“Mount Vernon’s Hometown Newspaper” NQUIRER...Vernon, NY Sports Champions, Heroes &...

“Mount Vernon’s Hometown Newspaper”

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Volume 11, Number 12 December 2016Serving the news and information needs of Mount Vernon, NY – “A City That Believes”

COMPLIMENTARY

T H E MO U N T V ER NO N

INQUIRER “The People’s Newspaper”

Continued on page 7

Continued on page 6

A court decision has finally been reached on the matter concern-ing a dispute between Terrence Horton, principal of Sentinel

Technology Services, Inc. and the City of Mount Vernon, revolving around the installation of 4,400 highly efficient LED streetlights throughout Mount Vernon.

For some time now the LED streetlight dispute has been dominating the front pages of both The Journal News and the Inquirer, Mount Vernon’s hometown newspaper. The Journal News has been criticized by many for providing readers with inaccurate information about the is-sue, while the Inquirer has empowered readers with the true and accurate facts about the matter.

The LED streetlight matter all started when the City of Mount Vernon put out an RFP in 2015 to have 4,400 streetlights replaced and Horton submitted a bid and his company was selected and granted the lucrative contract.

Horton’s company was selected by the city because he was offering incentives

that would benefit the Mount Vernon populace and its youth, while the other bidders were not.

“The mere thought that Mount Ver-non’s unemployment rate (the highest in Westchester County) will be positively

Mountco President and Princi-pal Joel Mounty, Grace Baptist Church Rev. Dr. W. Franklyn Richardson, elected officials

and local residents unveiled Mount Ver-non’s newest affordable housing devel-opment on Sunday, November 1, named after former New York State Senator and current member of the Cuomo Adminis-tration, Ruth Hassell-Thompson.

The Ruth Hassell-Thompson Towers is a 10-story, 66-unit affordable housing de-velopment serving income-eligible people who are 55 years and older. The property was developed by Mountco in partner-ship with the Grace Community Develop-ment Corporation (Grace CDC).

Grace CDC is an arm of Mount Vernon’s

(l to r) William J. Kane, streetlight management technician, with Terrence Horton

Ruth Hassell-Thompson

FEATURES Judge rules against City of Mount Vernon in LED streetlight dispute

Mt. Vernon new development named after Ruth Hassell-Thompson

Another first in Mt. Vernon: “Pumpkin Blaze”

Page 8

Mt. Vernon City Council honors

five distinguished citizens Page 22

Traphagen School holds spectacular Veterans

Day CelebrationPage 10

Big turnout for Veterans Day ceremony at Mt. Vernon City Hall

Page 23

Story by Joe Parisi

Story by Joe Parisi



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Ralph Branca when he played for the Brooklyn Dodgers

Statement from Mayor Thomas on

the passing of Ralph Branca

Mount Vernon is in mourn-ing at the loss of a legend. Ralph Branca, one of the greatest athletes to ever

grace the baseball diamond, was a son of Mount Vernon having been born and raised in our city. We are saddened to hear of his passing.

He is considered one of the great-est pitchers to ever throw a baseball, having his career span over twelve years with the Brooklyn Dodgers, De-troit Tigers and New York Yankees.

He was a leader at the forefront of integration by making a bold public statement, standing with Jackie Rob-inson at his debut in Major League Baseball when other players would not. His integrity and class are un-matched and his commitment to civil rights is something we should all seek to emulate.

Growing up in Mount Vernon with its rich culture and diversity made it easy for Ralph to be welcomed throughout the community and the world. We are thankful that the Branca family contin-ues to make Mount Vernon proud.

Ralph’s brother, John, was a New York State assemblyman and for sev-eral years the Commissioner of Recre-ation in Mount Vernon. In that position John redefined the significance of the parks in our community, including our beloved Memorial Field, which we are seeking to reopen.

We want to thank the Branca fam-ily for their continued support, and on behalf of the entire city, I extend my deepest condolences on the passing of Ralph Branca, Mount Vernon leg-end.

Karen Mackey Witherspoon (center)

Sharon Mackey-McGee

Mt. Vernon’s Mackey Twins honored by 914INC

Powerhouse gallery owners Sharon Mackey-McGee and Karen Mackey Witherspoon have been named “914INC

Women in Business” awardees. The identical twin sisters, owners of the Mackey Twins Art Gallery in Mount Vernon, New York, the largest collec-tion of exclusive works of artists of color in the tristate area, were pre-sented with the honor on Thursday, November 17 at an awards luncheon at the Tarrytown DoubleTree by Hil-ton Hotel. The women are among 18 winners profiled in the 914INC mag-azine’s fourth-quarter issue.

The tribute comes as the duo re-cently opened “Art’s Conscience II,” an exhibition featuring the works of Xenobia Bailey, Betty Blayton, Sta-cey Brown, Leroy Campbell, De-metric Denmark, James Denmark, Essud Fungcap, Magno Laracu-ente, Ruth Miller, Charly Palmer and TWIN – scheduled to end November 30. Opening night was packed with art enthusiasts who had a special chance to meet many of the exhibit-ing artists.

“We are thrilled to be honored among such a talented group of women who have been leading the charge in business in Westchester,” said Mackey-McGee.

“Winning an award for doing what you love is incredibly fortunate,” said Witherspoon. “We thank 914INC for this incredible honor.”

The 914INC award joins an array of honors that the sisters have won for their work in bringing the work of artists of color to wide audiences while developing collectors.

(l to r) Tere Wisell, Donnovan Beckford and Eridania Camacho

WCC “Just Add One” program wins award

The Westchester Community Col-lege Just Add One program, which assists small businesses in their efforts to expand, has

received the Workforce Program Award from the New York Association of Training and Employment Professionals (NYATEP). The program is funded by the Westches-ter-Putnam Development Board.

“We are proud of this recognition for an

initiative which truly fits into our mission as a community college,” says Dr. Belinda S. Miles, President, Westchester Commu-nity College. “The college prides itself on its involvement in workforce development. The Just Add One project has proven to be a successful team effort.”

NYATEP is a statewide workforce as-sociation made up of colleges, Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BO-

CES), workforce development boards and other workforce associations. The annual award was presented at the organization’s conference in Albany, New York.

This initiative for Westchester and Put-nam County businesses in New York State was coordinated by two offices within the college’s Workforce Development and Community Education Division. The Gate-way to Entrepreneurship (G2E) office sup-ports entrepreneurial education through collaborations with partners in both the public and private sectors. G2E is a re-source hub for entrepreneurial develop-ment at all stages, facilitating programs that respond to entrepreneurs’ needs and contribute to a vibrant local economy. Gateway to Entrepreneurship’s various programs give entrepreneurs the tools to turn their ideas into businesses by offering workshops, courses, consultations and other resources. With this particular ef-fort, the G2E staff worked with individuals in the college’s Professional Development Center, which provides incumbent work-force training for local businesses.




Blake. D. Myers, S. Salmon, P. Crossman, A. Henry, A. McKenzie A.

Several Mount Vernon residents have earned academic honors for the first marking period of the fall term at The Harvey School.

Densley Blake, grade 8 and Sage My-ers, grade 12, made the Head’s List with grade-point averages of 3.7.

Making the honor roll with grade-point

averages of at least 3.3 were Philip Salm-on, grade 6, Abigail Crossman, grade 9, Amaya Henry, grade 12 and Ashley McK-enzie, grade 12.

The Harvey School is an independent, coeducational college-preparatory school for students in grades six through 12.

Mt. Vernon residents earn academic awards at Harvey School

Author uncovers life stories of Mt. Vernon’s all-time athletes

Mount Vernon sports fans surely know about Ben Gordon, Ken Singleton, the brothers Gus and Ray Williams and other

city sports legends. What about Vernon “Hook” Hagenbuckle?

There’s very little internet research about this Mount Vernon High School star athlete other than that he was born in 1901 and played two games for the NFL’s Providence Steamrollers. But former Mount Vernon native and now Somers, NY resident Bruce Fabricant relied on pains-taking research, including interviews with surviving relatives, to unearth the Hagen-buckle story and dozens of others. They are all revealed in his new book “Mount Vernon, NY Sports Champions, Heroes & Legends.”

“Nothing ever about Mount Vernon sports has been produced as comprehen-sive as what I’ve undertaken here,” Fabri-cant says. “It would be a great Christmas gift for young and old alike.”

The 600-page book, a self-published collection of 79 Mount Vernon athletes and sports reporters, is much more than an assembly of facts and statistics, Fab-ricant says. Each chapter describes the lives and careers of these sports figures.

“All the people had to accomplish some-thing in college or on the professional lev-el,” Fabricant says. Many stories are told first-hand, through exclusive interviews with the athletes themselves.

Fabricant, who played on A.B. Davis High School’s 1959 championship base-ball team, later had a career in public re-lations. This is his fourth book about his hometown.

Fabricant says the book will be a learn-ing experience for even the most loyal fol-lowers of Mount Vernon sports. Dozens of professional and collegiate basketball players have come along since the 1960s, but Fabricant says some of the city’s most heralded athletes played long before Mount Vernon was considered a basket-ball powerhouse.

One of those athletes, Frank Carideo, played quarterback at the University of Notre Dame under legendary coach Knute Rockne, going 19-0 as a starter and win-ning two national championships in 1929 and 1930. Another relatively unknown sports figure from Mount Vernon is golfer Johnny Farrell who beat Bobby Jones in a 36-hole playoff to win the 1928 U.S. Open.

