Mount Vernon Is Shining Brighter
Say Goodbye to “Can’t” and “Won’t”
Working Together We Become a City of “Can” and “Win”
As we find ourselves at the end of the holidays, I want to wish everyone in the Mount Vernon family health, happiness and prosperity for the New Year. Also, my thanks and appreciation go out to all of you for the support, wisdom and commitment you have shown my administration.
This is the season of the light. It is all around us and inside of us. Mount Vernon is shining brighter for many reasons.Our local economy is strong and getting stronger as we invest in the future. Yes, cranes and cement trucks can cause traffic headaches. And, we thank you for your patience as we work hard
to keep inconvenience to a minimum. But most importantly, the construction sites across Mount Vernon are a sign of revitalization and the growing value of our city.
Mount Vernon is also shining brighter because we are a safer city. Crime is down 26 percent so far this year compared to 2017, down 32 percent since 2016, and down 50 percent since 2013. The prosperity and safety of our city are the result of the year-round efforts of all the men and women who work across our many departments. Delivering service is a team sport.
Installing new street lights, fixing polluting sewers, paving streets, offering youth sports and after school learning programs, bringing in nationally recognized figures to talk to kids about the dangers of drugs, converting Zombie houses into livable homes, revitalizing Memorial Field, getting unwanted guns off the street and out of homes with a Community Gun Buyback program, exploring the possibility of a water ferry between Mount Vernon and New York City, and unveiling an Arts and Culture Master Plan that draws on our entertainment legacy to spark new development; these are all actions that are making Mount Vernon stronger.
The new year will soon be upon us. It will arrive with opportunities and challenges for my office, the City Council and Comptroller. Positive persistence beats resistance. Can’t and won’t become can and win when you have the right mindset. The key is to work together and to embrace everything that comes our way — the anticipated and unanticipated — with the goal of doing what is best for our city.
In the days before 2019 kicks into gear, my hope is that everyone in our city family gets a moment to pause from their hectic lives and enjoy the blessings around them with family and friends and even strangers. Kindness can come from anywhere.
Our world, country and city will never be perfect. But we can make them all better, and a good place to start is to reflect on how much we have and how lucky we are.
From my family to yours, thank you for making Mount Vernon the great place it is and will be for years to go come.
