Rosie Newmark

The Rye Record • 16th July 2025

Heat Advisory Issued With Humidity Expected to Boost Temps Into the 100s

A heat and air quality advisory is in effect for Westchester County.


The National Weather Service issued the warning on Wednesday morning, warning that heat and humidity could make outdoor temperatures feel like 100 degrees or hotter through Thursday night.


At the same time, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has rated the air quality as unhealthy for sensitive groups due to elevated ozone levels through 11 p.m. Wednesday night.


The Air Quality Index is expecte...

The Rye Record • 15th July 2025

Family Sues Rye Over Property Damage to Deceased Dad’s Clinton Avenue Home

The estate of a longtime Rye resident is blaming the city for years of alleged property damage from a municipal pump station project that has left his Clinton Avenue home unsellable.


The city and its contractor, ELQ Industries, unlawfully entered the property of George Ford Sr. without permission, digging up the lawn, cutting down trees, and failing to properly repair damage for more than a year, according to a lawsuit filed in Westchester County Supreme Court.


The family of George Ford Sr...

The Rye Record • 15th July 2025

Crime Trends: Leaf Blower Summonses Up For Third Consecutive Month, Data Shows

Leaf blower summonses rose for the third consecutive month in May, while arrests also climbed in reversing a downward trend seen since January, year-over-year Rye PD data shows.


Police issued 37 leaf blower summonses this May, up 208 percent from May 2024, when just 12 summonses were issued.


The increase has been a trend over the past three months, as March and April saw leaf blower summonses increases of 13 and 37, respectively, compared to 2024 numbers, according to the police department...

The Rye Record • 14th July 2025

Flash Flood Warning Issued for Westchester as Heavy Rains, Thunderstorms Hit Area

The National Weather Service issued a Flash Flood Warning for Westchester County on Monday evening due to severe thunderstorms, high winds, and potential for flash flooding.


The county Department of Emergency Services is urging residents to remain indoors and avoid travel as the weather moves through the area.


A Flood Watch is also in effect until midnight for coastal areas and the next high tide is scheduled for 2:48 a.m. Tuesday morning, according to Rye police.


The Police Department...

Rye Record • 9th July 2025

Lightning Strike Clobbers Kirby Lane Osprey Nest, Killing 1 Bird | Rye Record

Lightning struck a residential osprey nest on Kirby Lane early Wednesday morning, killing one of the two “beloved” neighborhood birds, police said.


Rye police responded to a call at 5:30 a.m. that two ospreys on Kirby Lane had been struck by lightning during Tuesday night’s thunderstorms. Police were assisted by Jim Horton, a Westchester-based wildlife removal specialist, who safely collected the injured one.


“Unfortunately, one osprey did not survive the strike,” Rye police posted on Inst...

The Rye Record • 9th July 2025

Port Chester Man With History of Drunk Driving, Arrested on DWI Charge After Cutting Off Police Car

A Port Chester man with a previous drunk driving arrest was allegedly at it again Wednesday when he drunkenly pulled out of a parking space right in front of a Rye police cruiser.


Mario Monroy, 45, pulled his parked 2014 Nissan Sentra out onto Locust Avenue near Theodore Fremd Avenue at around 12:35 p.m. and allegedly almost hit an approaching police patrol car being driven been an unidentified sergeant with the Rye PD.


The sergeant pulled Monroy, of Port Chester, and noticed that he seeme...

The Rye Record • 2nd July 2025

Undocumented Mamaroneck Man Arrested During ICE Raid

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested an undocumented man with a criminal conviction in Mamaroneck on Friday morning, the Mamaroneck Police Department confirmed.


Village police said they were alerted to ICE’s presence, along with agents from the FBI, around 8:15 a.m. near Columbus Park and confirmed agents had been investigating an undocumented individual convicted of a DUI and criminal trespassing. ICE was not able to find that person but found another undocumented man that they...

The Rye Record • 2nd July 2025

Westchester Health Department Closes Coveleigh Club Following Heavy Rains | Rye Record

The Westchester County Health Department closed Rye’s Coveleigh Club Beach on Wednesday due to excessive rainfall.


Over the last 24 hours, 0.72 inches of rain fell, which, according to the health department, is enough to cause runoff from stormwater drains that may contaminate beach water with harmful bacteria.


Coveleigh Club, a private club located on Stuyvesant Avenue in Milton Point, is one of several beaches that the health department shuttered on Wednesday. Others ones include Harbor...

