Mayor: New Rochelle Poised for Growth, Infrastructure Fixes a Priority

NEW ROCHELLE, NY - Outlining priorities that will help solidify growth, the mayor of New Rochelle gave the annual State of the City address to a packed house at Beckwith Pointe Thursday.

Noam Bransom told the assembled community members, business people and public officials that the city’s recently adopted downtown development plan—which calls for nearly 11 million square feet of new construction—needs to be supplemented with city-wide infrastructure and environmental initiatives.

Bramson unveiled the first project from the city’s master developers RDRXR: a 28-story tower at the site of the former Loew’s Theater on Main Street. The development will feature a ground-level public performance space.

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He said additional projects are in the works or at the least in discussions, so the city isn’t wasting any time putting the development plan into action.

“It is wheels up,” Bramson said, comparing the Sound Shore municipality to a jet. “New Rochelle is ready to fly.”

In order to implement the plan fully, Bramson said there were things that need to be priorities.

The first is making sure the city is marketed correctly. To that end, New Rochelle’s new brand has been rolled out.

With “New Rochelle — Ideally Yours,” the city is hoping to attract customers—business and residential—through a positive image.

Second, Bramson said the city must concentrate on the needs of its diverse neighborhoods, through such ways as completing the comprehensive plan and issuing a request for proposals that will explore options to improve the city’s waterfront parks.

He also called for a renewed effort to move the city’s Public Works Yard.

Finally, Bramson said there needs to be a new commitment to infrastructure investment.

“New Rochelle needs a strong physical foundation, [but] a lot of that foundation is more than a century old and falling apart,” he said.

Those three priorities, Bramson said, would benefit the people of New Rochelle and make it a community “where our children and grandchildren can live and want to live.”

The State of the City was presented by the New Rochelle Chamber of Commerce.

The full text of the speech can be accessed by clicking here.

Photo caption: Mayor Noam Bramson delivering the 2016 State of the City Address. Photo credit: Courtesy.