Mount Vernon

South-side Mount Vernon is more urban, while north-side Mount Vernon is more residential. Downtown business district is on the city's south side, which includes City Hall, Mount Vernon's main post office, Mount Vernon Public Library, office buildings, and other municipal establishments.

• Name — Mount Vernon, New York • Settlement Type — City • Motto — Urbs jucundarum domuum ("City of Delightful Homes") • Mapsize — 250px • Subdivision Type — Country • Subdivision Name — United States • Subdivision Type1 — State • Subdivision Name1 — New York • Subdivision Type2 — County • Subdivision Name2 — Westchester • Government Type — Mayor-Council • Leader Title — Mayor • Leader Name — Shawyn Patterson-Howard (D) • Leader Title1 — City Council • Established Title — Incorporated (as a village) • Established Title2 — Reincorporated (as a city) • Established Date — 1853 • Established Date2 — 1892 • Area Total Sq Mi — 4.41 • Area Land Sq Mi — 4.39 • Area Water Sq Mi — 0.02 • Area Total Km2 — 11.42 • Area Land Km2 — 11.38 • Area Water Km2 — 0.04 • Population As Of — 2020 • Population Total — 73893 • Population Density Km2 — 6495.76 • Timezone — Eastern • Utc Offset — −5 • Timezone Dst — Eastern • Utc Offset Dst — −4 • Elevation M — 33 • Elevation Ft — 108 • Postal Code — 10550, 10552, 10553 • Area Code — 914 • Blank Name — FIPS code • Blank Info — 36-49121 • Blank1 Name — GNIS feature ID • Blank1 Info — 0957917 • Website — https: www.mountvernonny.gov/ • Population Density Sq Mi — 16824.45 • Unit Pref — Imperial

• Illustration — South Fourth Avenue in the 1890s • Illustration — Former trolley company building, Southside The Mount Vernon area was first settled in 1664 by families from Connecticut as part of the Town of Eastchester. Mount Vernon became a village in 1853 and a city in 1892. Early development was driven by the New York Industrial Home Association No. 1, a home building cooperative organized to build homes for "tradesmen, employees, and other persons of small means". Mount Vernon takes its name from George Washington's Mount Vernon plantation in Virginia, much as neighboring Wakefield (in the Bronx) was named for the Virginia plantation where Washington was born. For many years, the Schleicher & Sons Piano Company, which was founded by Prussian immigrant Gustav Schleicher, had a factory in Mount Vernon, which was established in 1864. The company at its apex had over three factories, the company's headquarters being in Mount Vernon. Over three hundred Schleicher pianos would be in use in the town. In 1894, the voters of Mount Vernon participated in a referendum on whether to consolidate into a new "City of Greater New York". The cities of Brooklyn (coterminous with Kings County) and Long Island City, the western towns and villages of Queens County, and all of Richmond County (present day Staten Island) all voted to join with the existing city (present day Manhattan and The Bronx). The referendum failed in Mount Vernon and the adjacent city of Yonkers, both of which remain independent cities. The Mount Vernon Trust Company opened in 1903. It was the largest bank in Westchester County, with branches in the east and west sections of the city. The Mount Vernon Public Library, a gift to the city from Andrew Carnegie, opened in 1904. It is now part of the Westchester Library System. By the 1960s, Mount Vernon was a racially segregated city. Black Americans from the southern United States migrated north during the Great Migration and settled in Mount Vernon for better job opportunities and educational advancements. At the same time, many white Americans from the Bronx and Manhattan moved to Mount Vernon as a result of white flight and suburbanization. Mount Vernon was divided by the New Haven Line (today part of Metro-North Railroad) into North Side and South Side. The population south of the tracks became predominantly Black, while the population north of the tracks was largely white. At the height of the city's segregation in the 1970s, August Petrillo was mayor. When he died, Thomas E. Sharpe was elected mayor. Upon Sharpe's death in 1984, Carmella Iaboni took office as acting mayor until Ronald Blackwood was elected in 1985; Blackwood was the first Afro-Caribbean mayor of the city (as well as of any city in New York State). Ernest D. Davis was mayor from 1996 to 2007. Clinton I. Young, Jr. became the city's mayor in 2008. In 2012, Ernest D. Davis became the 21st mayor of Mount Vernon. In 2013, Davis was investigated for failure to report rental income. In 2015, Richard Thomas defeated Davis in an upset victory in the September primary. in the November general election, Thomas received 71% of the votes to become the mayor of Mount Vernon. In the subsequent 2019 election, Shawyn Patterson-Howard unseated the incumbent Mayor Thomas in a hotly contested June primary to become the new Democratic nominee and went on to capture 81% of the vote to defeat André Wallace (who had since been named Acting Mayor and ran as a Republican) in the general election in November to become the first Black woman mayor of Mount Vernon (and of any city in Westchester County). Mount Vernon has in recent years undergone a transition from a city of homes and small businesses to a city of regional commerce. Between 2000 and 2006, Mount Vernon's economy grew 20.5%, making it one of the fastest-growing cities in the New York metropolitan area. In 2019, Moody's withdrew its credit rating for Mount Vernon because of the city's failure to provide audited financial statements. The failure to prepare and deliver audited financial statements stemmed from a disagreement as to which entity would pay for the audit of the Urban Renewal Agency (URA), one of the city's agencies, and which auditing firm would perform the audit. Further clouding the city's financial condition was the prospect that it might have a repayment obligation to HUD in connection with grants previously awarded to the city