And then there is Ed Williams, who Fab-ricant says is, “Probably the greatest high school athlete to ever come out of Mount Vernon.” Williams, an African-American and star running back at New York Univer-sity, made history in 1936. A game against the University of North Carolina at Yankee Stadium marked the first time a southern school had agreed to play against a north-ern school with an African-American on its roster, Fabricant writes.

“The history of Mount Vernon sports goes way back, and that’s what I like do-ing,” he says. “Trying to find those peo-ple.”

The book can be ordered on Amazon.com. Fabricant says the company’s self-publishing program has “opened the doors for any aspiring writer.” The books, available online only, are printed by Am-azon on demand, every time an order is placed.

During his interviews with the sports fig-ures, Fabricant says many of the athletes spoke glowingly about their days at the Boys & Girls Club of Mount Vernon. Fab-ricant says he will donate a portion of all book sales to the city’s Boys & Girls Club.

“I think most parents realize reading is the key to life,” he says. “To get ahead, you have to be able to read. My fondest wish is for kids to put down their iPads and cell phones and pick up a book and read about something they might be pas-sionate about like Mount Vernon sports.”




Member



Founded in 2004 by JOSEPH A. PARISI AND LUISA PARISI

Published by

The Mount Vernon InquirerP.O. Box 458

Mount Vernon, NY 10551-0458 Email: [email protected]

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Phil Weiden, Dorothy Botsoe, Mayor Richard Thomas, Ann Garti, Richard Haggerty and John Barrett

Mayor Thomas making his presentation to the realtors

In his first appearance before the Hud-son Gateway Association of Real-tors’ Commercial Investment Division, Mount Vernon Mayor Richard Thomas

gave an ambitious, but at the same time pragmatic view of the City of Mount Ver-non’s future.

The mayor spoke before a gathering of approximately 75 CID members and guests at the HGAR offices in White Plains on October 27. Mayor Thomas, a native of Mount Vernon, was elected mayor in November 2015 winning in a landslide. He took office on January 1, 2016 and has engaged in a host of initiatives geared at improving the city’s infrastructure, its planning process and its quality of life.

The former Mount Vernon City Council-man (2012-2015) has had his battles with the City Council, but vows to move for-ward to grow Mount Vernon. He touted

the city’s location just 20 minutes from La Guardia Airport, New York City and Stam-ford, CT and its strong mass transit sys-tem with three Metro North train stations, two MTA subway stops, nine bus lines and six major highways.

Mayor Thomas, who previously served as executive director of the New York Af-fordable Reliable Electricity Alliance (New York AREA) organization and also held the post of Regional Director for New York Gov. David Paterson, made head-lines upon taking office when he took on the Metropolitan Transportation Author-ity over the condition of MTA bridges in Mount Vernon.

At the CID session, Mayor Thomas not-ed that there are 11 MTA bridges in Mount Vernon, many of which are well over 100 years old. Two of those spans have been closed for two decades that have “divided

Mayor Thomas shows area realtors why Mt. Vernon is moving forward

Story by John JordanPhotos by John Vecchiolla

the city and paralyzed our mobility,” he said.

“After some very structured and tar-geted conversations, they (the MTA) has committed to replacing four of our bridges over the next four years. That’s a $40-mil-lion commitment,” Mayor Thomas said. “They have $260 million more to go, but I am pleased that they did agree to replace these bridges on an accelerated time-table.”

The City of Mount Vernon is also work-ing with the MTA to develop parcels the MTA owns around its train stations. “Be-fore I got into office there was about $1 billion of development in various stages in the city,” he said. “Since we’ve taken office and had discussions with different groups, including the Real Estate Board of New York, we have tallied internally, and now we are ready to share externally, an additional new $5 billion in development.”

The mayor discussed some rezoning efforts underway at the moment and his goal of adopting a new Comprehensive Plan for the city. He said that there have been inroads with the city’s Building De-partment and added that developers can secure expedited approvals in some cas-es.

He did acknowledge that the poor im-age of the city in terms of its crime rate, school system, infrastructure and busi-ness environment must be improved.

The mayor said that to build a better city, his administration is pushing to hire more police and fire personnel, diversify development projects responsibly, fix broken infrastructure, empower neighbor-hood associations, collaborate with the school district and make Mount Vernon “market ready.” He also noted that the city must add more parking and that he prefers employing robo-parking since the city does not have the available properties downtown to accommodate new parking structures.

He later said that there are potential huge investments in properties nearby MTA train stations in Mount Vernon, par-ticularly by the Mount Vernon West sta-tion.

Among other topics the mayor touched upon include an ongoing effort at the Mount Vernon Industrial Development Agency to address commercial vacancies. Mayor Thomas hopes to institute a ground floor tax break by the spring of 2017 in sections of the city that would be given to landlords and hopefully passed onto ten-ants to help address the 30% commercial vacancy rate in the downtown district.

Another initiative geared at the small business sector is “Project Bee Hive” that would provide a wide array of programs and services, including: access to profes-sional consultants, technology labs, media studios, networking space and $100,000 in cash grants and loans.

Shortly after taking office the mayor in-

troduced a plan that called for more than $615 million in mainly infrastructure-relat-ed aid for the City of Mount Vernon. He said the city would re-introduce that plan to the State Legislature in 2017. Part of that plan included $350 million in capital funding from the Metropolitan Transporta-tion Authority.

The mayor is continuing to try to move forward on a $20-million improvement plan for Memorial Field. Some welcome news for the city and its school district came earlier this year when voters approved a $108-million bond issue geared at making improvements to the city’s schools.




impacted, is very inspiring. And the prom-ise that our youth will be trained in a very lucrative field is a measure of success for a city seeking to move ahead,” said Hor-ton after he was awarded the contract.

Horton was the only bidder that offered to conduct an energy audit of the city street light system. Sentinel performed this critical mapping, survey, data collec-tion, and analytical compilation with its own financing since the city did not have the funds to complete this crucial analy-sis. Furthermore, no one realizes that no other city in the tri-state region had ever performed this critical data compilation process prior to Sentinel. Today, everyone is using this method.

After Mayor Thomas took office he de-cided to attempt to have the legally bind-ing contract terminated. “I think I could do better with another company,” he stated at the time.

Horton decided to sue the city for $337,000 - the balance the city owes him for the completion of the phase one au-dit, which the city incorrectly argues was never completed. He was previously paid $113,000 and the city refused to pay the balance.

On November 1, after several months of waiting for a decision, Judge Alan Scheinkman, chief judge of the state’s 9th Judicial District, ruled that Sentinel had a binding agreement with the city, regard-less of which administration signed off on it.

Judge Scheinkman has ordered the city to pay Horton $337,000, which is part of a bigger deal, since the city signed off on a loan totaling $2.7 million to have the street lights installed.

The City of Mount Vernon signed off on a legally binding contract with Senti-nel and now wants to walk away from it – but they can’t. Before the contract was signed, the City Council and the Board of Estimate and Contract approved the contract on more than one occasion after carefully scrutinizing the facts.

Furthermore, the bank that provided the loan on the $2.7 million to install the LED lights also made sure that Sentinel was fully qualified to perform the task and that he was fully insured and bonded.

In addition, Judge Alan Scheinkman and

his staff spent months combing through the information provided by the city and Sentinel on the lawsuit initiated by Horton and his attorneys. Based on his research and decision, there was no breach of con-tract by Horton and Sentinel.

In his lengthy 23-page decision, Scheinkman wrote that Horton completed the work he was contracted to do in phase one of the contract. He also mentions that Horton also satisfactorily completed the detailed and complex audit of the existing streetlights. He further emphasized that Horton is entitled to be paid the remain-ing money for the audit, which amounts to $337.000. They city has also been ordered to pay interest on this money.

The city created a serious bind for the taxpayers, since they must now pay in-terest on the $2.7 million loan it took out to pay for new streetlights after reneging on the legally signed contract awarded to Horton. Adding insult to injury, the city must pay this money that has been sit-ting in an escrow account even though no lights were ever installed.

The Journal News recently wrote a story on the judge’s decision, but elected not to print it in the hardcopy of their publication. They chose to just place the story on their website and did not make it very visible to readers.

As in past reporting on the LED street-lights, they repeated many of their past incorrect information on the issue in their latest story.

The citizens of Mount Vernon will be losing millions of dollars on this matter and it will be like their tax dollars are be-ing burned in a fireplace, since there will be nothing to show for a lost that will run into several million dollars after you factor in excessively high legal fees and interest.

Taxpayers who have read the judge’s de-cision on the lohud.com website are sim-ply outraged. Many are calling for the city to simply allow Terrence Horton and his company to finish what they started. This way, the money will not simply be lost and taxpayers can start reaping the yearly sav-ings from the highly efficient LED street-lights. Furthermore, the unemployed can start getting hired to be trained in the field as well as Mount Vernon’s youth.

Consequently, the city now has a real

Mayor Davis (l) and City Council president Marcus Griffith (r) congratulating Terrence Horton after being award the LED streetlight contract

Representatives from multimillion dollar companies have vowed to support Horton and his business endeavors

Continued from page 1

dilemma, since appealing Judge Scheink-man’s decision will be foolish, since he is chief judge of the state’s 9th Judicial Dis-trict and the Appellate Division will not rule against him after the 23-page detailed re-port he compiled on this case. For the city

to allow millions of tax dollars go to waste is beyond being foolish, and for them to start the process with another company will cost the taxpayers additional millions of dollars.

Mt. Vernon Industrial Development Agency

continues to professionalize operations

A ccording to Mayor Richard Thomas, he is continuing to add accountability, trans-parency, and fiscal respon-

sibility to operations citywide. Earlier this week, the Mount Vernon Industri-al Development Agency added sev-eral professional service providers as consultants to the Agency to improve functions and service level.

