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03-25-09
Mayor Young delivers promising and powerful State of the
City Address
2009
State of the City Address
Delivered by
Mayor
Clinton I. Young, Jr.
March 25, 2009
WELCOME
Thank you
Council President Bill Randolph, City Council members
Loretta Hottinger, Steve Horton, Yuhanna Edwards and Marcus
A. Griffith,
City Clerk George Brown, and City Comptroller Maureen
Walker; ladies and gentlemen—good evening and welcome to my
second State of the City Address.
As Mayor of
this city I am blessed to have such conscientious partners
in government, who are focused solely on the betterment of
our city and its citizens. We are pleased to
acknowledge
the many elected officials and clergy here tonight.
I want to
particularly recognize our future City Court Judge Helen
Blackwood and the new Corporation Counsel Loretta Hottinger.
You may not
have heard or read about their qualifications recently, but
Helen Blackwood is a
Colgate University
graduate, with a Juris Doctorate from New York Law School,
as well as other advanced degrees in law. In 2008, she was one of
only three lawyers to be chosen as “New York Super Lawyers”
in the area of government practice. She is now trading in
her super cape for a robe. And Loretta Hottinger, her
experience in civil litigation and her passion are perfectly
suited to best serve as the City’s Corporation Counsel. She
has done a superb job as an outstanding member of the City
Council since 1998.
We have
great people here in city government. I want to thank the
dedicated men and women of each Department and all City Hall
staff for their hard work and dedication over this year of
transition. You continue to show an interest in improving
upon the jobs that you do on a daily basis, and I thank you.
STATE OF
THE CITY Message
A year
has indeed passed and our city, our state, our country have
been confronted with challenges that not many generations
before us have seen.
Despite
these enormous challenges, I am very pleased to stand before
you this evening to report to you that our city is much
stronger than a year ago. Mount Vernon is stronger, because
we are better prepared to meet these challenges and harness
lessons learned from the past year. And, we will emerge
from these trials a more robust and sustainable city full of
people who care not only about themselves, but about future
generations of Mount Vernon. People
of
Mount Vernon,
This is Where We’re
Headed.
IMPROVING GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY
During my
first State of the City Address, I said that Mount Vernon is
moving toward a robust and dynamic renaissance. Promises
were made back then—and we worked hard to keep those
promises.
In year two,
we are already reaping the benefits of many projects and
initiatives that my staff developed last year. I
established a Human Resources Department,
under the leadership of Jen Coker-Wiggins. Jen has done a
magnificent job improving efficiency and implementing
customer service training for our staff to create a more
user friendly city hall.
I am
proud of the Management Services Department. Commissioner
Mary Young and her team have worked tirelessly to advance
our technological capabilities. Commissioner Young is
currently working on improving telecommunications, upgrading
our document and asset management systems.
This year,
as promised we are able to generate more revenue for the
city through online bill payments. Now you can log on to our
website
www.CMVNY.com to pay parking tickets. In the coming
months other services will be added, such as Building Department forms and fees,
Recreation Department program fees, Water bills, and
hopefully, with cooperation, property taxes, as well as
block and lot identifications.
We are
working hard to bring city hall to your home computer, 24-hours a day – seven days a week, 365 days a year. Working
harder for you requires your having complete access to city
government. We are in the 21st century.
We have made
significant strides in ensuring the transparency and
accountability in city government. The inspector general
has turned out to be a truly independent voice in city hall.
Unquestionably credentialed as a certified inspector general,
Harry Stokes has shown a true dedication in weeding out
fraud and waste.
I want you
to know that during my first year, I instituted
internal budgetary controls, a system that has, so far,
reduced spending by $1.5 million outside of salaries, wages, and benefits compared to the 2008 Adopted Budget. We foresaw
and prepared for further erosion of the global economic
markets. And as we prepared the 2009 Budget, we fully understand that the 2010 Budget will present an even
greater challenge. To meet that challenge, we are working
diligently to stabilize our tax base by encouraging all
types of new development.
