The Yonkers Police Department issued the following statement regarding their investigation into the death of Eira Maghuyop.

On 01-31-12 at approximately 7:56 p.m., the Yonkers Police Department responded to a residence on Newkirk Road in the 1st Precinct in relation to a death investigation.

To date, the initial investigation has not revealed any evidence to support that bullying was a factor in this incident.

This is an open and active investigation at this time. Anyone with information can contact the Detective Division at 914-377-7724. All calls will remain confidential.

NOTE: This statement was released on Thursday, February 02, 2012 at 4:40 PM, requested by Talk of the Sound on Friday but not received until after the weekend.

The Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting (CAFR) has been awarded to the City of New Rochelle by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) of the United States and Canada for its Fiscal Year 2010 financial report. This is the twenty-first consecutive year New Rochelle has received the award, the highest form of recognition in the area of government accounting and financial reporting.

“We commend our Finance Department for once again receiving such a distinguished honor,” said City Manager Charles B. Strome, III. “This award is a tribute to their professionalism and integrity.” Finance Commissioner Howard Rattner noted, “The Certificate of Achievement recognizes the fine work of our entire staff.”

The GFOA is a nonprofit association serving approximately 17,500 government finance professionals with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Washington, D.C. The CAFR has been judged by an impartial panel to meet the high standards of the program, including demonstrating a constructive “spirit of full disclosure” to clearly communicate its financial story and motivate potential users and user groups to read the CAFR.

A recent traffic incident in which New Rochelle High School swim coach Edward "Kip" Fierro caused a three car collision landing a local elementary school teacher in the hospital and him into police custody has brought to light a lucrative deal Fierro and his family have enjoyed for many years at the expense of New Rochelle taxpayers.

The staggering amounts of money involved raises serious questions as to the motivation of school officials involved.

Talk of the Sound spoke with a number of current and former employees of the New Rochelle Board of Education, parents, students and others familiar with the New Rochelle swimming pool and swim programs. They tell us that Kip Fierro has worked for the New Rochelle Board of Education as a Teaching Assistant and Swim Coach as far back as 1997, and possibly longer. He is paid a salary, benefits and accrues a pension. His school day responsibilities largely entail serving as a life guard at the pool. He coaches the boys and girls swim team. His pay and benefits are a pittance to what he makes running the Badger Swim Club out of New Rochelle High School.

Highly Dense Housing Proposed for New Rochelle's Downtown by Peggy Godfrey

Russell Albanese, chairman of the Albanese company, and George Andrus presented their vision for a highly dense housing development in New Rochelle. An initial set of apartments along with a five deck parking garage would be build on a downtown city parking lot in the southern section of the City. Eventually these buildings could be followed by another seven story garage at the present Church-Division site along with an 23-24 story apartment building with 550 housing units. The project would be developed in several phases.

The New Rochelle City Council has appointed fifteen citizen volunteers to serve on the Citizens’ Panel on Sustainable Budgets. Tasked with analyzing service delivery levels and methods in the face of dwindling resources for 2013 and beyond, the panel will convene in February and work through July to produce recommendations in time for next year’s budget considerations.

The panel brings together citizens with experience in finance, administration and other relevant fields and will be chaired by resident Todd Kern. Members include Judith Berger, David Bieber, Michael Boyle Sr., Emily Bromberg, Kyran Cassidy, Matthew Costa, Michael D’Ambrosio, Jeffrey Hastie, Linda Kelly-Fauci, Bo Kemp, Martha Lopez-Hanratty, David Peters, Ann Rolett, and John Rorer. Additionally, pro bono consulting services will be provided by North Avenue Research, a team led by New Rochelle resident Mark Grotevant.

Selections were made from a strong pool of applicants in at-large and council district appointments. Mayor Noam Bramson will also serve on the committee along with two rotating members of City Council.

New Rochelle police responded to a reported robbery at 3:30 pm this afternoon on North Avenue near Treno Street. Five youth described as male, black, ages 16-20, ripped a pair of Dr. Dre headphones off the head of a person walking down the street. The group of five ran south on North Avenue.

Beats By Dr. Dre is a brand of headphones and loudspeakers marketed by hip-hop/rap artist Dr. Dre and Interscope-Geffen-A&M Records chairman Jimmy Iovine under Beats Electronics, LLC.[1] The headphones, earphones, and speakers sold under the brand are manufactured and distributed under an exclusive license by Monster Cable Products. As part of marketing strategy, the headphones often appear in music videos, movies, advertisements, and other media.

Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore announced that Tanisha Gomez (DOB 06/18/85) of 132-39 88th Street, Ozone Park, New York, pled guilty today to all counts of a nine count indictment that charged her with:

• three counts of Aggravated Vehicular Homicide, class “B” Felonies,
• one count of Manslaughter in the Second Degree, a class “C” Felony,
• one count of Vehicular Assault in the First Degree, a class “D” Felony,
• one count of Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated, an unclassified Misdemeanor in the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law,
• two counts of Driving While Intoxicated, unclassified Misdemeanors in the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law,
• one count of Reckless Driving, an unclassified Misdemeanor in the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law.