Ep. 88 - You Don’t Have to Choose in New Rochelle (with Yadira Ramos-Herbert)

In this episode of The Jentry Podcast, Jonathan Mason sits down with Mayor Yadira Ramos-Herbert, the 24th mayor of New Rochelle, New York, for a conversation about housing, community engagement, workforce development, local leadership, and building a city where people do not have to choose between urban energy, suburban comfort, waterfront access, and proximity to New York City. Mayor Ramos-Herbert shares how her path into public service began with neighborhood concerns about a local park and unsafe intersections. What started as attending one city meeting eventually led to task forces, the library board, city council, and then becoming mayor. The conversation explores New Rochelle’s focus on “building” in four areas: building homes, building infrastructure, building people, and building communication. The city has authorized 13,800 housing units through what Mayor Ramos-Herbert calls the New Rochelle Model, which uses upfront planning, environmental review, clear fees, community benefits, and a 90-day approval process to create certainty for developers. Jonathan and Mayor Ramos-Herbert also discuss summer youth employment, workforce training, small business grants, senior support, stormwater, bike lanes, affordability, wages, and why AI can help with data and translation but can never replace sitting down with residents, shaking hands, and listening. Takeaways New Rochelle Offers a Little Bit of Everything Mayor Ramos-Herbert describes New Rochelle as a place where residents can access downtown energy, suburban neighborhoods, trails, parks, beaches, diversity, and New York City proximity. The New Rochelle Model Creates Certainty The city’s development model front-loads planning and environmental review, giving developers a clearer path to approval and helping the city secure community benefits. Building People Is Part of Building a City New Rochelle is investing in youth jobs, workforce training, small business grants, senior support, and programs that help residents participate in the city’s growth. Community Conversations Build Trust Coffee with the Mayor brings government into residents’ spaces, making it easier for people to ask questions, raise concerns, and receive accessible information. Human Connection Still Matters Mayor Ramos-Herbert explains that AI can support research, translation, and communication, but it cannot replace the human work of listening, empathy, and trust. Chapters 00:00 AI cannot replace sitting with residents 00:49 Introduction to Mayor Yadira Ramos-Herbert 01:36 Why New Rochelle has it all 02:41 Queens, family, law school, and public service 05:16 From one neighborhood meeting to mayor 06:12 Mentors and sisters in government 08:00 New Rochelle’s priorities: building 10:21 Coffee with the Mayor and community dialogue 16:30 Summer youth jobs and workforce development 20:59 Building people while building housing 22:35 The New Rochelle Model 25:56 Mentorship, Bloomberg Harvard Cities, and AAMA 31:28 Rent freeze and unintended consequences 34:16 Housing affordability, jobs, and wages 36:40 The need for a chief innovation officer 39:03 AI, translation, data, and human connection 40:22 Trade-offs, timelines, and limited resources 43:40 Free money: seniors, small businesses, housing, and infrastructure 46:52 Final words on government, representation, and impact Keywords #YadiraRamosHerbert #newrochelle #newyork #localgovernment #mayor #housing #EconomicDevelopment #WorkforceDevelopment #CommunityEngagement #SmallBusiness #YouthEmployment #AffordableHousing #PublicService #MunicipalLeadership #TheJentryPodcast