Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends,

New Rochelle City Council prepares to vote on yet another site specific zoning amendment for Iona College with no Master Plan in place. There has got to be some kind of plan. They just don’t acknowledge it like the City Council does not acknowledge the City Charter. That way there is more flexibility especially if no one challenges their decisions.

Let me start by saying that this is not an Anti-Iona campaign. We want to see Iona College succeed. Iona College is part of this city and can be a part of the fix for the North Avenue corridor with proper planning and management. The concerns are the continual problem of poor planning; procedures, policies and past bad planning decisions on the part of Iona College, The City Council, City Management and City Staff of New Rochelle. They all have a bad habit of letting history repeat itself when it comes to planning and development. We need to get it right this time.

It’s not just about the Armory and Forest City,

New Rochelle residents need to step up and take an active role in what happens in New Rochelle. Be informed with regard to our City Government and School Board decision making and leadership. A lot of very poor decisions have been and are being made. These are the people we entrust without tax dollars, our families and our children. So many people walk up to me and say what can I do. Well people, you can speak up at Citizens To Be Heard on the second Tuesday of the month, go to School Board meeting write to a Council Member. If that doesn’t work go up the chain of command until you get a response. Politicians get stronger when they see the people have given up trying. As a matter of fact, they feed on it like sharks in a fish tank. So speak, vote attend a meeting, it could be the best investment of sixty minutes you ever made.

Cameroon debt forgiven, Churches for a dollar, City Yards to be moved at great expense, sweetheart deals for developers and colleges, what else is next? We have a city management system with no accountability that can only accomplish thing with deals and give-a -ways. New Rochelle City Management is nickel and diming the citizens to a point where hard working families can’t afford to live in New Rochelle where they were born and raised any longer. Residents are forced to make some hard choices while management makes one bad decision after another. That is not what they are paid for and paid very well for I might say. They receive great salaries and benefits while working and in their retirement. The citizens will be paying for poor performances for a life time. It is time for a reality check.

It’s April, Federal taxes are hopefully done and now it is time to drop off or mail the April tax bill for the New Rochelle Tax Collector, more money going out without seeing any noticeable return. Every time I write out the check, I want to cry. It is just a painful reminder of what poor shape New Rochelle is in. Over taxed, over staffed except for police and fire and just very poorly managed. We cannot continue to do things here the same way. Someone needs to step up to the plate and lead and clean the slate and start with a fresh mind and fresh ideas on how to correct all the wrongs of the past and present. This is not Charles Dickens; there are no ghosts of governments past to send a message to The City Council and Mayor. They had their own demons to deal with back then. The massage needs to come from the living breathing citizens of New Rochelle before it is too late!