Mount Vernon is a city in

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is a County (United States), county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The c ...

, United States. It is an

inner suburb An inner suburb is a suburban community central to a large city, or at the inner city and central business district. The urban density is usually lower than the inner city or central business district, but higher than that of the city's rural� ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, immediately to the north of the

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

. As of the 2020 census, Mount Vernon had a population of 73,893, making it the 24th-largest municipality in the state and largest African-American majority city in the state. Mount Vernon has 12,898

Jamaicans Jamaicans are the citizens of Jamaica and their descendants in the Jamaican diaspora. The vast majority of Jamaicans are of Sub-Saharan African descent, with minorities of Europeans, Indians, Chinese, Middle Eastern, and others of mixed a ...

with African and Indian descent that had immigrated from their homeland of

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

after the country gained its independence from

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

on August 6, 1962. Mount Vernon has two major sections. South-side Mount Vernon is more urban, while north-side Mount Vernon is more residential. Mount Vernon's 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 A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the gov ...

establishments.

History

The Mount Vernon area was first settled in 1664 by families from

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

as part of the Town of Eastchester. Mount Vernon became a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in 1853, and a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

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 George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is the former residence and plantation of George Washington, a Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States, and his wife, Martha. An American landmar ...

plantation in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, much as neighboring

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

(in the

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

) was named for the

plantation where Washington was born. In 1894, the voters of Mount Vernon participated in a

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

on whether to consolidate into a new "

City of Greater New York The City of Greater New York was the Merger (politics), consolidation of the New York City, City of New York with Brooklyn, western Queens County, and Staten Island, which took effect on January 1, 1898. New York had already annexed the Bronx ...

". The cities of

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

(coterminous with Kings County) and

Long Island City Long Island City (LIC) is a neighborhood within the New York City borough of Queens. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; Sunnyside to the east; and Newtown Creek, which separates Queens from Greenpoint, Brook ...

, 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 Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

and

The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

). However, the returns were so negative in Mount Vernon and the adjacent city of

Yonkers Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...

that those two areas were not included in the consolidated city and remain independent to this day. The Mount Vernon Public Library, a gift to the city from

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie ( , ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the History of the iron and steel industry in the United States, American steel industry in the late ...

, opened in 1904 and is now part of the Westchester Library System, providing educational, cultural and computer services to county residents of all ages. The Mount Vernon Trust Company opened in 1903. It was the largest bank in

Westchester County Westchester County is a county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The county is the seventh most populous cou ...

, with branches in the east and west sections of the city. During the 1960s, Mount Vernon was a divided city on the brink of a "northern style" segregation. Many African Americans from the

southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...

migrated north and settled in the city of Mount Vernon for better job opportunities and educational advancements. At the same time, many

white American White Americans (sometimes also called Caucasian Americans) are Americans who identify as white people. In a more official sense, the United States Census Bureau, which collects demographic data on Americans, defines "white" as " person having ...

s from the

and

looked to Mount Vernon as a new "

bedroom community A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

" because of rising crime in New York City (a "

white flight The white flight, also known as white exodus, is the sudden or gradual large-scale migration of white people from areas becoming more racially or ethnoculturally diverse. Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, the terms became popular in the Racism ...

" factor contributed as well). As a result, Mount Vernon became divided by the

New Haven Line The New Haven Line is a commuter rail line operated by the Metro-North Railroad in the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and Connecticut. Running from New Haven, Connecticut, to New York City, the New Haven Line joins the Harlem Line ...

(today part of

Metro-North Railroad The Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company , also branded as MTA Metro-North Railroad and commonly called simply Metro-North, is a suburban commuter rail service operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a New York State publ ...

