Our Biggest Stories of 2022
NEW ROCHELLE, NY (December 31, 2022) — It is tempting, but would be simplistic, to create a list of our most viewed stories and label them the biggest stories of the year. Often, however, day-to-day drama obscures the long-term impact of decisions and events. What follows is not our most read stories ranked with mathematical certainty by counting total views but a more subjective ranking of stories that we believe will have a lasting impact on readers.
- Changes at New Rochelle City Hall/Noam Bramson Investigations
This was a year of generational change in the leadership of the City of New Rochelle; some by choice (Chuck Strome retiring, Kathleen Gill and Adam Salgado promotions, Noam Bramson forced out based on ny ethics complaints and two subsequent investigations, one by the New Rochelle Ethics Boars, the other by the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office).
- NRPD Detective Michael Vaccaro Trial
The Vaccaro trial proved, for those who did not already know, that a police officer in New Rochelle can get away with anything.
- Boogie Nation Killing/Nation of Islam
The killer is still on the loose. An effort to address black-on-black violence turned into a celebration of the Nation of Islam comprising one elected official whose Mayoral campaign may have suffered a fatal blow.
- DA Mimi Rocah v Judge Matthew Costa
This case is highly unusual in that a DA is suing a sitting judge but more importantly has the potential to set precedent in how the new discovery laws are applied statewide. A story not getting the attention it deserves.
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- New Rochelle School Population Collapse
The overall decline since the 2015 peak is staggering and projected declines are worse yet many continue to believe schools in New Rochelle are overcrowded. Nope.
- Student Kills Student in West End
A tragedy with a lot more to the story, a story we will likely never know as this case is highly likely to end in a negotiated plea.
- Rape Culture at New Rochelle High School
For years, school officials have covered up sexual assault and sexual harrowing at New Rochelle High School. When students organized a protest it turned into a melee involving over one thousand students.
- Constitutional Failures
Government officials are desperately trying to control the narrative by blocking voters from commenting, deleting unwelcome comments or abandoning social media platforms all together.
- Ransomware Attack at Empress EMS
The large number of stolen medical records of area residents will eventually make its way to the Dark Web and from there trigger phishing attacks and identity theft.
- LPR Stories
License Plate Readers, GPS and the Real-Time Crime Center have made Westchester County the place car thieves go to jail.
A last minute entry is news out of the New Rochelle Muncipal Housing Authority.
For those who want to catch up on the year, below is a mega-list of many but hardly all of our 2022 links:
Changes at New Rochelle City Hall/Noam Bramson Out
New Rochelle City Manager Charles B. Strome III Announces Retirement
New Rochelle City Council Votes to Hire Kathleen Gill as City Manager
New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson Will Not Seek Another Term
Timeline of Mayor Noam Bramson pursuing New Rochelle Development Commissioner Position
Westchester County Grand Jury Investigating New Rochelle Mayor on Criminal Public Corruption Charges
The Noam Bramson Ethics Transcripts: Final Summary with All Raw Transcripts
Ethics Board Report on New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson is Complete
New Rochelle Mayor Angling to Elevate Former Bramson Campaign Manager to Bramson City Manager
New Rochelle Ethics Board Finds Mayor Noam Bramson Violated the City Charter, a Misdemeanor
Westchester County Grand Jury Investigating New Rochelle Mayor on Criminal Public Corruption Charges
Ethics Complaint Filed Against David Blumenthal of the New Rochelle Board of Ethics
Ethics Investigation Transcripts Raise New Questions About New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson, et al
Where Are People Getting the Idea that Mayor Noam Bramson Runs New Rochelle?
