Mayor Richard Thomas Weekly Report for July 29, 2017
Burning the Midnight Oil for Mount Vernon
This week was an intense one for our grants team as we finalized and submitted applications for the 2017 Consolidated Funding Application — Governor Andrew Cuomo’s groundbreaking grants process. As we burned the midnight oil at City Hall, we were encouraged by knowing that New York State has recognized Mount Vernon’s decision to move forward including funding for our sewers and Memorial Field in 2016, giving us over $2 million. For 2017, we hope to more than double that figure with the grants we applied for. These grants include to revitalizing the bridges over the Metro-North tracks; further development of Memorial Field; investing in smart technology to boost the city; and developing exciting infrastructure investments that will make our city more walkable, bikeable, and connected.
Every day, we work around the clock for you, the taxpayer, Click here for a video of the team at work during one of our late night sessions!
Police Swearing in and Promotion Ceremony
This week, Mayor Richard Thomas, along with Mount Vernon Police Department leadership, swore in twelve new probationary police officers and promoted six individuals to higher rank within the Department.
In his remarks to the incoming class, Mayor Thomas pledged his unwavering support, telling them that “we have got your back.” The Mayor pledged to continue to fight for a police commissioner as well as the return of the twenty police officer positions that were cut from the force.
Congrats to Mount Vernon’s newest Detectives Delfim Ferreira and Robert Puff, our newly-minted Detective Sergeant Martin Bailey; and new Sergeants Janie McKenna, Mark Symonette, and Michel Yant.
God bless our twelve new recruits as they head to the Westchester County Police Academy in the next few weeks to begin their training. They will be on the streets of Mount Vernon within 6 months and all of them look forward to engaging with the community in a positive, collaborative manner. Click here to watch the ceremony.
Don’t forget to join us for National Night Out, this Tuesday, August 1st, from 6pm to 11pm at Levister Towers! Hope to see you there.
Work at Memorial Field
Mount Vernon’s Muscle a.k.a the Department of Public Works, is hard at work cutting tracks at Memorial Field and prepping the field to lay down a semi-permanent track for walking, light jogging, and exercise.
In addition, the city has retained an engineering firm to pull samples of the debris that was dumped on the Field and send it to a lab, approved by the Department of Environmental Conservation, for testing.
While we continue to hold community forums and evaluate the long-term commercial and recreational prospects of the Field, we know the people of Mount Vernon have waited long enough for their Field to be returned to them. The track and cleared Field means the location can be used for summer events, festivals, and year-round just walking around the track with friends.
Slide the City Tickets on Sale Now!
Mark your calendars, Mount Vernon, because Slide the City is coming back to town! Tickets have officially gone on sale! Saturday, August 26th at 10:00am; Gramatan Avenue will become the slipperiest, wettest, and wackiest spot in all of Westchester County! This record-breaking 1,000 foot long water slide starts at A.B. Davis Middle School and lets you slide all the way down to the Lincoln Avenue circle. The Ultimate slider ticket goes for $20 and buys you 3 hours of unlimited slides, and the All Day Slider ticket goes for $40 and, as you’ve probably guessed, buys you the whole day of unlimited sliding. But don’t wait, ticket prices are scheduled to go up as time goes on. Click here to buy your tickets now, and come out to Slide the City with us!
Mount Vernon Fresh Market Returns for Second Week
This Friday, the Mount Vernon Fresh Market marked its second week after a very successful launch two weeks ago. “A little rain can’t stop us” seems to be the theme for the Fresh Market series as week 2 looked a lot like week 1 with the weather being uncooperative and threatening to rain. Volunteers from City Hall and the Food Bank of Westchester braved the muggy weather and served up another 15,000 pounds of food to Mount Vernon residents and others. The Fresh Market will be coming to Mount Vernon every other Friday under the Park Avenue Bridge in municipal lot 11. The Market offers healthy food solutions to all Mount Vernon residents, regardless of income or family size, and no one is ever turned away. Join us for our next Fresh Market event on Friday, August 11th at 4pm. Click here for more details.
Mount Vernon Farmer’s Market
This past Thursday, Mount Vernon relaunched the Mount Vernon Farmer’s Market. The market features vendors from the New York metropolitan region who came out to the City Hall Plaza to sell fresh locally farmed produce. The Market will return every Thursday from 4–6pm, now through September. So come early to Summer Breeze and load up some fresh and yummy treats. From farm fresh vegetables and fruits to homemade cookies and artisan stuffed olives, there is something for everyone.
