Mayor Thomas Weekly Report — November 11, 2017
Happy Veterans Day
To the men and women who have served this country with distinction, we thank you. You deserve our honor, respect, and gratitude for the work you have done to make us safe and protect our freedoms. These men and women do it for pure love of country and we are eternally grateful to them.
On behalf of the City of Mount Vernon, I extend our support to all our veterans on this solemn day.
- Mayor Richard Thomas
Mayor Thomas Participates in the World Economic Forum Conference
This weekend, Mayor Richard Thomas is attending the World Economic Forum’s “Forum on Future Cities: City Preparedness for the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) in Dubai, U.A.E. As a member of the World Economic Forum’s transportation committee, Mayor Thomas is active in the international organization’s efforts to prepare cities to best leverage new technology to better serve constituents. Mayor Thomas is one of only two mayors at the conference, the other being Ossama Fadul al-Bar, Mayor of Makkah (Mecca), Saudi Arabia. Continued engagement on the world stage is leading to transformative change for Mount Vernon as our partnerships with renowned thought leaders deepen and our reputation grows stronger.
The Forum on Future Cities is an exclusive seminar and is part of a larger, three-day conference hosted by the Forum. It is focused on mobility, construction, and environmental sustainability issues. As an edge city that the New York Times has called the “best bet”, Mount Vernon’s unique location and streamlined government are making it a model for a city that is turning around to be competitive in the future global economy.
Mayor Thomas is joining representatives from across the globe, including Australia, Saudi Arabia, Italy, and the U.L. The Mayor will be accompanied by First Lady Cherish Thomas*
* Although the World Economic Forum extended an invitation to First Lady Thomas, Mayor Thomas paid for her airfare.
MV Community That Cares Coalition & MV STRONG Program
This Past Thursday, twenty-five young people from the Mount Vernon STRONG Program at Benjamin Turner Middle School participated in a Substance Abuse Workshop with the Mount Vernon Community That Cares Coalition. Students were educated on the negative consequences of smoking and using drugs. Educating children on the tragic and permanent effects of drug abuse is key to prevention. That’s why initiatives like Mount Vernon Strong, our School Resources Officers, and the D.A.R.E. Program are so important to the well-being and future success of our young people.
1st Annual Mount Vernon Community Career Fair
Saturday October 28th, the City of Mount Vernon Human Resources Department, in conjunction with the Mount Vernon Public Library, hosted the city’s first annual Community Career Fair. This premiere event was made possible by the participation of over 17 healthcare agencies and insurance companies with offices in the local area. These employers were eager to recruit and hire Mount Vernon residents. The Community Career Fair was a huge success, pairing Mount Vernon’s great candidates with great potential employers. Participating employers requested that the city host more events like this and have already confirmed their participation in next year’s fair. Commissioner Milissa Ralph was pleased to have connected local job seekers with employers. The City of Mount Vernon looks forward to hosting more career fairs in the near future.
Mount Vernon Fall Fest 2017
Please join us on Saturday, November 18, 2017, for the first annual Mount Vernon Fall Fest 2017! Mayor Richard Thomas invites you to Gramatan Avenue, between North Street and Sydney Avenue, for a beer, wine, and food festival… Mount Vernon Style! Don’t miss this first annual event sponsored by L&J Café and USA Brazilian Grill. You must be 21 or over to enter so please have state ID. Come join us for a great night of beer, wine, music, and food!
Tony Dofat Says @Amazon, #ChooseMV!
Mount Vernon is home to not one but two legendary figures responsible for the success of Bad Boy Records and putting hip-hop on the map. Tony Dofat, renowned record producer for artists like the Notorious B.I.G, Mary J. Blige, Will Smith and more, tells Amazon why they should to #ChooseMV!
Click on the for more!
MTA Bridge Meeting
On Thursday, Mayor Richard Thomas, along with DPW Commissioner Joseph Nigro, Police Commissioner Shawn Harris, and Corporation Counsel Larry Porcari met with the team from the MTA who will be responsible for replacing six of our crumbling Metro North Bridges. The meeting largely covered scheduling and design. The first bridge up for replacement is the 14th Avenue Bridge. The design for that bridge is almost complete and construction could begin as early as January 2018! The total project will also include the 3rd Ave and 10th Ave bridges, which have been closed for years. We will keep you informed as the project progresses and we will continue to work with the MTA to ensure they cover the cut!
Project Bright Knight
The City of Mount Vernon is collaborating with Microsoft to acquire
and utilize key technology tools to increase public safety. The initiative is called “Project Bright Knight.” Phase One in immediate investments includes developing and issuing a mobile “Community on Patrol App”, drones, and other technologies bringing a total investment of $700,000.
Phase Two of Project Bright Knight involves partnering with business
owners who are currently using cameras to secure their businesses to share those video feeds with the Police Department. We are asking all business owners with cameras to sign up for Project Bright Knight, and help us to increase public safety and quality of life, as well as, to better protect your businesses and your customers.
In addition, we invite you to contact us so we can add you to our list for the Business Roundtable coming up in December. If you’d like to be involved in the discussion on public safety or to join Project Bright Knight, email us at MayorThomas@cmvny.com or call us at 914–665–2360. We look forward to working with you to create a safer Mount Vernon for everyone.
Journal News Editorial Review Board Meeting
On Monday, November 6, 2017, Mayor Richard Thomas sat down with the Editorial Board from the Journal News to discuss current events, challenges, and opportunities in the City of Mount Vernon. Mayor Thomas met with editors Frank Scandale and Gary Stern, reporter Jon Bandler and education reporter Colleen Wilson to discuss what’s been going on in Mount Vernon and ongoing issues facing the Urban Renewal Agency as we work to right the agency after decades of non-compliance. The agency faces numerous issues and remains under investigation by Special Counsel and former FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard Frankel due to missing loan paperwork and the appearance of unauthorized transfers between city and agency accounts.
Weekly Public Safety Update
This week’s MVPD update features a few special guests. Sergeant Jennifer Carpenter, Coordinator of 21st Century Policing, and School Resource Officer Christopher Grieco. Carpenter and Grieco offer us insight into our school resource officer program and the successes it has had so far this year. They also let us know how the MVPD plans to honor our veterans on Veteran’s Day. Deputy Chief Roy Hastings and Acting Commissioner Shawn Harris return as well to give us this week’s stats and to offer an update on “Project Bright Knight” and the MVPD’s new partnership with ring.com.
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. You can find last week’s interview here. On Tuesdays at 8am, you can hear Mayor Thomas on 101.5 Linkage Radio. Catch this week’s discussion here.
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