On July 9, 2019, mayor Richard Thomas pleaded guilty to stealing campaign funds and lying to the State Board of Elections. Thomas was ordered to resign from office by September 30, 2019. The city council then appointed council president Andre Wallace as acting mayor. Thomas refused to resign from his post. Wallace then appointed Shawn Harris as new police commissioner. After arriving for work, Thomas ordered the Mount Vernon Police to arrest Harris for trespassing. Harris was released after an order from the Westchester County District Attorney. Both Thomas and Wallace occupied offices in the city hall, with Thomas in the mayor's office, under the guard of the Mount Vernon Police. Judge Ecker ruled that Thomas had actually vacated the office of mayor on July 8, that Wallace had automatically assumed the office at that time, and that Wallace would be the acting mayor of Mount Vernon until January 1, 2020.

In March 2019, Mayor Richard Thomas called for the formation of the Mount Vernon Charter Revision Commission, suggesting the charter was antiquated, dating to the late 19th century. In August 2019, the Commission presented its final report which included four key proposed changes to the City's Charter: • A new requirement for annual financial audits. • Quarterly financial reports showing the city's fiscal condition. • An updated comprehensive plan for economic growth. • A periodic review of the city charter.

St. Paul's Church is designated as a National Historic Site in 1978. Other Mount Vernon sites included on the National Register of Historic Places include: • First United Methodist Church • John Stevens House • Trinity Episcopal Church Complex • United States Post Office on First Street

• Illustration — The corner of Gramatan Avenue and Grand Street in Fleetwood

Mount Vernon is at (40.914060, −73.830507). It is the third-largest and the most densely populated city in Westchester County. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.4 km2, of which 0.04 sqkm, or 0.39%, is water. Mount Vernon is bordered by the village of Bronxville and city of New Rochelle to the north, by the town of Pelham and village of Pelham Manor to the east, by the Hutchinson River and the Eastchester and Wakefield sections of the Bronx to the south, and by the city of Yonkers and the Bronx River to the west.