Community Development Block Grant Public Meetings
The Urban Renewal Agency has prepared a draft action plan, including a proposed draft budget for 2017. The agency will be accepting public comments from now until August 7th, 2017. In order to hear the community feedback and be able to explain the drafts and answer questions posed by residents, the Urban Renewal Agency will be holding two public meetings. The first was this morning at the Mount Vernon Public Library, and the second will be Monday, July 31st at 1pm at Mount Vernon City Hall in the City Council Chambers. All are welcomed to attend and encouraged to email their comments to Dom McCoy at DMcCoy@cmvny.com. Click here to see the 2017 proposed budget and click here to watch today’s public hearing.
Mount Vernon Youth Bureau C.A.P.P. Program Peer Educators
The Mount Vernon Youth Bureau’s C.AP.P. Program had the pleasure of collaborating with the WJCS Toddler Park at Hartley Park for the third consecutive summer. This program is designed to educate parents on effective Parent-Child Communications and Interactions. The C.A.P.P. Peer Educators joined parents and their children in various activities ranging from dance, music, and art. They also participated in Communication Workshops for parents which focused on how to engage in activities to make learning fun for their children any time of year, not just summer. Naisha Feliciano-Brown, Parent Child Home Program Coordinator, stated “The C.A.P.P. Peer Educators where so helpful in making this year’s program a success, thank you for allowing them to support and assist with this initiative.”
Mount Vernon Veteran Services Agency Help Vet Claim Status
On Wednesday, Director of Veteran Services Kristyn Reed surprised Virgil Bell with a small reception at City Hall. The reception was to celebrate that, after 64 years, Mr. Bell would finally be able to access his VA benefits as a veteran of the armed services. Mr. Bell’s enlistment records were destroyed in a fire 1973. In the early 80’s, when Mr. Bell first attempted to use his benefits, he was told that there was no record of him ever serving in the US Army and that he was therefore ineligible for benefits. Mr. Bell has attempted over the years to have his service record recreated but met dead ends everywhere. He joined his local DAV who attempted to help him by reaching out to the National Personnel Records Center and local elected officials. Their attempts were all fruitless.
During a local DAV chapter meeting, Mr. Bell met Mount Vernon Veteran Service Agency Director Kristyn Reed, and together the two submitted the paperwork necessary to have the NPRC create an official Certification of Military Service. On July 16th Director Reed received the proof that Mr. Bell would finally be recognized as a veteran and have access to the services that he needs.
While we are grateful that Mr. Bell’s status has been restored, his experience only underscores the need for City Hall to transform into a digital universe where documents are scanned, backed up, and saved for generations. The difficulties Mr. Bell experienced are tragic and unacceptable and no individual should ever experience this type of challenge. This modern-era makes paperwork snafus obsolete.
Mount Vernon Receives Its Robotic Sewer Scoping Truck
This week, Mount Vernon received a brand new state of the art sewer truck. The robotic camera truck will be used by DPW employees to completely map out every inch of Mount Vernon’s sewer system, putting Mount Vernon in compliance with the Department of Justice compliance order and EPA consent order and allowing the DPW to identify and fix issues existing many feet below our streets. This equipment will also serve the city well in the future, allowing DPW to assess the sewers before repaving a road, avoiding unnecessary expenses from cutting into a freshly repaved road to make repairs that could have been prevented. The arrival of this truck is a great step forward for Mount Vernon towards fixing our sewers and reclaiming our waterways. Click here for a tour of the truck.
Listen to us live:
Every week, Mayor Thomas speaks to Yonkers Tribune radio with host Hezi Aris: Catch this week’s interview here for an unvarnished look at what’s happening in Mount Vernon: Mayor Thomas also hosts Mount Vernon Moving Forward every Friday on WVOX, from 5pm to 6pm. You can listen to last week’s show here for an in-depth discussion about the what’s going on in Mount Vernon. On the Internet, tune in to Future 98.9 every Wednesday at 8:30am to listen to Mayor Thomas and Minister P. Tyson. On Tuesdays at 8am, you can hear Mayor Thomas on 101.5 Linkage Radio. Catch last week’s discussion here.
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