Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio News. You're listening to Bloomberg
Speaker 1: BusinessWeek with Carol Masser and Tim Steneveek on Bloomberg Radio.
Speaker 2: Well.
Speaker 1: Housing is an issue all over the country. We know this.
Speaker 1: There's not enough of it. It's too expensive because there's
Speaker 1: not enough of it, and politicians at the national level
Speaker 1: only have so much control thanks to local zoning laws
Speaker 1: and the reality of local politics. So what is a
Speaker 1: city to do. New Rochelle, just outside of New York City,
Speaker 1: is trying to buck the trend and build homes. We're
Speaker 1: joined by the Mayor, Yadira Ramos Herbert. She's a Democrat
Speaker 1: of New Rochelle. She joins us here in the Bloomberg
Speaker 1: Interactive Brokers Studio. We should note that the city of
Speaker 1: New Rochelle has received funding as part of the Bloomberg
Speaker 1: Philanthropies Mayor's Challenge, and the mayor has participated in various
Speaker 1: Bloomberg Philanthropies programs.
Speaker 3: Mayor Romos Herbert, thanks for v here.
Speaker 2: Thank you for having me.
Speaker 3: As we've been discussing, we know the US housing supply
Speaker 3: and affordability really remains a prominent issue for so many
Speaker 3: Americans who are looking to find a place to live.
Speaker 3: Tell us a bit more about what you're doing in
Speaker 3: the city of New Rochelle, which of course we know
Speaker 3: is only about seventeen miles away from where we're sitting
Speaker 3: right now in midtown Manhattan. What are you all doing
Speaker 3: to address some of these concerns?
Speaker 2: Absolutely so back in twenty fifteen New Rochelle setup, but
Speaker 2: we now call the Neurochelle model a form based zone code. Essentially,
Speaker 2: the city council, in partnership with RXR and working with residents,
Speaker 2: really sat down and took a look at where can
Speaker 2: we build and what do we need to do to
Speaker 2: streamline processes, sort of frontload some of the environmental reviews
Speaker 2: and processes so that when developers come in, they can
Speaker 2: be approved in as little as ninety days, break ground
Speaker 2: and essentially start leasing out in three years.
Speaker 1: Ninety days. I mean, that's like a different language. Then
Speaker 1: we're like a different reality than we're used to if
Speaker 1: we're talking about development. Just contextualize that for us. How
Speaker 1: long would it typically take if you weren't able to
Speaker 1: fast track this?
Speaker 2: I mean, I guess and you were from five to
Speaker 2: ten years? Is anything? I mean within the last ten
Speaker 2: yearies in n years exactly exactly.
Speaker 1: You mentioned r XR. Talk a little bit about public
Speaker 1: private partnerships here and how you view as mayor the
Speaker 1: need to partner with for profit companies in order to
Speaker 1: get this done.
Speaker 2: Absolutely, it's been a key to what's allowed to be successful.
Speaker 2: Those resources allow us to invest in our community without
Speaker 2: raising property taxes. We worked with the community here what
Speaker 2: do you want to see in you Rochelle, And through
Speaker 2: our public private partnership, we've enhanced plazas, We've brought murals,
Speaker 2: we've increased ev charging stations, we've bought a black box
Speaker 2: theater right to our main street, We're opening parklets and
Speaker 2: so really working together, providing assurances to developers, everybody essentially wins.
Speaker 2: And never mind that rents are actually holding steady and
Speaker 2: actually decrease the median rent in twenty twenty to twenty
Speaker 2: twenty three at a rate that's unheard of in the region.
Speaker 3: So what have been some of the challenges. Of course,
Speaker 3: this isn't something I imagine had that have been easy
Speaker 3: to accomplish, So what were some of the challenges that
Speaker 3: you all experience as you were trying to deliver a
Speaker 3: world in area city in which things are a bit
Speaker 3: more affordable. Sure.
