Cutting the ribbon with City leaders and DPW colleagues
This week New Rochelle inaugurated its new public works operations center at 25 Industrial Lane near Home Depot, as well as additional facilities for yard waste and refuse on Beechwood Avenue and for fueling on Birch Street. The Beechwood site needs a few more months of work before it’s fully up and running, and will eventually also support a new food scrap recycling program.
I get why facilities devoted to waste collection, vehicle maintenance, salt storage and other DPW functions might not excite everybody, but this is actually a really big deal with generational significance for New Rochelle on three levels: (1) enhanced safety and dignity for public employees who perform some of New Rochelle’s most essential duties; (2) modern, efficient infrastructure to meet the current and long-term service needs of a growing city; and (3) a visionary change in land use that unlocks the enormous potential of the Echo Bay waterfront (where our dilapidated former DPW center was located) for the public’s use and enjoyment.
It took literally decades to resolve complicated questions of location, design, funding and approval, so I congratulate and thank the leaders and partners, past and present, whose sustained commitment to this complex challenge made this achievement possible.