New Rochelle LINC Project Awarded $12M Federal Grant

One of the most significant and transformative initiatives in New Rochelle’s history got a big boost this week with city being awarded a $12 million federal grant for the LINC project. By repurposing a portion of Memorial Highway (and its overpass extension to I-95) into a linear park, the LINC will bind together the Lincoln Avenue neighborhood with New Rochelle’s burgeoning downtown — enabling better, safer access to transit and employment, while also creating an expansive new open space and recreational amenity for tens of thousands of residents. Combining this federal award with state funds already allocated to the LINC through the DRI (Downtown Revitalization Initiative), New Rochelle is now in a position to fully implement this exciting vision.

The federal grant was announced by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. The project received $6 million from the state last year and has more than $15.4 million in non-federal matching money. “Transforming this highway into a useable city street, filled with a park, bike paths, and streetscape improvements is a win-win-win for New Rochelle,” Schumer said.

“Memorial Highway in its current form is a classic example of a car-centric planning disaster — a six-lane overbuilt thoroughfare, originally intended to connect the New England Thruway with the Hutchinson River and Cross County Parkways, but instead simply dumping excess traffic into local roads never designed to accept it,” said New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson. “Even worse, it is emblematic of the injustice visited upon many Black and Brown neighborhoods around the country that were either bulldozed or severed from their surroundings by acres of concrete. The LINC presents a rare opportunity to heal a historic wound and build a better, more equitable future for everyone in New Rochelle,” he added.