New Rochelle Used Taxpayer Funds to Finance a Private Lawsuit. Now I’m Seeking the Records
NEW ROCHELLE, NY (August 12, 2026) — Today I filed a request under the New York Freedom of Information Law seeking records concerning how the City of New Rochelle came to authorize the use of taxpayer funds in connection with the defamation lawsuit brought against me by Corporation Counsel Dawn Warren and Development Commissioner Adam Salgado.
Request #26-1496 seeks records created or maintained between March 25, 2024, and the present concerning the actual or contemplated litigation, including communications among City officials, communications with outside counsel, memoranda, recommendations, drafts, financial records and the internal decision-making process that ultimately led to the City Council’s approval of funding for the lawsuit.
The request specifically seeks records relating to the proposal presented to the New Rochelle City Council on Dec. 10, 2024, authorizing the expenditure of public funds in connection with the litigation. It includes drafts, recommendations, memoranda, briefing materials, correspondence, text messages, emails, financial records and other documents created before, during and after the proposal was presented to the Council.
During that meeting, Mayor Yadira Ramos-Herbert described the proposal as “something that is unprecedented within itself.”
That statement alone raises an obvious question: How did an unprecedented proposal originate, develop and ultimately come before the City Council for approval?
Another question: How much has this cost the taxpayers so far?
These are two of the primary questions my FOIL request seeks to answer.
Among other things, I am seeking communications involving City officials, members of the City Council, the City Manager, Corporation Counsel Dawn Warren, Development Commissioner Adam Salgado and any outside attorneys retained or consulted in connection with the litigation. The request also seeks communications transmitted through City email systems, personal email accounts used for City business, text messages and electronic messaging platforms, including Microsoft Teams, Slack, Signal, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, to the extent they concern City business.
In addition, I am seeking retainer agreements, engagement letters, contracts, invoices, billing statements, vouchers, purchase orders, payment authorizations and other financial records relating to legal services provided in connection with the litigation.
The request also asks that if the City withholds any responsive records under an exemption to the Freedom of Information Law, it identify the records being withheld and specify the statutory basis for each claimed exemption.
I have no preconceived view of what the records will show. They may demonstrate that the proposal followed an ordinary internal process. They may reveal additional information about how the proposal originated and evolved before reaching the Council. Whatever the outcome, I believe the public has a legitimate interest in understanding how the City arrived at what the Mayor herself described as “something that is unprecedented within itself.”
I will report on the City’s response as the FOIL process moves forward.
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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 (preferred) or contact via WhatsApp: +353 089 972 0669.
