Mayor Shawyn Patterson Howard’s Weekly Report — February 03, 2020

5 min readFeb 3, 2020

Three New Fire Vehicles Arrive for Mount Vernon’s Bravest

**Click Here For the Full Press Conference**

For too long the taxpayers of Mount Vernon have had to carry the burden for new equipment and infrastructure upgrades. $1.6 million dollars for our new fire engines is only the first step to addressing our bigger issues. Currently, our fire department is understaffed and overburdened by aging equipment which makes it harder to respond to the immense volume of calls they receive. These three new fire trucks provide a remedy to strengthen our public safety equipment & infrastructure. The FDMV responds to over 12,000 service calls per year. We continue to work diligently to address the issues of aging Fire Houses; our firefighters deserve to work in first-class facilities. In the meantime, as we work to address the larger issues, our Fire Department can respond and serve at a greater and more efficient capacity. Going forward, we will continue to work with our partners in government to ensure that we address the needs of not only our civil servants but the needs of our residents.

On Wednesday, February 5th #MakeMountVernonCount

The City of Mount Vernon and the Mount Vernon Complete Count Committee is launching the Mount Vernon Census 2020 campaign. The Census is here and we must mobilize our local community to help secure millions in federal aid for the City — Schools, Fire Department, Police Department, Roads, Parks, Seniors Programs, Youth Programs, Health Centers and Hospitals, and Housing Assistance programs all rely on federal aid. Help Mount Vernon get its fair share of the $675 billion dollars distributed by the Federal Government each year.

The Mount Vernon IDA Convenes a New Board

On Friday January 31st, the Mount Vernon IDA met and convened a new board under Chairwoman Patterson-Howard. The new board constituted: Finance and Planning Chair of the City Council, Marcus Griffith as Vice President, Brian G. Johnson as Secretary, Darren Morton as Treasurer, Stephanie Vanderpool as a member and Harris Beach PLLC as the counsel to the IDA. One of the first actions of the IDA was to pass a resolution calling on State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli to audit the IDA and provide oversight on best practices.

Mount Vernon’s 2020 Annual Estimate

Mayor Patterson-Howard Discusses Proposed Budget Part 1 I Part 2

I am pleased to announce we entered Mount Vernon’s budgetary planning process with an optimistic and collaborative approach. As Mayor-Elect, I sought to obtain a comprehensive understanding of governmental operations, priorities, challenges, and opportunities. To that end, I met with each department head and our City Comptroller. As a result, there were several meetings with the Comptroller to review the proposed budget submitted by the Wallace Administration and to receive her input. During our deliberations, the Comptroller and I navigated through the complexities of creating a balanced budget that would best meet the needs of the City, given our financial constraints. Read more here.

Tommy Davidson Inspires Mount Vernon’s Youth

Last week, we joined Superintendent Hamilton, Dr. Evelyn Collins, and other representatives in welcoming Mr. Tommy Davidson for a live discussion on his new book “Living In Color: What’s Funny About Me.” The discussion, held with the students of Thornton School of the Performing Arts, the Mount Vernon STEAM Academy and Mount Vernon High School, focused on the importance of realizing your dreams and understanding the power of living in your moment.

Public Safety Transition Committee is Moving Forward

We have recently met with our public safety transition committee, led by former police commissioner Charles Gardner, to discuss innovative ways to bridge the gaps between community and police and to develop a coordinated emergency response between Police, fire and Emergency Management. Looking forward to the discussions and future recommendations from our team.

WEDC’s 60-Hour Entrepreneurship Program Returns

The City is partnering with the Women’s Enterprise Development Center to offer a 60-hour Entrepreneurship program to 25 Mount Vernon residents who are starting and or growing their small businesses. Men and women are encouraged to apply at wedcbiz.org/60-hour-application-westchester by February 28, 2020.

Course includes:
How to plan, establish and operate a business;
How to develop a business plan and raise capital;
How to create a budget and manage your business finance;
How to promote yourself and social media.

18-week Program
March 1, 2020 — June 23, 2020
Tuesdays
6:00 pm — 9:00 pm
Held at
City Hall, Memorial Room, 2nd Floor,
1 Roosevelt Square, Mount Vernon, NY 10550

For more information contact Persephone Zill at (914) 498–6098 (ext. 11)

FREE Saturday S.T.E.A.M. at Mount Vernon Public Library

Calling all children between the ages of 6 and 12! The Mount Vernon Youth Bureau is preparing to host free S.T.E.A.M. classes every Saturday from February 22nd to March 28th at our Mount Vernon Public Library. Please call (914) 665–2344 for more information.

Office of Emergency Management’s Winter Garment Drive

We will be hosting a Winter Garment Drive from now until March 31! We are accepting new and lightly worn garments. Please deliver said items to one of our drop off location boxes:

City Hall | 1 Roosevelt Square West
The Armory | 144 N 5th Avenue

Please contact the Office of Emergency Management at Tjames@cmvny.com or (914) 665–2391 for further information.