This is a final notice, for a public hearing to speak before City Council, in support of the application for Local Historic Landmark Designation, of the property at 622 Main Street, otherwise know as the Old New Rochelle Library, also known as the Carnegie Library, in the newly designated downtown development zone.
We hope that City Council will support the prior positive recommendations of the City of New Rochelle’s Historic Landmark Review Board and the City of New Rochelle’s Planning Board’s for the application to designate the property at 622 Main Street as historically significant in design and afford this property protection with historic designation.
The hearing is scheduled for Tuesday June 14th at 7pm in Council Chambers at New Rochelle City Hall, 515 North Ave.
Citizens will be offered the opportunity to speak on behalf of this application. The representatives from our various New Rochelle Neighborhood Associations will present petitions, signed by their neighbors who support the application, but are unable to attend the hearing.
A positive recommendation from City Council will send a clear message to its citizens that they too appreciate the value of this building and the efforts of its citizens to preserve this magnificent example of Neo-Classical Style design. Their yes vote tells the public that the city council also wants to preserve this architectural link to New Rochelle’s storied past.
We know that the master developer RDRXR has expressed their desire in preserving New Rochelle’s historically significant past, as stated in their Master Development Agreement that was unanimously adopted by City Council in December of 2015.
At that time, RDRXR stated it is their intention to “Usher New Rochelle into the 21st century, while respecting our city’s history and soul and celebrating and enhancing New Rochelle’s cultural and artistic vitality.”
By this statement, RDRXR clearly indicates their appreciation for the architectural significance of the buildings in our downtown business district and we simply ask that our City Council also acknowledge their significance and approve the application before them.
The support of this application by City Council will also send a clear message to other communities, that New Rochelle recognizes its responsibilities as a city, poised on the edge of significant economic revitalization yet still making every effort to preserve the magnificent architectural examples of our downtown’s past.
We, the citizens, see this building as a shining example of Andrew Carnegie’s philanthropic generosity and forethought, worthy of preserving, at the Western Gateway to our downtown business corridor.
At this time, I’d like to thank the co-presidents of the confederation of neighborhood associations, presidents of the individual neighborhood associations and their members, who invested their time in support of this worthy cause.
A special thank you to Barbara Davis, our local historian, who assisted in the application process and for providing me access to documents I consulted in creating this series of articles.
A final thank you to Robert Cox, for generously providing space in his publication, to present my case for the need to preserve the historically significant Carnegie Library.