) into North Side and South Side. The population south of the tracks became predominantly African-American, while that north of the tracks was largely white. At the height of this 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; Blackwood was the first

Afro-Caribbean Afro-Caribbean or African Caribbean people are Caribbean people who trace their full or partial ancestry to Sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of the modern Afro-Caribbean people descend from the Indigenous peoples of Africa, Africans (primarily fr ...

mayor of the city (as well as of any city in New York State). In 1996, Ernest D. Davis was elected the mayor of Mount Vernon; he served until 2007. Clinton I. Young, Jr. became the city's mayor on January 1, 2008. Four years later, on January 1, 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 January 2019,

Moody's Moody's Ratings, previously and still legally known as Moody's Investors Service and often referred to as Moody's, is the bond credit rating business of Moody's Corporation, representing the company's traditional line of business and its histo ...

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 is the prospect that it might have a repayment obligation to HUD in connection with grants previously awarded to the city

2019 mayoral dispute

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. Finally, before a packed courtroom in White Plains, Judge Ecker made a decisive ruling 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.

Mount Vernon Charter Revision Commission

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.

Notable sites

St. Paul's Church is a Mount Vernon attraction designated as a National Historic Site. Mount Vernon sites included on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

include: * First United Methodist Church * John Stevens House * Trinity Episcopal Church Complex *

United States Post Office The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal serv ...

on First Street * Former Con Edison Westchester County HQ, which is now Westchester County Social Services (Mount Vernon)

Geography

Corner of Gramatan and Grand in Fleetwood October 2012

Location

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 United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which , or 0.39%, is water. Mount Vernon is bordered by the village of

Bronxville Bronxville is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States, located approximately north of Midtown Manhattan. It is part of the Adminis ...

and city of

New Rochelle New Rochelle ( ; in ) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located approximately from Midtown Manhattan. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the 7th-largest city and 2 ...

to the north, by the town of Pelham and village of

Pelham Manor Pelham Manor is an affluent village located in Westchester County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the village had a total population of 5,752. It is located in the town of Pelham. History The Bolton Priory, Edgewood House, and ...

to the east, by the

Hutchinson River The Hutchinson River is a freshwater stream located in the New York City borough of the Bronx and Southern Westchester County, New York, United States. It forms on the New Rochelle– Scarsdale municipal line off Brookline Road in the latter c ...

and the Eastchester and

sections of the Bronx to the south, and by the city of

and the

Bronx River The Bronx River (), is a river that is approximately long, and flows through southeastern New York (state), New York in the United States and drains an area of . It is named after colonial settler Jonas Bronck. It originally rose in what is no ...

to the west.

Elevation

Mount Vernon's elevation at City Hall is about , reflecting its location between the

to the west and the

to the east. On a clear day, the

Throgs Neck Bridge The Throgs Neck Bridge is a suspension bridge in New York City, carrying six lanes of Interstate 295 (New York), Interstate 295 (I-295) over the East River where it meets the Long Island Sound. The bridge connects the Throggs Neck section of t ...

can be seen from 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

line.

Neighborhoods

Mount Vernon is typically divided into four major sections in four square miles: Downtown, Mount Vernon Heights, North Side, and South Side.

Downtown

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

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). Vernon Hills has been reclaimed from the Village of Easchester that used it as the name the name as open mall shopping center. 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 a 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 of land along and around the boulevard.

North Side

Fleetwood Neighborhood Association Welcom Sign 2012

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.

South Side

White Plains Deliverance Evangelistic Ctr 10 S 8th Av Mt Vernon jeh

Mount Vernon's South Side, which abuts

, resembles

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 Boys & Girls Club may refer to: * Boys & Girls Clubs of America * Boys & Girls Clubs of Canada * Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Clubs, Bronx, United States * Essex Boys and Girls Clubs, in Essex and East London, England * The Boys' and Girls' Clubs ...

, and St. Paul's Church National Historic Site.