Mayor Richard Thomas said, “In 2014, State Comptroller Tom Di-Napoli issued an excoriating report on Mount Vernon’s Industrial Devel-opment Agency. The deficiencies he found were unacceptable, particular-ly with an agency that is tasked with encouraging economic development and boosting the community as a whole.”

“We are moving past the days of endless PILOT agreements to low-end developers who want to make a quick buck on the backs of Mount Vernon taxpayers. The new Mount Vernon IDA is one that will grow Mount Vernon and create the quality of life and sustainable growth that the people deserve. As we look to bring new opportunities to Mount Vernon, such as the Beehive, we need the partnership of professional, high-quality firms that will add global value to our local economy. The strategic

steps we are taking today strength-ens confidence in our operations and will stimulate jobs growth and increase property values tomorrow.”

MVIDA Executive Director Sean McIntyre said, “I applaud Mayor Thomas and the entire IDA Board for taking the necessary steps to imple-ment best practices in accounting, engineering, and human resources fields. The IDA is tasked with pro-moting economic prosperity, engag-ing our business community, and promoting the great City of Mount Vernon. It’s imperative that our op-erations be efficient, effective, and professional.”

The Mount Vernon Industrial Devel-opment Agency has added UPBlack and Associates to conduct account-ing and bookkeeping services in-cluding completing and verifying cost-benefits analysis; ensuring stan-dard application fees for projects; and implementing accounts receivable systems. Three local engineering and architectural firms have been added to ensure projects are structurally sound and incorporate the needs of an urban landscape. Paychex Ser-vices has also been retained to man-age human resources services for the agency, which, in the past, had none.




Grace Baptist Church formed under the direction of the Rev. Richardson to serve as an institutional catalyst for economic and community development in Mount Vernon.

The new towers are the third collabora-tion between Mountco and CDC in Mount Vernon. Their first project – completed in 2006 – resulted in the nine-story Grace Plaza, also known as the Richard Dixon Tower, which offers 82 one-bedroom apartments for low-income seniors.

Their second project is the Randy A. Daniels Towers located on Third Street in Mount Vernon which consists of 44 one-bedroom and 88 two-bedroom apart-ments.

Similar to their previous joint projects, each development is named after a local servant who dedicated their lives to serv-ing the Mount Vernon community.

For Mounty and Richardson, Hassell-Thompson was an obvious choice be-cause of her work in the community, in elected office and continued dedication on affordable housing issues serving as an advisor with New York State Homes and Community Renewal.

The financing for this project was pro-vided by the New York State’s Division of Homes and Community Renewal, First Sterling Financial, Inc., JPMorgan Chase, August P. Petrillo HDFC, NYCRS, West-chester County, City of Mount Vernon, and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, Mount Vernon Mayor Richard Thomas and JP Morgan Northeast Divi-sion Manager for Community Develop-

ment Banking Dave Walsh also attended the press conference.

“Ruth Hassell-Thompson selflessly served the Mount Vernon community for years in both the nonprofit sector and as an elected representative at the City Council and State Legislature. This de-velopment rightfully honors that service,” said Mountco Construction and Develop-ment Corporation President and Principal Joel Mounty. “I’d also like to recognize Rev. Dr. Richardson for his vision and commitment to expand local affordable housing options. This faith-based partner-ship is truly unique and allows us to target the community’s specific housing needs with tailored solutions.”

“Grace CDC is so pleased to have Mountco as our development partner on these projects which has not only provid-ed quality housing for local residents, but has also created job opportunities to uplift our neighborhoods,” said Grace Baptist Church Rev. Dr. W. Franklyn Richardson.

“JPMorgan Chase is committed to the success of the communities in which we live and work,” said David Walsh, North-east Division Manager of Community De-velopment Banking for JPMorgan Chase. “The Ruth Hassell-Thompson Towers will help to meet the demand for safe, secure and affordable housing, which is a need in Mount Vernon. We’re proud to support a project that will have such a positive im-pact on the community. In Mount Vernon, JPMorgan Chase serves over 29,000 con-sumers and over 2,300 small businesses. Also, over 100 JPMorgan Chase employ-ees live in Mount Vernon.”

Ruth Hassell-Thompson Towers soon after the unveiling of the name

Mountco President and Principal Joel Mounty speaking during the press conference

Continued from page 1 Mayor’s 2017 budget will retrofit 1,000 water

customers for free

Mount Vernon Mayor Richard Thomas and Water Commis-sioner Anthony Della Mura, Sr. are pleased to announce an

exciting new initiative from the Board of Water Supply that will save Mount Vernon residents money and help keep the city clean. Mayor Thomas’ 2017 Budget Pro-posal supports the new initiative to retrofit 1,000 eligible locations in Mount Vernon for free!

Eligible residents can sign up now for Mount Vernon’s Water Savings Program. Starting in 2017, all government-owned buildings, multi-family residential build-ings, and certain commercial/industrial structures will be able to access free ret-rofitting services from the Board of Water Supply. Homeowners and business own-ers will see their water bills go down as they can get the same level of services by using less water!

Mayor Richard Thomas said, “Mount

Vernon residents have been overtaxed for years and it’s time the city started to give back. The Water Savings Program will mean instant savings for many home and business owners who are struggling with high water bills. Embracing new technol-ogy, such as retrofitting appliances, and collaborating with neighboring jurisdic-tions will make us a better Mount Vernon. This money invests in new equipment that will lead to savings on water bills.”

Commissioner Anthony Della Mura, Sr. said, “Under Mayor Thomas’ leadership, we are moving the Board of Water Supply into the 21st century with improved tech-nology, new uniforms, and better custom-er service for the people of Mount Vernon. I encourage everyone to call the Board of Water to get on the list. Together, we can save money and help the environment.”

GET ON THE LIST! Call the Board of Water Supply at 914-665-2365 or email at [email protected].

Mayor Richard Thomas brokers deal on 42 Broad

Street development

A n agreement has been finalized between the owners/merchants and the developers of 42 Broad Street, a proposed apartment

building to be built in the Fleetwood sec-tion of Mount Vernon.

Mayor Richard Thomas said, “Mount Vernon has the luxury of choosing in-vestments wisely. We are not desperate for development. I’m pleased the parties involved in 42 Broad have recognized the unique location and economic pos-sibilities of building in Mount Vernon. We worked together to come to an agree-ment on a plan to move the project for-ward wisely – with the health and quality of life of the community in mind. The City looks forward to continuing to work with the 42 Broad Street team to ensure Mount Vernon comes first and we move the city

forward.”Mark Alexander, the Al-

exander Group, said, “We are pleased that the last remaining issues regarding 42 Broad Street have been satisfactorily resolved with our future neighbors, and they are now eager for us to begin construction. We would like to thank Mayor Thomas for demonstrating leadership and commitment to this project by brokering this deal. Once construction commences, it will send a signal to potential investors that Mount Vernon is ready to build market-rate hous-ing and understands that construction delays do not

send the right signals to the investment community. To that end, this agreement adds additional parking to the garage. Ad-ditionally, we will pay over one million is tax revenue yearly, which will start a trend of other investments that will begin to sta-bilize the city’s tax-base, simultaneously inject much needed revenue in the school system and provide Mount Vernon home owners the much-needed tax relief they desperately deserve.”

Ralph Della Cava and Joe Simone, Sim-one Development, said, “We are delighted to have worked collaboratively with the developer of 42 West Broad Street and the Mayor’s Office to achieve a positive result for the community. Their willingness to work with us will result in a continued vibrant downtown of Fleetwood.”




On Saturday, October 29, Mayor Richard Thomas and the City of Mount Vernon hosted the city’s first-ever “Pumpkin Blaze” –

also known as a “Jack O’Lantern Blaze.” It attracted hundreds of kids and excited parents to the often-used Hartley Park.

There are some experiences every fam-

ily should try once, and this newly intro-duced event is one that every Mount Vernon family and their kids will vow to do every year.

“Slide the City”, which was a new attrac-tion introduced by Mayor Thomas over the summer attracted an army of Mount Ver-nonites, and the newly introduced “Pump-

Another first in Mt. Vernon: “Pumpkin Blaze”

A couple enjoying the “Pumpkin Blaze” with their child Children decorating pumpkins

Mayor Thomas touring the haunted house with his young son

Children and parents enjoying the hayride

Volunteers handing out ‘trick or treat’ bags to the kids

A grandmother having fun at “Pumpkin Blaze” with her grandchildren

kin Blaze” was as equally popular just before Halloween.

As the children entered the park they could not help notice hundreds of pump-kins carved by Mount Vernon families and children.

One big attraction was a hayride, which consisted of a wagon filled with hay and pulled by a motorized vehicle. It was such a big hit that the kids had to wait on line for over 30 minutes for the five-minute ride.

And yes, there was a haunted house,

Continued on page 9




Mayor Thomas’ wife and her child admiring the carved pumpkinsChildren admiring the impressive pumpkins in the haunted house

and a scavenger hunt that kept “Boos” and “Ghouls” happy.

To keep the kids and parents warm and content the city provided hot apple cider, along with delicious pumpkin pie.

