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The Rye Record •

City Council Postpones Leaf Blower Discussion to 2026 After Sparring Over Transitioning to Electric

After months of debate, the Rye City Council unanimously voted to postpone any discussion of altering leaf blower regulations until 2026, but not before some members haggled over the timing of transitioning fully to electric-powered ones.


The council has been weighing a plan to shorten the fall and spring cleanup seasons for gas-powered leaf blowers since May, when Republican Councilman Bill Henderson pitched the proposal while pointing to noise and air pollution.


After hearing from landsc...
The Rye Record •

Westchester Health Department Shutters Coveleigh Club Beach Through Friday

Rye’s Coveleigh Club beach will be closed through Friday following heavy rainfall that swept through Westchester County on Wednesday, Westchester health officials announced.


The closure is part of a broader precautionary measure — protecting the public health and keeping recreational waters safe for swimmers — affecting multiple beaches in Mamaroneck, New Rochelle, and Rye after 1.16 inches of rain fell in the past 24 hours.


County health officials said the stormwater runoff into the Lon...
The Rye Record •

The Osborn Plans Major Expansion, But Westchester County Raises Concerns

Correction: This article was updated on Aug. 14 at 3:45 p.m. to reflect the number of trees that are proposed to be replanted as part of The Osborn’s development plans.


The Osborn is planning a major campus overhaul, but not without concerns from Westchester County officials and some neighbors of the affluent retirement community.


The 56-acre private property on Theall Road, home to The Osborn for more than a century, is set to undergo a sweeping transformation that was unveiled before th...
The Rye Record •

New Jersey Fugitive Arrested Nearly 2 Years After Allegedly Beating his Girlfriend Outside the Rye Marriott

A New Jersey man wanted for attacking his girlfriend on Midland Avenue was finally captured in Westchester after Rye police had put out a warrant for his arrest nearly two years ago.


Fugitive Daniel Twomey, of Lodi, N.J., had been on the run from law enforcement since a September 2023 incident in the city where he allegedly beat the unidentified woman and briefly held her captive.


He was apprehended in Tarrytown on May 29 and transferred over to Rye authorities.


He now faces charges for...
The Rye Record •

Crime Trends: Leaf Blower Summonses Spike for 4th Month in a Row

Leaf blower summonses issued in June saw the greatest percentage jump yet in 2025, along with an increase in traffic stops and city code complaints, Rye PD data shows.


Police issued 28 summonses for leaf blower violations in June, skyrocketed (833 percent) from the three summonses they issued in June of last year.


The spike in summonses year-over-year has been an ongoing trend for months, with March summonses increasing by 14, April summonses up by 36, and May summonses rising by 25, accor...
The Rye Record •

Unconfirmed Shark Sighting Leads to Water Evacuation at New Rochelle Beach

A reported shark sighting at Glen Island Beach in New Rochelle prompted lifeguards to order a water evacuation over the weekend, though authorities say it remains unclear what was actually spotted.


Swimmers alerted the lifeguards of a shark fin they spotted near the shore around 2 p.m. on Sunday.


Glen Island Beach lifeguard Max Pitocci told News12 Westchester that once alerted, the lifeguards blew the whistles and ushered the swimmers out of the water without much panic. No injuries were r...
The Rye Record •

District Taps Nick Clair as Permanent Rye Middle School Principal

The Rye City Board of Education has appointed Nick Clair as Rye Middle School’s new principal.


His appointment came after a weeks-long search by new Rye City School District Superintendent Patricia Murray and the Board. Before his permanent appointment, Clair served as Rye Middle School’s interim principal.


“Along with the recommendation of our committee, the Board and I strongly believe that Mr. Clair is the right person to help the district continue to meet the goal of developing an edu...
The Rye Record •

Midland Avenue Deli Caught Ablaze Monday Yields No Injuries

No injuries were reported after a fire broke out Monday night at the Midland Avenue Deli, sending smoke through a mixed-use building and prompting a multi-agency emergency response.


Just before 10 p.m., Rye firefighters were dispatched to 382 Midland Ave. after reports of smoke in the basement. The building houses a ground-floor deli with two apartments above.


Upon arrival, crews encountered light smoke throughout the structure, soon visible from the outside, leading to an upgrade of the...
The Rye Record •

Rye Second Grader Repeatedly Sexually Abused and Bullied by Classmate, Parents Allege in New Lawsuit

A second-grade girl at the Osborn School was sexually abused and bullied by a male classmate over a span of at least several months, while the school’s administrators did little to stop it, the young girl’s parents claimed.   


The girl was in first grade at Osborn when the bullying began in June 2023. Her parents learned of the problem and the children’s teacher and lunch monitors were made aware of the harassment, which continued, the recent court filing alleged.   


Things only got worse...
The Rye Record •

City Council Majority Rejects Ethics Code Review Years After Controversial Tree-Cutting Dispute

The Rye City Council declined to move forward with a $10,000 review of the Code of Ethics in an up or down vote at Wednesday’s meeting — more than two years after a controversial tree-cutting incident at the root of the issue.


Mayor Josh Cohn unexpectedly introduced the need for a review at the May 7 meeting, citing what he called an unlawful and politicized “investigation” by the city Board of Ethics into a 2023 emergency meeting he convened.


Cohn proposed hiring Steven Leventhal for no m...
The Rye Record •

NYPD Officer Arrested by Rye Police For Stealing Over $85K from Wells Fargo Victims To Pay for BMW, Trip to the Caribbean

An NYPD officer allegedly stole more than $85,000 from unsuspecting Wells Fargo customers while working at a Rye Brook branch before joining the police force. 


Yeison Rodriguez-Acosta, 27, was arrested by Rye police on Thursday, accused of illegally accessing money from the accounts of 14 victims and using the funds for lavish personal expenses, including a BMW X6 lease and a trip to Caribbean. He also used the funds to pay off credit cards for himself and family members, police said.


Fou...
The Rye Record •

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 •

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 •

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 •

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 •

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 •

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 •

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 •

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 •

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 •

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 •

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 •

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 •

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...
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