Big, big news. New Rochelle has been awarded a $12 million federal grant for the LINC project.
The LINC is among the most significant and transformative initiatives in New Rochelle’s history. By repurposing a portion of Memorial Highway (and its overpass extension to I-95) into a linear park, the LINC will bind together the Lincoln Avenue neighborhood with New Rochelle’s burgeoning downtown — enabling better, safer access to transit and employment, while also creating an expansive new open space and recreational amenity for tens of thousands of residents. Combining our federal award with State dollars already allocated to the LINC through the DRI (Downtown Revitalization Initiative), the City is now in a position to fully implement this exciting vision.
Memorial Highway in its current form is a classic example of a car-centric planning disaster — a six-lane overbuilt thoroughfare, originally intended to connect the New England Thruway with the Hutchinson River and Cross County Parkways, but instead simply dumping excess traffic into local roads never designed to accept it. Even worse, it is emblematic of the injustice visited upon many Black and Brown neighborhoods around the country that were either bulldozed or severed from their surroundings by acres of concrete. The LINC presents a rare opportunity to heal a historic wound and build a better, more equitable future for everyone in New Rochelle.
The federal RAISE program, the source of our grant, is highly-competitive; only a fraction of applications from the entire nation receive awards. New Rochelle’s win is, therefore, a powerful vote of confidence in the project and in our community. I am deeply grateful for the leadership of President Biden and Secretary Buttigieg and for the exceptional advocacy of our federal delegation, led by Senator Schumer, who championed New Rochelle’s grant application, with strong support from Senator Gillibrand and Congressman Bowman.
Thank you also to the City’s planning and development team. Their persistence and hard work were instrumental in New Rochelle putting forward a compelling application and making the best possible case to federal officials.
There’s more about this announcement in the Journal News, and here’s additional information about the LINC.