I watched the public hearing on the Echo Bay Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) last night.
I am proud of every speaker for (a) having the courage to speak publicly; (b) taking the time, and having the patience, to endure the lengthy process; and (c) finally, making a valiant attempt to let your elected officials understand how the public feels about this project.
Here are my unofficial count of speaker sentiment based on viewing the proceedings through the New Rochelle, NY website:
Hearing Duration 3 hours
Total Speakers* 56
Aye Comments — 9 (16.0%)
Nay Comments — 45 (80.4%)
No Preference — 2 (3.6%)
*Margin of error less than 2% as I may have missed one speaker due to bathroom break.
There is no question that the VAST MAJORITY of citizens are against this diminutive project. The public benefit was challenged and actually exposed as insignificant by many New Rochelle residents who make their living deciphering these studies and putting them in laymen’s terms that allow citizens to weigh in. We heard from parents, businessmen, lawyers, organizations — a full representation of New Rochelle’s diversity — who wish to have Echo Bay developed with a central theme, consistently and without taxpayer burden.
Most importantly, there was a central theme of developing Echo Bay as one 26 acre project as originally envisioned.
It’s time to shed the accepted development theme in New Rochelle that puts developer before taxpayer and the mindset that any deal, and this is a bad deal, is better than no deal.