NEW ROCHELLE, NY — Flavio LaRocca was one of five property owners along East Street and East Place near the Skate Park at City Park on Fifth avenue were served a “Notice to Remove” last fall, Talk of the Sound has confirmed. The move by city officials comes in the wake of an incident last spring when LaRocca converted public property behind the Skate Park into a parking lot for his workers.
According to the letter, a review of the area around East Street revealed that “at certain points where your property and the property of other owners in the area borders the neighboring property owned by the City, there are circumstances where certain improvements, such as a fence with gates, a row or rows of hedges, a concrete wall and in one instance a metal shelf used for storage of materials and equipment, encroaches and intrudes on and over City owned real property.”
The City, citing Article VII, Section 55 of the Charter of the City, has left it to Alex Tergis, Commissioner of the Department of Public Works, to control the operation and maintenance of public streets.
In a letter sent by Tergis, he writes:
“Since permission to use City owned property or a portion thereof has not been given nor secured, this unsanctioned use for your personal or business use must cease forthwith. You are hereby directed immediately to remove at your own cost and expense any and all improvements which encroach beyond the boundary of your property and intrude onto any portion of City owned real property.”
One property owner has already complied.
For his part, Talk of the Sound has learned that during an informal meeting on East Street shortly after the letter was sent, LaRocca told city officials he was going to sue them at which point the meeting was ended.
Over the weekend, LaRocca was still seething at what he perceived to be a betrayal by fellow property owners and so sought to punish them by piling up a wall of 8 to 9 feet of snow blocking off the other property owners from accessing their places of business. After Talk of the Sound raised the matter with City officials, LaRocca was ordered to remove the snow mountain and eventually complied.
The New Rochelle building department is also investigating the illegal comercial use of a residentail property on Trinity Place by LaRocca to store his trucks after Talk of the Sound raised the issue with City officials.