NEW ROCHELLE, NY (May 13, 2026) — The City of New Rochelle held a Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM) Recognition Ceremony at City Hall on Monday, May 11, but deliberately kept it out of public view, according to Council Member Matt Stern (District 6), who MC’d the event. No press releases were issued, no email alerts sent, no social media posts published, and the recognition ceremony was not listed on the city’s public calendar.
Invitations were extended only to local synagogues, by word of mouth.
“We had more than 70 people RSVP and strong attendance at the event which was promoted through word of mouth and in collaboration with Jewish institutions,” Stern told Talk of the Sound.
All Jewish organizations and events these days are highly sensitive to security concerns given recent attacks.
This has never happened before for any such event, including past JAHM events, in the history of the City New Rochelle, according to current and former New Rochelle officials — a non-public, effectively secret, taxpayer-funded event held in a public meeting room at City Hall.
City officials have cited safety concerns as the reason for the low-key approach. They have not explained what specific threats or concerns warranted keeping the recognition of a federally designated heritage month from public view.
The Israeli flag was raised over City Hall on Wednesday, May 6 — five days before the ceremony — at 5:00 PM on the City Hall Front Lawn.
The city posted a calendar entry for the flag raising, titled “Flag Raising: State of Israel,” describing it as being held “in honor of Jewish-American Heritage Month.” However, Talk of the Sound, which is on the city’s email notification lists, received no email alert about the flag raising. No social media posts promoted it. The recognition ceremony on May 11 was not listed on the city calendar at all.
Talk of the Sound submitted questions to the city asking what security concerns justified the low-profile approach, when exactly the calendar entry for the flag raising was created and made public, whether the flag raising was documented with photos or video, who attended, and why no email notification was sent despite the city maintaining public email lists for that purpose. No response had been received by the time of publication.
A Ceremony That Did Take Place — Just Not Publicly
The program for the May 11 event, provided to Talk of the Sound by an attendee who asked not to be named, shows it was a substantive ceremony. Mayor Yadira Ramos-Herbert delivered greetings and a proclamation designating Jewish American Heritage Month. City Manager Will Melendez offered remarks. Historian Barbara Davis spoke as a guest. A representative of the New Rochelle Public Library announced a grant for a program titled “Between Two Worlds: Exploring Jewish Culture and Religion through Yiddish Literature.” Stern provided both the welcome and closing remarks.
The event happened. It simply was not announced, promoted, or, as of this writing, recorded in the public record in any of the ways the city routinely uses to document such events.
No Video Posted — And the Significance of That
Major city events are typically broadcast live on the city’s website. When a live broadcast ends, the recording is immediately added to the city’s video archive at newrochelleny.gov. They appear in the archive the same day, as the live stream ends.
The 2026 Jewish American Heritage Month Recognition Ceremony was not broadcast live. As of May 13 — two days after the event — no recording has appeared in the city’s video archive.
This is in contrast to comparable events. The contrast with the prior year is equally stark. In 2025, the Jewish American Heritage Month Recognition was held on May 1. The video was posted to the city archive on May 1 — the same day — because it was livestreamed like many other such events.
What the City Promoted in 2026 — For Every Other Heritage Group
The city’s own Instagram account, @newrochelleny, tells the story clearly. For every heritage recognition in 2026 — with one exception — the city published polished promotional graphics, event flyers, and RSVP links in advance, and posted event video and photos afterward. The Jewish American Heritage Month events in 2026 are the exception.
2026 events publicly promoted by the City of New Rochelle (so far):
Pan-African Flag Raising (February 2, 2026)
Publicly announced January 30. Instagram post: “In recognition of Black History Month, the Pan-African Flag will be raised at 5pm on Monday, February 2, in front of City Hall.” Video posted to archive.
Black History Month Recognition Ceremony (February 5, 2026)
Publicly promoted with honoree flyer featuring Denise Clark and Sylvia B. Hamer. Honoree interview video posted. Video posted to archive.
Lunar New Year Celebration (February 21, 2026)
Save-the-date posted February 3; reminder posted February 17. Full event flyer with RSVP link at newrochelleny.gov/lunarnewyear. Video posted to archive.
