Letter from Mayor Richard Thomas to Legislator Lyndon Williams Re: Funding for Memorial Field
Below is a February 13, 2019 letter from Mayor Richard Thomas to Westchester County Legislator Lyndon Williams Regarding Mayor Thomas’ continued efforts to pass a budget that includes funding for the City’s top priorities, including Memorial Field.
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February 13, 2019
Honorable Lyndon William
Westchester County Board of Legislators
800 Michaelian Office Building
148 Martine Avenue, 8th Floor
White Plains, New York 10601
Dear Legislator Williams,
I was encouraged and disappointed by your call to action tonight regarding Memorial Field and funding for its overdue clean-up.
You are correct that the Reynolds/Wallace proposed 2019 budget adopted by the Board of Estimate and Contract contains no funding for the Memorial Field clean-up.
However, I object to being included in the collective blame for not funding the clean-up.
I not only opposed approving the Reynolds/Wallace budget, I vetoed their illegal budget. It did not contain funding for Memorial Field or for the repairs of our faltering sewers that are the subject of a binding agreement with the federal government, among other issues.
For the record, here is a short list of the steps I’ve taken in my under-the-tax-cap budget:
- My budget included an estimated $430,000 for bond principal and interest payments in 2019 on a proposed $5 million capital plan that included borrowing for parks and infrastructure, particularly Memorial Field. The Reynolds/Wallace budget does not include a line for any responsible borrowing.
- My budget included $500,000 for grant matching amounts. The Reynolds/Wallace budget does not include any amount for grant matching. These matching funds would have allowed the city to draw down upon grants for many programs, one of which is Memorial Field.
In addition to these budgetary measures, I’m also seeking corporate sponsorship that would finance the redevelopment of Memorial Field at no cost to the taxpayers. To date we have held discussions with Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Mark Messier and Loida Lewis-widow of the 1st black billionaire deal-maker. In fact, one corporate investor indicated that they are ready to invest $120 million in a domed stadium at Memorial Field to rival Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
I hope you will understand that I’m trying to bring solutions to the table-those solutions include redeveloping Memorial Field and developing a ferry terminal two blocks away. That ferry will connect Mount Vernon to City Island, LaGuardia Airport and New York City. This will expand our commercial tax base to reduce the property tax burden and create jobs by delivering visitors and tourists without adding to road congestion.
I have another commitment tonight, so I can’t attend the budget meeting. Nonetheless, I support you and all those who advocate for funding the city’s real priorities, especially bringing Memorial Field back to life.
Perhaps we can meet and discuss this and many other important issues to benefit the people of Mount Vernon in the next five days?
For more information please visit http://cmvny.com/2019budget/.
Regards,
Mayor Richard Thomas
