|
The median household
income in New Rochelle in 1990 was $43,482, as compared to $48,405
in Westchester County as a whole. The neighboring Town of Mamaroneck
had a median household income of $77,926, more than double that
of New Rochelle.
Although New Rochelle
is a relatively wealthy community, it does not come close to the
mean incomes of its neighboring towns and villages. In addition,
as Jennifer Campion points out, the considerably different socioeconomic
profile of New Rochelle's neighbors makes them unlikely to approve
of any large development that might increase their traffic burden,
or harm them in other ways. Her assessment helps clarify the aggressiveness
with which Mamaroneck residents attacked the Ikea proposal, including
the passage of a town law to "require developers to obtain
Mamaroneck's approval for projects just outside its borders in nearby
towns." As Campion explains,
"New Rochelle is
surrounded by smaller, more affluent waterfront communities. These
consist of Pelham Manor to the south, and Larchmont, Mamaroneck,
and Rye to the north.
"The population
of each of the surrounding communities is less than one-quarter
of the population of New Rochelle and the mean household income
is more than double. These municipalities are not faced with the
same socioeconomic pressures that New Rochelle is experiencing.
Therefore, they have very different concerns regarding development.
They are not concerned with promoting growth, but protecting environment
and quality of life in their communities. They view development
as a threat to this, particularly large-scale development in a neighboring
community which will have an impact without providing benefits to
these communities."
Underscoring her point,
Campion provides the following data from the 1990 United States
Census:
POPULATION MEAN INCOME
($)
WESTCHESTER CO 874,866 69,264
LARCHMONT 6,181 117,048
MAMARONECK 11,231 115,022
NEW ROCHELLE 67,265 62,341
PELHAM MANOR 5,443 119,998
RYE 14,936 128,425
Income levels in the
Redevelopment Area are substantially lower than citywide and countywide
income levels. In 1990, the average per capita income in the Redevelopment
Area ranged between $11,970 and $12,742, as compared to $23,745
in New Rochelle and $25,584 in Westchester County.
|