The city of New Rochelle says it won”™t reimburse the developer of a scrapped project on Echo Bay after the company demanded $2 million in reimbursed costs last week.
Forest City Residential Group Inc. sent the city a letter Feb. 5Â saying it had spent $3.1 million for legal fees and costs associated with the planning of a mixed use project that the City Council knocked down in November 2013.
Mark P. Weingarten, of the White Plains firm DelBello Donnellan Weingarten Wise & Wiederkehr L.L.P, said in the letter that the company was entitled to reimbursement up to $2 million due to the provisions of a memorandum of understanding signed by the developer and the city April 2012.
Citing the possibility of a lawsuit, New Rochelle officials were initially reluctant to comment on the content of the letter but broke their silence Wednesday.
New Rochelle government issued a statement saying if Forest City pursues its claims, the city was ready to “take all necessary actions to defend itself.”
“While the city appreciates Forest City”™s efforts and cooperation during the course of the public review of the project, the city”™s position is that there is simply no legal contractual or other basis for its claims,” the statement said. “While it is unfortunate that the parties were not able to reach full agreement on the project, there is no question that the city diligently and in good faith performed all its obligations in accordance with the relevant agreements.”
The statement also said New Rochelle was committed to exploring further redevelopment options on its waterfront.
