalities could then raise their local retirement age and there would be less retirees in the system and thus less strain on the system during the “Great Recession”.
Retirement age for municipal employees is set by municipalities.
Having spoke with folks in the state pension office, the truth is that New Rochelle has the OPTION to raise the retirement age (as they always have) and that at least up until 65 those cops who stay past 62 will continue to accrue pension benefits up to 65.
That is NOT the same thing as the state dictating terms to New Rochelle on what the retirement age is for cops. The CIty Council decides that. The last time the City Council addressed that was when the local NRPD retirement system was created. As that is the last expression of the will of Council that is the law here.
The City Council ought to address this issue once and for all.
If the City Manager is right, they should vote to abolish the local police pension and remove it from the City Code.
Then they should vote to explicitly establish a retirement age under the “Retirement” section of the code instead of under the “Pension” section of the code where it is now.
This will clear up any confusion once and for all.
WE SAVED THE COPS, NOW LETS SAVE THE SECTION 8 DEPARTMENT,
Mr. Cox, I have been speaking with one of your associates about this issue. The acting Developement commissioner is trying to pull the same stunt with Section 8!!
She is trying to replace the previous Director of Section 8 ( a civil service position) with a non civil service position, basically saying she hired her friend!! We must stop this and further details will be released shortly. In the meantime, speak with the Sevtion 8 employees and see for yourself what’s going on!
Looking forward
We are definitely interested in this story. We have the video where this was discussed and you are in good hands as we collect records and other information to prepare the story.
I have made a request that the City of New Rochelle make two changes regarding videotaping of meetings.
1. Broadcast ALL meetings subject to the NYS Open Meeting Law on NRTV and on the City web site.
The City currently broadcasts City Council meetings, IDA, Planning and Zoning. Those last 3 were accomplished through the efforts of Richard St. Paul at the Council level and me from the outside. I began recording these meetings myself and posting them. Richard made the motion that resulted in a change in policy. The last step would be adding meetings like the Civil Service, Municipal Arts, Landmarks meetings. The cost could be reduced by holding meetings back to back (the only cost is the NRTV production staff and some of these meetings are so short that 2 meetings can be held within one “window”.
2. Archive all of these meetings on the City web site. Currently only the City Council meeting is available on the web. All of them should be to create a deep archive of the actual meeting linked to the agenda, minutes and any documents discussed at the meeting (all of which are covered under OML).
To summaruze…
broadcast/record/archive every public meeting, make them available through NRTV (Cablevision, Fios) and online through the City web site.
The total cost is less than the City is spending on the latest parking study for the BID.
Cronyism Denied
I am ecstatic to see that a bipartisan super majority of council saw through the bullshit from the city manager and police commissioner. This was an attempt to legalize cronyism on multiple levels. Carroll wanted autonomous control over police captains and he wanted a way to circumvent civil service regulation requiring tests that Carroll would have to pick from the highest three test scores. The proposal by Strome and Carroll was directed at changing the promotion system to the “pleasure of the police commissioner”. On the existing captains list, Carroll wants to promote a candidate who has the fifth or sixth highest test score but is unable to due to civil service requirements. Bramson, Strome, Carroll and the Civil Service Commission all got their wings clipped. This is a clear indication that the days of the good-old-boys who fatten their salaries and pensions with a nod and a wink are becoming a thing of the past. This is the first situation that gives the citizens of New Rochelle hope that the dawn of a new day will occur.
Bramson’s adolescent tirade
Bramson was true to form unleashing a pompous tirade in an attempt to bully councilmembers to follow his lead. Fertel is Bramson’s flunky doing whatever Bramson requests. The Boy-Blunder got his wings clipped and this was a sneak preview of how Lord Bramson would rule the County Kingdom should he be successful. Fertel will follow blindly because Bramson will take Fertel with him if elected County Executive. I hope the citizens of Westchester County view the meeting to see Bramson’s rage, rage one would expect from an adolescent. Bramson has never been required to make hard decisions as New Rochelle’s CEREMONIAL mayor. Now it’s obvious to see he can’t handle the pressure.
Fertel a steadfast servant for Bramson
I was concerned that Fertel for once in his Council career would alter from his unwavering and concistant voting in favor of anything Mayor Bramson desires.
Some say Bramson tells him what to do within the
Men’s room @ City Hall.
Frankly I am releaved to see Barry is still returning the favor for his appointment to Noams old council seat.
Sooner or later you would think these two like minds would disagree on something.
It’s refreshing to now see somebody in the Democratic Council voting based upon merit.
There is hope.
Now is anyone going to hold Bramson to his statement?
So Bramson voted ‘yes’, what a surprise…
guess it’s time for him to move on to bigger and better corruption.
How about that, I thought for sure this BS was going to fly. Shame they couldn’t completely hide the meeting.
Kudos to TOTS, once again.
Strome Resign today
Time to go.
Resign today do the City a great service as you have done nothing for the City thoughout your years.
Eventually the stain will find you and deliver what you deserve.
Time to go. Go before you are lead out in Shackles and Cuffs.
Where was Carroll
After watching this meeting i have to ask where was the police comm? The city mgr answered most questions why not the police comm.? This police comm. wanted to save his buddies at captains.. Guess what Mr. Comm the party is over more and more people of New Rochelle are reading this site and the city mgr. proved that at this meeting by saying i knew this question would come up? What question is that? The one of many that Mr.Cox asked readers of this web site? If the people of New Rochelle want to ask the Police Comm. about this agenda item then i say to them go to division street around 1130 am and ask him he is there almost every day for lunch. The people of New Rochelle could not comment on this item because it was a sneak item on the agenda. Shame on you…