Demographics

2010 census data

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, <0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.4% from some other race and 2.5% from two or more races. 14.3% were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

2000 census data

As of the 2000

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, 68,381 people, 27,048 households, and 18,432 families resided in the city. The population density was , with 28,558 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 59.58%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 28.63%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 10.48%

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race, 4.85% from other races, 4.44% from two or more races, 2.12% Asian, 0.05%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, and 0.32% Native American. A significant proportion of the population is of Brazilian descent; Brazilians can be included in the

Multiracial The term multiracial people refers to people who are mixed with two or more races (human categorization), races and the term multi-ethnic people refers to people who are of more than one ethnicity, ethnicities. A variety of terms have been used ...

and/or Latino categories. Similarly, a significant part of the Black and/or Latino population is of

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

origin. There were 27,048 households, of which 40.9% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.2% were non-families, and 28.0% had a female householder with no husband present. 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.27. In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.3% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 31.1% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 76.9 males. The median income for a household in the city was $47,128, and the median income for a family was $55,573. Males had a median income of $41,493 versus $37,871 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $24,827. 13.9% of the population and 11.8% of families were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

. 12.7% of the population was 65 or older.

Economy

Mount Vernon's three major employers are the Mount Vernon city school district with (1,021 employees), Michael Anthony Jewelers (712 employees), and Mount Vernon Hospital (700 employees). Mount Vernon has a large

commercial Commercial may refer to: * (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services ** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money * a dose of advertising ...

sector, with industries such as

electronics Electronics is a scientific and engineering discipline that studies and applies the principles of physics to design, create, and operate devices that manipulate electrons and other Electric charge, electrically charged particles. It is a subfield ...

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

high tech High technology (high tech or high-tech), also known as advanced technology (advanced tech) or exotechnology, is technology that is at the state of the art, cutting edge: the highest form of technology available. It can be defined as either the ...

, historical metal restoration, and

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer ...

mainly in the Southside section of the city. Mount Vernon also has an established Empire Zone for commercial and industrial use, in the southern portion of the city.

Parks and recreation

The city limits contain a number of city parks large and small , and Willson's Woods Park, a county-owned park. One of the oldest parks in the county system, Willson's Woods offers a wave pool, water slides, and a spray deck and water playground, against the backdrop of an English Tudor style bathhouse. The park also has areas for picnicking and fishing.

Government

The City of Mount Vernon is governed by a five-member city council, a mayor, and a comptroller. As per the city charter, to balance power, the mayor runs every four years with two council members, and the comptroller runs two years after the mayor with three council members. Therefore, in 2019, the mayor and two council seats were up for re-election; in 2021 the remaining offices will be up for election. Beyond the regular political powers of elected officials, the City of Mount Vernon also has a checks and balances voting session called the Board of Estimate.

City council

The city council consists of five representatives, elected at-large, one of whom is the city council president. The city council president is appointed/elected by the existing city council members. Under normal circumstances the council presidency is rotated, as are the council committee assignments as chair of the four council committees. In recent years, the full rotation has ceased to reappoint the more experienced council members. The council president also serves as mayor, in the absence of the mayor. This can occur when the mayor is out of town, had resigned, or dies in office. When this happens the president pro tempore becomes acting city council president and the acting president pro tempore becomes assumes his/her duties.

Mayor

Comptroller

Board of Estimate

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.

Court system

The Mount Vernon city court is part of the

New York State Unified Court System The Judiciary of New York (officially the New York State Unified Court System) is the judicial branch of the Government of New York, comprising all the courts of the State of New York (excluding extrajudicial administrative courts). The Court ...

. 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.

Education

Mount Vernon City School District includes 11 elementary schools, two middle schools, two high schools and one alternative high school.

Westchester Community College Westchester Community College (WCC) is a public community college in Valhalla, New York, in Westchester County. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. History New York state opened five coed technical institutes in 194 ...

has an extension site education facility, downtown. In 2011, ''

The Journal News ''The Journal News'' is a newspaper in New York State serving the New York counties of Westchester, Rockland, and Putnam, a region known as the Lower Hudson Valley. It is owned by Gannett. History ''The Journal News'' was created through a ...

'' 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."

Infrastructure and services

Fire department

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.

Police department

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 A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

(DOJ) for civil rights violations by the Mount Vernon Police Department. The DOJ announced its civil investigation in December 2021.