The Rye Record • 1st July 2025

Rye Secures $20M in State Funding to Rebuild, Widen Key Westchester-Owned Bridges

Two flood-prone bridges in Rye are slated to be rebuilt as part of a $21 million investment by New York state aimed at improving flooding woes along the Blind Brook.


The undersized Oakland Beach Avenue and Playland Parkway bridges, both of which are owned by Westchester County, will be replaced and resized with funding from New York’s $4.2 billion Clean Air, Clean Water and Green Jobs Environmental Act of 2022, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced at a recent press conference.


“Communities in Westc...

The Rye Record • 25th June 2025

New Rye Schools Chief, Patricia Murray, Loves Data — and Taylor Swift

Patricia Murray laughs when people refer to her as the “The Data Queen” — but she doesn’t shy away from the label. 


“It’s obviously a joke, but in all seriousness, I think data is helpful,” Murray told The Record in a recent interview as she prepares for her new role leading the Rye City School District. “I consider myself a math person, a numbers person,”. 


For Murray, who officially steps into the schools superintendent position on July 1, data is not about spreadsheets or test scores al...

The Rye Record • 23rd June 2025

Historic Heat Wave Prompts State of Emergency in Westchester

Scorching heat in the Rye forecast this week has prompted early school dismissals and beach openings, as officials urge residents to take precautions amid rising health concerns.


Temperatures are forecast to climb between 95 degrees and a record-breaking 107 degrees through mid-week, with highs reaching 105 on Monday and Tuesday, before dipping down to a heat index of 99 Wednesday.


Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency in Westchester County on Sunday, along with 31 other counties...

The Rye Record • 11th June 2025

Health Department Closes Rye’s Coveleigh Club Beach on Wednesday After Excessive Rainfall

The Westchester County Health Department on Wednesday closed Rye’s Coveleigh Club Beach because of excessive rainfall.


The department determined that because there has been 0.59 inches of rainfall over the last 24 hours, heavy rains and discharges from stormwater drains could directly affect the water at the beach – potentially causing high levels of harmful bacteria that may cause illness, according to the department website.


Coveleigh Club, located on Stuyvesant Avenue in Milton Point, i...

The Rye Record • 5th June 2025

Three Rye City Hall Employees Collected Over $200K in 2024: Records

The three highest-earning Rye employees topped out at just over $200,000 in 2024, city records show.


Ex-City Manager Greg Usry earned the highest salary among Rye employees last year, commanding a $215,000 income. Usry stepped down from his position this March, after a 5-year run overseeing the day-to-day operations of the city. His salary rose from $195,000 when he was first appointed to an interim position in 2019.


Longtime City Engineer Ryan Coyne finished a close second, earning $212,0...

The Rye Record • 4th June 2025

Rye Board of Education Selects New Assistant Superintendent From Carmel School District

The city Board of Education has hired Lauren Santabarbara to be the school district’s new assistant superintendent, replacing Patricia Murray who is set to become its chief administrator.


Outgoing Superintendent Eric Byrne announced Santabarbara’s 3-year appointment in an email to the school community on Wednesday morning. Her hiring was approved at a Board of Education meeting Tuesday night. 


Santabarbara will join the district as its head of curriculum, instruction, and assessment in Sep...

American Libraries Magazine • 2nd June 2025

Slide into the Library

At Hewitt (Tex.) Public Library (HPL), teens enthusiastically shared slideshows on the history of roads and the comparative merits of doors and wheels. None of this was schoolwork.
PowerPoint is finding new life among young people as a tool to share humorous, creative, and niche slideshows with friends on TikTok and other social media platforms. Now libraries across the country are hosting their own PowerPoint Parties, using the events to engage a younger crowd.
Eighth graders at Vestavia Hills...

The Rye Record • 28th May 2025

Mayor Cohn Recommends Board of Ethics Review, Resurfacing Tree-Cutting Controversy

Mayor Josh Cohn is recommending the City Council hire an outside lawyer to review the Board of Ethics, reigniting a two-year-old controversy that ultimately led Cohn and three of his colleagues to launch a stunning lawsuit against the city.  


Renewing his claims that the ethics board politicized itself by launching an unlawful investigation into a 2023 emergency meeting he had called for, Cohn tried to bolster his argument at the May 7 council meeting by referring to an opinion released by th...