Irish Flag Raising (March 16, 2026)
Publicly announced March 13. Instagram post: “In Recognition of Irish American Heritage Month, the Irish Flag will be raised on Monday, March 16, at 5PM in front of City Hall.” Video posted to archive.
Irish American Heritage Month Recognition (March 16, 2026)
Full invitation graphic published March 3. RSVP at NewRochelleny.Gov/IrishHeritage. Video posted to archive.
Hellenic Flag Raising (March 24, 2026)
Publicly announced March 23. Instagram post: “In Recognition of Greek American Heritage Month, the Hellenic Flag will be raised on Tuesday, March 24, at 5PM in front of City Hall.” Video posted to archive.
Jewish American Heritage Month — Flag Raising (May 6, 2026)
No social media posts. No email alert sent to city email list subscribers.
Jewish American Heritage Month Recognition Ceremony (May 11, 2026)
No social media posts. No press release. No email alert. Not livestreamed. Not listed on city calendar. No video in archive as of May 13.
Haitian Flag Raising (March 24, 2026)
Haitian Heritage Month Recognition (May 14, 2026)
Full invitation graphic published April 23. RSVP at newrochelleny.gov/haitianheritage. Flag raising at 5 PM, ceremony 5:30–7:30 PM, publicly promoted.
What the City Promoted in 2025 — For Every Other Heritage Group
The same pattern holds for 2025. The city promoted every heritage recognition publicly and in advance — and in 2025, the Jewish American Heritage Month event was promoted normally. It is only in 2026 that it was not.
2025 events publicly promoted by the City of New Rochelle:
Black History Month Recognition (February 20, 2025)
Invitation published February 15. Honoree: Kelly Johnson Jr., Executive Director, New Rochelle Youth Bureau. Video in archive.
Lunar New Year Celebration (March 1, 2025)
Promoted February 19 with RSVP link. Video in archive.
Irish-American Heritage Month Recognition (March 14, 2025)
Invitation published March 6. Honoree: New Rochelle Irish Benevolent Society. Flag raising at 5 PM. Video in archive.
Greek-American Heritage Month Recognition (March 25, 2025)
Invitation published March 18. Honorees: Tony Gliatis and Nick Gliatis, owners of Town Pizza. Flag raising at 5 PM. Video in archive.
Arab American Heritage Month Recognition (April 22, 2025)
Invitation published April 8. Video in archive.
Jewish American Heritage Month Recognition (May 1, 2025)
Invitation published April 21. Honoree: Paul Warhit. Video posted May 1, same day as event. Listed on city calendar.
Haitian Heritage Month Recognition (May 15, 2025)
Invitation published May 7. Flag raising at 5 PM. Video in archive.
French American Heritage Month Recognition (July 15, 2025)
Invitation published July 11. Honoring: The Sister City Committee. Video in archive.
Hispanic Heritage Month Recognition (September 17, 2025)
Invitation published August 27. Video in archive.
German American Heritage Recognition (October 3, 2025)
Invitation published September 29. Flag raising at 5 PM. Video in archive.
Italian American Heritage Month Recognition (October 10, 2025)
Invitation published October 2. Flag raising at 5 PM. Video in archive.
In 2025, the Jewish American Heritage Month event was treated identically to every other heritage recognition. In 2026, it was not.
Westchester County Executive: Also Silent
The pattern at the city level was mirrored at the county level. In 2026, under County Executive Ken Jenkins, Westchester County issued no press release, held no flag raising, and organized no public event for Jewish American Heritage Month. The county’s social media accounts made no mention that May is Jewish American Heritage Month.
Jenkins did, however, issue a public statement on May 1, 2026 — the first day of the month — recognizing May as Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. His statement called on the community to recognize the AAPI community’s contributions and pledged that “Westchester is proud to stand with our AAPI residents.”
No comparable statement was issued for Jewish Americans.
Talk of the Sound submitted questions to the Office of the County Executive asking whether the omission was deliberate, whether security concerns played a role, and whether Jenkins recognized JAHM in prior years. No response had been received by the time of publication.
Westchester Board of Legislators: A Different Approach
The Westchester County Board of Legislators took a markedly different approach. The Board held a Jewish American Heritage Month celebration on Monday, May 4, 2026, at 7 PM in the Board Chamber in White Plains, publicly promoted in advance on both Facebook and its website.