This year, I
have called on with every commissioner and department head
to trim their budgets even more. Last year, there were no
job losses. But, we may not be able to avoid job cuts next
year. In addition, further evaluation of the revenue side of this budget is
going to be required. Concrete justifications for spending
and accountability will continue to be stringently enforced
this year.
We took the
necessary steps to resolve a costly and longstanding legal
matter with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development. Through the efforts of my office as well as our
law and Planning departments, we were able to reduce the settlement from nearly $2.3
million to $1.7 million, without additional penalties. This type of synergy works.
Thank you, Law Department. Thank you, Planning Department.
We saved our city’s taxpayers close to $600,000.
But, we
still have a long way to go. I know all too well that
people in this city are suffering financially and worried
about losing their homes. In fact, Mount Vernon has one of
the highest rates of foreclosures in
Westchester
County.
We must think out of the box and employ non-conventional
measures to stop this trend. That’s why I have established a
new program entitled “How to Buy, Sell, Finance Real
Estate Without Losing Your Shirt.”
A series of four seminars plus private counseling
appointments will be held here at City Hall.
These
seminars will be held April 6th, 18th,
27th, and May 9th. They will focus on
answering questions and giving good information and
procedures to help Mount Vernon people stay out of harm’s way. I have enlisted the talents
of two
Mount Vernon
residents and former business owners – familiar to many of
us, Edna Haber and Liz Lindsey,
who have so generously volunteered their time and expertise
to fulfill a real need in Mount Vernon. Welcome ladies and
thank you.
People like
Liz and Edna show us that there is a lot more good going on
in our city. I strongly encourage all residents of Mount
Vernon to participate in the rebuilding of our city. We’re
all in this together. By using our collective talents, we
can become a model for grassroots government. People of
Mount Vernon,
This is Where We’re
Headed.
TAKING BACK OUR STREETS
Unfortunately, we have experienced a disturbing trend in
murders. By and large, these are young black men killing other young black men with
the use of illegal handguns. This has to stop!!!!
As Mayor, I
have been working closely with Public Safety Commissioner
David Chong and neighborhood organizations to turn this
disturbing trend around.
Our officers, put their lives on the line each and every
day. Last year,
the Mount
Vernon Police Department responded to more than 48,000 calls for
service. As a result of the department’s hard work there has
been an overall decrease in measured violent crimes
from 2007.
Here are other notable statistics:
·
Detectives
solved 9 of the 12 homicides that occurred in the City and
have substantial leads in solving the other 3.
·
The Mount
Vernon Police Department has received close to 3 million
dollars in outside Federal, State, County and local grant
funding along with donations from the Mount Vernon
Police Foundation and seized assets. Westchester County has
procured additional funding that has assisted us with
expanding the Step Up program. Step Up
helps many
“at risk youth” communicate with police officers and build
bridges of cooperation and understanding.
·
The
Department also works cooperatively with Federal, State as
well as County law enforcement agencies to initiate long
term, in-depth investigations. This initiative resulted in
the arrests this month of hardened drug dealers and
removed illegal hand guns from our streets.
Here are some additional steps we’re taking to create a safer
Mount Vernon:
I will
continue my work with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg
and the U.S. Conference of Mayors in the fight against
illegal handguns as well as with Westchester County District
Attorney Janet DiFiore. I greatly appreciate the support of
the United Black Clergy, with its President The Reverend W.
Darin Moore and Vice President Bishop C. Nathan Edwers, as
well as other neighborhood groups to help establish
initiatives to stop the madness on our streets.
I am also engaging
more community involvement by instituting a new
community-based policing program designed to enhance public
trust and cooperation with our police department. We must
all work together to bridge any remaining gaps in these
relationships. In fact, I encourage the community to get
involved in the safety our city. We can no longer protect
and house those who are dealing poison to our youth and
murdering people in the streets. There are many of you who
have already stepped forward, like our Auxiliary Police, to
be the eyes and ears of the city, but we’re not stopping
there.
