EXCLUSIVE *** MUST CREDIT TALK OF THE SOUND***New Rochelle Mail Carrier Says He Saw Four Kids at Wildcliff an Hour Before Blaze
Students from Isaac E. Young Middle School suspected
NEW ROCHELLE, NY — Four “young kids” were observed on the Wildcliff Property about an hour before the New Rochelle Fire Department received a call of a fully engaged fire at the historical residence at 4:25 p.m. on Monday. This according to a United States Postal Service mail carrier whose delivery route includes Wildcliff Road.
In an exclusive interview with Talk of the Sound, “Jacobs” said he saw four young kids playing on the property between 3:15 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
Another witness, a woman who works at a business near Wildcliff Road, said she see the same four kids there all the time — one black, two hispanic and one white. She did not see those four kids on the property Monday.
Asked how he could be so sure of the time, Jacobs said he delivered the mail along that route at the same time every day.
Jacobs said he has a dash cam video on his car. He said when he delivers mail in that area he parks his personal vehicle on Wildcliff Road, facing up the hill. He said he might have video of the four kids on his dash cam video.
Asked if he had given this information to the police, he said no.
At that point, Talk of the Sound reached out to New Rochelle Police to make them aware of Jacobs and the information he had provided to Talk of the Sound. A few minutes later NRPD Detectives met with Jacobs in the parking lot in front of Wildcliff.
According to another source, arson investigators confirmed that a New Rochelle DPW worker boarded up the property at about 10:00 a.m. Sources tell Talk of the Sound the building had been boarded up the building dozens of times over the past 12 years and that break-ins were a common occurrence.
Arson investigators are aware that there were frequent break-ins at Wildcliff and DPW was on scene often to board up the building.
The building has been vacant for more than a decade. There was no heat or electrical service to the building.
Another source tells Talk of the Sound that investigator are reviewing video from surveillance cameras in the area.
Historic Wildcliff Burns in New Rochelle
https://www.newrochelletalk.com/content/historic-wildcliff-burns-new-rochelle
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been updated to remove a statement by a fire investigator who claimed to be working for the City’s insurance underwriter. The City of New Rochelle denied this. The statement has been removed.