Healthcare

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 Westchester Medical Center University Hospital (WMC), formerly Grasslands Hospital, is an 895-bed Regional Trauma Center providing health services to residents of the Hudson Valley, northern New Jersey, and southern Connecticut. It is known for h ...

, and

White Plains Hospital White Plains Hospital is a general medical and surgical, non-profit hospital located in White Plains, New York. In addition to providing general care to patients, it also operates a number of specialized programs, such as its cancer center. The ho ...

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 . 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 The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is an American nonprofit organization

affiliate that serves New York's Putnam, Rockland,

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

and Westchester Counties, opened its first medical center in Mount Vernon in 1935; the affiliate remains a vital source for reproductive health care services to Mount Vernon residents.

Places of worship

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.

Transportation

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 The Westchester County Bee-Line System, branded on the buses in lowercase as ''the bee-line system'', is a bus system serving Westchester County, New York. The system is owned by the county's Department of Public Works and Transportation. Histor ...

, and 1,500 use the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's

commuter rail service. * Petrillo Plaza, adjacent to Metro North's Mount Vernon East station in downtown Mount Vernon, is the hub for Westchester's

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 MTA Regional Bus Operations (RBO) is the bus operations division of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York City. The MTA operates local, limited-stop, express, and Select Bus Service ( bus rapid transit) services across the city ...

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 The Harlem Line is an commuter rail line owned and operated by the Metro-North Railroad in the U.S. state of New York. It runs north from New York City to Wassaic, in eastern Dutchess County. The lower from Grand Central Terminal to Southea ...

stops at Mount Vernon West and

Fleetwood Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census. Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830 ...

, both on the western edge of Mount Vernon; the west–east

stops at Mount Vernon East, in the heart of downtown. * Both the ( IRT White Plains Road Line) and the ( IRT Dyre Avenue Line) of the

New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the New York City boroughs, boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Tr ...

system have terminals just south of the Mount Vernon border, served by the Bee-Line. The terminates at 241st Street in

. The 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.

Notable people

* A.D.O.R. * Camille Akeju *

Lou Albano Louis Vincent Albano (July 29, 1933 – October 14, 2009) was an Italian-American professional wrestler, manager and actor, who performed under the ring/stage name "Captain" Lou Albano. He was active as a professional wrestler from 1953 until 1 ...

Debbie Allen Deborah Kaye Allen (born January 16, 1950) is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, singer, director, producer, and a former member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. She has been nominated 20 times for an Emmy Award ...

* James Anthony Bailey * Bob Baldwin * Larry Barnes * Rai Benjamin * Alessandra Biaggi * John G. Branca * John R. Branca *

Ralph Branca Ralph Theodore Joseph Branca (January 6, 1926 – November 23, 2016), nicknamed "Hawk", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1944 through 1956. Branca played for the Brooklyn Dod ...

* Jonathan Briley *

Art Carney Arthur William Matthew Carney (November 4, 1918 – November 9, 2003) was an American actor and comedian. A recipient of an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globe Award, and six Primetime Emmy Awards, he was best kn ...

* Jonathan Stuart Cerullo *

David Chase David Henry Chase (born August 22, 1945) is an American writer, producer, and director. He is best known for being the creator, head writer, and executive producer of the HBO drama ''The Sopranos'', which aired for six seasons between 1999 and 2 ...

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American television and radio personality and television producer who hosted ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 1989. He also hosted five incarnations of the Pyramid (game show), ...

* Craig Colorusso *

Sean Combs Sean John Combs (born November 4, 1969), better known by his stage name Diddy, and formerly Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer, and record executive. Born in Harlem and raised in Mount Vernon, New York, Mount Ve ...

* Isaiah Cousins * DMX *

Andre Drummond Andre Jamal Drummond (born August 10, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A center, he was selected by the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the 2012 NB ...

* Damion Easley *

Susie Essman Susan Essman (born May 31, 1955) is an American comedian, actress, producer and writer. She is best known for her role as Susie Greene on ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' (2000–2024), as the voice of Mittens in '' Bolt'' (2008), and as Bobbi Wexler o ...