Mount Vernon's elevation at City Hall is about 235 ft, reflecting its location between the Bronx River to the west and the Hutchinson River to the east. On a clear day, the Throgs Neck Bridge can be seen from 10 mi away from many parts of the city, while at night, the bridge's lights can also be seen. The city's seal, created in 1892, depicts what were then considered the highest points in Mount Vernon: Trinity Place near Fourth Street, Vista Place at Barnes Avenue, and North 10th Avenue between Washington and Jefferson places. Since then, it was discovered that the city's highest elevation is on New York Route 22, North Columbus Avenue, at the Bronxville line.

• Illustration — Map of Mount Vernon's neighborhoods Mount Vernon is typically divided into four major sections in four square miles: Downtown, Mount Vernon Heights, North Side, and South Side.

Downtown Mount Vernon features the Gramatan Avenue and Fourth Avenue shopping district (known as "The Avenue" by locals) and the Petrillo Plaza transit hub, and houses the city's central government. Downtown is in the same condition it was 40 years ago. It features the same mid-century architecture and format. Former mayor Clinton Young vowed to make Mount Vernon a new epicenter with a new central business district. His failed plans included establishing commercial office space and rezoning to allow high density development in the downtown, as well as affordable and market rate housing.

Mount Vernon Heights' highly elevated terrain has earned the moniker "the rolling hills of homes". It is home to the city's commercial corridor, along Sandford Boulevard (6th Street). Sandford Blvd (6th Street)—also known as "Sandford Square"—is a commercial corridor which attracts residents from Mount Vernon, nearby communities in Westchester County and the Bronx as well as other locales. Most of the commercial development in this corridor has occurred since the 1980s. The area is still undergoing revitalization to encourage economic development within this 400 acre of land along and around the boulevard.

• Illustration — Fleetwood Welcome Sign Mount Vernon's North Side is one of the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods in Westchester County. The northern part of the city consists of five neighborhoods: Chester Heights, Estate Manor/Aubyn Estates, Fleetwood, Huntswood, and Oakwood Heights. In Fleetwood, many large co-op buildings line the center of town, which is bisected by Gramatan Avenue.

• Illustration — Church housed in a former synagogue on the South Side Mount Vernon's South Side, which abuts The Bronx, resembles New York City and includes the neighborhoods Parkside, South Side and Vernon Park. Numerous industrial businesses are in Parkside, while the rest of South Side Mount Vernon features multi-family homes, apartment buildings, and commercial businesses. South Side Mount Vernon features notable city landmarks such as Brush Park, Hutchinson Field, the Boys and Girls Club, and St. Paul's Church National Historic Site.

As of the 2020 census, Mount Vernon had a population of 73,893. The median age was 39.6 years. 20.7% of residents were under the age of 18 and 15.2% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 83.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 78.6 males age 18 and over. 100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas. There were 28,286 households in Mount Vernon, of which 31.5% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 30.1% were married-couple households, 20.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 43.4% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 31.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. There were 30,350 housing units, of which 6.8% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 4.0%. Racial composition as of the 2020 census • Race — Number — Percent • White — 10,367 — 14.0% • Black or African American — 46,134 — 62.4% • American Indian and Alaska Native — 451 — 0.6% • Asian — 1,445 — 2.0% • Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander — 36 — 0.0% • Some other race — 8,353 — 11.3% • Two or more races — 7,107 — 9.6% As of the 2020 census, Mount Vernon is the only incorporated place in New York State with an African-American majority.

