Beautiful fall foliage in the VanDyke Village neighborhood

City Public Works crews are now performing leaf collection operations. There is no set schedule for when leaves will be picked up on various streets. Residents are asked to rake leaves to the edge of their lawn or sidewalk or curb, to be collected by leaf vacuum trucks. Residents are asked to take special care to not rake leaves so they are in the street, blocking the sidewalk and/or storm drains.

City launches new Web site!

The City of New Castle has overhauled its Web site with a new and improved design. The site has a new look and is loaded with information for residents and visitors. The redesigned site has improved navigation and is aimed at being ultra user-friendly. Last January, the New Castle City Council reviewed a range of proposals for updating the site. These included the possibility of contracting with a private vendor for the work and paying for a prototype City site which had already been developed. Costs for those options were wide-ranging and as much as $20,000. City Council members selected the Delaware Government Information Center (GIC) to revamp the City’s site. Since this is a department of the State of Delaware, no City tax dollars were expended in development of the updated site. The GIC has helped a number of Delaware municipalities develop Web sites — either from scratch or […]

City considers riverfront revitalization proposal

Many citizens participate in design charrette Turnout was great at the New Castle School auditorium, as interested citizens attended a design charrette to help shape what a proposal might look like for redeveloping New Castle’s riverfront. Citizens were provided information on some possible components of a redevelopment plan, such as: appropriate infrastructure installed to allow vessels like the Kalmar Nyckel to dock, and which could also allow docking for small (non-car carrying) ferries; a limited amount of daytime docking to enable boaters to patronize City shops and restaurants and engage in tourist activities; development of a permanent place for the Good Will Fire Co. to access their rescue boat. It was noted that much of New Castle’s long-history, spanning more than three centuries, includes the importance of the Delaware River to the community with varying levels of utilizing the River and shoreline for commerce and other activities. It was also […]

Process begins for Banks Building rehabilitation

The City has been working on the issue of the Banks Building in need of restoration. An expert was hired to provide us with an evaluation of the current state of the building and an outline of a path forward for renovations and possible funding sources. A small team (Terry Graham, Erv Thatcher, Corky Viola and myself) met with Architectural Conservator Richard Byrne for most of one day, carefully examining the various aspects of the building and assessing the health of specific items (i.e., the foundation, floor joists, floors, walls, woodwork, stairs, siding, roofing, etc., etc.). A follow-up walk through was scheduled for the following day and it was great to see a large turnout of interested persons in attendance – including the Mayor and all Council members! We are anxiously awaiting the written report Mr. Byrne will be providing so the City can decide on the next steps on the road to eventual […]