After months of brainstorming sessions, focus groups and input from multiple branding firms, the City of New Rochelle unveiled its new motto on the steps of City Hall today. The tagline reads “Our Crime Problem Isn’t as Bad as Yonkers’.”

Addressing reporters and citizens on a gray morning, Mayor Noam Bramson said New Rochelle’s issues with crime frequently overshadow the city’s many plusses, including its waterfront, lively downtown (including the New Roc City entertainment complex), its easy access to Manhattan via Metro-North and its luxury residential development (Donald Trump of course erected a 39-floor Trump Plaza skyscraper here).

“Everyone talks about the crime in New Rochelle when in fact I’d venture to say it’s twice as bad over in Yonkers,” Bramson told the crowd. “We want people to realize we don’t, in fact, have the worst crime in Westchester. New Rochelle is a vibrant and diverse community, and we’re very much open for business.”

Prompted as to why the city of 72,000 would choose to include “crime” in its slogan, instead of more favorable aspects of New Rochelle, Bramson replied, “It seems like some kid is getting stabbed just about every day over in Yonkers. It’s more like once a week over here.”

[New Roc photo courtesy of Iona.edu]

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.”]

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?

A sampling of the Google searches that brought visitors to Trainjotting this week makes one wonder what sort of cleavage bounce catwalk one would be sporting should one be wearing a wheels on the bus go round shirt.

And das boot glasses.

Our faves:

bad ass ho’s 

eye locking and eye contact with a woman 

whats that rumbling sound? 

guys on metro north 

lyrics for Choo Choo Charlie was an Engi

new roc city easter riot Bronx 

robin williams retorts to insults 

john rocker betty 

poems about nose picking 

the russian debutante 

cleavage bounce catwalk 

wheels on the bus go round shirt 

das boot glasses 

”ridin with my top down” 

armrests ripping pants 

How to make a bike rack 

choo choo charlie girlfriend 

thunder from down under 

he smiles and stares at me 

King of the Hill beer fence yup

attractive drag queens 

dad and sun picking nose

Had a new entry into my all-time Top 5 Amtrak lowlights this past weekend. (#1: 1990. Loudspeaker announces we’ll have 20 minutes to kill in New Haven. We go outside. Train leaves five minutes later with our luggage. Travel companion tells customer service, “Your commercials say ’something about a train is magic,’ but the only magic I’m seeing is the disappearing act you did with my bags.”)

I was picking up the Missus and Little G in New Rochelle, under strict orders not to be late due to the challenge of removing Little G and large suitcase from the train. Unfortunately, Amtrak didn’t get that memo; the Missus called and said it was due in 15 minutes late.

That gave us a little time to poke around the New Rochelle train station. New Ro is an interesting case study. They’ve built a couple Avalon high-rises next to the station, and Trump/Cappelli are joining forces to erect some 45-odd-story residence nearby. As the skell chatting with the coffee lady at the New Ro station–site of the infamous New Roc City riot four months previous–wondered Saturday, “Who the hell’s gonna pay $700K for a 1-bedroom in New Rochelle?”

Indeed. For all we hear about the resurgence of New Rochelle–30 minute commute, lively downtown, diverse–it hasn’t really happened. We did a reverse commute to New Ro for three months back in the wacky dot-com days, and despite all the reports about its renaissance, it looks exactly the same, only with two and a half giant apartment buildings now. Think of it as a tiny version of Detroit: gorgeous suburbs surrounding a dodgy downtown.

Anyway, back to the Amtrak debacle. The train pulled in, people got off, the conductors signaled to each other, and it took off. Where were the Missus and Little G?

“This is the Amtrak heading south, due in at 12:15…” I confirmed with a lady next to me. Indeed it was. I told her I couldn’t seem to locate my wife and baby.

“Maybe you’ll feel better if you call them,” she said. So I did. (Honestly, I was thinking of that even before she suggested it.)

I got the Missus on the second ring.

“WE MISSED THE STOP!” she yelled.

Turns out, they were in the back of the train. When it stopped, the Missus saw nothing but dark tunnel and figured they were pausing before approaching the station. Then, the train took off, and the conductor bellowed, “Next stop, Penn Station New York.”

Ever the dutiful husband and father, it was on to Gotham for me and my trusty chariot…er, minivan.

The Missus says there was no announcement for New Rochelle. I, however, suspect it was the free booze they’re giving out.

There was a bit of an incident, shall we say, in New Rochelle Sunday evening that spread onto the Metro-North trains. A pack of youths, numbering as much as a thousand, were told to leave New Roc City, which is this giant entertainment complex, featuring go-karts, a carousel, skating rink and an arcade, after they became unruly. Apparently they rioted on the streets, stormed the nearby train station, and reportedly were pushed onto downbound trains by police.

From the Journal News:

Jordan George, a Manhattan resident who was taking the southbound train from Mamaroneck after visiting a relative for the Easter holiday, said he and fellow passengers were terrified when the train pulled into New Rochelle and riot police and teenagers streamed into the car.

“Picture this from my point of view: I’ve been riding this train for 12 years without any kind of incident, and all of a sudden we pull into a station and hundreds of kids and police in riot gear come flooding in,” George said today.

“They was a lot of yelling and screaming going on, and thank God nobody got hurt, but it was right on the edge, I was genuinely frightened for my safety and my girlfriend’s safety.”

Crazy.