The Mount Vernon Department of Rec-reation engaged the school district, local artists and the community to carve, paint, and install the pumpkins throughout Hart-

ley Park.Mayor Richard Thomas said, “I am

so excited to host this special event for Mount Vernon. Families of volunteers from around our community came out to help carve the hundreds of pumpkins that helped light up Hartley Park and the city. I’m especially thankful for the leadership of Deputy Commissioner Sylvia Gadson,

who poured countless hours into making this happen. I am deeply grateful for the Thornton High School students who rolled up their sleeves and lent us their artist tal-ents to create a spooky and fun display for Mount Vernon.”

“It was great seeing all types of cos-tumes and kids of all ages enjoying the hayrides, hot cider, candy apples, and

pumpkin blaze. While we work to re-store Memorial Field, we will continue to reimagine the use of parks to help fami-lies create new memories. Just like the fireworks and Slide the City, the “Pump-kin Blaze” is another fun tradition we are starting in the new Mount Vernon,” added Mayor Thomas.


Mayor Thomas makes two major appointments

Mayor Richard Thomas re-cently announced that he has named Kristyn Briez Reed as Director of the Of-

fice of Veterans’ Affairs and promoted Curtis Woods to Commissioner of the Building Department. Reed is a vet-eran of the Armed Services, having served four years in the United States Air Force. She has previously served as a case manager and social worker, managing million-dollar programs that serve hundreds of people.

Prior to being named Commissioner of the Building Department, Woods served as an engineer for the New York State Department of Transpor-tation, URS Consulting Firm, and as Mount Vernon’s City Engineer. Like Reed, Woods is a veteran of the armed forces retiring from the United States Army Reserves after twenty years of service.

Mayor Richard Thomas said, “I am humbled by Mrs. Reed’s service on behalf of this country. Her time in the United States Air Force was dis-tinguished and I am proud to see her bring her skills home to Mount Vernon. Mrs. Reed recognizes the challenges facing many veterans. Her experience is extensive and includes job coach-ing, resume building, and career guid-ance for veterans returning to public life after service. She has extensive social work and grant administration experience. Her work will help Mount Vernon serve more veterans and their families, giving them the high-quality

treatment they deserve.”“I am also humbled by Mr. Woods’

record of service and his deep love for the people of Mount Vernon. As an en-gineer, he has served our country and city admirably and I am confident he will bring professionalism, structure, and efficiency to our Building Depart-ment.”

“In just a few days, our country will pause to honor the brave men and women who have served our coun-try at home and abroad. It gives me pleasure to honor these two individu-als with well-deserved appointments to lead departments and help move Mount Vernon forward.”

Director Kristyn Briez Reed said, “I am thankful to Mayor Richard Thomas for selecting me to serve as Director of the Mount Vernon Office of Veterans’ Service. As a veteran myself, I look forward to bringing programs, training, classes, and other opportunities to the Mount Vernon residents who have served our country in the continental United States and abroad. I’m excited to serve my city in this role.”

Commissioner Curtis Woods said, “I extend my thanks to Mayor Richard Thomas for this promotion. I am ea-ger to lead our Building Department forward and provide businesses and homeowners with a department that is efficient and meets the needs of a modern city. I look forward to continu-ing to serve the people of Mount Ver-non.”

MVHS students attend 13th Annual Model UN Conference

at Fairfield University

In November, Fairfield University held its annual Model UN High School Confer-ence. A total of 11 high schools par-ticipated in the conference from the

tri-state area. A total of 12 students from Mount Vernon High School were invited to participate in the program.

The purpose of the annual conference is to allow high school students to discuss and debate relevant global issues. The college students act as the chairpersons for each committee, while the high school students take the role of delegates. This format allows the students to broaden their horizons on an international level. In addition, it enables students to work with college students and have exposure to the university way of life.

Ivana Buric, a junior exchange student

from Montenegro at MVHS stated: “It was very interesting and exciting for me to see American students my age discussing the future of Europe and I was eager to hear their opinion on solving the problems the EU is facing now.”

Stefaniya Doroshenko, a junior ex-change student from the Ukraine at the High School said: “I was able to interact with other students and gain a better un-derstanding of the inner workings of the United Nations.”

The committees, topics and delegate students consisted of the following:

• EU Crisis: The British Exit: Ivana Buric and Brenda Bertanholi

• GMO Food and Water Scarcity: Bren-da Alves, Tanashia Walton and Mer-linda Charles

• Women’s Equality: Nia Alexandre, Zoe Roswell and Angilee Sewkarran

• Olympic Crisis Committee: Bryce Ken-nedy and Jason Perlaza

• Crisis in the Crimea : Stefaniya Doro-shenko and Brianna Boucher

A special thanks goes out to Fairfield University for hosting the event, to the Mount Vernon Youth Bureau and the Westchester Chapter of the Links Pro-gram for sponsoring the event and giving Mount Vernon students the opportunity to participate in this program.

“I am very proud of all the delegates and their accomplishments at the conference. You are exemplary students and repre-sented MVHS with distinction. You truly are future ambassadors,” said Mr. Mihai-lidis, UN Advisor.




Mikhail Gordon, a Petty Officer with the U.S. Navy and his daughter Principal Ilene Bichler providing closing comments

The Traphagen drill team

Students waving their American flags

The Traphagen Intergenerational Choir performing

Students with their veteran parents

This year’s Veterans Day celebra-tion at Traphagen Elementary School was held on Friday, No-vember 4 and was absolutely

spectacular. An excited and noisy capac-ity crowd packed the school’s gym for the occasion, while a legion of students sat on the floor waving small American flags ex-

hibiting their patriotism.The yearly celebration has blossomed in

the last five years thanks to the school’s principal, Ilene Bichler, who seems to create new ideas to improve the way the students honor the veterans every year. And this year she hit a “home run” with an event that was colorful, vibrant, emotional

Traphagen School holds spectacular Veterans Day Celebration

and spiritually motivating. The entire school population attended

the ceremony, along with many family members and friends.

The event commenced with welcoming remarks from two students, Aiden Perez and Athalia Reid.

Like in all the previous years, the stu-dents were encouraged to invite family members who have previously served in the armed forces and many showed up.

After a salute to the flag and the sing-ing of the national anthem, some students read poems and the Traphagen Intergen-

Continued on page 11




erational Choir sang This Land is Your Land.

After the singing of American Tears by the Traphagen Intergenerational Choir, Nigel Diggs, Mikhaila Gordon and Aaen Walker introduced the special guest,

Mikhail Gordon, a Petty Officer with the U.S. Navy, who was dressed impeccably in his naval uniform.

When asked to address the audience, Gordon asked his daughter, Mikhaila, to join him at the podium.

Next, Athalia Reid and Aiden Perez en-gaged in the introduction of veteran par-ents, and many walked up to the front accompanied by their children and identi-fied themselves.

Near the end of the program there was

a moment of silence for the many veterans who never made it back home, followed by a musical tribute to all veterans by a young man on a trumpet.

Principal Ilene Bichler provided closing comments.


Mt. Vernon continues citywide beautification campaign

The Mount Vernon Department of Public Works (DPW) is continu-ing to clean up Mount Vernon and beautify the city. From plant-

ing trees and flowers to filling thousands of potholes, the DPW Clean-Up Crew is working to make Mount Vernon magnifi-cent.

DPW has been focused on cleaning-up Prospect Avenue including the islands that divide the street. New shrubs, flowers, plantings and mulch will not only beautify the location but make the air cleaner, pro-vide shade in the summer, and reduce car-

bon dioxide emissions.Other key beautification areas include

North Terrace Avenue for stump removal and tree trimming, North 7th Avenue, East Third Street for tree trimming, East Grand Street for street planning, installing a new planter island on Hussey Road and Park-way South and Union and Third Street.

Follow the mayor on Facebook to see how the Mount Vernon Department of Public Works is keeping the city cleaner, greener, and moving it forward:

https://www.facebook.com/MVDPW/

Congressman Eliot Engel assisted during the traditional ribbon cutting ceremony

Joe Luckinbill entertaining the guests with his guitar

(l to r) Aleida Castillo, Gordon “Commissioner” Williams and Congressman Eliot Engel

The Music’s Cool and Lalabela Academy held an impressive grand opening ceremony that in-volved a traditional ribbon cutting

ceremony at their new premises located at 345 Locust Street.

In attendance were many dignitaries and high profile political figures led by Congressman Eliot Engel.

One individual that did not need an in-troduction was the former mayor, Ernest D. Davis, who shook hands with every-body as if he was still the mayor.

Prior to the ribbon cutting ceremony there were speeches, plenty of food and musical entertainment in the basement, which has been refurbished and resem-bles a small theatre.

Drawing a thunderous ovation was Joe Luckinbill, grandson of Lucille Ball, who teaches at The Music’s Cool. He electri-fied the guests by playing an impressive

solo on his guitar.Aleida Castillo, founder of The Music’s

Cool recently formed an alliance with the legendary Gordon “Commissioner” Wil-liams and both of them spoke about how they intend to make their alliance flourish.

Gordon, the legendary producer/engi-neer famously known for his production work on the Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and Amy Winehouse’s critically acclaimed debut album Frank, has joined forces with The Music’s Cool to bring music educa-tion and a state of the art recording studio to Mount Vernon.

When Engle addressed the large group of guests he praised Castillo and Gordon and wished them well. “What you have put together is impressive and badly needed in Mount Vernon,” said Engel.

The ceremony ended with a ribbon cut-ting ceremony outside the building.

