NEW ROCHELLE, NY (May 20, 2026) — No stipend payments have been made to any member of the New Rochelle Civilian Complaint Review Board, the City of New Rochelle Department of Finance has confirmed, despite city code providing for annual compensation of $2,500 for the Chairperson and $1,500 for each of the six board members.
The confirmation came in response to a Freedom of Information Law request submitted by Talk of the Sound on May 17, 2026 — the same day the publication released a comprehensive research report documenting the board’s failure to hold a single meeting in nearly a year since members were appointed in July 2025.
Records produced in response to a separate FOIL request show that CCRB Chairperson Natasha Fapohunda wrote to Deputy City Manager Todd Castaldo on March 11, 2026, affirmatively declining her compensation and her designation as a government representative.
“I am writing to advise that I will be declining compensation related to my participation as Chair of the Civilian Complaint Review Board and to note that I do not consider myself a representative of the government,” Fapohunda wrote.
Castaldo replied on April 16, 2026, copying City Manager Wilfredo Melendez and Corporation Counsel Dawn Warren. He wrote that there was no issue with declining compensation, but added: “As a member of the CCRB, and as Chair, you are indeed a representative of the government.”
The city accepted her declination of compensation while rejecting her characterization of her own status. No other member declination request was found in the records produced.
The city code provides for the stipends as compensation for board members who are required under city law to review civilian complaints against New Rochelle Police Department officers, attend monthly meetings, hold quarterly public sessions, and issue semi-annual public reports. The board has done none of those things. It has never held a meeting.
The absence of stipend payments raises a question the city has not addressed publicly: if the board is formally constituted under a city ordinance, with members appointed by resolution and terms that commenced July 1, 2025, on what basis has the city withheld compensation required by the code? The city has offered no public explanation.
Fapohunda’s decision to decline her stipend stands in contrast to the six other board members, for whom no declination was found in the records. Whether those members were offered the opportunity to decline, or whether the city simply never initiated payments to anyone, is not addressed in the records produced.
Talk of the Sound submitted media inquiries to Mayor Yadira Ramos-Herbert, City Manager Melendez, Deputy City Manager Castaldo, and Chairperson Fapohunda on May 17, 2026. No responses have been received as of publication.
This story is part of a continuing investigation into the New Rochelle Civilian Complaint Review Board. The full research report is available to paid subscribers at Words in Edgewise.
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.