Issue #039 · LatestFriday, October 23, 2026 · sunny, high near 58, north wind around 8 mph · frost advisory 11:00 PM tonight to 9:00 AM Saturday, lows near 33 · FALL-O-WEEN 5:00 to 8:00 PM at Five Islands Park · last scheduled paving day on the St. Pauls Place streets
The fire department pins five promotions, FALL-O-WEEN runs tonight, and frost arrives after 11
Free local email · Monday + Friday mornings · Written by Sabrina · 4-minute read
The New Rochelle Fire Department held its annual Awards and Promotion Ceremony Thursday morning in the Council Chambers at City Hall. Five members took new rank: Robert Ciotti is deputy chief, Ryan Pascuzzi and Gary Bruzzese are captains, Hugo Pinilla and Clark Campbell are lieutenants. Mayor Yadira Ramos-Herbert presided over the promotions, and Chief Joseph Sinatra handed out his first awards as chief.
The longer part of the program was the awards side. Lifesaving Awards went to crews from six calls between October 2025 and March 2026, at addresses you would recognize: Willow Drive, Jones Street, Station Plaza North, Lockwood Avenue, Inwood Place and Locust Avenue. Unit Citations covered three more incidents, from Church Street in April to Huguenot Street and River Street in September. Special awards went too, among them the Arthur Luce Klein Award to Capt. Anthony Cruciata and the Fire Commissioner's Award to FF Anthony Costa.
Tonight belongs to the kids. FALL-O-WEEN runs 5:00 to 8:00 PM at Five Islands Park for Pre-K through 5th grade, costumes encouraged. And check the sky before Saturday morning errands: a frost advisory covers the city from 11:00 PM tonight to 9:00 AM Saturday, with temperatures as low as 33 in southern Westchester. Cover the plants, scrape the windshield, walk the dog late.
The questions New Rochelle searches this week, answer first, source after.
Who got promoted at the New Rochelle Fire Department?
Robert Ciotti is the department's new deputy chief. Ryan Pascuzzi and Gary Bruzzese made fire captain, and Hugo Pinilla and Clark Campbell made fire lieutenant, all announced at Thursday's ceremony. The ceremony was Chief Joseph Sinatra's first as chief, and the awards list ran longer than the promotions: Lifesaving Awards for crews on six calls between October 2025 and March 2026, Unit Citations for three more, and special honors including the Arthur Luce Klein Award for Capt. Anthony Cruciata. The full list lives in the department's ceremony notice and the Talk of the Sound recap.
5:00 PM at Five Islands Park, running to 8:00 PM. The city frames the event for Pre-K through 5th grade students, costumes encouraged, and the park entrance sits on LeFevre Lane. The city's calendar page still says details may be added, so check it before you drive.
The frost advisory window runs 11:00 PM tonight to 9:00 AM Saturday, and the National Weather Service puts overnight temperatures as low as 33 in southern Westchester, cold enough for frost on roofs and lawns before sunrise. The point forecast for New Rochelle shows a mostly clear night with a low near 40 at station level. Those two numbers are not a contradiction: air drains downhill and settles in low yards, which is where the 33s show up. Cover what you can before bed. Saturday recovers to near 60.
The milling and paving program runs its last calendar day on the St. Pauls Place streets today, 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM, weather permitting. The list covers St. Pauls Pl, Hilltop Ave, Chauncey Ave, Carol Ln, Highland Ave, May St and Highridge Rd, and North Avenue and Mill Road already got their second pass Thursday. After today, the city's October calendar shows no more paving entries.
Next week stacks three meetings in three nights. The Planning Board meets Monday at 7:00 PM at City Hall, 515 North Avenue. The Mayor delivers the State of the City Tuesday, 6:00 to 8:30 PM at the JCC Mid-Westchester, 999 Wilmot Road in Scarsdale, with RSVPs through the city's form at newrochelleny.gov/SOTCRSVP. The IDA follows Wednesday at 7:30 PM, also at City Hall.
Okay. If you go to one thing, the State of the City is the one with the RSVP clock, so send the form today and keep Tuesday evening open.
AI Corner: one plain-English AI thing, every issue
This week: let an AI app turn your freezer and plant list into tonight's frost checklist, then check the clock against the advisory window.
The advisory window is specific, 11:00 PM tonight to 9:00 AM Saturday, with temperatures as low as 33 expected in southern Westchester. An AI assistant on your phone can turn that into a plan: tell it what you grow and what is in the freezer, ask for a before-bed checklist ordered by what fails first, and it will hand you a list that covers the basil, the outdoor faucets and the garage fridge question in about a minute. What it cannot do is know your yard. Cold air pools in low corners, a wall can buy a zone, and a porch step is not the same climate as the vegetable bed two floors down.
So check its plan against the record: the point forecast is the record, and the advisory is the warning. If the AI's checklist says 5:00 PM and your yard is the low one on the block, start earlier. A checklist you would follow beats a perfect one you ignore.
Reply with questions; they become future AI Corner topics.
FALL-O-WEEN for Pre-K through 5th grade, 5:00 to 8:00 PM at Five Islands Park, LeFevre Lane, costumes encouraged; last scheduled milling and paving day on the St. Pauls Pl, Hilltop Ave, Chauncey Ave, Carol Ln, Highland Ave, May St and Highridge Rd list, 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM; The Haunt, 7:00 to 10:30 PM at Wildcliff Mansion; frost advisory 11:00 PM to 9:00 AM Saturday, lows near 33 in low spots; sunny, high near 58
Five Islands Park, streets west of North Ave, Wildcliff Mansion · city calendar and NWS
A Spooktacular Celebration, 2:00 to 3:30 PM in the Children's Garden at the Main Library; Manga Book Club: Frieren Vol. 1 & 2, 2:00 to 3:00 PM in the Teen Room at the Main Library; HAUNTFEST, 7:00 to 10:30 PM at Wildcliff Mansion, music, food truck and vendors; The Haunt, 7:00 to 10:30 PM
Main Library and Wildcliff Mansion · city calendar and library calendar
Planning Board Meeting, 7:00 PM at City Hall, 515 North Ave; the WCHS History Hunt through Westchester wraps October 30
City Hall · city calendar
State of the City 2026, 6:00 to 8:30 PM at the JCC Mid-Westchester, 999 Wilmot Rd, Scarsdale; RSVP at newrochelleny.gov/SOTCRSVP
JCC Mid-Westchester · city calendar
New Rochelle IDA Meeting, 7:30 PM at City Hall; The Haunt, 7:00 to 10:30 PM at Wildcliff Mansion
City Hall and Wildcliff Mansion · city calendar
Teen Room: Halloween Fest, 2:00 to 5:00 PM at the Main Library; Little Haunters at Wildcliff Mansion, 4:00 to 7:30 PM, no jump scares, trick-or-treating at the end; The Haunt, 7:00 to 10:30 PM
Main Library and Wildcliff Mansion, 44 Wildcliff Rd · city calendar and library calendar
