New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson focused on the importance of revitalizing the city’s downtown to improve the economy in his annual State of the City address Tuesday. He said the city is in a good position for development.
“We have a better opportunity right now than at any other moment in our lives,” Bramson said, “Years of preparation have brought us to the cusp of something special.”
Bramson delivered the annual speech at the Davenport Club in New Rochelle on Tuesday evening. The Democrat has been mayor since 2006.
Bramson said that while the downtown has made progress with new housing, entertainment and dining, not enough has been done.
“Those good things together have not yet achieved the critical mass that makes a place as a whole ignite,” Bramson said. “The trend lines are all moving in the right direction; they just haven”™t moved far enough.”
Last year, the more than 300-year-old city hired a branding firm to issue a survey to residents about the strengths and weaknesses of the city and help spur economic growth through marketing. Bramson said the responses from more than a thousand residents revealed a communitywide “inferiority complex,” which he attributed to the state of the downtown.
The health of the downtown is linked to the city”™s tax base, property values and access to jobs, Bramson said, adding that CEOs want to move their offices to places they know their employees would like to live. With the fierce competition for talented younger professionals, Bramson said he wants to make the city more desirable for that generation of workers.
In December, the city entered into an agreement with real estate partnership RDRXR to develop and redevelop the downtown with residential, retail, commercial and public spaces. Bramson said the developers aim to make the process transparent with “crowdsourced placemaking,” a community outreach process that will include traditional presentations, meet-ups and social media. The process begins April 1. Community members can register on crowdsourcenr.com or visit local offices to give their opinions.
Bramson said New Rochelle has the ability to “race forward” because of a good national and regional economy, a good plan and good leadership.
“When I talk about leadership, I am not referring to one mayor or six council members, I am talking about leadership from all of us,” Bramson said.
Bramson also touted some of the city’s recent accomplishments, including the lowest crime rate in more than 50 years, the fourth-lowest city property tax rate in New York state and the highest volume of local sales in New Rochelle”™s history. He also described ongoing initiatives to promote the arts, encourage energy efficiency, improve local parks and help youths prepare for school and work.
“If we get this right, if we take advantage of the good economy, execute a good plan, show ourselves to be good leaders, and give everyone from the biggest fan to the biggest skeptic a good reason to feel that their investment in this city is paid back in full, then it”™s not just our bank accounts and budgets that will be enriched by the right kind of development ”“ it”™s our city”™s soul,” Bramson said.
