New Rochelle Parking—Unfriendly for Business

To the editor, 

I was driving through downtown New Rochelle recently during lunchtime. Noticing a pizza place, I decided to run in and grab a couple of slices to go for my drive home. Little did I expect that my two-minute parking in the adjacent and nearly empty Key Bank parking lot would leave me with such an unappetizing surprise—a steel boot attached to the tire of my car and a man from Avalon Towing in a white Mercedes demanding $50 cash to remove it. 

While I understand that private businesses need to keep their parking lots open for customers in a busy downtown, the idea of a man spending his day hiding in the parking lot and waiting to seize the tire of the next unsuspecting motorist is pathetic and poor community relations for Key Bank. I later found out that Avalon Towing is well known for these tactics at other New Rochelle establishments including McDonalds, ShopRite and Chase Bank. 

That was an expensive lunch. But, it taught me a valuable lesson—avoid visiting downtown New Rochelle in the future. 

George Potanovic, Jr.
Stony Point

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