New Rochelle Municipal Arts Commission Meeting - December 3, 2025
New Rochelle Municipal Arts Commission Meeting - December 3, 2025
The Municipal Arts Commission of New Rochelle met on Wednesday, December 3, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. at City Hall. The meeting covered administrative items including two art proposals and an artist certification application, and concluded with a vote on a signage application for a grocery store rebranding.
Consent Calendar
- Two adjourned cases (19-2025 and 24-2025) were called for a second time but no applicants responded, so the board moved to administrative items without action on those cases.
Discussion Items
- Art Proposal at 33 Westchester Place: Rachel Spader (All State Ventures) and Kate Cox (IndieWalls) presented a proposal for a fiberglass sculpture by New York-based artist Alex Proba, intended for the city's art betterment program. The sculpture would consist of four colorful elements, 8-10 feet tall, connected by steel ballasts on a concrete base, with lighting to be added separately. The estimated cost is $250,000 plus additional expenses for plans and lighting. The board gave an initial "blessing" to proceed with developing detailed renderings, engineering, and site planning, with final design approval required later. Financial review will be handled separately by city staff.
- Art Proposal at 11 High Garden: An artist (representing their studio) presented progress on a multi-window art installation featuring seasonal color schemes. One piece is already installed in a private gallery as a mock-up. The board noted that the formal application had been submitted but not fully reviewed; they advised the applicant to bring completed, signed forms to the building department. No formal vote was taken; the applicant is expected to return for final approval.
- Artist Certifications: Chastity for Bone, owner of Feel It Healthy Spots, a nutrition club, applied for artist certification. She described her work as culinary art, emphasizing the artistic presentation of healthy drinks and foods. She seeks certification to expand her business and contribute to the community. The chair stated she would be contacted via email with the board's determination; no formal vote was taken.
Key Outcomes
- Case 24-2025 – Key Food Signage at 465 North Ave. (Jose Felipe): The board approved a motion to allow rebranding of New Ro Show Farms to Key Food (a cooperative), including replacement of existing illuminated signs and addition of two new illuminated signs: one on the side facing the church (36-inch logo) and one at the rear parking lot. The approval was conditioned on reducing the rear sign size so that it fits entirely within the stucco surface and does not extend over the stone wall. The motion was seconded and carried unanimously.
- No actions taken on adjourned cases (19-2025 and 24-2025) due to applicant absence.
- Meeting adjourned following the vote.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening and welcome to the December 2025 meeting of the Municipal Arts Commission. My name is Marissa Bowen. I'm the chairperson. Other board members here tonight are Fred Spinewitz, Nahandra Hernandez, Michael Morrero, and Jane Walls from the building department. We have Joe Compliermo and from the Department of Development, we have Kevin Jimenez, who could call in our agenda. Thank you, Marisa. Tonight we have two, this should say adjourned. We have two adjourned cases. First case on the agenda is case 192025. Application by Lloyd Silverman to install one awning at 138 North Avenue. We'll do a second call. Okay. It's an insult. Okay. Okay. So we will be proceeding to the administrative items. The first item is an art proposal at 33 Westchester Place. You could pull up a chair as well. Okay. Okay. So my name didn't. Okay. Let me just go with screen. Just introduce yourself and then you're just the art piece. So my name is Rachel Spader. I'm representing All State Ventures Developers. And I'm here today to present our proposal for the art betterment program. So our proposal is based on the city guidelines and the fees for three buildings. So the cost of this art is about 250,000 plus additional cost for plans, lighting, etc. And we're here, we we are in communications with the City of Eddie about this piece. And we're here today to get the board blessing for this art. So we can go ahead and finalize the plans and all the details required by the building department. So Kate here, um yeah, I'm I'm happy to speak a little bit more to the artistic side. My name is Kate Cox. I work with IndieWalls, we're an art consultancy that's done three projects with Rachel and Allstate, and we're excited about the opportunity to do another one potentially here in New Rochelle. Um when the city was giving guidance on potential placement for this sculpture and intent. We thought that this artist picture here, Alex Proba would really fit the bill. Her portfolio is very extensive in public art. She's done both murals, other site activations, and exterior sculpture. And as you can sort of see from the small image, her work is very colorful, expressive through form and pattern and color. She really enjoys the the joy of art and activating the surrounding environment. Also loves when both little kids or people of all ages are interacting with the art. It's not precious or off limits in any way. So we felt like she would be a really great fit for this space due to how much she prioritizes public engagement. She is a New York-based artist, so she lives in New York for quite some time now, splits her time, but she understands the importance of locality and the surrounding community. So hopefully you all will agree and we'll get your blessing. Is this the sculpture? Is this what you've chosen? So you have the same. This is yeah, I'm I'm happy to zoom in a little bit.
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