Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.
The New Rochelle Historic Landmarks Review Board met on Wednesday, October 14, 2026. Board members present were Rose Bolfamante, Lucia Elliott, Jim Fleming, Leanne Merchant, Bel Kis Reyes CUNY, and Don Richards; Kevin Kane, Director of Planning and Sustainability, served as board clerk. With those present, the board had a quorum. There were no minutes to approve. The board considered one certificate of appropriateness, continued two public hearings, and ended the meeting with no other agenda items.
The applicants at 32 Rockland Place described their 102-year-old colonial home, which they purchased on December 29, 2021, and said they are the third family to live there. They stated that they had followed the board's earlier guidance by reviewing the historic district guidelines and changing from vinyl siding to James Hardie fiber cement plank siding in "evening blue" with white trim. They explained that they had entered a separation agreement with Power Home Improvements because that company did not offer fiber cement, and that the contractor had abandoned the job, leaving equipment on the property.
The applicants said the existing siding would be encapsulated rather than removed to avoid hazardous abatement and structural risks, while a Henry WeatherSmart Weather Resistive Barrier would address active leaks. They emphasized that the one-inch trim would preserve the home's historic shadow lines and that original fascia and soffits would remain undisturbed. They also said the detached garage/shed would be painted in the same color.
Board members asked whether the Hardie plank was smooth or had a wood-grain finish, and why the blue color was chosen. The applicants said the siding has a wood-grain texture and that the muted evening blue was selected with advice from an architect specializing in historic properties. Gina Kingsley, a resident at 57 Rockland Place, asked whether the contractor could do the shed/garage at the same time as the house while applying for a permit. The board responded that the building department would need to review the shed/garage first, and that a separate application would be required.
Good evening everyone. Welcome to the Wednesday, October 14th, 2026. We are ready to start the meeting now. And we will go right into it. Approval of minutes is item number one and roll call. We have no minutes, so I'll just say that, but why don't we take a roll call? Sure. Rose Bolfamante here. Lucia Elliott. Here. Jim Fleming. Here. Leanne Merchant. Here. Bel Kis Reyes CUNY. Here. Don Richards. Here. And I am Kevin Kane, Director of Planning and Sustainability, filling in as board clerk this evening. Okay. So from that, we have a quorum. Ready to go. Item number two is public hearings. We have uh three items listed. Two of them are adjourned to the next meeting. I'll just go through the uh case number uh rather than go through the whole thing. Uh application uh HLRB 42026 by Mario Conteras uh concerning uh this the similar as described nine the court block eight two eight lot fourteen in our district is adjourned to the November meeting. Uh then we can jump right to the number four, application HLRB five two oh two six by Nichelle Arjuni for a certificate of appropriateness uh to construct a raised patio, same as description uh already read. Uh and that is at 14 the boulevard block eight two seven lot forty-two adjourned to further notice. Uh which brings us to number five application HLRB 122026 by John MacArthur for a certificate of appropriateness to remove and replace existing gray siding with blue vinyl siding and white trim corners, gutters, and leaders at 32 Rockland Place, block 867 lot 17 in an R1 historic zone district, returning from the September meeting. Uh we we own uh I I think this is our fourth year uh in the historic district, so we're getting you know, we're getting kind of used to like the neighborhood. Um and before, you know, we didn't know that was such a big gigantic guideline on the historic district, but which my wife and I kind of like outline and just like circled. So and we read it through throughout, which was very thorough. Um you want to see this. So basically we purchased our home on December 29th, 2021. It was built in 1924, making our home 102 years old. And it's not added on here, but we're the third family from what I gather that's um lived in the home, so we feel very privileged. Uh the uh architectural style is colonial. And uh as you can see, um the improvement we uh I kind of improved the landscaping, so uh we had a like a bunch of old trees that were like that that was dead. Some of them was like leaning on the side of the house as well. And so uh and I do most of the landscaping myself, which I'm very proud of. Um and uh after add after after purchasing the property. I'm also added like solar panel lights. Um, so we can actually like see some of my some of our neighbors, my uh our elderly neighbors actually jog out through the night. Um so we we did that for uh for like safety reasons as