Just over three months after having the “interim” tag removed from his job title, White Plains Mayor Thomas Roach has a plan for putting White Plains back on the map.
After winning a special election in April to replace former Mayor Adam Bradley, Roach pledged to embrace a business-first attitude and said that thus far he has devoted his attentions to the city”™s business owners and landlords in an effort to attract new customers and companies to the city of 57,000.
“When I got in here there was really no issue that surprised me at all,” Roach said. “I feel like we have hit the ground running.”
At a commercial real estate symposium last month, RPW Group Chairman and CEO Robert P. Weisz attributed the announced departure of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc. from White Plains to a lack of involvement on the part of New York”™s elected officials.
According to Roach, White Plains businesses should have no such problem ”“ at least when it comes to their own mayor and his involvement.
“I”™ve met with several of the building owners and talked about ”˜What can we do to help you?”™” Roach said. “I will jump down the fire pole to help them if they have a potential tenant.”
Flanked by his chief of staff John Callahan and newly-appointed senior adviser Karen M. Pasquale, Roach hopes to expand on the city”™s affordable housing developments while focusing on development around the Metro-North station in an effort to draw younger residents to the city.
The city recently expanded its Urban Renewal Zone to include the area spanning from Lexington Avenue to the Post Road corridor, and Roach said he hopes to see housing units constructed as a part of the city”™s Winbrook development.
“I think we”™re going to see an influx of young people,” Roach said. “Also, we”™re starting to see empty-nesters.”
Last month, Roach brought on Pasquale as senior adviser to assist primarily with economic development, city operations and policy planning. While she may be new to the mayor”™s office, she is hardly a stranger to local politics after working as an adviser to former County Executive Andrew Spano for a number of years.
So far, she said she has been working with property owners, including those along the I-287 corridor, many of whom are seeking to revamp and repurpose their properties in hopes of drawing new types of businesses.
“Property owners of larger spaces are thinking creatively about how best to use these spaces,” Pasquale said. “They are thinking about ”˜How do we revitalize the areas that need to be revitalized?”™”
Other initiatives Roach said he will be pushing forward in the coming months include an expansion of bike lanes around the city and the hopeful addition of charging stations for electric vehicles.
“White Plains being a hub, we”™re trying to position ourselves to be the perfect place for such a rollout,” he said, speaking on the possibility of electric car-charging stations.
