DUBLIN, IRELAND (November 2, 2025) — The deadline for the Flowers Park RFP, October 29, has come and gone. I immediately made a FOIL request to the Clerk for all the bid documents. I also asked Bob Young, and I asked Will Melendez. Dear City Manager, The deadline for submitting bids
NEW ROCHELLE, NY (October 31, 2025) — I haven’t poked around the Westchester media landscape in a while, so I figured it was time to fire some questions at Grok AI and see what bubbled up. I’m especially curious about social media numbers after my own Talk of the
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
DUBLIN, IRELAND (October 29, 2025) — Part VI of this series scrutinizes a presentation slide used by New Rochelle City Manager Will Melendez to justify expensive 50- to 100-year flood protection for Flowers Park. The slide features four flooding videos, of which only one actually depicts the park—near Gate 226,
DUBLIN, IRELAND (October 28, 2025) — Part V of this series dismantles New Rochelle City Manager Will Melendez’ slide on storm-related costs at Flowers Park. Melendez highlights three storms—2007 Nor’easter, 2021 Hurricane Ida remnants, and 2023 Tropical Storm Ophelia—to argue for 50- to 100-year flood protection for Flowers
DUBLIN, IRELAND (October 28, 2025) — Part IV of this series addressed Melendez’ slide on weather-related damages to Flowers Park in New Rochelle, citing three events over 18 years— a 2007 Nor’easter, Hurricane Ida in 2021, and Tropical Storm Ophelia in 2023—that collectively caused about 170 days of field
DUBLIN, IRELAND (October 28, 2025) — Part III of this series targets City Manager Will Melendez’ claims Flowers Park is chronically flooded (it’s not). To demonstrate this he points to three storms—the 2007 Nor’easter that caused $1.6 million in damage, Ida in 2021 with over $700,000,
NEW ROCHELLE, NY (October 28, 2025) — Part II of this series targets New Rochelle’s contentious RFP (Bid 5820) for a “Master Redeveloper” at Flowers Park, which was presented last week by City Manager Will Melendez as a flood mitigation effort but is actually a secretive public-private partnership aimed at
NEW ROCHELLE, NY (October 27, 2025) — Part I of this series criticizes New Rochelle City Manager Will Melendez for misleading statements and lack of transparency regarding a Request for Proposal (RFP) to redevelop Flowers Park into a major sports and entertainment complex. During a City Council discussion prompted by Council
DUBLIN, IRELAND (October 26, 2025) — Does it seem odd to anyone else that no other media outlet has covered the controversy over Flowers Park? I am used to going it alone but it is a big deal in New Rochelle but so far it’s 🦗🦗🦗 Flowers Park continues to dominate
NEW ROCHELLE, NY (October 26, 2025) — There were so many lies, contradictions, obfuscations and misrepresentations as City Manager Will Melendez addressed City Council last Tuesday during a Discussion Item on Flowers Park requested by Council member Albert Tarantino that I am concerned it will be too overwhelming for readers (and
NEW ROCHELLE, NY (October 22, 2025) — Grok AI is an amazing resource. At last night’s discussion of City Park by Council, Corporation Counsel Dawn Warren said she would take responsibility for the RFP, that it should have been named a Request for Qualifications and that she hired outside legal
DUBLIN, IRELAND (October 19, 2025) — New Rochelle City Manager Will Melendez issued a statement late Friday on October 17. He described the Flowers Park RFP as an “early step to explore ideas for improving the park’s facilities,” emphasizing upgrades to athletic fields, playgrounds, restrooms, and concessions while addressing flooding
NEW ROCHELLE, NY (October 16, 2025) — Last night’s Citizens to be Heard session ran for 1 hour and 50 minutes, with almost all of it focused on one topic, an RFP to turn over control of Flowers Park to a Master Developer. More than two dozen people (28) spoke
DUBLIN, IRELAND (October 12, 2025) — After more than two weeks travelling in the USA, I am back home in Europe. I booked so much activity — Ryder Cup, Metropolitan Opera Opening Night, Yankee’s’ Playoff Clinching Game, Notre Dame v. Boise State, Chicago and more — that it took me a few
NEW ROCHELLE, NY (September 28, 2025) — Quite a week at The Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black. I did not have time for any investigative reporting but stayed active on Talk of the Sound and socials especially Facebook. I cracked 1.7 mm views and surpassed 6,000 followers. Thanks everyone!
NEW ROCHELLE, NY (September 21, 2025) — I am back in the USA to work as a volunteer this week at The Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black. I am trying to squeeze in a few other things during my visit but my primary purpose is the golf. I worked the last
NEW ROCHELLE, NY (September 20, 2025) — The New Rochelle Corporation for Local Development is, pound for pound, the most corrupt element of the city government. Here is a good example of why.
NEW ROCHELLE, NY (September 19, 2025) — There is something very wrong with the Shrub Oak International School, a private institution in upper Westchester County, NY. We have been reporting for years on how the New Rochelle Board of Education paid millions of dollars to illegally place a tiny handful of
NEW ROCHELLE, NY (September 18, 2025) — Tuesday night’s New Rochelle City Council meeting was a masterclass in missed opportunities—about an hour of it, to be precise. Tucked into the agenda as a “Discussion Item,” Councilmember David Peters’ push for $200,000 in city funding for the Boys &
NEW ROCHELLE, NY (September 18, 2025) — During the so-called auditor’s report on New Rochelle 2024 financials, Finance Commissioner Lying Ed Ritter told council last week that sales tax is about fifty-fifty between brick-and-mortar and online sales. How he arrived at this figure is a mystery. Here is why.
DUBLIN, IRELAND (September 14, 2025) — Not my most fun weekend. Notre Dame lost in the closing seconds to Texas A&M due to a missed extra point by the Irish. The Giants lost in OT to Dallas after the Cowboys kicker (from Notre Dame) kicked a long field goal
NEW ROCHELLE, NY (September 13, 2025) — The City of New Rochelle issued a Request for Master Redeveloper Proposal (RMRP) late Friday to tear down and redevelop about 20 acres of Flowers (City) Park. There have been no hearings, no public input, no surveys — no engagement of any kind. The RMRP