A first-time reader/first-time commenter took Trainjotting to task for what they deemed to be an egregiously unfair and woefully inaccurate portrayal of New Rochelle in a post about The Missus and Little G missing their New Ro train stop on Amtrak last summer.

By chance I came across your ‘trainjotting’  comments when looking through a selection of  interesting articles covering the impressive architecture of New Rochelles public schools. I am not sure how I ended up on posting, but certainly regret wasting a full minute of my time reading it. [Editor’s Note: We assume you also regret wasting a few more minutes commenting on our error-filled “rant.”]

Your facts are all wrong and the subject of your ‘rant’ is a total mystery. Amtrak screwed up your travels, your luggage was temporarily missing and you were very  with the section of downtown New Rochelle surrounding the metro-north train
station.

. . .  and what else? I wouldnt be so annoyed with such mindless chatter if it wasnt so
completely vacant of truth or substance. The downtown of New Rochelle has clearly seen a renaissance and that fact is widely recognized by many. I personally do not like the high-rise aesthetic that has accompanied the areas renewal but I am hard pressed to find it comparable to Detroit in any way, shape or form. The incident at ‘New Roc’ had less to do with the area and more to do with the particular individuals who traveled to the entertainment complex (the only one of its kind in the metropolitan area) + decided on causing trouble. Trump recently completed a 40 story tower next to New Roc, with residences priced at up to $1.5 million (the building is 75% sold already). Every new residential apartment project in the downtown has proven just as successful.. . . .  the other 90% of the city is residential and beautiful.

Just bringing some clarity to the skewed picture ‘vision’ you laid out.

As we approach the one-year anniversary of the Easter Sunday Riot (not a vital chapter in Ireland’s fight for freedom but a case of wilding youths at New Rochelle entertainment complex New Roc City), we pose the question: Is New Rochelle’s long-awaited “renaissance” here, or is it something that the Journal News and New Ro residents simply will continue to talk about for the next few decades?