NEW ROCHELLE, NY — Having been exposed on Plan A — to pressure City Manager Charles B. Strome to appoint him as Commissioner of Economic Development — Mayor Noam Bramson has moved on to “Plan B” in which he hopes to install his former campaign manager as his puppet City Manager, sources say.
There is even a Plan C.
Bramson hopes to replace the current City Manager with a loyal former subordinate who would, in turn, either appoint Bramson as Development Commissioner (Plan B) or Deputy City Manager (Plan C), creating a path for Bramson to someday become City Manager, sources say.
For years, Bramson has sought in vain to create a Strong Mayor form of government including since the start of his current term. Bramson has told supporters his current term will be his last. Now, towards the end of his tenure as Mayor, still unable to convince voters to abandon decades of professional management under a Council/Manager form of government, Bramson is reduced to undermining the New Rochelle City Charter. His end is to acquire the executive authority which eluded him as a ceremonial Mayor, his means is to cement in place the sort of politicized municipal government voters have rejected time and time again, one based on patronage and self-dealing where he’s Boss Tweed and 515 North Avenue is Tammany Hall.
As the Mayor was making a rare appearance at a Democratic City Committee meeting on Wednesday — telling New Rochelle Dems recent reporting by Talk of the Sound is “bullshit” because the Journal News has not picked it up — the counsel for the New Rochelle Ethics Board was drafting subpoenas for an investigation into Bramson and his cronies that moves inexorably forward.
The only member of Council to respond to our inquiries last week regarding the Mayor’s machinations, District 6 representative Elizabeth Fried, confirmed on Saturday that the Board of Ethics investigation is underway.
City Charter violations are misdemeanors in New York State and can result in criminal referrals and removal from office.
6. Penalties. In addition to any penalty contained in any other provision of law, any person who shall knowingly and intentionally violate any of the provisions of this code may be fined, suspended or removed from office or employment, as the case may be, in the manner provided by law.
The ethics complaint filed Monday by this reporter named Noam Bramson and referenced four members of Council solicited by Bramson to join him in his effort to pressure Strome to rescind his appointment of Kathleen Gill as Deputy City Manager. Bramson contacted Sara Kaye, Yadira Ramos-Herbert, Martha Lopez-Hanratty and Elizabeth Fried. Only Kaye and Ramos-Herbert agreed to join forces with the Mayor, sources say.
As Mayor, and thus Chairperson of the Council, Bramson would lead the search for a new City Manager. He has spoken to Council about that in recent weeks. He floated the idea that a City Manager candidate need not have any government experience, and hinted at a preference for a candidate from the non-profit world.
That ethics complaint has now been amended to include Alisa H. Kesten.
For more than 10 years, Kesten was Executive Director of Volunteer New York! which has a long relationship with the City of New Rochelle. Bramson has seen to it that taxpayer funds were channeled to her organization.
Bramson and Kesten go way back.
Kesten was Bramson’s campaign manager in 2002 when he ran unsuccessfully for Ronald C. Tocci’s seat representing the 91st New York State Assembly District.
A major donor to Democratic Party candidates and causes over the years, Kesten was Westchester/Rockland Coordinator for Friends of Hillary in 2006, working to re-elect Senator Hillary R. Clinton.
Kesten has a Master’s in Early Childhood Education from the College of New Rochelle and a B.A. in Political Science from Emory University.
According to her LinkedIN Resume, Kesten has a great deal of experience in the non-profit sector — and none in the public sector.
CEO of Self Rewirement
Jul 2020 – Present
Volunteer New York!
Executive Director
Jan 2010 – Jun 2020
Chair of Board
Jun 2008 – Dec 2009
Partner
KSM Consultants, LLC
Sep 2003 – Dec 2009
Senior Associate
Douglas Gould and Co
Nov 2006 – Mar 2009
Westchester/Rockland Coordinator
Friends of Hillary
Aug 2006 – Dec 2006
Campaign Director
Bramson for New York
91st New York State Assembly District
Feb 2002 – Nov 2002
Lead Kindergarten Teacher
Beth El Nursery School
Sep 1990 – Jun 1998
Public Affairs Officer
Bankers Trust
Apr 1982 – May 1985
Program Specialist
American Jewish Committee
1980 – 1982
Article VI Section 39 of the New Rochelle City Charter specifies that the Council shall appoint a City Manager as the administrative head of the city government chosen solely on the basis of his executive and administrative qualifications and shall appoint no one as City Manager who has not had three years’ service as City Manager.
EDITOR’S NOTE: the requirement that a candidate for City Manager had to have three years experience as a City Manager only applied in the years immediately after the City Charter was adopted and does not apply today. The amendment to the original ethics complaint has been amended accordingly and refiled.
Article VI Section 44 of the New Rochelle City Charter lists the duties of the City Manager: “act as chief conservator of the peace within the city; to supervise the administration of the affairs of the city; to see that the ordinances of the city and the laws of the state are enforced, except as otherwise in this Charter provided; to sign all contracts, deeds or leases that may be authorized by the Council; to make such recommendations to the Council concerning the affairs of the city as may seem to him desirable; to keep the Council advised of the financial conditions and future needs of the city; to prepare and submit to the Council the annual budget estimate; to prepare and submit to the Council such reports as may be required by that body; and to perform such other duties as may be prescribed by this Charter or required of him by ordinance or resolution of the Council.”
Kesten is as qualified under the Charter to be City Manager as Bramson is qualified to be Development Commissioner, which is to say not at all qualified.
Kesten did not respond to a request for comment.
Amendment to Ethics Complaint – Noam Bramson, et al
New Rochelle Board of Ethics Complaint – Noam Bramson, et al
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Do you think Bramson got pull at lohud /News 12 not to put no negative news about him or New Rochelle haven’t seen nothing on News 12 about all these fights that happened at the high school and Junior Schools . Number two these so-called people whoever they are that want to see the waterfront go down to Davenport Park beautiful Waterfront Hudson Park five Islands Park the city yard is not nothing but a swamp
Back in 2019, during Noam’s last campaign for mayor, he decided not to run advertisements in LoHud. Noam came to the same conclusion as many others, LoHud is irrelevant. Not sure why LoHud remains “the paper of record”. Sad how Noam wants LoHud to do him a favor when he wouldn’t even take out a few measly campaign ads.
He did not advertise on Talk of the Sound either!!!
And if the Journal News a/k/a LoHud doesn’t or hasn’t reported this then it can’t be valid?
LoHud did not pick up my years of reporting on John Gallagher, Aramark and the New Rochelle Board of Education and Gallagher was convicted of bribery/kickbacks and sentenced to 39 months in federal prison 😉
The only people who matter now are the members of the New Rochelle Board of Ethics not an assignment editor at The Journal News.
Word is that Noam’s peeps have pressed LoHud not to cover this story. Imagine how surprised readers of LoHud will be when the chips fall.
Heard LoHud reporter nosing about on this story