By this
Summer, we are hoping to have in place an Automated Gun
Detection System, thanks to 3-million dollars in Capital Project funding from
Westchester County to provide the city with the latest in
gunfire detection technology. We certainly thank County
Executive Andy Spano, County Legislator Lyndon Williams and
the Board of Legislators for this new system. The system
can immediately identify gun fire with pinpoint accuracy to
catch criminals in the act. Through this and other
initiatives we are building a safer city. Mount Vernon, THIS IS WHERE
WE’RE HEADED.
IMPROVING INFRASTRUCTURE FROM THE INSIDE…OUT
In order for
Mount Vernon to develop into a true world class city, its
long neglected infrastructure must be rehabilitated. For too
long, Mount Vernon has been allowed to decay, before our
very eyes, in order to produce budget surpluses. As a result, we now face a great challenge in terms of rebuilding and
repairing our roads, our buildings, our parks and our vehicular fleet. To do so,
however, requires funding. We have been diligently working
to identify other funding sources that will allow us to
rebuild at a minimal cost to the taxpayers in this city.
Last year, I
established a capital projects committee to identify the
needs of the city. Each department has submitted a list of
projects and equipment needed to improve services in the
city. This year, with the cooperation of the City Council,
we are hopefully going out to bond in order to fix our city.
The capital projects committee has developed a five year
plan that includes replacing the City’s 25-year old garbage
and fire trucks that are in constant need of repair; as well
as fixing parking structures and city buildings that are
crumbling.
DPW
Commissioner Terrence Horton and his team work hard every
day with very, very limited resources and outdated
equipment. But, they get the job done! Our DPW crew is
second to none in this county. I thank you for keeping the
faith.
My staff,
led by Chief of Staff Yolanda Robinson and Deputy Chief of
Staff Brian Bochow, along with our newest staff member Hank
Miller, are working tirelessly with our county, state and
federal lawmakers to bring home some of the much publicized
stimulus funding enacted by President Obama. So far, with
the help of U.S. Senator Charles Schumer, we have received
over 1.2 million dollars in stimulus funding to help fight
homelessness and Community Development Block Grants that
will go a long way in improving our downtown area.
We all know
that our parking lots and streets need an overhaul. I’m
happy to announce tonight that renovation work on the
Fleetwood Avenue Parking Garage will get underway this year.
I have set aside funding to repair or replace the elevators
at the Fleetwood and Third Avenue Garages, as well as the
elevator at the Armory! Thanks to funding from Assemblyman
Gary Pretlow, we can give the Fleetwood Garage an overdue
facelift. While I am mentioning the Armory, I would like to
recognize the fine work of some of the people who work so
diligently and with such care with our seniors. I would
like to thank Traci Proctor, Edith Charles, and Joan Horton
for their phenomenal work. They have truly expanded our
senior programs and I know will continue to do so.
In
addition, the City of Mount Vernon has submitted over twenty
separate projects to the state for consideration for Federal
Stimulus monies. I have attended several meetings with other
top elected officials in the county who, like us, have
infrastructure and economic issues. However¸ the City of
Mount Vernon is not sitting back and waiting for stimulus
money to come through. We are already taking action and
moving forward with much needed and long-anticipated
projects.
Petrillo
Plaza on
East
Prospect Avenue is awaiting just a few finishing touches
before it will be unveiled as an efficient and user-friendly
transit hub within our city. While I served as your County
Legislator, I secured more than ten million dollars for this
project, along with County Executive Andy Spano and Board of
Legislators Chairman Bill Ryan. This project will not only
enhance the attractiveness of the downtown area, but will
improve traffic and pedestrian safety and make the block
more business friendly.
The
Park Avenue Bridge,
which spans the New Haven Railroad line,
is more suited for off road vehicles than it is for
passenger cars. Again, the poor condition of this bridge is
due to many years of neglect and deferred maintenance. I am
glad to announce that we have reached an agreement with the
MTA under which they will completely rebuild the bridge.
