Mount Vernon RISE Launch
“Quality of life can be defined in many ways. To some it might mean better and more affordable housing. Others may want cleaner and safer streets. While others may want more recreational and educational opportunities for their children. No matter how you define it, it affects all of us. Mount Vernon RISE in an effort to understand what issues and problems are affecting Mount Vernon resident’s quality of life. It is also an opportunity to address those issues.” — Mayor Richard Thomas
On Thursday, May 2, Mayor Richard Thomas launched the Mount Vernon RISE initiative. This program will be managed by the Department of Planning and Community Development. It is part of the Mayor’s Healthy Home Initiative, which is a comprehensive program aimed at improving Mount Vernon’s quality of life. The launch was held at the Church of the Ascension located across from Westchester Plaza.
The Mount Vernon RISE is an acronym for a process we have developed for residents to report code enforcement issues in their home, building and neighborhood. This process requires a partnership between the City and its residents.
You Report a problem by completing a survey on cmvny.com/citiesrise/
The City Inspects the problem and may issue a violation.
The landlord or a government agency provides a Service to fix the problem.
This is how we collaborate to Enhance quality of life.
The City of Mount Vernon has been selected to participate in the Cities RISE program along with 9 other municipalities in New York State. The City will receive a $1 million innovation grant from the NYS Attorney General’s Office and Enterprise Community Partners to help address some of the issues that will be identified through Mount Vernon RISE.
Mount Vernon RISE has a unique grassroots approach that is being guided by a Community Engagement Committee, which is made up of volunteers from the Westchester Plaza Tenant Council, Chester Hill Park Neighborhood Association, Mount Vernon United Tenants, Committee to Create a MV Disability Board, Oakwood Heights Homeowners Association and other concerned residents. If you would like to organize a quality of life meeting in your building or neighborhood, you can contact the Mayor’s Office at 914–840–4039.
As the City collects resident complaints, the City will do everything in its power to resolve these issues. If the problem is inside an apartment, the City can issue a violation to the landlord and they can be compelled to fix it. If it is a problem in a public facility, the corresponding City agency can intervene. Some of the issues may require long-term planning, and, more importantly, it may require additional resources to solve.
Residents interested in submitting a quality of life report can visit cmvny.com/citiesrise/ to submit it online. The survey will also be distributed to local businesses, clinics and social service provided throughout the City in the coming days. The City hopes to collect 5000 surveys by July 31, 2019.