The Rye Record • 28th May 2025

Newburgh Man Arrested After Exposing Himself on I-684

A Newburgh man was caught pleasuring himself on Interstate-684 near Harrison last Tuesday.


Jose Reyes-Marquez, of Newburgh, allegedly exposed and touched his genitals on multiple occasions while operating his vehicle on Interstate 684 on May 20. And the 55-year-old’s actions were visible to passing motorists, according to a New York State Police press release.


State troopers were alerted to be on the lookout for his 2015 Honda Odyssey as it was connected to an ongoing state public lewdness...

The Rye Record • 27th May 2025

Multi-Car Crash on I-95 Near Rye Leaves 16 Hospitalized, Following Wild Memorial Day Chase

A chain-reaction car crash along Interstate 95 in Rye injured 16 people on Memorial Day, allegedly spurred by teen who led police on a wild chase at well over 120 mph.


The 15-year-old male reportedly fled from the NYPD’s 45th Precinct in the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx by heading north on I-95 shortly after 2 a.m. Monday morning. New York State Police troopers were notified by Westchester County police to be on the lookout for a 2002 Lexus GS300 vehicle traveling north on Interstate 95,...

The Rye Record • 22nd May 2025

Council Sets Public Hearing to Consider Scrapping Rye Public Safety Commissioner Position

The City Council has scheduled a public hearing for June to consider eliminating the public safety commissioner position in favor of a reorganization of police and fire structure.


The public hearing is set for June 11 with the hopes of voting on the issue at the council’s July 16 meeting. 


If the council moves forward with eliminating the position, it would require a public referendum. The Westchester C County Board of Elections has an Aug. 4 deadline in order for the proposition to appear...

The Rye Record • 21st May 2025

Council to Debate Separating Police and Fire Departments, Eliminating Public Safety Commissioner Role

The Rye City Council is scheduled to consider a significant reorganization of its public safety structure on Wednesday evening, including the potential separation of the police and fire departments and the elimination of the public safety commissioner position.


If the council moves forward with eliminating the public safety commissioner position, it would require a public referendum. The Board of Elections has an Aug. 4 deadline to get this on the November ballot.


The police and fire depar...

The Rye Record • 21st May 2025

Rye School Community Backs $113M Budget by Huge Margin

Voters of the Rye City School District overwhelmingly approved the $113.2 million school budget Tuesday night.


The final unofficial tallies saw the school budget pass by a more than 4-to-1 margin. In total, 765 voters approved it, while just 158 voted it down as backers cheered the results inside the Rye Middle School gymnasium.


Marking a 2.45 percent increase over the current budget, the 2025–2026 school plan will maintain all existing district programs and services. It introduces four ne...

The Rye Record • 16th May 2025

Henderson Proposes Shortening Leaf Blower Season, Banning Gas Blowers on Sundays

After altering the leaf blower law in 2023, the Rye City Council is now considering even further restrictions to the season.


Republican Councilman Bill Henderson raised the proposal during the City Council’s May 7 meeting, suggesting shortening the fall clean-up season by a month and the spring clean-up season by 15 days, with new start dates of Nov. 1 and March 15, respectively.


Henderson also proposed banning the use of gas-powered leaf blowers on Sundays.


The city has been moving in...

The Rye Record • 15th May 2025

Crime Trends: Rye Police OT Leads to Jump in Leaf Blower Summons Again in April, Data Shows

Leaf blower summonses were doled by Rye police out at a much higher clip in April, continuing a trend that began in March, year-over-year department data shows.


The recent uptick stems from the department assigning overtime to officers to further enforce city code complaints, according to Rye police Lt. Michael Anfuso.


In total, 37 leaf blower summonses were issued last month compared to zero in April 2024, according to the latest police data. That follows March year-over-year numbers, wh...

The Rye Record • 8th May 2025

Alleged Rye, NYC Drug Boss Hit with 6 New Charges, Including State’s Stiffest Penalty For Narcotics

Jose Garcia, the Rye resident charged in March with running a New York City-based fentanyl and heroin trafficking ring, is now facing new charges that he operated as a major trafficker — the most serious drug charge under state law. 


Garcia, 51, pleaded not guilty to all charges in Manhattan Supreme Court on April 29 and currently is being held on Rikers Island. He could face up to a life sentence, with a minimum sentence of 15 years, according Kati Cornell, the New York City special narcotic...