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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

New Rochelle Committee of the Whole & Public Hearing – May 12, 2026

Meeting Portal — Tuesday, May 12, 2026

BodyNew Rochelle, New York

SessionMeeting Portal

DateTuesday, May 12, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 3:02:38

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:21

Good afternoon and welcome to the May 2026 committee of the whole session.

0:25

Madam Put, please call the roll.

0:27

Mayor Ramos Herbert.

0:29

Councilmember Lopez.

0:30

Yeah.

0:31

Councilmember Tarantino here.

0:33

Council Member Peters.

0:34

Councilmember Asiloye.

0:36

Councilmember Kay.

0:38

And Councilmember Stern.

0:40

Good afternoon again and welcome to our May 2026 meeting on this glorious weather day.

0:52

I believe we have a deck, Commissioner.

0:54

Yep.

0:55

Thank you.

0:57

I know you have a long night ahead.

1:01

So out of the respect of your time, I'm going to move very quickly.

1:04

And hope you enjoy.

1:13

Shortly after the holidays.

1:16

The winter brought us right into the first quarter of the year to where we both had some new winter activations and some new offerings to the public along with some longstanding traditions.

1:28

So some more stuff that we develop for youngsters at downtown New Rock.

1:40

Oh I know.

1:41

Should you need some printing more of the moment?

1:47

Oh, it's good for the council and theater.

1:48

Sorry about that.

1:50

We have a growing uh adult cornhole league where adults get together and play down at downtown rec and then our long-standing traditional uh partnership with the school district with after school ice skating uh at HOMICs.

2:05

Our annual winter uh basketball league in conjunction with the school district is something that our recreation bureau uh historically has always run.

2:13

Um but challenge the staff uh to you know uh get creative and uh they did an awesome job in this department.

2:24

So uh for those of you that do not know, we use the schools, but the schools for Winter Basketball League, they have their own individual tryouts at Trinity Award at all these schools, and kids get cut, right?

2:37

That's how tryouts run.

2:39

Well, we wanted to develop some for the kids that get cut from these teams and leagues.

2:43

So for the first time ever, we launched a recreational beginner league uh for the kids that did not make the school teams for our winter elementary school team, and that went over great with parents uh from the public school.

2:54

We think that's always gonna grow.

2:55

Downtown rec is popping.

2:57

Uh we got some new cool partnerships with Grind Grit Ninja, everything uh mini golf, so whether it's obstacle courses, mini golf, winter fun Fridays with the black light bingo was fun, uh ballet, little movers, ready set sports, little stuff for types.

3:14

We really tried to um make an effort to get every single age range as we continue as we know to uh grow downtown rec.

3:25

Spring is definitely sprung.

3:27

So whether it's a traditional event now, a decade in of kite day, uh, which drew a bunch of families that have a poor park and the wind down on the water, the Easter bunny um visited yet again.

3:39

Uh the our striders run club at Lincoln Park uh continues to grow or you know, taking traditions like Arbor Day and then taking it to the next level now.

3:48

Adult softball, 40 teams, nearly 600 players at uh flowers for this adult league.

3:54

So this is continuing to grow.

3:57

Um yeah, one of the biggest in Westchester County.

3:59

And with a lot of cities to where I don't want to say it's completely died, but where softball has adult softball school really took a hit.

4:07

Uh this spring and summer.

4:09

This is just a quick snapshot of what you're gonna be seeing in terms of our social media and in terms of the city managers uh monthly updates and uh newsletters.

4:20

So whether it's tennis tournaments, whether it's goats fest, which we're taking to the next level at Ward Acres, uh, or whether it's you know, really getting behind uh you know FIFA in the summer of soccer or fishing derby, skateboarding, the family fun days at Flowers City Park.

4:37

We're really taking July 4th uh to the next level this year with the 250th anniversary of America, for example, the summer sizzle that would traditionally be at Ruby D park on Saturdays is gonna be down on the Sun deck uh at Hudson Park this year, a few hours before the fireworks that go with that launch from Five Islands, so more to come on that.

5:00

Lighted boat parade, uh, you know, adult soccer, the new Row Cup uh around this summer of soccer, so it's gonna be real fun stuff.

5:07

Some summer camp updates for you as of today.

5:11

Kitty Camp, 75% full.

5:14

Ward capacity at 180 children registered.

5:18

Jefferson, 90% full.

5:19

Camp Now, the middle school program at the high school from the youth bureau, 50% full.

5:24

Camp Joy, three quarters full.

5:26

Also, remember, we drastically increased our registration caps to help accommodate the Summer Stars version of the summer from the school district, which had to end because of that multi-year grant that ran out for them.

5:39

So we upped our numbers and we helped the common aid in that sets.

5:42

Transportation registration has doubled from 2025.

5:46

Waters full.

5:48

Jefferson's 80% full.

5:50

And you know, we we we're proud to have taken on that challenge and that push and hearing from the community last summer, and we're gonna have double the transportation numbers this year, so um we only look uh for that to grow.