Speaker 2: I mean what's really wonderful is when they started, I
Speaker 2: wasn't on the city council. I was a mom of
Speaker 2: two kids, so I was the resident sort of being like,
Speaker 2: I want to see stuff in the downtown. I want
Speaker 2: to know what's going on. I think change is hard,
Speaker 2: right and right now. I kind of call it like
Speaker 2: our teenage years. You know, where two thirds of our
Speaker 2: buildings have been approved, We've authorized eleven thousand units, eleven
Speaker 2: thousand kitchen table moments, and about two thirds have been
Speaker 2: authorized and leasing up and so there's construction, and there's noise,
Speaker 2: and maybe with the right turn you make for coffee,
Speaker 2: you have to make a left and wait a few
Speaker 2: more minutes of the light. But it's staying engaged with
Speaker 2: the community and reminding them there are little tangible assets
Speaker 2: in our downtown that did not exist six years ago.
Speaker 2: Never mind again contributing to the housing and other investments
Speaker 2: we've made surrounding the downtown.
Speaker 1: What have been the politics of this, Because when we
Speaker 1: talk about zoning and we talk about the idea of
Speaker 1: building more dense and affordable housing or just more housing people,
Speaker 1: I guess I could rephrase this. People love to complain
Speaker 1: that housing is too expensive, but then when it comes
Speaker 1: to actually building that housing, if it's put up to
Speaker 1: a vote, they strike it down.
Speaker 3: Like not in my neighborhood.
Speaker 1: They don't want it understood. Well, it depends on It
Speaker 1: depends on where you live, because that has to do
Speaker 1: with zoning, and that might not actually be up to you.
Speaker 1: In certain parts of New York City, it's not necessarily
Speaker 1: up to us, and we've seen that play out. But
Speaker 1: politically this stuff can get really charged. What do they
Speaker 1: think of it?
Speaker 2: Absolutely? I mean it's the forum based zone coding essentially
Speaker 2: allows the city council, the elected officials, to set the
Speaker 2: scaffolding and sort of pinpoint where and then hands off
Speaker 2: the professional staff actually closed the deal. We have a
Speaker 2: council manager form of governments, our city manager, our Commissioner
Speaker 2: of Development. We have an Industrial Development Agency that really
Speaker 2: work out the nuances, the financial elements of it, and
Speaker 2: the projects are authorized. So again, when you decide to
Speaker 2: build a new Michelle, there's assurances you don't have to
Speaker 2: worry about a project being voted down the way maybe
Speaker 2: other regions municipalities do if you fit the specs that
Speaker 2: we've already identified. Again the council, working with the staff
Speaker 2: and the community, you have an assurance that you're going
Speaker 2: to be able to lease up within two to three
Speaker 2: years of breaking round.
Speaker 3: So you mentioned that you spent a lot of time
Speaker 3: talking to the community, engaging with the community to see
Speaker 3: what they'd like to see reflected in the area. What
Speaker 3: are some of the things that they've been interested to see.
Speaker 2: Green space, of course, more space for kids to play.
Speaker 2: More dogs are a big hit, and so dog runs
Speaker 2: and opportunities for dogs to have space to kind of
Speaker 2: stretch their legs, I guess leaving the apartment. We are
Speaker 2: a huge lover of the art. So, as I mentioned,
Speaker 2: we have a black box theater that's going to open
Speaker 2: the first half of twenty twenty six, and we've added
Speaker 2: murals to the community. But the downtown development has also
Speaker 2: served as a catalyst for other parts of development. So
Speaker 2: we have a project called the Link. We're taking three
Speaker 2: lanes of a Robert Moses kind of project and making
Speaker 2: it a linear park connecting parts of our farther out
Speaker 2: of our downtown to the actual downtown proper. We just
Speaker 2: approved a project Pratt Landing is what we call it.
Speaker 2: It's going to give waterfront access in addition to a
Speaker 2: community asset in an armory, ninety nine condos, one hundred
Speaker 2: apartment buildings, and a hotel. And we're revitalizing our train station.
