When former state Assemblyman Ron Tocci heard that New Rochelle was considering using eminent domain to relocate a city yard, his first question was “why?”
The site near Flowers Park being analyzed for potential acquisition using eminent domain includes one multifamily home and 10 businesses. Tocci said the logistics of dealing with multiple owners immediately raised a red flag for him.
“There”™s going to be a lot of problems with this,” he said.
Tocci represents Reimagine New Rochelle, a group formed by local veterans with the goal of preserving the former armory at Echo Bay. The existing Department of Public Works yard is adjacent to the armory, the centerpiece property in a plan by the city to build a mixed-use development on Echo Bay.
The original plan from Forest City Residential Inc. to develop the area was abandoned after a yearslong process that saw opposition from residents and veterans, who scoffed at early iterations of the proposal that suggested razing the armory.
The city agreed in July to negotiate a memorandum of understanding with a new developer, Manhattan-based Twining Properties, but Tocci said that since the deal is yet to be finalized, the city should consider developing Echo Bay in a piecemeal fashion that would exclude the armory and city yard from the plan.
The current city yard is in a state of disrepair and must either be significantly rebuilt or moved regardless of the site”™s ultimate development. Tocci said the city could still opt to repair the current city yard, then contract his group to rebuild the armory and mitigate weather damage there. Beginning the eminent domain process for a site that involved multiple property owners was sure to rile up businesses and residents there, he said.
“They”™ve kind of kicked the hornet”™s nest unnecessarily,” he said. He also noted the potential new site is only half the size of the existing city yard, which could necessitate a secondary site.
That solution is a long shot at best, with the city in the second month of a nine-month exclusivity period with Twining, according to a city spokeswoman. New Rochelle officials expect to formally sign a memorandum at the end of the period, meaning keeping the current city yard is not an option now and may not become an option again.
Expecting to move the yard to clear the way for development several years ago, the city set its sights on a Beechwood Avenue location on the West End. The City Council bonded $25 million for the relocation but saw construction estimates skyrocket to more than $30 million. The majority of those bonds are still available and the Beechwood Avenue site could end up being the secondary site that would be needed if the eminent domain option is exercised.
Reimagine New Rochelle had proposed restoring the armory prior to the city choosing an Echo Bay developer. The building has a leaky roof and its condition will continue to deteriorate until it is repaired. A roof renovation project pegged at $1.5 million a few years ago is expected to cost as much as $5 million today.
the city yard should be cleaded up there is more property in the city yard for all the garbage trucks .clean up the city yard for the trucks from brian sten activist for human rights in new rochelle a member of the new rochelle sports hall of fame commi