By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2026-09-28 11:41:41 | Updated at 2026-09-28 12:37:49
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It’s a New Roc pity.
The 1.2 million-square-foot New Roc City shopping center was supposed to be the cornerstone of a revitalization of the long-neglected downtown in New Rochelle when it opened to great fanfare in 1999.
Nearly three decades later, the mall is an eyesore in disrepair, with few tenants, fewer customers and occasional roving bands of rowdy young toughs that scare away shoppers and families.
“It just sucks,” one New Roc retailer told The Post. “It was a really bad idea and it didn’t work. They were trying to make it cool, but it just sucks. It’s a pain in the ass.
“New Roc City just sucks,” he reiterated. “It’s obviously been a big flop.”
The shopping center at 33 LeCount Place cost nearly $200 million to build, once boasting the county’s first IMax movie theater, fitness and education businesses, and dining and recreation, including a thrill-ride called the Space Shot that drew families and youngsters.
Yet, over the years the mall’s design and location spelled doom.
“New Roc City was supposed to be the ultimate hangout spot for friends, couples and single people,” said DC Andino, a county resident who once took classes at a Monroe College campus nearby. “But now it’s dead. I grew up coming here and it used to be so lively. Now, it’s all dim and dead.”
Community leaders said several factors played a role in the mall’s decline, including an enclosed design, changes in entertainment and shopping trends, and a shift in New Rochelle’s downtown redevelopment strategy, which focused on luring New York City commuters who don’t frequent local haunts.
“It’s like Oz, and Oz isn’t real,” Jim Killoran, a longtime New Rochelle activist and executive director of the Fuller Center for Housing of Greater New York City, said of the mall. “And who’s the wizard?
“It’s a mall next to a main street, and they call themselves separate,” Killoran said. “There’s New Roc City and then there’s the rest of us. You don’t have people saying, ‘Hey, let’s go to New Roc tonight.’ It’s antithetical to a successful project. It’s like a whole different world to downtown.”
Security and safety has been another concern, with several disturbing incidents in recent years despite a New Rochelle police outpost inside the shopping center.
Last year, a 47-year-old man was arrested on federal charges after a fire caused by a drug lab in a room at the Residence Inn hotel at New Roc City.
In July 2024, police arrested a pair of gun-toting thugs in the New Roc parking garage after a nearby shooting, four months after shots were fired during a scuffle outside a Burger King inside the mall.
Today, groups of youngsters occasionally roam the mall, intimidating patrons and families, while signs of disrepair and neglect are visible throughout the facility.
“The smell of urine, elevators not working, rats and plenty of homeless in areas of the garage,” said local activist and past candidate for elected office James O’Toole. “The fire system does not work after the city just installed a new one, most of the doors to the stairwells don’t work and most exit signs are not lit.
“There are plenty of abandoned cars on all levels of the garage,” he said. “The garage entrance near the Hotel has been closed off for over three months. The bottom level is littered with construction debris.”
New Rochelle, which has a population of about 80,000 residents has seen a number of high-rise residential buildings spring up in recent years with its Democrat-run City Council embracing redevelopment of the area with a walkable, transit-oriented focus around its Metro-North station.
Originally developed by Cappelli Enterprises, New Roc was sold nearly a decade ago to EPR Properties, a Kansas City-based real estate investment firm that still owns the facility.
A spokesperson for the firm maintained that the shopping center “remains an active entertainment and mixed-use destination with tenants spanning entertainment, recreation, fitness, dining and hospitality.
“It has evolved over the years as consumer preferences and surrounding downtown have changed,” the rep said. “We continue to operate and invest in the property while evaluating opportunities to enhance its long-term role in New Rochelle.”
The spokesperson said EPR does not consider the mall unsafe or in disrepair, noting that the COVID epidemic impacted retailers and entertainment centers, but that New Roc “rebounded,” with new tenants that include an Audi dealership and Soccer Roof.
“Our focus is not on what might have been done differently, but on how New Roc City can evolved with the downtown,” he added.
Likewise, a rep for New Rochelle City Hall said the mall “has long been an important part of New Rochelle’s downtown and continues to evolve” alongside “significant growth investment” in the area.
They said New Roc remains an important part of the city’s downtown plans.
Despite the rosy outlook, shopping center retailers and city residents don’t share the optimism.
“It’s abandoned,” New Rochelle resident Keith Collins said. “We talk about this all the time.
“They need a medium level store like an Old Navy, maybe a Uniqlo or H&M,” Collins said. “For a mall, you need foot traffic.”
Additional reporting by Mark Lungariello
