Community Meetings to Help Guide New Rochelle Growth

A series of evening meetings beginning Monday will be opportunities for New Rochelleans to shape their city's vision of the future.

“EnvisioNR”—or “Envision New Rochelle”—kicked off with a meeting Friday at City Hall.

"This is the citizens' opportunity to voice the big picture," said Planning Director Eleanor Sharpe. "This begins the collaboration between the advisory committee and city."

The City of New Rochelle is undertaking a revision to its comprehensive plan, which outlines a framework for future land use, economic development and housing.

The plan that results from the revision process will provide a guide for future development and preservation that reflects current and anticipated environmental, economic and social conditions.

With New Rochelle's population expected to grow over the next 20 years, the comprehensive plan, which will be done in-house by the Development Department—will be a tool for how and where to accommodate residential growth and how to attract and increase the city's retail and commercial base.

The last comprehensive plan was implemented in 1995.

The remaining community meetings are as follows: 

• Monday, June 4, Ward Elementary School, 311 Broadfield Rd.
• Tuesday, June 5, New Rochelle High School, 265 Clove Rd.
• Wednesday, June 6, Mascaro Boys & Girls Club, 79 Seventh St.
• Thursday, June 7, New Rochelle YMCA, Weyman Ave.

Registration at the meetings is from 5:15 p.m to 5:45 p.m. The meeting will start with an overview of the comprehensive plan process at 5:45 p.m. The first round of issue facilitation and dialog will follow at 6:20 p.m., with subsequent sessions at 6:55 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Closing remarks will be from 8 p.m. to 8:15 p.m.

Participants will choose three topics to fill out a questionnaire about and discuss—from economic development, housing and neighborhoods, open space and community resources, urban design and historic preservation, mobility and infrastructure and land use and environment. The questionnaire for each topic will ask three questions: 1) What do you like about New Rochelle? 2) What do you dislike? and 3) What opportunities are there to make it better?

The subjects mirror the EnvisioNR advisory committees that will receive the information obtained at the meetings for their further consideraitonn. If anyone is interested in discussing more than three topics, they are encouraged to attend more than one meeting.

There will also be a less structured meeting from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, June 8, at New Rochelle City Hall, 515 North Ave., in the Youth Bureau conference room.

Sharpe said the city is in the process of developing a Web site that will act like a virtual town hall for residents to visit, read information about what has happened in the process so far and comment and make suggestions on what should happen subsequently. She said the site is scheduled to go live in a couple of weeks.

Also to come are data and statistics on the city so residents will have facts upon which to base their opinions and suggestions.

For more information, visit www.newrochelleny.com/EnvisioNR or call 914-654-2185.