6:03

Um, and amongst the campers that are registered, 50% have submitted requests for financial aid and assistance.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Parking Management█████████████████████████████29%

Transportation Safety████████████████████20%

Public Engagement███████████11%

Parks and Recreation████████8%

Procedural███████7%

Youth Programs█████5%

Public Safety█████5%

Engineering And Infrastructure████4%

Budget Equity Analysis████4%

Summary of Proceedings

New Rochelle City Council Committee of the Whole Session and Public Hearing – May 12, 2026

The New Rochelle City Council met on May 12, 2026, for a Committee of the Whole session followed by public hearings and citizens to be heard. The meeting featured presentations on parks and recreation programs, the Local Safety Action Plan (LSAP), and a comprehensive parking management strategic plan. Council adopted several items via consent agenda, amended a zoning proposal for an occupational school, and heard public testimony on vehicle impound authority and CDBG budget amendments.

Consent Calendar

Item 6 (Parking regulation at 39 BD Lane): Approved without discussion.
Item 7 (FEMA BRIC grant application): Approved; amended to specify the White Willow Pond project.
Item 8 (Parks & Rec budget amendment): Approved to move trust funds to operating accounts for transparency.
Item 9 (Stipend reallocation): Approved to redirect $20,000 from a dormant virtual reality program to a new LED sign at New Rochelle High School.
Item 10 (Adoption of LSAP): Approved to meet the May 26 SS4A grant deadline.
Item 11 (SS4A Implementation Grant application): Approved for the North Avenue corridor.
Item 12 (Bloomberg Youth Climate Action Fund): Accepted $50,000 grant.
Item 16 (Humble Bumble Books lease): Approved for a bookstore at the train station (615 sq ft, $1/month escalating to $1,400/month by year 3).
Item 17 (Juicy LLC lease): Approved for a juice bar at the train station.

Public Comments & Testimony

James O'Toole (230 North Avenue): Supported the vehicle impound amendment, citing abandoned vehicles in garages and on dead-end streets. He also supported CDBG reallocation for downtown gateway improvements, urging use at exits 15 and 16. During citizens to be heard, he criticized double parking downtown and called for stricter enforcement with higher fines and signage, noting that fines are often reduced by the court.

Discussion Items

Parks and Recreation Update (Commissioner): Presented winter and spring programming, including a new recreational basketball league for children cut from school teams, adult cornhole league, and partnerships with Grind Grit Ninja. Summer camp registration: Kitty Camp 75% full, Ward Acres 180 registered, Jefferson 90% full, Camp Now 50% full, Camp Joy 75% full. Transportation registration doubled from 2025. Summer Youth Employment: 904 interviewed, aiming to hire 500, plus 178 other youth positions. Doyle Center: 208 active memberships, 2,527 case management interactions. New playgrounds at Maplewood Park (ribbon cutting June) and Dinofrio Park (groundbreaking June), totaling five new playgrounds in 36 months. Other projects: Ward Acres Bridge, Cameron Dock fountain, solar panels at Wilmot Woods, Oakwood Pavilion deck repairs. Councilmember Tarantino raised concerns about Hudson Park Banchell repairs and the need for a timeline. Councilmember Peters asked about supporting the NRBA basketball tournament; Commissioner agreed to explore additional sponsorships. Councilmember Kay suggested seeking county/state funding and business partnerships for youth employment.
Local Safety Action Plan (LSAP) – Jesse Mansroth (Stantec) & Commissioner Salgado: Presented data-driven plan to eliminate traffic fatalities by 2040. Crash data (2020-2024): 8 fatal crashes (9 deaths), 129 serious injury crashes, 144 total – trend increasing. 92% of fatal/serious injury crashes on 15% of roads (High Injury Network). Community engagement: 300 survey responses, 955 comments, public workshop on March 25. Recommendations include designating a street safety champion, citywide speed management plan, red light cameras, quick-build programs, and safe routes to school. The North Avenue Corridor grant application (up to $25M) focuses on signal modernization, geometric safety improvements, and sidewalk gap closures. Councilmember Kay emphasized speed management; Councilmember Asiloye noted equitable distribution of funds, with data pointing to southern areas (Huguenot Street to exit 15). Councilmember Lopez stressed enforcement, but consultant noted roadway redesign is most impactful.
Parking Management Strategic Plan – James Cabelli (MV5) & Jerry Giosa (Level G Associates): Analyzed downtown parking: 14,806 total spaces (33% municipal off-street, 14% on-street). Peak utilization: New Rock Garage 52.2%, Transit Center 65%. On-street parking is most competitive. Recommendations: demand-based pricing (three tiers: $2/hr, $1.50/hr, $1.25/hr), wayfinding signage, enforcement improvements (higher fines, automated license plate readers, meter upgrades), residential permit parking (requires state legislation), curb management pilot (paid loading zones), valet operation amendments, and EV charging expansion. Revenue still below pre-COVID levels. Councilmember Tarantino raised concerns about valet queuing in existing buildings and the difficulty of changing behavior through pricing. Commissioner Salgado noted that new developments now require more robust queuing. Councilmember Kay suggested comparing pricing to Port Chester and White Plains, and improving communication with businesses. Councilmember Stern supported the demand pricing concept but wanted phased implementation.
Zoning Amendment – Occupational School at 37 Plain Avenue: Proposed to allow an electrical trade school (Institute of Trade and Business) in the Light Industrial (LI) district. Councilmember Tarantino expressed concern about losing LI space and asked that the use be limited to accessory to existing LI uses. Council accepted an amendment to require the school's subject matter to be accessory to permitted LI uses. The amendment was adopted, and a public hearing was set for June 9, 2026. Lead agency status was also designated.