Ethics Investigation into New Rochelle Mayor Gets Underway with City Manager Called as First Witness
Ethics Board Delivers Final Report on New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson
Mayor of New Rochelle Referred to Westchester District Attorney for Public Corruption
Michael Vaccaro Trial
Day Four: Trial of New Rochelle Police Detective Michael Vaccaro Ends in Not Guilty Verdict
Why Michael Vaccaro Will Not Be Fired for Punching Malik Fogg in the Head
NRPD Termination Hearing for Police Brutality Cop Gets Underway in New Rochelle
Michael Vaccaro – Malik Fogg Archive
Boogie Nation Killing/Nation of Islam
29-Year-Old Man Fatally Shot in New Rochelle
Lincoln Ave Community Comes Together to Celebrate the Life of James Caldwell (Boogie Nation)
DA Rocah v Judge Costa
Attempt by New Rochelle Judge to Dismiss Westchester DA Complaint Denied
Westchester DA Takes New Rochelle Judge to New York Supreme Court
Student Kills Student in West End
Shooting in New Rochelle’s West End – 7 Shots Fired; NRHS Student Shoots, Kills Another Student
Operation Casper and West End Shooting: Multiple Ghost Gun Arrests 100 Feet, 10 Hours Apart
Words in Edgewise: Two Very Different Responses to Very Similar Murders
Grand Jury Indicts New Rochelle West End Shooter for Murder of Teen
Rape Culture at New Rochelle High School
Video shows disturbing assault on New Rochelle High School grounds
Student Brutally Stomps and Punches Defenseless Student at New Rochelle High School
New Rochelle High School Students Plan Walkout Against District Silencing Victims of Sexual Assault
New Rochelle High School Principal Admits District Covered Up Sexual Assaults for Years
Rape Culture “Embedded” in New Rochelle High School, Students Told in Admin-Approved Statement
New Rochelle High School Student Walkout Turns into Free-for-All, Criminal Charges Filed
Victim-Blaming New Rochelle High School Stairwell Rape Case Settles
Constitutional Failures
New Rochelle School District, Superintendent Cancel Twitter over Elon Musk Acquisition
New Rochelle School Population Collapse
After 7 Years, New Rochelle BOE Finally Acknowledges Catastrophic Student Enrollment Decline
Major Ransomware Attack at Empress Ambulance
Westchester EMS Provider Hacked in One of the Largest U.S. Healthcare Ransomware Attacks of 2022
LPR Stories
Syracuse Man Busted in New Rochelle after LPR Hit on Audi Q8 Stolen in PA
Two Virginia Women LPR’d by Westchester County PD Real Time Crime Center in New Rochelle
Balchan v. CSDNR
Medical Director Sues City School District of New Rochelle Over Failed COVID-19 Pandemic Response
New Rochelle Board of Ed Investigating Allegations of Anti-Semitism Against HR Director
Bank Robber Librarian
New Rochelle Librarian Turned Bank Robber Pleads Guilty
IRS Revocation of Non-Profit New Rochelle Fund for Educational Excellence
Stark Stonewalling and Coverup at New Rochelle Fund for Educational Excellence Continues
Waterboarding
Mural Art
Art Walk Winds Way Through Nine New Murals in Downtown New Rochelle
Huguenot Academy
OP-ED: New Rochelle’s Most Vulnerable Students Deserve a Forever Home
New Rochelle High School’s Huguenot Academy Campus Opens New Downtown Location
Scarsdale IRS Tax Woes
Scarsdale Board of Education Facing $1.3 mm in IRS Penalties and Interest Over Payroll Tax Errors
Is the End Nigh for Scarsdale Schools Superintendent over IRS Fiasco?
