Talk of the Sound

22/08/2026

SUNNY HOSTIN UPDATE: Just received an update alert from ecourts on the Gabriel Hostin case (CR-02858-26) in New Rochelle City Court.

Arrest information, defense attorney, and ADA details have all been cleared from the summary. Previously listed defense attorney was Asunción “Sunny” Hostin. The DA’s office told me Teny Garagos was handling it. Neither name appears now.

Next appearance remains September 15 at 9:30 a.m.

Something’s being cleaned up or reassigned. Watching.

22/08/2026

New Rochelle produced 1,432 pages in response to my Kingdom FOIL request. I subsequently identified records I believed were missing and repeatedly sought them without substantive resolution.

I’ve also added an Editor’s Note correcting an error in my original account of the 2024 FOIL history.

DUBLIN, IRELAND (August 21, 2026) — Part IV of The Public’s Right to Know examines my FOIL requests concerning Kingdom Community Consultants and the City of New Rochelle’s handling of records I contend remain outstanding despite a 1,432-page production in December 2024. An Editor’s Note has ...

21/08/2026

21/08/2026

An Albany woman is facing federal terrorism charges after prosecutors say she plotted to bomb the New York State Capitol and kill state senators before fleeing to join ISIS in Syria. Jessica Bowie, 35, was arrested Aug. 19 as she allegedly took possession of what she believed was an explosive device. Read more.

ALBANY, N.Y. (August 21, 2026) — An Albany woman made her initial appearance in federal court Thursday on charges of attempting to provide material support to ISIS, after federal authorities said she plotted to detonate an explosive device at the New York State Capitol and kill state senators. Jes...

20/08/2026

State auditors have arrived at New Rochelle City Hall, the same week the Comptroller's office confirmed the city never filed a legally required compliance report — one the city's own audit says was completed in June. So, where is it? Read more.

NEW ROCHELLE, NY (August 20, 2026) — Auditors from the New York State Office of the State Comptroller arrived at New Rochelle City Hall on Thursday to begin an on-site audit of the city’s finances, according to sources in the building; three auditors working out of the Youth Bureau conference ro...

20/08/2026

Robert Cox explains why he's weighing an Article 78 case against the New Rochelle Board of Ethics — not over the mayor's missing State of the City speech, but over the Board's stated reasons for refusing to even consider his complaint, which he says contradict both its own past practice and the plain language of the city's ethics code. Read more.

DUBLIN, IRELAND (August 20, 2026) — For years, the New Rochelle Board of Ethics accepted and acted on ethics complaints — including several that led to sustained findings. Then, starting in mid-2024, the Board began declining to consider complaints at all, citing a reading of the city’s ethics...

20/08/2026

A New Rochelle man charged with forcibly ra**ng a woman near New Rochelle High School last year will be sentenced next month for robbery, not r**e. Destin Medina's First-Degree R**e charge — alleging forcible a**l sexual conduct — was resolved as part of a guilty plea to Robbery in the Second Degree, court records show. The disposition stands in contrast to DA Susan Cacace's May statement pledging to be a "champion" for the victim. Co-defendant Lonell Alexander's case tied to the same incident has been sealed, the DA's office says. Read more.

Co-defendant in brutal r**e case alleged in May has had his case sealed WHITE PLAINS, NY (August 19, 2026) — A New Rochelle man charged with forcibly ra**ng a woman near New Rochelle High School last year will be sentenced next month not for r**e, but for robbery, after prosecutors agreed to a ple...

20/08/2026

New Rochelle has lost a longtime businessman. Mariano Bulfamante, 89, who built a landscaping company that grew to include his sons and grandchildren, died Aug. 19. A visitation is set for Thursday at Lloyd Maxcy and Sons Beauchamp Chapel.
Read more.

NEW ROCHELLE, NY (August 19, 2026) — Mariano Bulfamante, a New Rochelle businessman who founded a landscaping company later run by his sons and grandchildren, died Aug. 19 at age 89. Bulfamante was born Nov. 24, 1936, in Sciara, Sicily, and immigrated to the United States at 18. He founded a lands...

19/08/2026

A New Rochelle man held on $100,000 bail after being charged with top-level drug felonies and a loaded firearm has been released, after his case was sealed by the court. District Attorney's Office confirmed the sealing but declined to comment further. Read more.

NEW ROCHELLE, NY (August 19, 2026) — A New Rochelle man who was held on $100,000 bail after being charged with the highest-level drug felony under New York law, along with weapons charges, has been released from custody after his case was sealed, according to a notification from the state’s vict...

19/08/2026

New Rochelle’s Board of Ethics rejected a complaint over the mayor’s missing State of the City address, citing narrow jurisdiction — but the Board’s own 2022 opinion, issued by the same law firm that still represents it, describes broader authority. Publisher Robert Cox says he’s weighing his legal options, including a possible Article 78 proceeding. Read more.

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. (August 19, 2026) — The New Rochelle Board of Ethics’ recent decision to reject a complaint over Mayor Yadira Ramos-Herbert’s failure to deliver a State of the City address appears inconsistent with the Board’s own prior handling of similar complaints — including a 2022 ...