NEW ROCHELLE, NY — New York State has cleared the way for commercial development on the New Rochelle Armory property.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul has signed S7184/A8014, legislation which authorizes the City of New Rochelle to alienate and discontinue the use of certain parklands, in furtherance of an economic development interest of the state and/or city of New Rochelle.
The Bill was delivered to Hochul on December 10. She signed the Bill into Law on December 22. The Bill was sponsored in the State Senate by Shelley B. Mayer.
“I am grateful for the partnership of our State legislators and for the Governor’s strong support,” said New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson. “This measure will ensure public access to the Echo Bay waterfront for the first time in generations, preserve the Armory for adaptive reuse, and recognize the unique place of this site in our city’s history.”
“This is an exciting moment for New Rochelle as we are closer to a project that will transform and invigorate the downtown waterfront,” said a Twining Properties spokesperson.
“The goal of a new, publicly accessible waterfront neighborhood linked to the downtown area, along with a new public park, a renovated and vibrant Armory, and new housing and businesses means New Rochelle will continue to be one of the most sought-after communities in the region to live, work and play.”
“Having the governor sign into law Senate Bill 7184 is an important step in making all this closer to realization. We thank the governor, Senator Shelley Mayer, Assemblyman Steve Otis and the City of New Rochelle for their work on this important new law during the past legislative session.”
Dennis Starr, the Commander of New Rochelle American Legion Post 8, which has opposed development of the New Rochelle Armory under the City-approved plan, did not respond to a request for comment.
UPDATE 1/1/22: Statement from Dennis Starr, the Commander of New Rochelle American Legion Post 8 in response to Governor Hochul signing the parkland alienation home rule bill S7184
Since home rule bills are rarely ever vetoed, the signing by the Governor was expected even though the original request was by a split vote of the City Council.
This past May and June, prior to this bill and its companion Assembly bill A8014, being submitted, myself and other Veterans had lengthy discussions with Senator Mayer and Assemblyman Otis which resulted in their including requested provisions in the bill. The Veteran community has worked diligently over the years to guarantee the preservation of the Armory building.
Section 2 (b) (i) and (ii) provides for the preservation of the Armory building and Annex and the inclusion of dedicated space for veterans organization use at no charge or de minimus rental. We also draw your attention to Sections 5 and 7 which refer to new parkland being created at equal to or greater value than the parkland to be discontinued.
Section 2 is an important provision in light of the Mayor’s commitment that the building will be “renovated and restored. “ The Veteran community applauds the Mayor’s commitment.
Sections 5 and 7 are important because the parkland being alienated is not just the Armory building but the entire 2.9 acres stretching from Main Street to Echo Bay, a very valuable piece of property belonging to the citizens of New Rochelle. In fact a reading of the Land Disposition Agreement (LDA) executed in 2018, establishes the guidelines for determining the value of the 2.9 acres prior to March 20, 2019. We call on the City to reveal this valuation.
So the Veteran community looks forward to the City and developer abiding by these and other requirements and commitments if and when the developer decides to submit a proposed development plan to the Planning Board and City Council.
Dennis A. Starr
December 31, 2021
EDITOR’S NOTE a clarification on the Statement issued by Dennis Starr.
Commander Starr,
I am publishing the entirety of the statement you sent so my readers can see it unfiltered.
I am adding this editor’s note so my readers are not confused by the grandiosity of the misleading claims insinuated into your statement.
Your statement above suffers from the same sort of presumption inherent in statements and actions by you, and others, in particular, Westchester County Veterans Services Agency Director Ronald C. Tocci and VFW Commander Peter Parente that YOU are the embodiment of some “royal we” which you artfully term “the veterans community”.
The repeated claims that you, Mr. Tocci or Mr. Parente or American Legion Post 8 or VFW Post 439 speak for or otherwise are acting as agent for all or even a significant portion of veterans in New Rochelle is fundamentally misleading and belied by the fact that there are estimated to be thousands of veterans residing in New Rochelle and your post and the VFW post, combined, have just a few dozen members, only a portion of whom are active.
There is a presumptive nature to this and past statements and action such as your lawsuit claiming to be on behalf of “the Veterans” writ-large or references in this statement such as “The Veteran community applauds…” and “We call on the City to…” and “the Veteran community looks forward to…”.
Not addressed by you is the question, “who is we?”
I have written of this before.
New Rochelle Veterans Service Organizations on Verge of Disappearing, From 13 Down to 2
“In the years following World War II and the Korean War, Veteran Service Organizations or VSOs flourished in New Rochelle. By the 1950s there were 13 VSOs including two VFWs and two American Legions. By 1994, that number had shrunk to 8 active VSOs. Today, there are just two active VSOs with a charter in New Rochelle: American Legion Post #8 and VFW Post #439. In New Rochelle, American Legion Post #8 and VFW Post #439 have between them less than 3 dozen members, according to state records, although not all of them are active in the organizations and of the active members a number are double-counted through membership in both organizations. Meetings of the two groups, held at American Legion Post #8 at 112 North Avenue in New Rochelle, are sparsely attended. The number of members on the groups Executive Committees is larger than active members who are not on the Executive Committees. While much of the decline can be attributed to the passage of time, squabbling and internal divisions have led to an exodus from New Rochelle VSOs to nearby VSOs such as Larchmont.”
As you are aware, the City of New Rochelle has a duly-authorized organization designated to represent veterans in New Rochelle. The only person involved with both your ad hoc group of veterans and the City’s veterans committee is Mr. Tocci (Mr. Parente was removed at the request of then-Council Member Louis Trangucci following his posting on Facebook a foul-mouthed, xenophobic rant). The members of the New Rochelle Veterans Committee, appointed by the City Manager, Mayor and City Council Members has no greater claim to represent “the veterans” of New Rochelle than you or Post 8 or VFW 439 or the largely defunct (and redundant) Parente/Tocci sock-puppet organization known as the United Veterans Memorial and Patriotic Association
Mr. Tocci and Mr. Parente often grandly (and falsely) claim the UVMPA is authorized under the City Charter. The UVMPA website states “The UVMPA is an umbrella organization chartered by the City of New Rochelle that handles Veteran responsibilities and civil duties involving the military.”
The UVMPA was never chartered by the City of New Rochelle nor is it referenced in the City Charter nor was it deputized by the City of New Rochelle to represent all veterans in all things but merely to represent its member VSO’s solely for the purpose of organizing observances of Memorial Day and Veterans Day under General City Law of New York State Section 12 and Section 13.
Today, the UVMPA, such as it is, consists of two active VSOs, American Legion Post #8 and VFW Post #439 each with a handful of members — in other words, you (as Commander of American Legion Post #8) and Mr. Parente (as Commander of VFW Post #439). The position of UVMPA President, which is supposed to rotate among the leaders of the VSOs, has not rotated in over a decade, with Mr. Parente in that role, hence the redundancy. It is really just two people claiming to speak for two thousand veterans.
I see no need to organize the two remaining VSOs under a third VSO, when the only function of the third VSO is to accept money on behalf of the two remaining VSOs from the City of New Rochelle to pay for observances no longer delegated to any of the VSOs by the City of New Rochelle. Most recently the money transferred funds directly to Post 8, perhaps in the mistaken belief that Post 8 had retained its tax-exempt status. Today, the official observances of the City of New Rochelle are delegated to the New Rochelle Veterans Committee, in no small part due to what your predecessor as Commander described as financial malfeasance for which he made a criminal referral to the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office a few months ago.
These people are all despicable bastards.