Scarsdale Schools Superintendent Unexpectedly Resigns Over $1.2 Million IRS Fiasco
American Legion
New York State American Legion Overturns New Rochelle Post 8 Sham Election
New Rochelle Post 8 American Legion Hall for Sale
CPPB Series
Popular Series
Inside the New Rochelle Police Department Clown Show – Table of Contents
Nightmare on the Isle of Sans Souci
Interesting Stories We Broke
Why Did New Rochelle Students Unexpectedly Receive EBT Cards with More Than $1,000
New Rochelle College Student Charged with Killing Rapper Moneygang Vontae
Metro-North Preps New Rochelle Rail Yard Expansion for Penn Access Project
Stories with a Personal Connection
Former New Rochelle Board of Education Employee Arrested for Attempting to Run Over Local Journalist
NOT STELLA: I was trapped in an elevator in downtown New Rochelle; No one called 911
Court Stories
New Rochelle v the LaRoccas - Part II: Six Years of Delays and Motion Practice
New Rochelle v the LaRoccas - Part I: Brazen Misappropriation
Former Armonk Attorney Arrested on Fraud Charges
Laurieanne Delitta, Attorney Who Stole from Kids with Cerebral Palsy, Off to Prison
NOT KOOL: County Legislators livid after last minute veto by Westchester County CE
Court Rules Ursuline Student Expelled Over TikTok Video Can Return to School
Two People Stabbed at VIP Country Club in New Rochelle, One Victim Critical, Arrest Made
New Videos Depict Brutal Bronx Baby Shower Double-Homicide Involving Twin Brothers from New Rochelle
New Rochelle Man Gets 17 Years for Strangulation Murder of his Mom
New Rochelle’s Aggressive Panhandler “Settles All Family Business” with Global Plea Deal
Gambino Associate, Benito DiZenzo, Sentenced to 12 Months Probation
Bronx Man Carjacks Vehicle, Intentionally Rams New Rochelle Police Vehicle, Injures NRPD Officer
Rye Eye Guy Sentenced To 96 Months In Prison For Healthcare Fraud Scheme, Covid-19 Loan Fraud
Daughter Says New Rochelle Man Did Not Kill Her Mom
Percell Ross Returned to New Rochelle for Booking, Indicted in Westchester Court for Taxi Cab Murder
Librarian Gave New Rochelle Police a Day’s Notice of Her Plans to Rob a Bank, Records Show
Pregnant Woman Stabbed in New Rochelle, Police Say
Michael Thunderhorse Pleads Guilty to Road Rage Stabbing in New Rochelle
New Rochelle Man Pleads Guilty to Obscenity Charges in Fake-Semen Squirt Case
New Rochelle Man Gets 17 Years in Prison; Repeatedly Raped 11-Year-Old Girl, Impregnated Victim
Man Pleads Guilty in Global Disposition of White Plains, Larchmont, Mamaroneck Dockets
4 New Rochelle Men + Florida Man Indicted in Months Long Catalytic Converters Crime Spree
New Rochelle Man Sentenced To 25 Years In State Prison For Rape And Sexual Abuse Of A Minor
Miscellaneous
New Rochelle Man Was First Person to Get a Social Security Number
New Rochelle School Teacher Auctioning NFT Baseball Card of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg
New Rochelle Teacher Sells Mark Zuckerberg’s Baseball Card at Auction for $105,000
TOTS Reader Poll Results: Best Chinese Takeout in New Rochelle is Jade Spoon, Runner-up is Hong Kong
Harry Potter Forbidden Forest Appears in Westchester Woods Outside New York City
Sparkling Pinebrook Tennis Center Reopens in New Rochelle After Yearlong $1.1 mm
L.L. Bean Adds Popular Archery Course to New Rochelle’s Five Island Park Outdoor Program
New Rochelle Considers How to Address Brothels Operating in Downtown
New Rochelle School District Investigating Inappropriate Test Preparation Materials
Larchmont Restaurant Named for Former New Rochelle PBA President Christopher Greco Has Closed
New York State Police Superintendent Resigns Amidst Governor Investigation
In First for Westchester, New Rochelle Woman Resentenced Under New Domestic Violence Survivor Law
In Memoriam
Bill O’Shaughnessy, Owner of WVOX and WVIP Radio, Dead at 84
New Rochelle Educator Mary Jane Reddington Has Died at 98
Most Interesting Vimeo Videos
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