For the first time since the outgoing City Manager dismissed four longstanding members of the New Rochelle Municipal Authority (NMRHA) Board of Commissioners in December, the Board met on Monday evening, January 30, and struggled to reorganize. 

Newly appointed commissioners appeared reluctant to volunteer to replace the ousted officers and seemed unfamiliar with how to elect new officers and conduct the meeting.  With the Board’s outside national attorney, Michael Syme, guiding the process remotely, newly appointed Commissioners Dale Burnett and Jonathan Mott were elected interim Chair and Vice Chair, respectively.  Ryan Landrine will continue as Secretary.

City Manager Chuck Strome dismissed four members of the Board on December 29, two days before he left office, citing a letter from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) expressing concerns about the NRMHA’s financial management.  The City of New Rochelle had taken over NRMHA’s financial management from the Board and appointed its Chief Financial Officer 5 years earlier.

The ousted Board members had worked for several years to develop a plan for the redevelopment of New Rochelle’s last public housing project, Bracey Houses, to include enhanced community services and opportunities for resident ownership, and were prepared to vote on that plan in January.  Other New Rochelle public housing properties have been converted to public-private partnerships that have failed to meet resident needs.  Bracey Houses sits in a downtown redevelopment zone.  Community members have expressed concerns that Bracey would also be privatized or perhaps relocated.

NRMHA Executive Director Angela Farrish stated at Monday’s meeting that there would be no discussion of plans to redevelop Bracey until NRMHA’s financial problems are resolved.  She then went on to discuss NRMHA’s financial difficulties, including efforts to collect over $479,000 in uncollected rent, and possible remedies, up to and including eviction of tenants who are unable to pay.