We continue
to seek funding from our federal and state legislators to
rehabilitate our firehouses and upgrade our firefighting
apparatus. Fire Commissioner Noah Lighty has done a
tremendous job in promoting the Fire Department in a very
short time. For example, the Department is putting back in
service a third ladder truck that will improve response and
reduce the need for mutual aid from other cities.
This
administration will not ignore the Fire Department when it
comes having the proper tools to do their job. Last year, we
repaired the floor at the Oak Street Fire House, which was on the verge of collapse. Currently,
we are seeking contractors to remediate a severe mold
contamination condition at our main fire headquarters so
that we can move our firefighters out of costly trailers and
back into their house where they belong.
Finally, Memorial Field, which was once the crown jewel of all Westchester County
athletic facilities, is now outdated and sits in an embarrassing state of
disrepair because of decades of neglect. I have long been
troubled by the message we send to our young people when
they visit modern and pristine athletic fields in other
areas,
yet ask them to host contests and compete in such a run down
and decayed facility. Our athletes, cheerleaders, Razorback
youth football players and the seniors who walk the track
starting at 5 o’clock in the morning all deserve so much
better.
As your
County Legislator, I began the fight to receive county
funding and since becoming Mayor, that torch was passed to my successor at the county level,
Legislator Lyndon Williams, who saw the effort to a
successful conclusion earlier this year when the County
Board of Legislators voted to award the City of Mount Vernon
nearly ten million dollars in Legacy funding which
will go toward the design and construction of a new Memorial
Field. We will break ground at Memorial Field in the fall of
this year. Once again, Mount Vernon will be home to the
PREMIER recreational and athletic facility in the region. As
an added bonus, this project with spurn further development
on the Sandford Boulevard corridor that will surely
stimulate our tax base.
At the same
time, we are also making substantial improvements to
Brush Park.
This year, we will announce new plans to give Brush Park a
major overhaul for our all of our youth baseball and
softball teams. In addition, the planning stage has begun
for a new tennis center in Mount Vernon. I would like to
acknowledge Judith Norton and Danielle Carr. Judith, served
in both
Iraq
and Afghanistan, just returned home to work with our young
people through the city’s tennis program. Thank you both
for being here. Mount Vernon, THIS IS WHERE
WE’RE HEADED.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
In 2008, our
city took its first steps toward becoming a more
development-friendly municipality.
We
have moved to the next phase of our Comprehensive Planning
Process. We are now in the middle of the Community Survey
period where everyone in the city has the ability to tell us
what you want to see happen for the future of Mount Vernon.
We, as a
community have taken control of our future. The City of
Mount Vernon has been without a new Comprehensive Plan for
Development since 1968 or as Planning Commissioner Jeff
Williams often states not since before man walked on the
moon. Now is the time for Mount Vernon to reach its full
potential.
Please
understand, this plan is not going to be a full makeover of
our city, but rather it will serve as a guide for the
administration and developers for what you want to see
happen. For more information about the Comprehensive Plan
process please go to our website
www.planMV.com. If you haven’t filled out a survey,
please do so. We need to hear what you have to say. At the
end of this process we will have outlined a path to smart
development that will truly benefit our community. We’re not
looking for investors, we are looking for partners.
While on the
subject of partners, on September 30th & October
1st, the City of Mount Vernon will be hosting,
along with the Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce, the first ever
Mount Vernon Business Expo. Over the course of two days in
the early Fall, we are going to showcase Mount Vernon as
what we all know it to be: the most convenient place in the
Metropolitan Area outside of New York City to live and own a
business, a place of substantial competitive advantage, all
amongst a tight-knit community of people who care what
happens in their city. The theme for this year’s business
expo is “Mount Vernon
is Open for Business.” We look forward to working with Frank
Fraley and the Chamber on this project.
But, I want
to be clear, we are open today for smart business and
development growth. And, that’s why successful business
people like Warren Buffett, who many consider the world’s
richest person, has invested in Mount Vernon. Today,
Mount Vernon
is attractive, which is why Philip Eisenberg has invested
over $90 million in property acquisition in Mount Vernon.
