Mayor Richard Thomas Weekly Report September 30, 2017
Our Hearts and Prayers Go Out to the Family of Sandy Gresham in their Hour of Sadness.
Earlier today, Mayor Richard Thomas spoke at the funeral services for Sandy Gresham, wife of 1199 SEIU President George K. Gresham. Sandy exemplified the goodness that we all should strive for in our lives, our work, our family, and our community. Mrs. Gresham was a friend to many and remembered warmly in remarks from Governor Andrew Cuomo, New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio, and Mr. Danny Glover. Our Hearts and Prayers go out to her family in this time of grieving.
A City on the Rise
Dear Mount Vernon Friends and Family -
Earlier this week, I was honored to be a featured speaker at Microsoft’s annual Envision conference. Our city, and the transformative work we are doing, was recognized in the New York Times and is now getting recognized around the world.
This invitation offered a platform to share our story on a global stage. It is a story of a great city with a character, culture, and connectedness that other cities only dream of. It’s a story of incredible people doing hard work and implementing change. It’s a story about a community that is accelerating change and leapfrogging others to become the next hot edge city.
Above is a video we presented to the Microsoft team and the conference attendees. It tells the story of us, and our digital transformation. It shows our new investments in public safety, training, and technology and details our plans to do more. At the conference, Ford Motor Company and VOLVO each described their efforts to accomplish the same objectives we set out to do, optimize operations and achieve economic growth. It is no secret that Mount Vernon has decades of past mismanagement to correct. It is also no surprise the pushback we are getting from forces that want to keep Mount Vernon down.
My pledge to you is to keep standing up, fighting the good fight to change the apathetic culture into one of action. My administration will never ever quit on making City Hall work for you. We understand that we must diversify and expand the tax base. Our participation at Microsoft’s conference confirms that we are actively recruiting global organizations to consider bringing jobs back to Mount Vernon. We know that “Rome was not built in a day,” and we will keep soldiering on to develop and implement our strategic economic plans to bolster industry in our city. We will work harder and smarter, exploring and experimenting with new ideas, while continuing our best practice of convening stakeholders to work together to lead Mount Vernon forward.
Respectfully,
Mayor Richard Thomas
Enclave Equities Breaks Ground
Approximately 90 days ago we promised to break the ice on market rate developments in Mount Vernon. The ground breaking at Enclave represents a promise kept and affirms the New York Times’ assertion that “Mount Vernon is the best bet in Westchester’s” real estate market.
Developments like this are why everyone is looking at Mount Vernon as the destination for new ideas, new talent and new innovations. Our work with Microsoft, World Economic Forum, and Trust for Public Land has positioned us to leapfrog the region. This is the beginning of responsible development rising to strengthen our local economy.
The new luxury-style housing at 645 North MacQuesten Parkway will include 179 units of luxury housing geared especially toward millennials, techies, and young families just a 4-minute walk from the Fleetwood Train Station, only 22 minutes by rail to Grand Central Terminal. We heard about Mount Vernon’s potential for years. Now you can see the beginning of new life blossom over the next 20 months at Enclave on MacQuesten Parkway.
This is the first of many new market rate housing units to come on line to set a new standard of living in our city. New people and those that moved away can now bring their skills back and spend their money and time in Mount Vernon. Without economic activity, our businesses will suffer and sales tax revenue will remain flat. We look forward to partnering with Enclave and others to make our rust belt areas shine again. The new norm is for these developments to create value toward and significantly contribute in local businesses, revitalize our parks, help our schools, and beautify our gateways.
Enclave’s investment is not by chance, but by choice. The market fundamentals show that the city is rising and the schools are getting better because of strong city support.
The Modern Grand Opening
Developments like The Modern provide balance to Mount Vernon’s housing stock. Approximately 49 percent of the city lives at or below the poverty line, and the Modern offers quality living for middle class families who desire a new, affordable future. The building is an artistic statement which affirms new ideas are welcome in our city and confirms that new opportunities are real. This is the first of many cutting edge, fresh projects leading the transformation of Mount Vernon West area.
Local businesses have already started making way for more customers near the Mount Vernon West Train Station and we are excited about new jobs that are on the horizon for our residents.
The 18 minute commute to Grand Central Station, is closer than any other municipality in Westchester County. The Modern’s location, character, and amenities make it viable, exciting, and attractive to people looking to live somewhere unique and close to everything.
Mount Vernon is proud to welcome The Modern to our community and we look forward to their continued partnership and impact on our revitalization.
Amazon’s HQ2
On Tuesday, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino invited Mount Vernon to attend a forum at the Westchester County Center, to advocate for Amazon’s new second headquarters, or HQ2, and to explain why Mount Vernon is the perfect location for the online retail giant to setup shop. Amazon wants to build on their system, but Mount Vernon has a great system that we want Amazon to build on. We look forward to getting the folks from Amazon to come out to Mount Vernon and see it for themselves. #ChooseMV
MVDPW Shows Off at Tuckahoe’s Touch-a-Truck Event
Mount Vernon Department of Public Works Commissioner Joe Nigro and Executive Assistant Damani Bush brought the Mount Vernon Sewer Crew and our new trucks to the Tuckahoe Touch-a-Truck Day event at Immaculate Conception Church in Tuckahoe, NY. The event is a great time for children to see some exciting trucks and even climb up and sit in the driver’s seat. The idea is to create an environment where children are allowed and encouraged to touch the trucks and learn all about them.
Mount Vernon Youth Bureau
Last Week, The Mount Vernon Youth Bureau and the Boys & Girls’ Club met with 25 young men for five days, to talk with seven Mount Vernon police officers about safety and improving youth & police relationships. In the first three sessions, the young men met with Mr. Woodbury of the Bureaus Step Up program to practice communication skills and discuss how their behavior impacts their city, families and themselves. On the last two days, the young men met with police officers, to share with them and get a better understanding of the role of officers. This 5-day workshop was sponsor by The New Rochelle Club, National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, Incorporated.
Budget Forum
On Sunday afternoon, Mayor Thomas held a Town Hall Meeting at Memorial Field to present the 2018 budget, and answer questions from the residents and business owners in Mount Vernon.
Mayor Thomas was joined by Carter Strickland, New York State Director for the Trust for Public Land, to discuss the partnership with Mount Vernon on creating more public green space for people and the engagement process with the public to design and define the new spaces. The Mayor was also joined by a representative from Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office, Chuck Lesnick, who came to express the governor’s support of Mount Vernon’s efforts.
Listen to us live:
Every week, Mayor Thomas speaks to Yonkers Tribune radio with host Hezi Aris: Catch this week’s interview herefor 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 this 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. You can find last week’s interviewhere. Fridays on Future FM, Mayor Thomas joins Father Gassy for Gloves on Gloves Off; listen to this week’s show here. On Tuesdays at 8am, you can hear Mayor Thomas on 101.5 Linkage Radio. Catch last week’s discussion here.
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