The Mount Vernon Way: Getting It Right and Making Us Stronger

Since being elected Mayor in 2016, I have striven to bring accountability and transparency throughout city government, including the Mount Vernon Urban Renewal Agency (URA). Mount Vernon’s URA has long been a lifeforce for city services providing programs for the homeless, increasing access to affordable housing, providing scholarships for after-school programs, and college and vocational scholarships to low-income youth.

In August of 2016 and 2017, we warned about a crisis facing the URA . The situation remains tenuous as millions in federal funds are at risk of being lost with Mount Vernon taxpayers on the hook to pay the balance. Meanwhile, ten employees had to be furloughed. Since then, we have yet to hear from the City Council and Comptroller Maureen Walker about creating solutions for these employees despite our repeated legislative requests for funding.

As a community, we must carefully reflect on the people we send to office because they have the power to help our most vulnerable — the homeless and the sick, or hurt them. It has been two long months of silence from the City Council and Comptroller while these ten employees remain without a job and without an end in sight to their predicament due to the unnecessary funding debacle.

It is clear that the political establishment is committed to policy conflict to hide the political corruption. Regardless, we are taking steps to fight back. We ordered a forensic audit of the Agency to piece together how millions of federal tax dollars went missing. The truth is, Maureen Walker, Ernie Davis, and Marcus Griffith operated the agency in a manner that would make drunken sailors blush.

In order to address these concerns, I exercised my emergency authority as Mayor and appointed a Special Counsel to conduct a forensic audit including bank statements. HUD officials in the New York field office have been kept apprised of these actions and have provided extraordinary assistance in helping the Agency become compliant after half-a-dozen years of willful non-compliance.

I have requested immediate technical assistance from New York State. As you know, the City of Mount Vernon has the lowest median income in Westchester County and the highest poverty rate. The funds that Mount Vernon receives from HUD are critical to meeting the needs of our residents.

The city intends to conduct a search to hire two experienced program administrators to manage approximately $1.4 million in CDBG funds and $355,000 in HOME funds that the city receives annually from HUD.

As Mayor, I committed to doing everything in my power, even if it’s unpopular, to turn the URA around to serve our residents. Our tough work, correcting decades of neglect make us stronger for the future and provide an example for other cities to emulate in the years to come. We will not give up on our future. We will win and get this right for Mount Vernon.

Originally Published in Westchester County Press Vol: 43 October 26, 2017