The Music’s Cool/Lalabela Academy hold grand opening ceremony




Congressman Engel presenting the late Rev. Peter Wilson, Jr. with the Christian Service Award (received by his wife Anne Wilson)

Malcolm Clark presenting a Proclamation to Mattie Little

Youngsters from the S.T.R.O.N.G. organization displaying ‘stop the violence’ signs

President Mattie Little honoring Shirley Maurice (r)

Dr. Donna L. Marable presenting her speech

The honorees sitting at the dais table after being honored

This year members of the NAACP Mount Vernon Branch once again held their “Annual Membership Luncheon” at the luxurious Dav-

enport Mansion in New Rochelle on Satur-day, November 5 and it was an impressive success.

The Mount Vernon group is led by their dynamic president, Mattie Little, who along with the members of the chapter work hard to ensure the political, educa-tional, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons, and to eliminate race-based discrimination, not only in Mount Vernon, but throughout America.

This year’s luncheon attracted a very

large crowd, possibly because of the in-dividuals that were being honored, which included Dr. Donna L. Marable, Dolores Mack and the late Rev. Peter Wilson, Sr.

Repeating this year as the Mistress of Ceremonies was Shirley Maurice, who is a First Vice President with the Mount Vernon chapter.

The luncheon was very long and lasted in excess of four hours, but because the program was so meaningful and interest-ing, the crowd seemed pleased and in no hurry to leave.

The program fittingly commenced with the singing of Lift Every Voice and Sing and Maria LaRue provided welcoming re-

NAACP Mt. Vernon Branch “Annual Membership Luncheon” a huge success

marks.Maurice next introduced Mount Ver-

non Mayor Richard Thomas, who during his speech singled out a longtime friend and former teacher of his when he was a youngster, Donna Marable. After his speech he hastily left to catch a plane to Florida to campaign for Hillary Clinton.

Tyrae Woodson-Samuels acknowledged the long list of dignitaries and elected of-ficials in attendance, led by Congressman Eliot Engel.

After a solo by Juanita Davis, a mem-ber of Mt. Hermon Baptist Church in the Bronx, lunch was served.

After lunch, the guest speaker, Dr.





Marable, awed the crowd with a very meaningful and interesting speech.

Prior to the presentation of awards by President Little, Davis sang a mo-tivating solo.

The three honorees included: Dr. Donna L. Marable – Life Member-ship Award Dolores Mack – Community Service Award The late Rev. Peter Wilson, Jr. – Christian Service Award (received by his wife Anne Wilson) Shirley Maurice received a Recipient Silver Life Membership award as well as Mayor Thomas.

The recipients of awards were all honored with Proclamations and other awards presented by Congressman Engel, Legislator Lyndon Williams, Mal-colm Clark, City of Mount Vernon and City Comptroller Maureen Walker.

To the surprise of many, several youngsters from the S.T.R.O.N.G. or-ganization filed into the ballroom dis-playing ‘stop the violence’ signs. They all received a standing ovation from the audience.

A 50-50 raffle took place prior to President Little ending the successful ceremony with closing remarks.


The Asia Culture Center (ACC), located in the center of Gwangju, South Korea

Mayor Ernest D. Davis (l) and Mayor Un-Tae Kang signing the historical ‘Friendship Agreement’ between their two cities

Sung-Su Cho and Terrence Horton, president of Sentinel Technology Services International, Inc. signing an historical international

trade agreement

The Asia Culture Center (ACC), lo-cated in the center of Gwangju, South Korea is an international arts and cultural exchange orga-

nization which produces new and future-oriented results through the convergence of Asia’s past and present arts and cul-ture, and innovative ideas and beliefs.

Having the context of artistically subli-mating the significance of the May 18th Democratic Movement’s human rights and peace as its point of departure, the ACC, which opened in November of 2015, is a Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism-affiliated institution established for the ad-vancement of mutual understanding and cooperative growth with different Asian countries through exchange, education and research, etc. on Asian culture.

The ACC serves the role of an integrated platform for participants from all over the world, as well as from Asia, to freely unite and exchange their ideas while transcend-ing boundaries in carrying out the steps of research, creation and production. At the ACC, diverse and dynamic programs (exhibitions, performances, education, festivals and other events) using collect-ed research data and resources, etc. are

held year-round with the creative output of experts from various fields who have ex-changed inspiration with one another.

The underground complex has left the original cultural site intact by incorporat-ing an extensive skylight system to pro-vide sufficient natural light and ventilation at the same time as converting that same space as a rooftop space into a public park. Costing approximately KRW 703 billion (about US $618 million) to build, means that ACC is meant to serve as Asia’s premier institute of culture and the arts. It is Korea’s base from which to pro-mote Asia’s cultural traditions and values to the world.

When a delegation from Mount Vernon comprised of former mayor Ernest D. Da-vis, Councilman Marcus Griffith, Steven Horton, Terrence Horton, head of Sen-tinel Technology Services International, Inc. and Joe Parisi, publisher/editor of the Mount Vernon Inquirer traveled to Gwangju, South Korea, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which is a for-mal agreement, was signed to exchange culture actively between both cities. In ad-dition to the signing of the MoU, an his-torical “Friendship Agreement” was also

Mt. Vernon’s cultural partner in Gwangju celebrates 1st anniversary of ACC

signed – to be followed by the signing of a Sister City agreement, which Mount Ver-non never sought to sign.

In spite of the Mount Vernon delegation being treated like royalty during their visit to Gwangju, and not fulfilling many prom-ises made to the South Korean govern-ment, city officials in Gwangju continue to live up to the MoU signed between both

cities. In an email sent to Joe Parisi by Kim Ho-

san, International Public Relations Spe-cialist for ACC, they reminded us about the MoU signed between both cities and their desire to continue working with Mount Vernon. In the email they proudly mention the first anniversary celebration of the ACC.




Seniors waiting to be served their Thanksgiving dinner

November events kick off Holiday Season at Boys & Girls Club of Mt. Vernon

The holiday season is always a festive time at the Boys & Girls Club of Mount Vernon. It is a time where they cel-

ebrate accomplishments and provide opportunities for children and fami-lies to enjoy the holidays.

This November was particularly festive!

On November 4, Dr. Bob Delamore gave a workshop for 60 club mem-bers and families on healthy cooking. The session was sponsored by The Greater Hudson Valley Links.

The annual Thanksgiving Commu-nity Dinner drew over 200 senior citi-zens, veterans, and families. YORK International hosted the event with food contributions from DeCicco & Sons, Fleetwood Deli, Sally Sherman

Foods, International Deli and Kings Delight. The guests were entertained by The Alpha Stars Cheerleading Team and The Revelators Dance Troupe.

The Revelators held their annual performances the weekend of No-vember 18, 19, & 20. They performed their interpretation of “The Story.” They were magnificent - the acting, dancing, and singing were outstand-ing. The audiences were captured and mesmerized by the awesome talent on display.

On Tuesday, November 22, club alumni and photographer Lonnie Webb did family portraits for over 30 club families at no cost. The photos allowed families to take pictures to celebrate the 2016 Holiday Season.


A message from Mayor Thomas on the 2017 budget

Dear Mount Vernon Friends and Family:

Mount Vernon is an expensive city. We pay the highest prop-

erty tax rate in Westchester County and yet our public safety departments remain understaffed; our roads are crumbling; our bridges are closed; and our beloved Me-morial Field remains shuttered.

On December 14th at 7:00pm, the Mount Vernon City Council is holding a public hearing on the 2017 Annual Esti-mate (a.k.a. the budget). This budget has been designed by Comptroller Maureen Walker and City Council President Mar-cus Griffith. I do not support this budget because it raises taxes while taking away vital services from our seniors, youth, and the city as a whole. I have permitted this budget to move forward because I believe it is time for the people to have their say.

There are Key differences between Walker and Griffith’s plan for Mount Ver-non and the Thomas plan to move Mount Vernon forward:

THIS IS WHAT THEY BELIEVE: Provid-ing “adequate” services is sufficient de-spite the fact our population is increasing and seniors and young people are already struggling.

THIS IS WHAT I BELIEVE: Responsibly investing to provide a better quality of life is right for Mount Vernon.

THIS IS WHAT THEY BELIEVE: Mount Vernon should not change but remain ex-pensive and underserved with hitting prop-erty-owners with higher taxes, increasing rent rolls for landlords while tenants suffer, and subjecting the city to second-class services by dis-investing in equipment and not paying vendor bills on a timely basis.

THIS IS WHAT I BELIEVE: Lower taxes and more services are possible through accountability, transparency and wisely

investing tax dollars to work for and ad-dress the critical needs of Mount Vernon. We can get what you already paid for and make Mount Vernon magnificent!

THIS IS WHAT THEY BELIEVE: Remov-ing the role of Police Commissioner and unfunding 19 police officers is a good idea for your family’s safety.

THIS IS WHAT I BELIEVE: Restoring po-lice officers to the department and keep-ing the role of Commissioner to lead our department in implementing 21st Century Policing will make our streets safer.

THIS IS WHAT THEY BELIEVE: Keeping avenues dark and dangerous by refusing to fund streetlight repairs. They believe

Memorial Field should not be cleaned up or revitalized unless it benefits them.

THIS IS WHAT I BELIEVE: Turning streetlights on by investing in technology and personnel will help us shine. Memorial Field belongs to our children, our seniors, and our families and it should not be held back by petty politics. We can brighten







Holiday Happenings at your Library

Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony Thursday, December 15th 6:00 PM

With musical performances featuring:

Miss Zoe Williams Mount Vernon Interfaith Choir

Hanukkah Craft for Kids Friday December 30th 4:15 PM Kwanzaa Celebration Thursday December 29th 6:00 PM Featuring African Dancers & Drummers

28 So. First Avenue Mt Vernon, NY 914-668-1840 www.mtvpl.org




CHANGE OF

FORTUNEHow One Determined Immigrant Built His

American Dream

Autobiography byVINCENT HOSANG

with Alex Lee

AVAILABLE NOW

changeofortune.com

On Amazon.com

& Bn.com

Read about the improbable life of Chairman & CEO of Caribbean Food Delights, Vincent HoSang. Change of Fortune will renew your outlook! Step into the shoes of one man who had none of life’s traditional advantages, and yet conquered his dreams with sheer faith, determination, and hard work!







