The developer of a New Rochelle entertainment complex where hundreds of teens clashed with cops on Easter Sunday says he plans to transform much of the site into a retail center.
Developer Louis Cappelli wants to replace the arcade, skating rink and go-kart track at the New Roc City with upscale retail stores. The proposal is contingent upon another project at LeCount Square, where Cappelli is seeking approval to build two towers more than 500 feet tall.
Joe Apicella, vice president for New Roc City, says the facelift has been an ongoing discussion for six months. Apicella says it has nothing to do with the Easter Sunday melee when police dealt with hundreds of teens overcrowding the complex.
?We began to see that New Roc should evolve itself from an entertainment venue to a retail center to better support and to serve new residential communities that's forming all around us,? says Apicella.
Developers maintain the area is safe and say if new stores are brought in it would fill a need created by a development down the block that would include luxury homes, a hotel, offices and other stores.
Related InformationNew Roc City makes safety changes after melee Gang urged to "take over New Roc" on Web, cops say Brain surgery for teen linked to New Rochelle riot New Rochelle melee sparks new security measures Cops defuse Easter melee in New Rochelle