NEW ROCHELLE, NY (July 14, 2026) — New Rochelle’s City Council will hold its first meeting under a new name for its public comment period tonight, with “Community to Be Heard” replacing “Citizens to Be Heard” on the agenda without a charter amendment or council vote.
The change appears on the Tuesday, July 14, 2026, Committee of the Whole agenda for the 1st Floor Council Conference Room at City Hall, which lists “Community to Be Heard” following the evening’s public hearings.
The renaming was first proposed by Councilmember Albert Tarantino during the May 12, 2025, City Council meeting, who said the previous name excluded residents living and working in New Rochelle on student visas, work visas or other non-citizen statuses. Councilmembers David Peters and Shane Osinloye voiced support at the time.
Mayor Yadira Ramos-Herbert suggested during that meeting that Corporation Counsel should weigh in and said she believed a charter amendment would be required to make the change. She said she would return to the council with research on the question but did not do so, according to Talk of the Sound’s reporting.
A Talk of the Sound review of the New Rochelle municipal code and City Charter on eCode360, current through Dec. 2, 2025, found no mention of “Citizens to Be Heard” as an official designation. The review found that Chapter 16, governing City Council rules, requires only that “citizens shall be heard” — a procedural directive, not a named agenda item.
Because no official name for the segment existed in the code or charter, no charter amendment or council vote was required to change it. The renaming was instead implemented through ministerial action by the city manager’s office, effective with tonight’s meeting.
This article was prepared with the assistance of AI tools under the direction and editing of Robert Cox.
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