Just recently Mount Vernon native Asia Nitollano, was added as the newest member to worldwide hit girl group, the PussyCat Dolls. In a contest broadcast by CW11 ’s hit reality show the PussyCat Dolls Search for the Next Doll, Nitollano won judges and audiences with her enthusiastic stage performance of singing and dancing.
I’ll admit it, I watched the show rooting for the Westchester resident. I don’t really watch reality shows but when someone from your town or area ends up a finalist you can’t hepled but being pulled in to watch it hoping that person will win to represent your “hood.”
” People are always like I hate Westchester, but as soon as something like this where celebrity status associated with the city people begin to have immense pride for Westchester,” said Stephanie Gitlitz, New Rochelle resident and reality show fanatic.
Westchester is also the home of two-time academy award winner Denzel Washington (Mt. Vernon), Platinum recording artist and multiple Grammy winner Mary J. Blige (Yonkers) and many others.
New Rochelle may not be the breeding ground for the talent but it’s the setting. New Rochelle was the setting of the Dick Van Dyke Show and Catch Me if You Can.
Just recently my sister received a notice from the New Rochelle police department notifying her and all other tenants of the sex offenders located around the vicinity. When going through the list, we were shocked to find that one of those listed was one of my sister’s former classmates. I was even more shocked to discover that the person on the top of the list convicted with the most deviant crime was a man who lived literally two doors down from my house. I was outraged. We never received any letter from the police department.
Later, I told my friend and neighbor about the letter to see if she had received one or even heard about the situation. She said that the man had been living there for a year now and that she only found out from one of the residents in the apartment building across the street. I was appalled. I could not believe that the residential homes were never given notification. Many of these homes that have young women and children were never warned of the potential danger around them.
When looking to buy a home many people check to see if the neighborhood is safe especially those who have children. It’s scary to think who lives around you. There are many websites that allow you to search the registered sex offenders in your area. The suburbs are a place where people raise families. They are supposed to be safe, but how safe are they if residents are not notified about potential harm?
“People are always scared to go out into the city fearing that they’re going to be violated in some form, but honestly I’m more afraid to walk the streets of New Rochelle, the town that I grew up in at 9:00pm at night, than in the city at 1:00am wasted as a college kid,” said Teena Kurian New Rochelle resident and Cooper Union Alum.
A majority of Baruch College students are commuters and use the subway to get around to school. Most of them have a subway station or bus near there home, but for those who are not living within in the five boroughs are commuting from Westchester or Long Island and use the Metro North Railroad or Long Island Railroad stations to get to school. It costs about $250 monthly for someone like me in Westchester to get to school and it takes me less time to get to school than many of those who are coming from Brooklyn or Queens. Starting April 1st the Bee Line bus company will be excepting the Metro North Card. People will be able to get to the city at a fraction of the cost.
Now days when I’m walking to the train station I notice that sidewalks are getting narrow and streets seem congested reminding me of the city. Weren’t the suburbs supposed to be the land of minivans and soccer moms, places that were populated by families who wanted to give their children backyards to play in and trees to climb?
According to The New York Times Westchester County’s first suburbs are undergoing a transformation that rivals the urban renewal efforts of the 1960’s. For the past couple of years, New Rochelle has been building numerous luxury apartments, lofts and condos within the downtown area including two Avalon buildings and Trump Plaza. These huge buildings take up a lot of space and with construction going year round the city seems congested and narrow. The city began these developments in hopes of bringing new life to the city and hopes of building a more vibrant and more economically viable community. The target market for these buildings are young professionals who commute to Manhattan who have no children or older people who want something easier to maintain — more lavish than a house. With the new developments of skyscraper condos and more to come, the city once known as a suburban city of New Rochelle is looking to be what could be the sixth borough of New York City.
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