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 67,292 people living in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 61.3% Black, 18.5% White, 0.3% Native American, 1.8% Asian, Mayors of Mount Vernon, New York • * Name — Years — Party — Notes * Edward F. Brush — January 1, 1892 – December 31, 1893 — Republican — * elected to one two-year term * Edson Lewis — January 1, 1894 – December 31, 1895 — Republican — * elected to one two-year term * Edwin W. Fiske — January 1, 1896 – December 31, 1903 — Democratic — * elected to four two-year terms * Edward F. Brush — January 1, 1904 – December 31, 1907 — Republican (first term) Independent (second term) — * elected to two two-year terms * Benjamin Howe — January 1, 1908 – December 31, 1909 — Republican — * elected to one two-year term * Edwin W. Fiske — January 1, 1910 – December 31, 1917 — Democratic — * elected to four two-year terms * Edward F. Brush — January 1, 1918 – December 31, 1919 — Republican — * elected to one two-year term * Elmer L. Kincaid — January 1, 1920 – December 31, 1921 — Republican — * elected to one two-year term * William D. MacQuesten — January 1, 1924 – December 31, 1927 — Republican — * elected to one four-year term * did not run for renomination * James Berg — January 1, 1928 – July 2, 1931 — Republican — * elected to one four-year term * resigned to become secretary of the Westchester County Sanitary Sewer Commission * Berg, by virtue of not filing his letter of resignation was actually in office until 8:45 a. m. on July 2, 1931 * Thomas H. Hodge (Acting) — July 2, 1931 – December 31, 1931 — Republican — * was City Council President, became Acting Mayor after Berg's resignation * Leslie V. Bateman — January 1, 1932 – December 31, 1935 — Democratic — * elected to one four-year term * Denton Pearsall, Jr. — January 1, 1936 – December 31, 1939 — Republican — * elected to one four-year term * William Hart Hussey — January 1, 1940 – December 31, 1951 — Republican — * elected to three four-year terms * Joseph V. Vaccarella — January 1, 1952 – December 31, 1959 — Democratic — * elected to two two-year terms * P. Raymond Sirignano — January 1, 1960 – December 31, 1963 — Republican — * elected to one four-year term * Joseph P. Vaccarella — January 1, 1964 – December 31, 1967 — Democratic — * elected to one four-year term * August P. Petrillo — January 1, 1968 – August 29, 1976 — Republican — * elected to two four-year terms * died in office * Ronald A. Blackwood (Acting) — August 29, 1976 – December 31, 1976 — Republican — * was City Council President and a Republican at the time; became Acting Mayor after Petrillo's death * first African-American mayor * Thomas E. Sharpe — January 1, 1977 – October 27, 1984 — Democratic — * elected to two four-year terms * died in office * Carmella Iaboni (Acting) — October 27, 1984 – February 4, 1985 — Democratic — * was City Council President, became Acting Mayor after Sharpe's death * Ronald A. Blackwood — February 4, 1985 – December 31, 1995 — Democratic — * won a special to fill the remainder of Sharpe's unfilled term * elected to two four-year terms * Ernest D. Davis — January 1, 1996 – December 31, 2007 — Democratic — * elected to three four-year terms * lost to Young in the Democratic primary and the general election * Clinton I. Young, Jr. — January 1, 2008 – December 31, 2011 — Democratic — * elected to one four-year term * lost to Davis in the election * Ernest D. Davis — January 1, 2012 – December 31, 2015 — Democratic — * elected to one four-year term * Richard Thomas — January 1, 2016 – July 11, 2019 — Democratic — * elected to one four-year term * Removed from office by City Council * André Wallace (Acting) — July 12, 2019 – December 31, 2019 — Democratic — * was City Council President, became Acting Mayor after Thomas's removal from office * Shawyn Patterson-Howard — January 1, 2020 – present — Democratic — * elected to one four-year term

• Name — Years — Party — Notes • Maureen Walker — January 1, 1994 – December 31, 2017 — Democratic — • elected to five four year terms • Deborah Reynolds — January 1, 2018 – present (after winning an election that features former City Councilman Marcus Griffith, no independent official building have yet to be established by the City of Mount Vernon, authorized by the State of York, or U.S. House of Representative motion to do so as of November 16, 2021) — Democratic — • elected to one four year term

The Board of Estimate is composed of the mayor, the city council president, and the comptroller. The city council president votes on behalf of the city council. All monetary decisions, including the annual budget and many legal ramifications, must pass vote of the Board of Estimate, which meets every Tuesday after the city council's Wednesday legislative session.