Drink warm water with lime or lemon to stay healthy

We have all heard it somewhere or the other that drinking warm wa-ter early in the morning

with the juice of at least one lemon or lime is beneficial for health. You need to wait at least one hour after you drink it before you eat, or you can develop acid reflux.

I do this religiously before I go to the track in the morning and I have lost 15 pounds. I only use 1/2 lemon and not a whole one.

Here is delving into the reasons . . .Helps your digestive systemWarm lime/lemon water on an

empty stomach early in the morning helps stimulate the gastrointestinal tract. Digestion improves, heartburn is reduced and it helps in the process of elimination.

Detoxifies liverLemon/lime juice has citric acid,

which helps the enzymes to function better. It also stimulates the liver and aids in detoxification.

Works on your pH levelThe acidity in our body can be

harmful and lemon/lime water can help reduce this. Though lemon/lime has citric acid, the nutrients and minerals in it are alkaline in na-ture. Citric acid is not a strong acid and so, is easily removed from our bodies by elimination processes like perspiration. Lemon/lime, however, stimulates the formation of calcium carbonate that neutralizes other strong acids in the body. This is help-ful, especially if your diet is heavy in proteins like meat and cheese. Experts say lemon/lime can help change the pH balance of the blood and can also help in dealing with uri-nary tract infections.

Strengthens your immune systemAll citrus foods are a storehouse

of vitamin C. This vitamin is known to fight colds and is good for your immune system. Lemons/lime also have potassium, which stimulates brain and nerve function and controls blood pressure.

Clears and freshens your skinExperts say that vitamin C is great

for youthful skin, because it helps in the production of collagen. Its anti-oxidants revive dull skin and keep it healthy. Warm lemon/lime water re-moves toxins from the blood stream. Also, diluted lemon/lime juice, when applied to blemishes, can actually help lighten them.

Battles bad breathLemon/lime juice battles bad

breath by keeping bacteria away.Aids in weight lossLemon/lime juice in the morn-

ing fights food craving. Also, it has been found earlier that people who maintain an alkaline diet tend to lose weight more quickly than others.

Do not overdo the lemon/lime bitDo not overdo the lemon/lime.

Just because one lemon/lime helped you lose two kilos, squeezing four in your juice will not help you lose eight! Lemon/lime has corrosive properties too and your tooth enamel may suf-fer.

My wife Luisa is in management at NYU Medical Center and only be-lieves in pharmaceutical drugs, but I have convinced her to drink warm lemon water in the morning before she leaves for work. Maybe it was after she did Google searches on the process that convinced her and not me.

Note: The information in this ar-ticle is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment!

Alternative Medicine Options

by

Joe Parisi

Michelle McKitty-Bromley and Cecil Green

School district hosts My Money Workshop series

Those seeking to get smarter about managing their money are getting help from the Mount Ver-

non City School District (MVCSD). The district has partnered with the non-profit organization My Money Workshop to provide free financial literacy education to people in the community. The six-part series be-gan with budgeting on October 27 and November 17, and continues with taxes on December 15. Other topics include banking (March 30), leasing/buying a vehicle (April 27) and the stock market/investing (May 18). Workshops are sched-uled in two-hour blocks, and are held at the Education Center at 165 North Columbus Avenue.

The My Money Workshop series is being facilitated by MVCSD Fam-ily and Community Engagement Coordinator Michelle McKitty-Bromley, and H. & R. Block financial professional Cecil Green. Mr. Green is a knowledgeable instructor who walked participants through how credit scoring works, how to man-age a bank account, and how to be smart when using credit cards, at the November 17 session. Green

patiently answered question after question, and participants shared their knowledge and experiences with each other. McKitty-Bromley warmly greeted attendees, provid-ed snacks, and ran the PowerPoint presentation.

The December 15 session on taxes will provide those seeking to improve their financial literacy skills with an opportunity to pick Green’s brain about taxes. Dependents vs. exemptions, itemizing vs. taking the standard deduction, refund an-ticipation loans, and how to avoid tax problems, will be clarified and demystified. “I want to help people learn to manage their money effec-tively and help them create lega-cies that they can pass on to their children,” said Green. “These work-shops are great, and are geared for high-school age students on up. I’m learning new things myself, and I’m always glad to help educate our community,” said McKitty-Bromley.

Those planning to attend the December 15 workshop or future workshops should email Michelle McKitty-Bromley at [email protected] or call her at (914) 358-2486.

Story by Tamara Stewart




jaFa’s Poets Corner2007 - PRESENT

Poems Submitted by Our Readers Edited by jaFa (James Fair)

JAFA’S POETS CORNER (9TH YEAR AN-NIVERSARY)Edited by james “jAFa” FairMay the Muse of Poetry continue to inspire.

WISHING HAPPY AND SAFE HOLIDAYS TO ALL!

PSALM OF XMASS OR WHERE’S SAN-TA’S FREE GIFTS Author: bobbyjoemackMount Vernon resident

Jingle coins... Jingle CoinsJingle coins All day Oh what fun it is to ShopTis’ the Capitalistic WayMoney spending Shopping spree For Presents under a Tree I don’t care how much they Cost I just want my friends to See I’ll beat the Rush and Not get Crushed While Running for some ToyAnd I’ll swipe my Magic Plastic While listening to... Ode to Joy Some have shopped until they Dropped From Heart Attacks and have Died And those Presents are Still on the floor They just Rolled their Bodies aside So many stores to stop and shopTo find all the in store Stock Deals I’ll grab and pick some Useless stuff Seeing the Receipt it gives me Chills Now I’m Broke and that’s No joke I have no more Money to pay my Bills So I’ll Rob a Bank And Burn that Damn Tree

As I’m Handcuffed off to Jail

So now I have told you of My WoesIn this Splendid Rhyming TaleAnd I shall wish a Merry XMass To those that Shopped for the Sales...

TOUGH LUCKAuthor: Charles RodaMount Vernon resident

No smartphonefor digital coupons?The Attorney General says “Tough Luck”.

CVS sale prices based on phony newspaper coupons.‘Tough Luck”.

Few winners declared in retailers’ sweepstakes. The Attorney General says “Tough Luck”.

HUMAN NEEDSAuthor: Charles RodaMount Vernon resident

Privacy and Friendship Rest and Sleep Learning and Knowledge Play and Music Silence and Solitude Compassion and Beliefs.

TO OUR READERS & SUPPORTERSFrom the editor: james “jAFa” Fair

JAFa’s Poets Corner celebrates its 9th year. We are the longest, continuously, running poetry column in any local area monthly publication. We have

reached this milestone because of you, the community, who have sogenerously supported us. THANK YOU!

Please email your poems to [email protected] or mail a (typed copy please) to James Fair, 153 South 5th Ave., Apt 6B, Mount Vernon, NY 10550

Mayor Richard Thomas

Mayor Thomas’ statement on the election of Donald Trump

Secretary Clinton is to be ap-plauded for her over 30 years of public service as First Lady, U.S Senator, and Secretary of State.

We as Americans must thank her for her commitment to continually working with-out reservation for the betterment of us all.

President-elect Donald Trump has said he was the President for all Ameri-cans. We will hold him accountable to the promises that he made to the American people to make America great again. That includes making Mount Ver-non magnificent again.

We will work with the Trump admin-istration to champion policies that will push Mount Vernon forward to ensure that the needs of our community are ad-dressed.

Wartburg’s Angela Ciminello selected as a 914Inc. “Women

in Business Honoree”

Angela Ciminello, Vice President of Development and Marketing at the Wartburg, was honored as a 914Inc. Women in Business

honoree, recognizing Westchester’s most powerful executives, entrepreneurs, and government and nonprofit leaders.

“You play a significant role in sustain-ing our mission – to provide ministries of healing and hope through comprehensive services that nurture body, mind and spirit of those we care for,” said David Gentner, CEO of the Wartburg.

Jim and Annie Kiselak’s Natural Food Column

Direct from the sunny island of Vieques, Puerto Rico

Why ‘100% orange juice’ is still artificial

File this one under “things we always sort of knew, but wish we didn’t.”

Most of us buy “100% orange juice, not from concentrate” be-cause we think it is healthy for us. And we’ve been drinking it since we were kids. Technically, it’s “not from concentrate,” but it’s not really 100% orange juice either.

The process is rather depress-ing: Once the juice is squeezed and stored in gigantic vats, they start removing oxygen. Remov-ing oxygen from the juice allows the liquid to keep for up to a year without spoiling. But, removing that oxygen also removes the natural flavors of oranges.

Yeah, it’s all backwards. So in order to have OJ actually taste like oranges, drink com-

panies hire flavor and fragrance companies, the same ones that make perfumes for Dior, to cre-ate these “flavor packs” to make juice taste like, well, juice again.

Any taste difference in say Minute Maid versus Tropicana is therefore due to the specific flavor pack the company uses. Since these flavor packs are made from orange byproducts, they don’t have to be considered an ingredient, and therefore are not required to appear on food labels. This is despite the fact they are chemically altered.

Perhaps it’s time to take the juicer out of that dusty corner in the garage and start squeez-ing your own OJ. Annie and I stopped buying orange juice many years ago - we make our own.




