NEW ROCHELLE, NY (October 14, 2025) — New Rochelle residents have one final opportunity to voice opposition to a controversial plan handing control of beloved Flowers Park to a private master developer, as the City Council convenes a public discussion session Wednesday at 7 p.m. at City Hall.
The session comes amid mounting concerns over a Request for Master Redeveloper Proposal (RMRP) issued quietly on September 13, 2025, with no prior public hearings, input, surveys or community engagement. Proposals from developers are due by 3 p.m. on October 29, 2025, potentially sealing the park’s fate without broader resident buy-in.
At stake is the 20-acre Flowers Park, bounded by East Street, East Place, Chatsworth Place, Barnard Road, Barnard School, Fifth Avenue and the Parkside Place Housing Complex. Renamed to honor William O. “Brud” Flowers following his passing, the park pays tribute to the decorated Army veteran, state champion basketball player at New Rochelle High School, police detective and youth officer who dedicated decades to local youth sports.
Flowers, a prominent athletics coach and early volunteer for the New Rochelle Youth Football Program, helped establish and grow community initiatives for kids. Posthumously inducted into the New Rochelle Sports Hall of Fame in 1994, his legacy includes a memorial scholarship fund supporting young athletes.
The RMRP envisions demolishing athletic fields, courts, playgrounds, water features, bathrooms, pavilions and picnic areas to create a for-profit “Community Sports Center of Excellence.” Core additions include a swimming pool, integrated retail and concessions, a community center for events and recreation, supervised teen spaces for gaming and arts, and structured public parking. The developer would co-manage operations with the Parks and Recreation Department, set all fees and determine access, while the city retains ownership.
Self-financed by the developer with possible state and federal grants, the project requires no net loss of recreational space and preservation of the 1923 historic building. It demands SEQRA environmental reviews, approvals from the New York Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, and a Continuity of Operations Plan for disruptions during 2-5 years of phased construction. Eminent domain may target adjacent parcels under the Eminent Domain Procedure Law.
Protected as parkland under Article XIV, Section 2 of the New York State Constitution, the site prohibits reduced public access. Yet critics highlight risks: traffic congestion near commercial East Street and residential areas; financial strain without housing to boost viability; disruptions to users like Monroe College, Iona University, New Rochelle Little League, Youth Tackle League, Westchester Flames and Parks Department programs; insensitivity to replacing Fosina Field shortly after Joe Fosina’s July 8, 2025 death; proximity issues for Barnard Elementary School and Parkside Place’s 178 low-income units; ongoing LaRocca legal battle over alleged parkland misappropriation; and potential repayment of county funds from a 2009 Intermunicipal Agreement ($9.8 million for improvements tied to affordable housing) plus federal ARPA ($600,000 turf, $1.5 million 1923 building) and FEMA aid for storm recovery.
Development Commissioner Adam Salgado and Finance Commissioner Ed Ritter issued the RMRP at 4 p.m. on a Friday—a classic “news dump” tactic—without consulting sports leagues, residents, Larchmont officials, the Board of Education, Iona University, Monroe College or property owners.
Past opposition, like blocking a 2000 IKEA store and a 2014-2016 public works relocation, underscores community pushback potential.
With no further hearings announced, Wednesday’s meeting represents residents’ singular chance to demand transparency, audits of past grants, traffic studies and full stakeholder involvement before a developer is selected and a Memorandum of Understanding signed.
This article was drafted with the aid of Grok, an AI tool by xAI, under the direction and editing of Robert Cox to ensure accuracy and adherence to journalistic standards.
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