Mount Vernon is attractive, which is why Insaf Ali,
the owner of Two AA’s Mechanical on Fourth Avenue invested
his life savings in a business in
Mount Vernon.
There are so many other medium to small businesses that
continue to recognize the great potential for economic
growth in our city. Mount Vernon is open for business.
Mount Vernon, THIS IS WHERE
WE’RE HEADED.
MOUNT
VERNON IS
GOING GREEN
In last
year’s State of the City Address I mentioned that my
administration would be exploring how Green Initiatives can
play a part in the re-birth of Mount Vernon. Let me tell
you this evening that Mount Vernon is on its way to becoming
a Green City. The city has partnered with a group lead by
John Berenyi, a world renowned
expert in the fields of alternate energy and alternate fuel
technology, along with
Richard Garfunkel, to guide us on this path. Together with my Deputy Chief of
Staff Brian Bochow and Planning Commissioner Jeff Williams, the group has outlined a Vision Plan for Creating a
Sustainable
City.
We are
looking to reformulate and revise our zoning laws and
building codes to encourage sustainable developments. Soon
we will establish “green zones” that will promote
concentrated green industry sections of the city. We have
already evaluated several of our city-owned buildings for
their ability to be rehabilitated and modified with
sustainable features. Within the next month, our Department
of Public Works will be participating in a pilot project
with EV Power Systems, a company that specializes in
retrofitting pick-up trucks and other large vehicles with an
electric engine that ultimately will save 25-40% in fuel
consumption. I very much look forward to building upon this
pilot program as we continue to upgrade our public works
fleet.
Perhaps the
most vital piece of the Green Initiatives puzzle is the
creation of a Green Industry & Job Training Incubator. This
incubator will serve as a launching point for businesses who
are interested in coming to Mount Vernon and creating jobs
for our citizens. It will also be a place for a training and
educational center where our residents can develop the
necessary skills in this emerging field of green technology.
Mount Vernon, THIS IS WHERE
WE’RE HEADED.
Just as I
asked last year, while we are putting our plans in place, I
would encourage everyone to think about how they can reduce
their energy consumption where it makes financial sense for
you. Whether it’s purchasing a hybrid vehicle or replacing
their incandescent light bulbs
with energy efficient fluorescent bulbs,
every little bit counts.
IT’S ALL ABOUT OUR YOUNG PEOPLE
Our children
are indeed our most treasured resource and
Mount Vernon’s
young people will ALWAYS be a top priority within my
administration. Everything I have talked about up until now
is aimed at giving our young people a stronger city to
inherit from us.
I created an
initiative titled “Taking Back Our Kids” which is a
comprehensive plan that involves both municipal and
community resources working to redirect our young people.
The City of Mount Vernon, working together with private
organizations, will continue to
provide safe and effective programming for our youth.
There are
thousands of talented and conscientious young people from
Mount Vernon who go on to achieve great things and they are
the RULE, rather than the exception. When it comes to our children,
we WILL dedicate resources to them, we WILL nurture them and
we WILL expect great things from them.
This year
our schools were faced with difficult budgetary choices,
which unfortunately resulted in the elimination of the
sports program from the school district’s 2008-2009 Budget.
Although the school district is not under my
jurisdiction, I created the Save Our Sports (S.O.S.)
movement to work with Superintendent Tony Sawyer to help the
district to raise the money. I immediately contacted
Mount Vernon
High School
graduate and NBA star Ben Gordon, as well as my dear friend
Denzel Washington who immediately put their celebrity and
monetary support behind this worthy cause. With the help of
our Bronxville neighbors, like Jeff Cooney, we raised a
tremendous amount of money to help our kids. The entire
Bronxville community displayed what great neighbors they
truly are. I’m happy to say that thanks to the work of
Ronnie Cox, President of the Mount Vernon Educational
Foundation, we saved sports this year.
Saving the
sports program gave our young people the opportunity to show
their talents. For many of them, this is their path to
success above and beyond athletics, like obtaining a college
scholarship. So many of our Mount Vernon High School student
athletes have gone on to become doctors, lawyers, teachers,
actors, artists, and even the mayor of Mount Vernon. This
community came together and did what was necessary to
provide these opportunities for our children.