Success Throughout the Holiday Season

It is hard to believe that three months of the school year have passed and we are now in the holiday season once again. The

next few weeks will be very busy ones for our children, our teach-ers, and our parents. We can en-joy all the holiday events if we stay aware of our children’s needs so that they can succeed in school. Besides continuing class lessons and assignments, there will be many holiday activities during the school day. Children will be taken out of class to prepare for holiday concerts. In many classrooms children will be preparing Christ-mas decorations and participat-ing in many other activities. Amid all this happy activity, children must keep up with their academic work in school and at home. It is important that we make accom-modations for them to help them maintain a balance and continue to achieve during this busy time.

Many children can handle all this extra excitement and activ-ity, however, many children have difficulty with the changes. This is true particularly for children who have special needs and those who just need a little extra atten-tion. They need our vigilance and our willingness to accommodate these needs. Here are some sug-gestions that may help.

Keep a schedule at home to help your children know what is expected of them. Make sure that they are not out every night. Gift shopping and holiday activi-ties are fun, but children still need time to do homework and prepare for tests. Make sure that they have sufficient time and a quiet place to complete assignments carefully and accurately. If some-thing unexpected happens which prevents homework completion, send a note to the teacher to let her know the situation and assure her that the work will be com-pleted.

If your child has two or three

tests on one day and you know that he needs more time to pre-pare for these tests, let the teach-er know this and request that your child take at least one test on the following day. This is an appro-priate request and makes sense, even if your child does not have an I.E.P. or special accommoda-tions. This extra day will give your child time to learn and master the material. That’s the point.

There may be many holiday ac-tivities going on in the classroom. When most of the students have completed assignments and are working on these activities, some may still need more time to finish classwork. It is difficult for some children to concentrate when the rest of the class is having a good time. Ask the teacher to provide a quiet place to complete as-signments and, if necessary, ad-ditional supervision and attention to assure that children can focus and complete work accurately. This is a reasonable request.

Keep a consistent bedtime. This is very important. Children need adequate sleep, particularly, when there is a lot more excite-ment and activity in their lives.

By the time vacation begins, our children will have completed four months of the school year. They cannot lose time during the next three weeks. We must be extra attentive to accommo-date their needs at home and in school. Although this is a happy time, it can also be a very stress-ful time for children. To avoid stress and frustration and ensure success, provide for their needs, even though we may be busier than ever. They may need more patience and understanding. They are only children. Positive attitudes and continued aca-demic success will contribute to our enjoyment of this wonderful season and this may be the best gift of all!

EDUCATION COLUMNBy Diane Fulves, M.A., M.Ed.,

Director, EMPOWERING OUR PARENTSEmail: [email protected]




(l to r) Councilman Yuhanna Edwards and Nesta Felix Councilwoman Lisa Copeland and Jamie Pessin

Council President Marcus Griffith and AJ Woodson

(l to r) Councilman Yuhanna Edwards and Nesta Felix

Councilman Andre Wallace and Chanese V. Coleman

A capacity crowd packed the City Council Chambers on Wednesday night, November 9, to witness the honoring of five

distinguished Mount Vernon citizens prior to the commencement of the regularly scheduled meeting of the City Council.

Twice a year, the City Council honors re-markable individuals who have served the City of Mount Vernon with dedication and sacrifice and have made significant contri-butions to the Mount Vernon community.

The following is a list of those that were honored:

• Chanese V. Coleman, founder and Chief Executive Officer, Coleman and Coleman, Inc.

• Nesta Felix, founder and Executive Director of New Flex Youth Programs, Inc. and college basketball coach

• Honorable Nichelle A. Johnson, Mount Vernon City Court Judge

• Jamie Pessin, community activist• AJ Woodson, author, radio personality,

Hip-Hop historian, freelance journal-ist and Editor-in-Chief of Black West-

chester MagazineA few years ago, as a relatively new

member of the Mount Vernon City Coun-cil, Roberta Apuzzo suggested the idea of honoring extraordinary citizens and or-ganizations, on a yearly basis, to the City Council body. The City Council liked her suggestion, a vote was taken, and the yearly event was born.

Due to the popularity of the program, the City Council is now honoring citizens twice a year. And at all events, many fam-ily members and friends attend the event, resulting in a super-crowded City Council Chambers.

According to Councilwoman Apuzzo, “By spotlighting these individuals who toil with a smile in relative anonymity, we are actually reflecting upon the quality of citi-zens in our community. These quiet heroes are sprinkled throughout the city of Mount Vernon. They perform deeds silently, or with an assuring voice, without the ex-pectation of reward or honor. They serve with grace and humility. This pillar of the community might be a teacher, business

Mt. Vernon City Council honors five distinguished citizens

owner, mother, father, soldier, teenager, athlete, community leader, or volunteer – the list is endless.”

Each honoree was given a Certificate of

Recognition by the City Comptroller, Mau-reen Walker, and a special award (Resolu-tion) from the City Council.




Carmen Palmer, a Gold Star Mother, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance Director of the Veterans Service Agency, Kristyn Reed

Mayor Richard Thomas

Shawn D. Harris being honored by Mayor Thomas

Mayor Thomas presenting a medal to Joseph Mosca

Mayor Richard Thomas, the City of Mount Vernon, Mount Ver-non Veterans Service Agency and the Central Committee for

Veterans Affairs collaborated and held an impressive Veterans Day ceremony on the City Hall Plaza this past Veterans Day, No-vember 11.

Veterans Day falls annually on Novem-ber 11 as a day to appreciate our veterans who have fought and continue to fight for our freedom.

Veterans Day was initially started in 1938 to honor World War I veterans be-cause on November 11, 1918, Germany signed an armistice agreement with the Allies -effectively ending World War I.

Formally known as Armistice Day, the name changed to Veterans Day due to veteran organizations urging Congress to change the name in order to give honor to all American veterans in all wars.

Patriotism is obviously on the rise in Mount Vernon, since more and more peo-ple are turning out to honor its veterans every year – including the younger genera-tion of Mount Vernonites.

This year’s ceremony attracted many former members of the armed services, dignitaries, elected officials, city officials and the general public. Also in attendance were members of Mount Vernon’s uniform services.

Acting as the Mistress of Ceremony was the relatively new director of the Veterans Service Agency, Kristyn Reed, who re-placed Jonathan Logan. She stated: “As a veteran myself, I am proud to represent the City of Mount Vernon in honoring our servicemen and women this Veterans Day. Many of our veterans face challenges when they leave active duty – from dis-abilities, to homelessness, to difficulty finding employment. The city of Mt. Ver-non is committed to providing assistance to these veterans and making a priority of serving the men and women that have so honorably served his nation.”

After opening comments from Reed, Carmen Palmer, a Gold Star Mother, led in the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance. Palmer gained national recognition in early September 2005, when Gold Star Moth-ers accepted its first non-citizen - Carmen Palmer of Mount Vernon, NY, who was born in Jamaica. Palmer’s son, Marine Corporal Bernard Gooden, died in 2003 in Iraq at age 22.

The ever-popular Mount Vernon singer, Cornelia Brown, sang the national anthem.

Mayor Richard Thomas provided greet-ings and stated: “President John F. Kenne-dy once said “as we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest ap-preciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” The men and women who

Big turnout for Veterans Day ceremony at Mt. Vernon City Hall

have served Mount Vernon and the United States are individuals of the highest cali-ber. On behalf of the entire city, I am proud and humbled to honor them this Veteran’s Day. We all love our country but there are those among us that have answered the highest calling of service.

You are part of an unbroken chain of men and women who have served this country with honor and distinction.

On behalf of a proud and grateful City of Mount Vernon, I say thank you.”

The keynote speaker was Shawn D.

Harris, a war veteran who served in the Air National Guard as a Tech Sergeant and retired from the Mount Vernon Police De-partment.

After Harris’ speech, Mayor Thomas presented a Proclamation to Harris and a medal to Joseph Mosca for his service during the Korean War.

Prior to the ceremony ending, members of Mount Vernon’s finest fired off a volley of rounds and a bugler played Taps.

Rev. Darren Morton provided the bene-diction.




Denise Hanlon presenting an award to Thomas Stuart Meadowview veterans waiting to be honored

Veterans being honored by Denise Hanlon

Denise Hanlon addressing the guests

John Petrash (Army) displaying his Purple Heart and other awards

On Veterans Day, November 11, residents of the Mead-owview Assisted Living, a 103-resident facility on

Wartburg’s 34-acre campus, held a very moving ceremony for 11 veter-ans who live at the Meadowview.

Residents of the Meadowview, staff and family members attended the event.

Sister Mary Elizabeth DeBoer acted as the Mistress of Ceremonies, and she was assisted by a dedicated vol-unteer by the name of Denise Hanlon.

When the 11 veterans were wheeled into the reception room, they received a long ovation by the guests and fel-low residents.

“This ceremony was organized by the Meadowview residents to ensure that veterans living amongst us are not forgotten on Veterans Day,” said Sister DeBoer.

The ceremony commenced with the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by the

introduction of the veterans.Next, the veterans shared brief sto-

ries about themselves, while some in the audience looked at them in awe, with many focused on John Petrash who was displaying his Purple Heart and other medals neatly positioned in a glass case.

Although old, frail and in wheel-chairs, they were once young and strong warriors who sacrificed their lives for their country.

“I’m thankful that I was allowed to serve,” said Thomas Stuart, a former Marine, as he sat quietly in his wheel-chair waiting to be recognized with an award.

