Applications obtained under FOIL reveal uneven applicant pools and a gap that could leave one district without a replacement if its sole member resigns
NEW ROCHELLE, NY (June 12, 2026) — New Rochelle’s Civilian Complaint Review Board has never held a public meeting. Two of its seven original members have resigned. It has not produced a single required report. And FOIL records obtained by Talk of the Sound now reveal a structural problem that could make the board’s long-term stability even harder to maintain.
Applications obtained under the Freedom of Information Law show for the first time the full pool of candidates who sought seats on the CCRB when the city solicited applications in early 2025. The records show that 34 individuals applied for seven seats between February 18 and March 12, 2025. Interest varied sharply by district: District 6 produced 10 applicants, Districts 3 and 4 each produced seven, District 1 had 5. District 2 had 4. District 5 produced exactly one.
| District | Applicants |
|---|---|
| District 1 | 5 |
| District 2 | 4 |
| District 3 | 7 |
| District 4 | 7 |
| District 5 | 1 |
| District 6 | 10 |
| Total | 34 |
That single District 5 applicant — Fabiola C. Brito Briseno — was appointed. If she were to resign, the city would have no one left to draw from.
A Board That Has Never Met
The CCRB was seated July 1, 2025. Within weeks, Luis Angel Ochoa, the District 1 representative, resigned. Christian Ismell Walker was appointed to replace him, drawn from the remaining District 1 applicant pool.
On May 18, 2026 — the day after Talk of the Sound published its investigation into the board’s failure to function — Natasha Fapohunda, the District 4 representative and designated Chairperson, resigned. She had served on three successive New Rochelle police oversight bodies over five years and was the only person to do so. She never held a single meeting as Chairperson, never answered any of the 17 questions Talk of the Sound sent her, and never issued either of the semi-annual reports the city code required her to produce.
Her resignation created two simultaneous vacancies: the District 4 seat and the Chairperson position.
At the June 9, 2026 City Council meeting, City Manager Wilfredo Melendez presented a memorandum recommending that Michael Cammer — who had applied for the District 4 seat in the original recruitment — be appointed to fill the vacancy. District 4 Council Member Shane Osinloye had reviewed the remaining District 4 applications and selected Cammer.
The Council did not act. Before entering executive session, members made reference to prior discussions about a possible co-chair arrangement — a concept not provided for in the CCRB ordinance, which designates a single Chairperson. No appointment was made. The matter was deferred to the June 16 regular legislative meeting.
As of June 12, 2026, the board has six sitting members, no Chairperson, and no public meeting on record since it was seated nearly a year ago.
The District 5 Problem
The city’s practice of drawing replacements from the original applicant pool — used when Ochoa resigned from District 1 and proposed again when Fapohunda resigned from District 4 — works only as long as there are remaining applicants to draw from.
District 5 has none.
Brito Briseno was the only person who applied for the District 5 seat. She was appointed. If she were to resign, there would be no remaining District 5 applicants in the original pool.
The CCRB ordinance requires that vacancies be filled “in the same manner as the original appointment was made.” That language most naturally implies public notice, an application period, and council approval — not simply tapping a name from an existing list. The original process ran from February 18 to March 12, 2025. The city does not appear to have addressed this contingency. No policy has been made public regarding how long the original applicant pool remains valid, whether districts with exhausted pools would trigger new recruitment, or what timeline would apply.
The Bench May Be Thinner Than It Looks
| District | Applicant | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| District 1 | Luis Angel Ochoa | Appointed¹ Resigned² |
| District 1 | Christian Ismell Walker | Appointed³ |
| District 1 | Brian Sten | |
| District 1 | Richard Schwartz | |
| District 1 | Sandra Rodriguez | |
| District 2 | Donna O’Keeffe | Appointed¹ |
| District 2 | Ryan Abbot McSherry | |
| District 2 | Carlos D. Sánchez | |
| District 2 | Jonathan Nwaru | |
| District 3 | Damon Maher | Appointed¹ |
| District 3 | Kwamain Dixon | |
| District 3 | Mary Thomas | |
| District 3 | Jean M. Michel Jr. | |
| District 3 | Lonnie Phillips | |
| District 3 | Noelle Hiland | |
| District 3 | Michelle Tawdeen | |
| District 4 | Natasha Fapohunda | Appointed¹ Chairperson⁴ Resigned⁵ |
| District 4 | Michael Cammer | Recommended for appointment⁶ |
| District 4 | Martin Sanchez | |
| District 4 | Patricia Zaffo | |
| District 4 | Vincent Malfetano | |
| District 4 | David Fleisher | |
| District 4 | Mykelah Muhammad | |
| District 5 | Fabiola C. Brito Briseno | Appointed¹ |
| District 6 | Renée M. Baron | Appointed¹ |
| District 6 | Christopher Truffini | |
| District 6 | Glenn J. Staropoli | |
| District 6 | Saul Mackler | |
| District 6 | Kenneth Chorzewski | |
| District 6 | Nicole Granston | |
| District 6 | Cheryl Goldschmidt | |
| District 6 | Linda Harary | |
| District 6 | Sudarshan K. Singla | |
| Mayor at-large | Julie L. Mercer | Appointed¹ |
¹ Original appointee under Resolution 2025-102, June 17, 2025
² Resigned July 2025
³ Appointed July 2025 to replace Ochoa
⁴ Designated Chairperson, July 1, 2025 — June 30, 2026
⁵ Resigned May 18, 2026
⁶ Recommended by Council Member Osinloye, June 9, 2026 — Council deferred action to June 16, 2026
Even in districts that do have remaining applicants on paper, the pool may be less available than the city assumes. More than a year has passed since applications closed. People move. Circumstances change.
A prudent approach would be to treat the applicant pool more like a civil service eligible list — one that requires periodic refreshing. For District 5 in particular, the city may want to proactively solicit new applications to build a reserve pool before a vacancy forces the issue.
Representation Questions
The FOIL records also illuminate a structural feature of the board that was not widely discussed when appointments were made.
Both the District 6 representative, Renée Baron, and the Mayor’s at-large appointee, Julie Mercer, reside in District 6. That gave District 6 two of the seven seats on the original board.
The districts that generated the most applicants — and the strongest public concern about police accountability based on Talk of the Sound’s reporting from the city’s listening-tour sessions — were Districts 3 and 4. Together they accounted for 14 unique applicants. District 3 is New Rochelle’s Black opportunity district. District 4 includes much of the city’s public housing. Mayor Yadira Ramos-Herbert, who made the at-large appointment, previously represented District 3 on the City Council before becoming Mayor on January 1, 2024.
The Mayor’s discretionary appointment went to District 6.
What Comes Next
The June 16 City Council meeting is expected to take up the District 4 appointment and the Chairperson question. The co-chair concept referenced before executive session on June 9 remains unexplained — the CCRB ordinance does not appear to authorize co-chairs, and no code amendment has been publicly proposed.
Nearly a year after the board was first appointed, New Rochelle’s civilian police oversight body has yet to demonstrate it can function as designed.
Talk of the Sound and Words in Edgewise articles on the New Rochelle Civilian Complaint Review Board and its predecessor, the Community Police Partnership Board.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Talk of the Sound reviewed each application to verify that applicants’ addresses placed them in the districts for which they applied and that no applicant had checked a box indicating a disqualifying factor. The applications themselves are not bein
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.