In order to
best serve young people, you must have their input, and that
was the basis for the creation of my Youth Empowerment
Council. Early last year, under the direction of Theresa
Reid and Dena Williams, we put together a broad-based group of youth who hail from a
variety of backgrounds. Their dedication and hard work has
already paid dividends to our city in the form of new
programs and events that provide a safe and secure
environment for young people to gather and enjoy themselves.
The Youth Empowerment Council introduced a supervised and
popular Teen Night series which has been held at locations
such as The Y and the Boys and Girls Club. The council will
also be traveling to Washington D.C. and taking a tour of
the White House and is planning a Debutante Ball to be held
in July that will expose participants to community service
projects,
public speaking and social etiquette.
Over the
past year, our Youth Bureau, under the leadership of Deputy
Director DaMia Harris, has made great strides in reaching out and extending
important programs to
Mount Vernon’s
youth. One area which is crucial to the future success of
our younger generations is career preparedness. Ensuring
that our young people are able to compete for job and career
opportunities is a core component of our youth programming.
In 2008, thanks to Westchester County, the city’s Youth
Bureau provided job readiness training to over 300 city
teenagers, which led to after school and summer employment
opportunities at locations that included City Hall, the
Mount Vernon Hospital, the animal shelter, the Mount Vernon
Neighborhood Health Center, the Boys and Girls Club, The
Wartburg and more. These youth employment opportunities are
crucial in providing a foundation and preparing our young
people for future employment and career options. And, we
will work even harder this year to find the resources to
expand these invaluable programs.
I’m also
excited about the continued development of our
Entrepreneurship Summer Academy in which we partner with
Westchester Community College to develop within high school
students the knowledge and skills necessary to develop and
run a small business. Our summer Cook Academy provides
culinary training to students interested in pursuing a
career in that dynamic field. Our Lifeguard Program offered
scholarships to our youth to receive lifeguard training and
certification, which resulted in 90% of participants earning
summer employment.
Keeping our
youth safe and off of the streets requires that we provide
them with safe alternatives. After all, the best crime
fighting tool is a good after school program. The ASPIRE
program, run by Brother Arthur Muhammed, at Mount Vernon
High School is a shining example of what can result when the
City of Mount Vernon partners with the Mount Vernon School
District. HUNDREDS of students were able to take advantage
of after school literacy and homework assistance, college
and career exploration, cultural enrichment and recreational
activities.
Make no mistake about it, Mount Vernon’s
Youth Bureau is the FINEST in the state and it will become
even better in 2009 by improving existing programs and
offering new services. So far this year, we’ve already had
Playland come in and hold a job fair for our youth at Mount
Vernon High School and our job readiness programs are well
underway. Our youth have attended college fairs and will be
going on college tours. And, just a couple of weeks ago,
over 700 young people applied for Summer Employment
placement through the Youth Bureau. 2009 WILL BE the best
year yet for Mount Vernon’s youth.
A LIMITLESS FUTURE
I have outlined a vision tonight, a roadmap to success for
us to follow. This realized vision will certainly help, but
I know that it is not going to be the cure-all for the
problems we face on a daily basis. It is clear that the
city you live in, the city that we all love and hold so dearly in our hearts
has a bright and limitless future waiting for us. When you
enter my office, there is picture on my wall of our
president, President Obama. Under that picture there is a quote, it
reads “Our destiny is not written for us,
it is written by us.” We understand that the only way for us
to get there as a successful community is through hard work
and in having faith in the fact that great things are
possible and that they can be achieved right here in our
city.
Mount Vernon, I
promise you—we will write our destiny together. We have
that faith. We believe in ourselves. We believe in our
neighbors. Believe…Believe…Believe…
MOUNT
VERNON…THIS IS
WHERE WE’RE HEADED.
Thank you, God Bless You All, God Bless America, and God Bless
the
Great
City of
Mount Vernon.
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