The New Rochelle Thimblerig — Part IV

DUBLIN, IRELAND (November 5, 2024) — As noted previously, New Rochelle Development Commissioner Adam Salgado unilaterally authorized close to $200,000 for three events this summer involving third-party partners: WE Rock Lincoln Park (Lachonne Williams), Unity in the Community (Vivian Spady) and Jazz Under the Stars (Rocky Middleton).

Among the many questionable elements of the way these events were approved and funded was that they were not presented to City Council for approval, funded in secret, not part of the publicly available 2024 Events Budget, funded using a municipal not-for-profit not previously used for that purpose, the City’s Procurement Policy was not followed, the contract terms were not adhered to, and the organizers of these events were given tens of thousands of dollars in advance payments in violation of the City Charter.

I asked Charles B. Strome, City Manager from 2002 to 2022, and with New Rochelle since 1989, about the advance payments authorized by Salgado. He had some interesting recollections.