New Rochelle Receives $125,000 State Grant For Doctorow Legacy Initiative

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — New Rochelle will receive a state grant to support the Doctorow Legacy Initiative, honoring author E.L. Doctorow in the city that inspired his best known work, “Ragtime.”

The announcement of the $125,000 grant was made by state Assemblywoman Amy Paulin and Helen Doctorow, widow of the author, Thursday at the New Rochelle Public Library.

They were joined at the announcement by Mayor Noam Bramson and sculptor Derek Chalfont, whose proposal was selected in an international process last summer.

“We received 16 proposals from artists across the U.S. and as far away as Turkey and Spain,” said Theresa Kump Leghorn, president of the New Rochelle Council on the Arts, who sits on the Doctorow Legacy Initiative committee.

The proposed site is Huguenot Park, in the geographic center of New Rochelle.

From the press release:

City Historian Barbara Davis noted: “We believe this is the ideal location because of its proximity to Broadview Avenue, where the Doctorow family lived and which served as the inspiration for Ragtime.”

“E.L. Doctorow was a true American treasure and undoubtedly one of the most admired residents in New Rochelle’s history,” said New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson. “I look forward to acknowledging Ed’s remarkable life and accomplishments through a permanent installation, and I express my gratitude to the artists and community leaders who have spearheaded this important initiative.”

In addition to the statue, the committee has supported a Heritage Award designation for the Doctorow’s former home on Broadview Avenue and the creation of educational programs in the schools. The committee -- made up of representatives from the New Rochelle Council on the Arts, the New Rochelle Fund for Educational Excellence and the City of New Rochelle, plus City Historian Barbara Davis – is kicking off a public fundraising campaign to pay for landscaping and programming. The New Rochelle Council on the Arts (NRCA), a 501 ©3 organization established in 1975, is the lead agency for this project; with NRCA acting as the fiscal agent, donors’ contributions are tax deductible. To make a tax deductible contribution with a credit card, donors can visit www.newrochellearts.org or mail a check (with Doctorow Legacy written on the notes line) to NRCA, P.O. Box 211, New Rochelle, NY 10804.

Photo credit: Nancy Crampton for Random House.