Speaker 2: In three to five years will be the only station
Speaker 2: in Westchester where with one seat you can go to
Speaker 2: Grand Central or pen And so this development has allowed
Speaker 2: us to really respond to resident needs, concerns, and what
Speaker 2: they want to see in a really holistic way.
Speaker 1: So we like talking to mayors because and everybody who
Speaker 1: listens and watches our program knows that it's where the
Speaker 1: rubber meets the road when it comes to actually getting
Speaker 1: stuff done. Sure, really being accountable each and every day
Speaker 1: to the people you serve, because you see them out,
Speaker 1: you are there with them on that I'm wondering specifically
Speaker 1: about transportation and in an environment where you talked about, okay, well,
Speaker 1: if there is more density, if there is more housing,
Speaker 1: you might have to wait more when you take a
Speaker 1: right turn to get your coffee because the traffic is increased.
Speaker 1: Do we live in a world where we can realistically
Speaker 1: think that we could improve mass transit in small towns
Speaker 1: or have we shown that as a country we just
Speaker 1: cannot make those investments. I mean, look at California's high
Speaker 1: speed rail and the failure that I think many people
Speaker 1: would say we saw there.
Speaker 2: So New Rochelle already has the privilege of being the
Speaker 2: second busiest line on the New Haven's signs, second only
Speaker 2: the Grand Central, believe it or not, and the majority
Speaker 2: of our buildings are actually being built around this transit
Speaker 2: oriented development. We're also a hub to nine bus lines
Speaker 2: county and city bus lines, so you can get to
Speaker 2: the Bronx or Yonkers right from the same transit center.
Speaker 2: And our development allowed us to invest in some micromobility options.
Speaker 2: We have something called this Circuit, which is an electric
Speaker 2: shuttle you can call it like you call Ubert, absolutely
Speaker 2: free and takes you in to various parts of the
Speaker 2: city where scuter nation as well. So micromobility, and we're
Speaker 2: investing in bike LANs. The link will actually add bike
Speaker 2: lanes and connectivity in another way. So I think based
Speaker 2: on our foundation, but also the way we've been able
Speaker 2: to expand we are addressing transportation in a green way.
Speaker 1: That's interesting to hear that like got a micromobility level
Speaker 1: in addition to changing the way traffic patterns are we're
Speaker 1: speaking with Yadira Ramos Herbert, the Democratic mayor of New Rochelle,
Speaker 1: joining us here in the Bloomberg Interactive Broker's studio. As
Speaker 1: I mentioned, housing is probably one thing that Democrats and
Speaker 1: Republicans at the national level can agree on needs to
Speaker 1: be addressed. Their way of doing that doesn't necessarily fall
Speaker 1: in line with one another. They don't see eye to
Speaker 1: I we heard from Jade Vance at the vice presidential
Speaker 1: debate last year talking about opening up land, for example,
Speaker 1: to build more housing. What is your advice to leaders
Speaker 1: around the country, because you've been able to do this
Speaker 1: successfully as ways that other communities can do this.
Speaker 2: I mean, I think some of the models that can
Speaker 2: be barre from streamline processes. What are the pain points
Speaker 2: every municipality.
Speaker 1: You're essentially saying, get rid of.
Speaker 2: Regulation, streamline processes regulation.
Speaker 1: How do you do that without getting rid of regulation? Now,
Speaker 1: do you make sure that environmental review that you're not
Speaker 1: going to kill the sea turtles or whatever if you
Speaker 1: build here?
Speaker 2: So we did conduct an environmental review back in twenty
Speaker 2: fifteen and with in partnership with RXR. So it's not
Speaker 2: that we're getting rid of it, we're just front loading
Speaker 2: that process so that you have a sense already of
Speaker 2: if you choose to develop in this site, what are
Speaker 2: some of the issues, what's the investment you're going to
Speaker 2: have to make to meet those kind of codes. So
Speaker 2: I think that's one We looked at a lot of
Speaker 2: underutilized sites. Some of our sites were like old parking
Speaker 2: lots that were not being used, that were in bad shape.