* DJ Eddie F * Linda Fairstein * Adelaide Gescheidt *

Robin Givens Robin Givens (born November 27, 1964) is an American actress and director. Givens played Darlene Merriman in the ABC sitcom '' Head of the Class'' in 1986, and remained on the series for its five year duration. Her troubled marriage to boxer ...

Seth Godin Seth W. Godin, also known under his pen name as "F. X. Nine" (born 1960), is an American author, marketing expert, entrepreneur, and a former dot-com business executive. Early life and education Seth W. Godin graduated from Williamsville East H ...

* Ben Gordon * Paul Grassi * Rudy Hackett * Mark Harris * Christine E. Haycock *

Heavy D Dwight Arrington MyersCuda, Heidi Sigmund Keeping it reel. '' Vibe'' ("born Dwight Arrington Myers")Samuels, Anita M. (January 12' 1996)Heavy D, the C.E.O. ''New York Times'' (May 24, 1967 – November 8, 2011), known professionally as Hea ...

* W. C. Heinz *

Michael Imperioli Michael Imperioli (born March 26, 1966) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Christopher Moltisanti in the HBO crime drama series ''The Sopranos'' (1999–2007), which earned him the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Suppor ...

Kay Johnson Catherine Townsend Johnson (November 29, 1904 – November 17, 1975) was an American stage and film actress. Family Johnson’s father was architect Thomas R. Johnson, the architect of several noteworthy buildings in New York City, inclu ...

* Kevin Jones *

Andy Karl Andy Karl (born August 27, 1974 as Andrew Karl Cesewski) is an American actor and singer. He is best known for performing in musical theatre specifically musicals adapted from successful movies. He has received several accolades including a Laur ...

Roz Kelly Roz Kelly (born Rosiland Schwartz on July 29, 1943) is an American actress, perhaps best known for playing Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli's (Henry Winkler) girlfriend Happy Days#Minor/recurring, Carol "Pinky" Tuscadero on the television series ''Hap ...

Harvey Kurtzman Harvey Kurtzman (; October 3, 1924 – February 21, 1993) was an American cartoonist and editor. His best-known work includes writing and editing the parodic comic book ''Mad (magazine), Mad'' from 1952 until 1956, and writing the ...

* Benton MacKaye *

Johnny Marks John David Marks (November 10, 1909 – September 3, 1985) was an American songwriter. He specialized in Christmas songs and wrote many holiday standards, including " Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (a hit for Gene Autry and others), " Rockin' Ar ...

* Frances Marlatt * Rodney McCray * Scooter McCray *

The Mello-Kings The Mello-Kings were an American doo-wop group, who became popular in the late 1950s with their song, "Tonite, Tonite" (1957). The group consisted of brothers Jerry and Bob Scholl, Eddie Quinn, Neil Arena and Larry Esposito. The quintet was forme ...

Stephanie Mills Stephanie Dorthea Mills (born March 22, 1957) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to stardom as Dorothy Gale in the original seven-time Tony Awards, Tony Award winning Broadway theatre, Broadway run of the musical ''The Wiz'' ...

* Lowes Moore *

Robin Morgan Robin Morgan (born January 29, 1941) is an American poet, writer, activist, journalist, lecturer and former child actor. Since the early 1960s, she has been a key Radical feminism, radical feminist member of the American Feminist movement, Wom ...

* Robert Mosbacher * Sal Mosca *

Asia Nitollano Asia Nitollano (born February 14, 1988) is an American singer, dancer, model and cheerleader. After winning the television series '' Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll'', Nitollano became a member of the Pussycat Dolls, only t ...

Michael O'Keefe Michael O'Keefe (born Raymond Peter O'Keefe Jr.; April 24, 1955) is an American actor known for his roles as Danny Noonan in '' Caddyshack''; Ben Meechum in '' The Great Santini,'' for which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Bes ...

Floyd Patterson Floyd Patterson (January 4, 1935 – May 11, 2006) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1952 to 1972, and twice reigned as the world heavyweight champion between 1956 and 1962. At the age of 21, he became the youngest boxer in his ...

