February 2010

New Mamaroneck Mayor Advocates
Freedom to Speak Out, More Public Input

By Stephen E. Lipken

Frustration with the performance of local government induced Norman Sirlin Rosenblum to get involved. Through the years, Rosenblum held various positions and worked on many committees in Mamaroneck , serving as Village Trustee in 1980-1982.

Now, after his recent campaign running as an Independent, Rosenblum was elected Mayor of Village of Mamaroneck, (VOM), on Tuesday, November 3, 2009, defeating incumbent Kathleen Savolt 1,994 to 1,644 votes, a margin of 55 percent.

“The policies of the former administration were diametrically opposed to democratic principles. During Board meetings, people were allowed to speak for five minutes before the agenda; then unlimited time after the agenda was presented. During the agenda there was no public input.

Opinions expressed during the agenda give Trustees a chance to change their input. There was a lack of communication. The policies were not beneficial to people as a whole,” Rosenblum noted.

“Secondly, economic conditions mandate tough decisions. We have to do more with less. We need to limit the inflationary aspects of the budget and taxes.”

Rosenblum cited the re-organization of Village Attorney, replacing full-time Attorney Janet Insardi with part-time counselor Christine Derrico.
“The decision was mine, ratified by the Village Board. We owe allegiance to the voters. I did not discuss the appointment with anyone in the political organization. We saved $123,000 by this action,” Rosenblum stressed.

“The saddest part of all of this is that only 40 percent of those entitled to vote do so. I believe that is because people perceive that elected officials are not listening,” he observed.

Besides tough budgetary decisions and more democratic input at Board meetings, Rosenblum advocates development of open spaces. “We don’t want another White Plains or New Rochelle—Trump 50 story buildings. Instead, we would like to acquire the Hampshire Country Club property, 108 acres of open space.

“I would like to see an overhaul of the Zoning Code, making it more ‘user friendly. We are also discussing ‘tiered parking’ with developers.”

Leadership is no stranger to the Rosenblum/Sirlin family. A member of the Mamaroneck Mutual Aid Society, Rosenblum’s grandfather Nathan was one of the founders of the Hebrew Institute of Mamaroneck, evolving into the present Westchester Jewish Center (WJC) where the Mayor is also a member. His mother, Helen Sirlin Rosenblum was a founding member of the Westchester Division of United Jewish Appeal (UJA).

Besides being the new Village Manager, Rosenblum is Manager of Contracts Administration for Safe Flight Instrument Corporation, White Plains, responsible for negotiating multi-million dollar projects with firms such as Boeing Aircraft, Israeli Aircraft Industries (IAI); Lockheed-Martin, British Aerospace and Embraer of Brazil.

Resplendent in his National Association of Stock Car Racing (NASCAR) jacket, Rosenblum reported that his brother Jim, who founded Fire Department of New York (FDNY) Racing, received the New York Post Liberty Medal Award as well as Honorary Battalion Chief by New York City (NYC) Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta and was recognized by Mayor Michael Bloomberg for his efforts in racing to earn funds supporting Widows and Children’s Fund of the Uniformed Firefighters Association (UFA). Rosenblum is proudly NASCAR FDNY Racing Team Vice President.

 

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