The Mount Vernon city court is part of the New York State Unified Court System. It has three elected full-time judges who serve for ten years and one part-time associate judge who is appointed by the mayor for a period of eight years. The judges of the court are William Edwards, Adrian Armstrong, and Nichelle Johnson. Adam Seiden serves as an associate judge of the court. The court handles a wide variety of cases, including initial processing of all felony criminal cases; handling of all misdemeanor cases from inception through trial; civil proceedings with a limited monetary jurisdiction of up to $15,000; all landlord tenant cases originating in the city; small claims cases; and all vehicle and traffic law matters. The court is housed in the public safety complex, which is adjacent to City Hall.

• Illustration — Hamilton Elementary Mount Vernon City School District includes 11 elementary schools, two middle schools, two high schools and one alternative high school. • Elementary schools — Middle schools — High schools • Cecil H. Parker — Denzel Washington School of the Arts (6-12) — Mount Vernon High School • Columbus — Benjamin Turner — Denzel Washington School of the Arts (7-12) • Edward Williams — Pennington Middle — Nelson Mandela/Dr. Hosea Zollicoffer Alternative High • Graham School — Mount Vernon STEAM Academy • Grimes • Hamilton • Lincoln • Rebecca Turner • Pennington • Traphagen • Mount Vernon Honor Academy (K-8) Westchester Community College has an extension site education facility, downtown. In 2011, The Journal News featured an article titled "Region's Aging Schools Crumble as Finances Falter", by Cathey O'Donnell and Gary Stern. The article discussed several old school buildings within the region that were in disrepair, how much it would cost to fix them, and which if any might need to be demolished. The Mount Vernon school district was included in the article, which stated: • "In Mount Vernon, meanwhile, where a high school wall collapsed last year, inspectors flagged buildings for insufficient smoke detectors, poor air quality, evidence of rodents and vermin, halls without emergency lighting and junction boxes with exposed live wires."

The city of Mount Vernon is protected by Fire Department of the City of Mount Vernon (FDMV).The FDMV currently operates out of four firehouses, throughout the city, under the command of the Chief of Operations. The department operates four engine companies and two ladder companies. The department responds to approximately 14,000 emergency calls annually.

As of 2021, the Mount Vernon Police Department has 184 officers. In May 2021, the District Attorney for Westchester County requested intervention by the Department of Justice (DOJ) for civil rights violations by the Mount Vernon Police Department. The DOJ announced its civil investigation in December 2021.

The 115-year-old Mount Vernon Hospital has 121 beds. It is part of the Montefiore Health System and provides in-patient, critical care, and ambulatory services to residents of Mount Vernon and neighboring communities. The hospital is most known for its premier Chronic Wound Treatment and Hyperbaric Center, which is one of the most advanced in the Northeast. It also offers a variety of services, including the Assertive Community Treatment Center (ACT), the Family Health and Wellness Center, the Hopfer School of Nursing, Hyperbaric Medicine, and Intensive Case Management. Mount Vernon Hospital is one of four hospitals in the county that provides programs in medicine, nursing, podiatry, and surgery. (Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital, Westchester Medical Center, and White Plains Hospital are the others.) Mount Vernon Hospital's emergency room treats 25,000 patients a year and is going to be expanded at a cost of $2.5 million, doubling its size from 9000 to. The expansion plans include 15 private treatment rooms and upgrades to the waiting area, triage room and other areas in the emergency department. The area around the hospital has many medical office buildings and treatment facilities which provide healthcare to residents living in Mount Vernon, the southeast section of Yonkers, and the north Bronx, which shares a border with the city. For example, Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic, the Planned Parenthood affiliate that serves New York's Putnam, Rockland, Suffolk and Westchester Counties, opened its first medical center in Mount Vernon in 1933; the affiliate remains a vital source for reproductive health care services to Mount Vernon residents.

