Yadira & Co. Gaslighting on New Rochelle’s Flowers Park - Part VIII

DUBLIN, IRELAND (October 29, 2025) — Part VII of this series documents how New Rochelle City Manager Will Melendez misled the city council claiming he has plans to put in place costly 50- to 100-year flood protections for Flowers Park when no such plan exists (or is needed). The 2023 Pinebrook Watershed Drainage Analysis (part of a citywide study post-Hurricane Ida) documents that flooding in 2021 was the result of issues at three interconnected hotspots—Ashland Area ($704,000 to fix), Barnard Area ($3.9 mm to fix), and City Park Gate 226 ($731,000 to fix)—totaling $5.34 mm for 25-year protections via pipe upgrades, catch basins, and maintenance. The full watershed’s 45 fixes cost $19.8 million but won’t withstand 100-year storms. Only one critical site (348 Pinebrook Blvd/2 Briar Circle) is getting 50-year protection; the park isn’t deemed high-risk or flood-prone historically. The article debunks Melendez’s claims point-by-point, arguing he exaggerates risks, inflate costs (e.g., claiming $9-15 mm for park fixes that cost a fraction of that), and ignore simple alternatives like routine grate cleaning, all to advance a back room deal with a particular developer.

The cherry-picking, misrepresentations and outright lies devolves into fantastical scaremongering in the final slide.