Speaker 2: You know, former schools that were closed, but the structure
Speaker 2: was still there. And so every municipal leader knows their community,
Speaker 2: they know their corners where they could be a little
Speaker 2: bit more energy lights on, and that with that, in
Speaker 2: combombination with streamlining processes, I think will allow some positive
Speaker 2: results for this in the housing front.
Speaker 3: So I want to go back to your earlier question
Speaker 3: just about what types of advisor. I know you mentioned
Speaker 3: like some of the things that you all are working on,
Speaker 3: but I would say, you know, more logistically, what type
Speaker 3: of advice would you give to other parts of the nation,
Speaker 3: because not everywhere is like New Rochelle. Of course we
Speaker 3: were talking about LA We could talk about New York City.
Speaker 3: Here in Manhattan, Midtown, Sure, what is some advice that
Speaker 3: people can really take away here?
Speaker 2: I still stand by You know your corners, you know
Speaker 2: your blocks, you know the underutilized sites, you know where
Speaker 2: maybe it's like they're really business hasn't grown there there
Speaker 2: really has. It's been empty, there's lack of density. And
Speaker 2: I know it's tricky to say mid Tom Manhattan, right,
Speaker 2: you're going to use that specifically. I appreciate where we are,
Speaker 2: but every leader knows every corner. I know every corner,
Speaker 2: every black and where to think about that and so
Speaker 2: really thinking about what can be catalyzed and again we
Speaker 2: all know our own zoning and processes. Really being honest
Speaker 2: and holistically reviewing that I think will allow different communities
Speaker 2: to catalyze and also add housing in a way that
Speaker 2: helps to adjust the crisis that we're facing.
Speaker 1: You have a law degree, Yes, you're a litigator, Yes,
Speaker 1: in a previous life or currently. Is this a job
Speaker 1: that you can do while you're mayor.
Speaker 2: Yes, that's a great question. I would not be able
Speaker 2: to do it at the same pace that I did
Speaker 2: when I was a new lawyer. It was also an
Speaker 2: associating at Columbia Law School prior to becoming mayor. But
Speaker 2: I actually am looking to do a little bit of
Speaker 2: practice on the side.
Speaker 1: So It raises the question about your own future and
Speaker 1: how you think about your own political path forward, what's
Speaker 1: next for you.
Speaker 2: I don't think about my political cut path forward right now.
Speaker 2: The job is to make sure all eleven thousand units homes,
Speaker 2: kitchen table moments are catalyzed. It's to make sure the
Speaker 2: Link launches. It's deceive the landing project, the waterfront project,
Speaker 2: and we also started something called the Vanguard Initiative. We're
Speaker 2: investing two point twenty five million dollars in small businesses.
Speaker 2: I want to turn on those lights on every one
Speaker 2: of those first floors in my downtown. That's my mission.
Speaker 2: That's the only thing I'm focused on right now.
Speaker 1: You don't think at all about a bigger platform.
Speaker 2: I love the portfolio that New Michelle has given me,
Speaker 2: and that's really one. I want to finish the job,
Speaker 2: and to think otherwise would take my distraction.
Speaker 1: When do you think the job will be finished?
Speaker 2: That's a great question. I mean the link, you know,
Speaker 2: maybe I think within I would argue within five to
Speaker 2: seven we will see a significant transformative change in the
Speaker 2: downtown that can be measured through sales tax revenue and
Speaker 2: other initiatives and incentives coming to.
Speaker 1: Life Yadira Ramas Herbert. She's the Democratic mayor of New Rochelle.
Speaker 1: She joins us here in the Bloomberg Interactive Brokers Studio.
Speaker 1: Thanks so much for joining us this afternoon.