NewRoc Now

I don’t know when the last time that these two groups of people were associated with each other, but there are two groups of people in New Rochelle that draw my curiosity.   They are both somewhat pervasive in the downtown area and somewhat ignored.  They both form a strong presence in downtown New Ro if you walk around the downtown area and I’m sure that you have been approached by both.  Who are these people you may ask?

The Homeless and the Mormons.

I don’t know the official homeless population of downtown New Rochelle, but my guesstimate is a fairly low number of 25-50.  I have come to recognize them by face, some by name and some by habit.    Most seem to be suffering from some severe mental illness.   They color the streets of New Rochelle and are largely ignored, but it is one of the few cities in Westchester that does have some homeless population.  There is some type of shelter at 515 North Ave and in February a homeless enclave was discovered at the New Rochelle train station in February.   It is an interesting fact of New Rochelle and hopefully one that will be addressed in a more focused way by the New Rochelle and Westchester governments.

So to the other….The Mormons.

I still remember when the Mormons moved across from 134 North Ave about 5 years ago.  They built a beautiful new building quickly and in short order downtown New Ro became cluttered with missionaries.  At first the missionaries were the typical pasty white guys from Utah, fresh out of high school.  They looked a little scared and out of place and I always got a laugh watching 2 or 3 of them corner a Mexican guy and speak in Utah accented Spanish.

Since the early days they have changed their tactics though.  I’m sure that people complained so they have reduced their presence somewhat.   What is really interesting though is that they have obviously been successful so now there is one pasty guy from Utah but now his partner is a Spanish speaking young man that is obviously from around here.  On my walk home yesterday which is only about 5 blocks I saw 3 groups of them - each 1 pasty guy and one local Spanish speaker - peppering some helpless soul with details about their contact information, pushing a Book of Mormon into their hands and cajoling them to stop by the church.

While I know that New Ro is not the only Westchester city with a homeless issue, I can say for certainty that New Rochelle is the only city that has an issue with both Mormons and Homeless.   Certainly both groups add color to the cornucopia of downtown New Rochelle and make it even more interesting.