Sidney Poitier Sidney Poitier ( ; February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022) was a Bahamian-American actor, film director, activist, and diplomat. In 1964, he was the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. Among his ot ...

* Adam Clayton Powell *

Phylicia Rashad Phylicia Rashad ( ) ( Ayers-Allen; born June 19, 1948) is an American actress. She was most recently dean of the College of Fine Arts at Howard University before her three-year contract ended in May 2024. Known for her roles on stage and scree ...

Leon Robinson Leon Preston Robinson (born March 8, 1962), usually credited as simply Leon, is an American actor and singer who began his professional career as a film actor in the early 1980s. He is best known for his roles as J.T. Matthews in the 1991 Rob ...

Pete Rock Peter O. Phillips (born June 21, 1970), better known by his stage name Pete Rock, is an American record producer, DJ and rapping, rapper. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time, and is often mentioned along ...

Larry Romano Lawrence John Romano (born July 31, 1963) is an American film and television actor. Born in Mount Vernon, New York, he was a regular on ''NYPD Blue'' and the sitcom ''The King of Queens'', on which he played Richie Iannucci. He played First B ...

* Wayne Allyn Root * James Rowson *

Oliver Sacks Oliver Wolf Sacks (9 July 1933 – 30 August 2015) was a British neurology, neurologist, Natural history, naturalist, historian of science, and writer. Born in London, Sacks received his medical degree in 1958 from The Queen's College, Oxford ...

* Davetta Sherwood * John Simon *

Nina Simone Nina Simone ( ; born Eunice Kathleen Waymon; February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003) was an American singer, pianist, songwriter, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, and po ...

Ken Singleton Kenneth Wayne Singleton (born June 10, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player and television sports commentator. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder and designated hitter from to , most prominently as a member ...

* Roy Smith * J. B. Smoove *

Lionel Stander Lionel Jay Stander (January 11, 1908 – November 30, 1994) was an American actor, activist, and a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild. He had an extensive career in theatre, film, radio, and television that spanned nearly 70 years, ...

* John M. Sternhagen * Al B. Sure! * Corrinne Tarver * Earl Tatum *

Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor, producer, and director. Known for his dramatic roles Denzel Washington on screen and stage, on stage and screen, Washington has received List of awards and nominations ...

Barbara Werle Barbara May Theresa Werle (October 6, 1928 – January 1, 2013) was an American actress, dancer and singer, best known for her role in ''Seconds (1966 film), Seconds'' (1966). Career Werle was born on October 6, 1928, in Mount Vernon, New York ...

E. B. White Elwyn Brooks White (July 11, 1899 – October 1, 1985) was an American writer. He was the author of several highly popular books for children, including ''Stuart Little'' (1945), ''Charlotte's Web'' (1952), and '' The Trumpet of the Swan'' ...

* Gus Williams * Ray Williams * Sylvia Woods

In popular culture

Motion pictures

Advertising

* Memorial Field in Mount Vernon was used to film the classic " Mean Joe Greene"

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

commercial in May 1979.

Films

Multiple movies have been set in or featured Mount Vernon, such as: * ''

Dead Presidents ''Dead Presidents'' is a 1995 American crime film co-written, produced and directed by the Hughes brothers, Hughes Brothers. The film chronicles the life of Anthony Curtis (Larenz Tate), focusing on his teenage years as a high school graduate a ...

'' (1995) * '' Empty Places'' (1999) * '' The Thomas Crown Affair'' (1999): shot a scene in Willson's Woods Park, which was transformed to look like

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

; the Vernon Woods co-op complex was used to stage and store equipment during the scene. * '' Riding in Cars with Boys'' (2001)

Television

* '' The Leftovers''

References

External links

City of Mount Vernon official website
at cmvny.com {{Authority control 1664 establishments in the Province of New York Cities in New York (state) Cities in the New York metropolitan area Cities in Westchester County, New York Populated places established in 1664 Populated places established in 1850