The Board honored two organizations: the Westchester Jewish Council, a nonprofit that connects and convenes Jewish organizations across the county, celebrating its 50th anniversary; and Suzi Oppenheimer, former New York State Senator and champion for education, the environment, and fiscal reform.
The Board’s social media post, published April 30, invited the public to attend in person or watch the livestream at westchestercountyny.legistar.com. A press release dated May 20, 2025, documented the Board’s prior year celebration, which honored the Community Thanksgiving Dinner Program at Temple Shaaray Tefila in Bedford Corners and Community Security Services, a White Plains-based nonprofit that trains volunteers to protect Jewish institutions from security threats.
Background: The Israeli Flag Controversy and a Familiar Refrain
The current controversy is not the first time the raising of the Israeli flag at New Rochelle City Hall has generated a political controversy — and it is not the first time security concerns have been invoked in connection with it.
In January 2024, newly inaugurated Mayor Yadira Ramos-Herbert orchestrated a backroom effort to remove the Israeli flag that had been raised at City Hall in October 2023 following the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack. Emails obtained by Talk of the Sound through FOIL requests showed that five council members — without public discussion — agreed to take the flag down. One of them was Matt Stern.
In his January 22, 2024 email, Stern wrote that he agreed with removing the flag, adding: “I’ve now heard two requests for support with the cost of security, and would love to help find solutions.”
The effort ultimately failed. After Talk of the Sound published the email, the public backlash caused City Council to vote 7-0 to keep the flag flying. The City later adopted a flag policy to limit how many days a flag could fly.
Two years later, Stern is at the center of another Israeli flag and Jewish community controversy — this time as one of the organizers of a Jewish American Heritage Month ceremony the city kept out of public view. The reason given, again, was security concerns.
Questions Submitted, No Replies Received (So Far)
Questions were submitted to the City of New Rochelle, Council Member Matthew Stern, and the Office of the Westchester County Executive. None had responded by the time of publication. This story will be updated if responses are received.
Questions submitted to the City of New Rochelle / City Manager Wil Melendez
- Who made the decision not to publicly promote the 2026 JAHM event, and when was that decision made?
- What specific security concerns prevented public announcement that May is Jewish-American Heritage Month?
- The city’s website shows a calendar entry for “Flag Raising: State of Israel” on Wednesday, May 6, 2026 at 5:00 PM at City Hall Front Lawn. I was not notified of this event despite being on the city’s email lists. Beyond the calendar entry, was this event promoted in advance? When exactly was the calendar entry created and made public on the city website? Was the event documented with photos or video? Can I obtain copies? Who attended?
- Why was the event video not posted to the city’s Watch City Council archive, as is standard practice?
- The 2025 JAHM Recognition Ceremony was listed on the city calendar and publicly promoted. Why was the 2026 ceremony not listed on the city calendar?
- How were invitations extended — by email, letter, or phone — and who compiled the invitation list?
- Has the city applied similar low-profile treatment to any other heritage month event in 2025 or 2026? If not, why was JAHM singled out?
- Did any elected official, department head, or outside party request or recommend the reduced-profile approach?
Questions submitted to Council Member Matthew Stern:
- Who specifically told you that city officials deliberately chose not to promote the event?
- When did you learn of that decision, and did you raise objections before the event?
- Did the city provide you with any written policy, memo, or guidance citing security concerns?
- Were other council members informed of or consulted on the decision?
- Will you be calling for a formal explanation or Council action?
Questions submitted to the Office of the Westchester County Executive/Ken Jenkins:
Did the County Executive’s office make a deliberate decision not to recognize Jewish-American Heritage Month in May 2026?
Jenkins issued a statement for AAPI Heritage Month but not for JAHM — what accounts for that difference?
Did security concerns play any role in that decision, and if so, what were they?
Has the County Executive’s office recognized JAHM in prior years, and if so, what changed in 2026?
Does the County Executive consider the Board of Legislators’ public promotion of JAHM — while his office stayed silent — an inconsistency that requires explanation?
This article was prepared with the assistance of AI tools under the direction and editing of Robert Cox.
Have information about this story? Email robertcox@talkofthesound.com (preferred) or contact via WhatsApp: +353 089 972 0669.