New Rochelle Council adopts 2025 flag calendar, approves property acquisition and six other items including budget changes

The New Rochelle City Council on Feb. 11 adopted a slate of routine and substantive measures, including a 2025 flag calendar that now includes a United Nations flag week, authorization for the city manager to pursue acquisition of 625 North Avenue, the reappointment of Robert Balachandran to the New Rochelle Industrial Development Agency, acceptance of a police foundation donation just north of $50,000 and two budget amendments that add a school crossing guard and a dedicated risk manager position.

The flag calendar amendment won council approval after Council member Kaye asked that the United Nations flag be raised beginning Oct. 23 for seven days. "I just wanted to ask that in the past, we had raised the UN flag on UN day, and if we could include that flag as well. And it it would be on October 23 and for 7 days," Council member Kaye said. Council member Stern, a member of the flag subcommittee, said the subcommittee recommended keeping one flag per pole and consistent durations so no holiday appears valued over another: "typically it's best practice to only have, 1 flag on a given pole...and we are also just keeping, all, flags up for the same amount, just so that there's never any question of whether we value 1 holiday over another."

Why it matters: The flag calendar is a ceremonial policy that sets the city's practice for recognizing international and national observances on City Hall flagpoles; the council's decision to add the U.N. flag formalizes a request from a council member and sets the dates…