Make New York Post a Preferred Source A shooting outside a troubled Westchester County shopping mall Monday night exposed continuing problems at the nearly-vacant facility — just days after The Post blew the whistle.
New Rochelle police said cops were dispatched to New Roc City around 10:45 p.m. on reports of shots fired, and found the victim bleeding from the back of the head outside the mall, according to a release.
The unidentified man was rushed to a local hospital and is listed in stable condition.
Witnesses told cops that two men dressed in black were seen running from the crime scene, with the suspects still on the loose and the subject of a police investigation and manhunt.
The Post reported on New Roc City on Sept. 28, revealing that the 1.2 million square-foot shopping and entertainment center has become a scary eyesore with few tenants and even fewer customers.
Opened in 1999 at a cost of nearly $200 million, New Roc was initially a hotspot in the city.
But it’s isolated design, changes in shopping patterns and a questionable downtown revitalization plan by the Democratic-run city prompted the mall’s decline, despite millions in upgrades over the years.
“The smell of urine, elevators not working, rats and plenty of homeless in areas of the garage,” local activist and past candidate for elected office James O’Toole said last month.
“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,” he said. “There are plenty of abandoned cars on all levels of the garage. The garage entrance near the Hotel has been closed off for over three months. The bottom level is littered with construction debris.”
New Roc has also been plagued by security issues, despite a police outpost at the site.
In recent years, cops reported at least two shootings, including outside a Burger King at the mall, and last year a 47-year-old man’s drug lab sparked a blaze at a hotel at the mall.
New Rochelle police are asking anyone with information on the Monday night shooting to contact detectives at 914-654-2270 or the department’s non-emergency line, 914-654-2300.
