New Rochelle Gets $16M From The Feds To Keep LINC Project On Track

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — Plans for a High Line-like park in New Rochelle that will help reconnect a neighborhood to the city center just got a big boost from the federal government.

The City of New Rochelle announced that it has been awarded $16 million through the U.S Department of Transportation’s (U.S. DOT) Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods (RCN) and Neighborhood Access and Equity (NAE) grant programs for the LINC. The infrastructure improvement project is envisioned as a way to transform a large portion of one of the city’s busiest arteries into a new linear public park with green and open space.

The new funding will help reconnect the central New Rochelle Lincoln Avenue neighborhood, which was separated from downtown New Rochelle in 1958 when the construction of Memorial Highway separated the historically black neighborhood. The highway was originally planned to connect I-95 to the Hutchinson River and Cross County Parkways. However, only the first phase of the highway project was ever built, leaving infrastructure that delivers traffic from Exit 16 of 1-95 to New Rochelle’s local roads. The current six-lane highway stops at Lincoln Avenue, effectively making it a "highway to nowhere." Officials say the infrastructure as it stands now damages the community and worsens systemic inequalities.

"Transforming New Rochelle’s Memorial Highway and reconnecting Lincoln Avenue area neighborhoods with lush green space, bike paths, increased safety features, new modern complete streets, and new economic opportunity is another giant step closer to becoming a reality," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement announcing the cash infusion. "When Memorial Highway was built it cut through the heart of New Rochelle, it fractured and bulldozed parts of a vibrant neighborhood and left scars of systemic inequality that are felt to this day. Federal policies led to the creation of the concrete walls of Memorial Highway that divided New Rochelle’s Lincoln Avenue neighborhoods and constricted downtown access, but, today the federal government is stepping up to right that historical wrong."

The LINC was previously awarded a $12 million federal grant in 2021 through the U.S. DOT’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program, and it is one of six projects identified by New Rochelle for funding through NYS’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI), directed at reviving the city’s downtown corridor. It will re-imagine the six-lane Memorial Highway into a walkable and bikeable complete street with open space, greenery, and a new elevated park similar to NYC’s High Line, helping to increase the quality of life for surrounding residents and better connecting them to economic opportunity.

"We are thrilled to be the recipient of this very prestigious grant," New Rochelle Mayor Yadira Ramos-Herbert said. "This very generous resource will allow us to create a once in a generation community space that prioritizes green infrastructure and space to incubate black owned businesses. We thank Senator Schumer for his tireless advocacy on behalf of New Rochelle residents and all New Yorkers."

SEE ALSO: Planned High Line-Style Park Over I-95 Gets $12M Cash Infusion

In addition, the project is expected to improve flood mitigation and storm resiliency by improving drainage along roadways in the area which is prone to flash flooding.

New Rochelle finalized schematic designs and detailed plans for the park elements of the LINC project in 2023. The city expects the completed design and environmental review to be completed this year and construction to begin in 2025.

"For far too long, Lincoln Avenue has been cut off from the center of New Rochelle, and the LINC project is a key part of rectifying that injustice," New Rochelle City Manager Kathleen Gill said. "We are extremely grateful to the U.S. DOT’s Secretary’s Office for awarding us $16 million in funding, and we thank Senator Chuck Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand for their advocacy and belief in this project. These additional dollars will ensure that the LINC can progress in a timely manner and create a more equitable future for everyone in New Rochelle."

Learn more about the LINC project here.

SEE ALSO:

• Newest Westchester Park Breaks Ground After State Cash Infusion
• New Rochelle 'Environmental Racism Tour'