Key Outcomes

Consent Agenda: All items (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17) were approved unanimously with ayes from all council members present.
Item 13 Amendment: Council voted to amend the zoning proposal to require the occupational school to be accessory to light industrial uses. The amended language was adopted (motion by Tarantino, second by Peters).
Public Hearings Set: A public hearing for the zoning amendment (item 13) was scheduled for June 9, 2026. Lead agency status was also approved.
Item 7 Amendment: The BRIC grant resolution was amended to specify the White Willow Pond project name.
Councilmember Tarantino's Proposal: Suggestion to rename “Citizens to be Heard” to “Community to be Heard” for inclusivity; no formal action taken, but discussion was held.
Next Steps: City staff will implement short-term parking actions (fine increases, demand pricing, permit cost adjustments) and begin legislative process for residential permits and curb management. The LSAP will be used to apply for the SS4A implementation grant by May 26, 2026.

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon and welcome to the May 2026 committee of the whole session. Madam Put, please call the roll. Mayor Ramos Herbert. Councilmember Lopez. Yeah. Councilmember Tarantino here. Council Member Peters. Councilmember Asiloye. Councilmember Kay. And Councilmember Stern. Good afternoon again and welcome to our May 2026 meeting on this glorious weather day. I believe we have a deck, Commissioner. Yep. Thank you. I know you have a long night ahead. So out of the respect of your time, I'm going to move very quickly. And hope you enjoy. Shortly after the holidays. The winter brought us right into the first quarter of the year to where we both had some new winter activations and some new offerings to the public along with some longstanding traditions. So some more stuff that we develop for youngsters at downtown New Rock. Oh I know. Should you need some printing more of the moment? Oh, it's good for the council and theater. Sorry about that. We have a growing uh adult cornhole league where adults get together and play down at downtown rec and then our long-standing traditional uh partnership with the school district with after school ice skating uh at HOMICs. Our annual winter uh basketball league in conjunction with the school district is something that our recreation bureau uh historically has always run. Um but challenge the staff uh to you know uh get creative and uh they did an awesome job in this department. So uh for those of you that do not know, we use the schools, but the schools for Winter Basketball League, they have their own individual tryouts at Trinity Award at all these schools, and kids get cut, right? That's how tryouts run. Well, we wanted to develop some for the kids that get cut from these teams and leagues. So for the first time ever, we launched a recreational beginner league uh for the kids that did not make the school teams for our winter elementary school team, and that went over great with parents uh from the public school. We think that's always gonna grow. Downtown rec is popping. Uh we got some new cool partnerships with Grind Grit Ninja, everything uh mini golf, so whether it's obstacle courses, mini golf, winter fun Fridays with the black light bingo was fun, uh ballet, little movers, ready set sports, little stuff for types. We really tried to um make an effort to get every single age range as we continue as we know to uh grow downtown rec. Spring is definitely sprung. So whether it's a traditional event now, a decade in of kite day, uh, which drew a bunch of families that have a poor park and the wind down on the water, the Easter bunny um visited yet again. Uh the our striders run club at Lincoln Park uh continues to grow or you know, taking traditions like Arbor Day and then taking it to the next level now. Adult softball, 40 teams, nearly 600 players at uh flowers for this adult league. So this is continuing to grow. Um yeah, one of the biggest in Westchester County. And with a lot of cities to where I don't want to say it's completely died, but where softball has adult softball school really took a hit. Uh this spring and summer. This is just a quick snapshot of what you're gonna be seeing in terms of our social media and in terms of the city managers uh monthly updates and uh newsletters. So whether it's tennis tournaments, whether it's goats fest, which we're taking to the next level at Ward Acres, uh, or whether it's you know, really getting behind uh you know FIFA in the summer of soccer or fishing derby, skateboarding, the family fun days at Flowers City Park. We're really taking July 4th uh to the next level this year with the 250th anniversary of America, for example, the summer sizzle that would traditionally be at Ruby D park on Saturdays is gonna be down on the Sun deck uh at Hudson Park this year, a few hours before the fireworks that go with that launch from Five Islands, so more to come on that. Lighted boat parade, uh, you know, adult soccer, the new Row Cup uh around this summer of soccer, so it's gonna be real fun stuff. Some summer camp updates for you as of today. Kitty Camp, 75% full. Ward capacity at 180 children registered.

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