The city's previous motto was "A City That Believes". This is reflected in the houses of worship in the city that represent more than 25 denominations. Research has confirmed the tradition that Grace Baptist Church was founded in 1888 by a few women who formerly had been enslaved and it discovered their names: Emily Waller, Matilda Brooks, Helen Claiborne, Sahar Bennett, and Elizabeth Benson.

In late 2005, the RBA Group conducted a study and found that over 5,000 commuters traverse the area on a daily basis; about 3,600 commuters use the Westchester County Bee-Line Bus System, and 1,500 use the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Metro-North Railroad commuter rail service. • Petrillo Plaza, adjacent to Metro North's Mount Vernon East station in downtown Mount Vernon, is the hub for Westchester's Bee-Line Bus System service in Mount Vernon. The Mount Vernon's taxi services operate from Petrillo Plaza as well. • Bee-Line Bus routes serving Mount Vernon are 7, 40, 41, 42, 43, 52, 53, 54, 55, as well as the 91, which operates during the summer. • A New York City Bus route (MTA) serves two blocks in Mount Vernon along the NYC border. The New York City Bus Bronx Route travels along Mundy Lane (S. 11th Avenue) between W. 5th Street (Nereid Avenue) and W. Sandford Blvd (Pittman Avenue). • The Metro-North's north–south Harlem Line stops at Mount Vernon West and Fleetwood, both on the western edge of Mount Vernon; the west–east New Haven Line stops at Mount Vernon East, in the heart of downtown. • Both the White Plains north (IRT White Plains Road Line) and the Dyre (IRT Dyre Avenue Line) of the New York City Subway system have terminals just south of the Mount Vernon border, served by the Bee-Line. The White Plains far north terminates at 241st Street in Wakefield. The Dyre terminates at Dyre Avenue in Eastchester. Additionally, the goes to Nereid Avenue during rush hours in the peak direction. Both locations are within 5 minutes walking distance of Southside Mount Vernon.

• A.D.O.R. • Camille Akeju • Lou Albano • Debbie Allen • James Anthony Bailey • Bob Baldwin • Larry Barnes • Rai Benjamin • Alessandra Biaggi • John G. Branca • John R. Branca • Ralph Branca • Jonathan Briley • Art Carney • Jonathan Stuart Cerullo • David Chase • Dick Clark • Craig Colorusso • Sean Combs • Isaiah Cousins • DMX • Andre Drummond • Damion Easley • Susie Essman • DJ Eddie F • Linda Fairstein • Monroe H. Freedman • Adelaide Gescheidt • Robin Givens • Seth Godin • Ben Gordon • Paul Grassi • Rudy Hackett • Mark Harris • Christine E. Haycock • Heavy D • W. C. Heinz • Michael Imperioli • Kay Johnson • Kevin Jones • Andy Karl • Roz Kelly • Harvey Kurtzman • George Latimer • Benton MacKaye • Thomas P. Maguire • Johnny Marks • Frances Marlatt • Rodney McCray • Scooter McCray • The Mello-Kings • Stephanie Mills • Lowes Moore • Robin Morgan • Robert Mosbacher • Sal Mosca • Asia Nitollano • Michael O'Keefe • Floyd Patterson • Joseph Lincoln Parker • Sidney Poitier • Adam Clayton Powell • Phylicia Rashad • Leon Robinson • Pete Rock • Larry Romano • Wayne Allyn Root • James Rowson • Oliver Sacks • Davetta Sherwood • John Simon • Nina Simone • Ken Singleton • Roy Smith • J. B. Smoove • Lionel Stander • Margaret L. Stecker • John M. Sternhagen • Al B. Sure! • Corrinne Tarver • Earl Tatum • Denzel Washington • Barbara Werle • E. B. White • Gus Williams • Ray Williams • Sylvia Woods

• Memorial Field in Mount Vernon was used to film the classic "Mean Joe Greene" Coca-Cola commercial in May 1979.

• The Leftovers