Dear Chairman Ortiz, et al. I was pleased to learn that the New Rochelle Board of Ethics was finally going to conduct publicly noticed meetings in accordance with New York State law. Unfortunately, the manner in which today’s meeting was announced and conducted represents a deeply disappointing failure of
BINGHAMTON, NY (November 9, 2026) — Given the short window from budget estimate release to council discussion (less than the required 24 hours), I did my best to review the 518 page budget here. It is difficult not to interpret the proposed budget as a pointed response to Mayor Yadira Ramos-
NEW ROCHELLE, NY (November 1, 2026) — For more than 8 years, the City of New Rochelle has promoted the LINC, a plan to transform portions of Memorial Highway into public open space, pedestrian connections and recreational areas linking the Lincoln Avenue neighborhood with downtown New Rochelle. The project has attracted
DUBLIN, IRELAND (October 31, 2026) — The New Rochelle Board of Education has finally begun asking the community what it thinks about Vision 2030, its ambitious plan to reorganize the city’s public schools. There’s just one problem: The Board appears far more interested in hearing from people already connected
DUBLIN, IRELAND (October 30, 2026) — Since the New Rochelle Board of Education re-launched its Vision 2030 initiative in September, I have repeatedly raised a question that I believe needs to be answered before the district begins considering major changes to school configurations, educational programs or facilities: What problem is
NEW ROCHELLE, NY (October 29, 2026) — Mayor Yadira Ramos-Herbert became emotional while discussing the LINC during her October 27 State of the City address. She described shedding tears over the project. What caught my attention was not so much her reported tears as her reference to approximately 5,500
From financial optimism and ambitious development projections to housing, neighborhood investments and government accomplishments, a comparison of the mayor’s 2024, 2025 and 2026 speeches reveals recurring priorities, changing figures and significant omissions. DUBLIN, IRELAND (October 28, 2026) — When New Rochelle Mayor Yadira Ramos-Herbert delivered her first State of
An examination of Mayor Yadira Ramos-Herbert’s prepared remarks finds an emphasis on development, housing, public improvements and recognition of city employees, with little substantive discussion of municipal finances. DUBLIN, IRELAND (October 28, 2026) — New Rochelle Mayor Yadira Ramos-Herbert’s 2026 State of the City address offered an
Mayor Yadira Ramos-Herbert celebrated development, housing and public improvements in her unusually late annual address, but left unanswered questions about the city’s finances, housing claims and unfinished projects. DUBLIN, IRELAND (October 28, 2026) — For as long as I can remember, I have received an embargoed copy of New
New Rochelle transformed its downtown and attracted billions of dollars in development. But claims that a few thousand apartments produced a housing affordability miracle became a national narrative — and eventually part of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s argument for changing housing policy across New York. DUBLIN, IRELAND (October 27, 2026) — Imagine
DUBLIN, IRELAND (October 27, 2026) — Within 48 hours of The Wall Street Journal publishing an article celebrating New Rochelle as a rare American city that had managed to bring rents down by building thousands of apartments, the story was being repeated by other news organizations, promoted on national television and