FY 2022 Budget Adopted; Projects Identified in
Capital Improvement Program at Leg Meeting

By Stephen E. Lipken

New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson opened a City Council Regular Legislative Meeting on December 14, reporting 400 active COVID-19 cases before Omicron, an alarming number that is expected to rise.  He urged people to get the Booster vaccine.

The adopted  FY 2022 Budget includes issuance of short-term and long-general obligation debt amounting to $16,970,000 to finance projects identified in the FY Capital Improvement Program, including Bond Resolutions: $270,000 for 40 Pelham Road and Fire Systems;  $6,000,000, DPW Relocation; $500,000, Emerson Avenue Drainage; $400,000  Hutchinson River Flood Mitigation; $400,000, Dam Repairs-Carpenters Pond; $500,000, Drainage Studies City-Wide; $450,000, Sewer and Storm Drain Improvement-West End; $600,000, City-Wide Drainage Improvements; $2,000,000, Improvements to Hudson Park; $1,000,000, Road Resurfacing; $3,750,000, New Roc Garage Improvements; $100,000, Park and Recreation Vehicle Replacement; $1,000,000 DPW Vehicle Replacement.

Proposed Transfer of City Council Stipends: Resolution authorizing City Manager to transfer $5,000 from each of City Council members Yolanda Ramos-Herbert and Martha Lopez stipend accounts to Boys’ and Girls’ Club; $5,000 each from Council Member Albert Tarantino and Liz Fried to Hudson Park Greenhouse Committee; $2,500 to Hudson Park Greenhouse Committee and $2,500 to Friends of Glenwood Lake from Council Member Ivar Hyden’s stipend account.

Regarding discussion of the Downtown Overlay Zoning Amendments, Tarantino expressed concern that building in DOZ 7 be spread out, rather than a massive buildout of heights and density in one area.  Hyden called  for a “serious Municipal Parking Plan and sense of place that young people want to hang out in, not just sleep here and go to the city the next day.”

Appointments included Councilwoman Sara R. Kaye as Deputy Mayor in 2022, plus Rose Bulfamante and Lucia L. Elliott to the New Rochelle Historical Landmark and Review Board for five-year terms expiring August 7, 2026.