Armand Miele — Rest in Peace

Longtime Rockland County Times publisher (recently publisher emeritus), businessman and real estate developer, and influential voice in Rockland politics Armand Miele has passed away today at the age of 84.

Miele was principal owner of the Rockland County Times since 1998, moving the offices to downtown Nanuet, New York, where his real estate office was located. During his tenure the newspaper became the only county-wide weekly newspaper with a paid circulation and one well-known for breaking inside stories on Rockland politics.

As a public voice he led a movement to remove the illegal Ramapo toll from the NYS Thruway, headed a project with then-Legislator Frank Fornario to speed up and cut costs on the long delayed county courthouse construction, long fought against MTA taxes and the authority’s needless jurisdiction over Rockland County, and helped to form the Village of Montebello, among many other accomplishments.

In the 1990s Miele ran for state assembly and town supervisor and was the 1997 Right to Life candidate for county executive.

In 2011 he was named Italian-American of the Year by the Rockland County Columbus Association and released a memoir “Born Minus: From Shoeshine Boy to News Publisher, an Italian-American Journey,” which included his life story and dozens of his popular Miele’s Musings editorials from the Rockland County Times.

During his career as a developer Miele built up much of Main St. in Nanuet and many notable projects in the Bronx, where he was born and came of age.

Miele had been suffering from various ailments and spent his final days with family at his home in Montebello.

Armand Miele’s life was touched by many wonderful people in the health care profession. In lieu of flowers, the family invites you to donate to the University of Pittsburg Medical Center, to cancer prevention and research, or to the charity of your choice.

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