The following is a list of the Mead-owview veterans that were recog-nized: Ralph Amato (Army), Robert Clark (Navy), John D’Agastino (Army), Klaus Feindler (Army), Louis Gardella (Army), Jerry Holden (Navy), John Kidahl (Navy), Thomas Loughran (Navy), John Petrash (Army), Thom-

Wartburg’s Meadowview honors its veterans

as Stuart (Marines), Robert Tritch, (Army), Arthur Bruesewitz (Marines – Deceased), and Sister Mary Maney (Coast Guard – Deceased).

Prior to the end of the ceremony ev-erybody sang God Bless America and cake and refreshments were served.




(l to r) Miko Page and Maggie Anderson (l to r) Warren Williams, Miko Page and Brendalyn Williams

Macedonia Baptist Church hosts financial empowerment event

The Write Mind Foundation, the United Black Clergy of Westches-ter, the Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce, and New York Life

Insurance, collaborated to host the Afri-can-American Community Empowerment Plan on November 2 at Macedonia Bap-tist Church. The event offered financial literacy instruction, wealth empowerment tools, and business-to-business network-ing.

The day began with a vendor showcase and concluded with a town hall forum. Vendor showcase participating business-es included: New York Life, Avon, PCSB Bank, Superior Group (a job placement firm), Impact Laundry service, Affinity Health Plan, Will Yum spices, Be Blessed Boutique, G&K Sweet Foods, EMY Flow-ers and P. Dixon Consulting (a financial education and entrepreneurial support company). Author Patrina Dixon of P. Dix-on Consulting travelled from Connecticut

to participate in the financial empower-ment event, and she was excited about promoting her book “It’$ My Money … A Guided Journal to Help You Manage Your Finances,” a financial education workbook written for teenagers and adults who want to increase their basic financial literacy skills. “I’m passionate about serving my community and educating people about money and its management. Events like this one are great, and I’m happy to be here,” said Dixon.

Mount Vernon Deputy City Clerk Lauren Carter was a gracious mistress of cer-emonies who introduced a strong lineup of speakers who all spoke enthusiasti-cally about the importance and need for Black economic empowerment. Speakers included professor, author, and filmmaker Jerald Hoover, Bishop C. Nathan Edwers, President of the United Black Clergy of Westchester and Pastor of the Friendship Worship Center, Mount Vernon Chamber

of Commerce President Dwayne Brown, City Council President Marcus Griffith, Deputy Police Commissioner Shawn Har-ris, and Roderick White and Brian Roberts of New York Life.

Keynote speaker Maggie Anderson was a dynamic, informative educator who was loudly applauded by the audience at the end of her address. Anderson is the CEO and co-founder of The Empower-ment Experiment Foundation, a self-help economics movement that supports qual-ity Black businesses and urges consum-ers, especially other middle and upper class African-Americans, to proactively and publicly support them. Anderson has appeared on many national radio and TV shows, discussing her thought-provoking book “Our Black Year: One Family’s Quest to Buy Black in America’s Racially Divided Economy.” Anderson shared her painfully honest and eye-opening story about her family’s experience with trying to “buy

Black” for a year, and the many challenges and obstacles they encountered. Ander-son urged the audience to consciously at-tempt to patronize more Black businesses and professionals when they buy goods and services.

Roderick White, a Regional Vice Presi-dent with New York Life’s African-Ameri-can Marketing Unit, followed Anderson and spoke eloquently about New York Life’s agent-led $50 billion goal to cre-ate wealth and build financial legacies for African-American families. New York Life’s initiative reached the $35 billion mark ear-lier this year.

Although attendance was low, event at-tendees were impressed by the event, and were glad they came. Miko Page, a beau-tiful, young, LPGA professional golfer and model from New York City, was inspired by the empowerment event and hoped that Macedonia would host similar events in the future.

Story by Tamara StewartPictures by Clifford Benton II

A rendition of the proposed wall

Mayor Richard Thomas plans to build a wall in Mount Vernon before President-Elect Trump

builds his.Trump’s wall is intended to keep

people and drugs from coming to America, but Mount Vernon’s wall is intended for aesthetics and not politics.

Countless people have been complaining about the security chain link fence on the perimeter of Memorial Field on the Sandford Boulevard side. The existing fence is an appalling eyesore and is most-

ly hidden by weeds.Sandford Boulevard is a gateway

to Mount Vernon and when visitors drive into Mount Vernon from Pel-ham the first thing they see is the atrocious chain link fence. It is kill-ing Mount Vernon’s public relations effort to attract more visitors.

“We plan to remove the chain link fence and replace it with a tall wall that will be adorned with historical and significant pictures of Mount Vernon. The work can be expected to commence by the end of Novem-ber,” said Mayor Thomas.

Mt. Vernon to build a wall







Kristyn Reed

Kristyn Reed appointed new Director of Mt. Vernon Veterans Service Agency

On November 1, Mayor Richard Thomas proudly appointed Kristyn Reed director of the Mount Ver-

non Veterans Service Agency, re-placing Jonathan Logan.

The Mount Vernon Veterans Ser-vice Agency plays an important role in Mount Vernon since it recognizes and serves the needs of those who served to protect our nation in times of peace and war. The department acts as a liaison between veterans, their dependents and the U.S. De-partment of Veterans Affairs. The agency also coordinates activities and benefits with other public and private agencies on behalf of those seeking assistance.

Additionally, the agency works closely with the Mount Vernon Cen-tral Committee for Veterans Affairs, a well-respected group of former service persons who are the care-takers of Mount Vernon’s Memo-rial Room. The Memorial Room contains military memorabilia that has been collected for a number of

years.Many are pleased with the may-

or’s new appointment as director, since Reed is highly qualified for the position and has a vivacious per-sonality.

Reed is an alumnus of the Mount Vernon public school system. Upon graduation she enlisted in the Unit-ed States Air Force (USAF) for four years as a Communication/Naviga-tion Mission Systems Specialist. During her enlistment, she deployed to Balad, Iraq in support of Op-eration Iraqi Freedom and was in theater when Sadam Hussein was hanged for his crimes. Her positive four-year enlistment resulted in her earning numerous awards, letters of appreciation, a Commendation Medal, and subsequent Oak Leaf Cluster.

While in the USAF Reed earned A.A.S. degrees in Avionics Systems Technology (Community College of the Air Force, CCAF) and Industrial Management (North West Florida State College, NWFSC).

Upon separation, she went on to earn an A.A. in Liberal Arts (NWF-SC), and a dual B.A. in Social Work and Criminal Justice from the Uni-versity of West Florida (UWF).

After working as a Career Coun-selor and Veteran Service Repre-sentative in the One Stop Career System for 5 years, Reed returned to school and received a Graduate Certificate in Human Performance Technology (UWF).

Reed relocated from Florida to Mount Vernon in 2014 to attend New York University (NYU) to pur-sue a M.A. in Business and Work-place Education.

She currently resides in Mount Vernon with her husband, fellow USAF veteran, Larry Reed and their two children, Ev Loren and Lenox.

Chance to win a scholarship if your essay is selected

A lcoRehab.org is proud to announce that it is award-ing $6,000 in scholarships each year to three students

who share their vision on the dangers of alcohol abuse and addiction.

Applicants must be:• Enrolled full-time in a U.S. institu-

tion for graduate or undergradu-ate program. (U.S. territories are excluded)

• U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, U.S. permanent residents, refugees, asylees, Cuban-Haitian entrants, or humanitarian parolee

• At least 18 years oldDescription and guidelines:If you are concerned with the ef-

fects of alcohol abuse and addiction and want to help raise awareness of its dangers, we encourage you to share your vision and have a chance to win money to cover your educa-

tional expenses.The submitted essays must not ex-

ceed 1,200 words and should answer the following questions:

• How alcohol abuse and addiction affects the modern society?

• What steps can be taken to de-crease the impact of alcohol abuse and addictions on people and society?

The winning applicants will be de-termined based on the essay con-tent, style and originality. Judges are looking for logically organized and well-supported essays.

The application deadline is: Febru-ary 1, 2017.

There will be three winners and first prize will be $3,000, followed by $2,000 for second place and $1,000 for third place.

For full details visit: https://alcore-hab.org/scholarship/

City Comptroller Maureen Walker

City Comptroller Walker announces adoption

of 2017 budget

The Board of Estimate and Contract held a special meeting on November 21, 2016 and adopted the an-

nual estimate of $106,992.370 for the 2017 City Budget. This represents a spending increase of 2.98% and a tax increase of 1.58% over the 2016 adopted budget.

The 1.58% increase represents the lowest tax increase in over 20 years.

A home assessed at $10,000 will pay an additional $61.80 in property taxes.

The 2017 budget represents a fis-cally sound and responsible budget that will preserve services to our seniors, veterans and youth. Our residents and businesses will receive adequate services in police and fire protection, along with public works and sanitation.

The budget will continue to keep Mount Vernon a financially stable city as it has in previous years.

With the adoption of the 2017 City Budget, we will continue to keep in-creases in spending to a level that our residents and businesses can sus-tain. Dramatic increases in spending lead to unconscionable increases in property taxes.

The 2017 operating budget is sep-arate and distinct from our capital budget which addresses expendi-tures for capital projects, including our infrastructure.

The 2017 spending plan was ap-proved by all three members of the Board of Estimate and Contract (Mayor, Comptroller, City Council President).

Maureen WalkerCity Comptroller




Geraldine Christiana (top right) greeting the guests Guests waiting to be served

A volunteer serving cupcakes

An appreciative honoree being honored by Mayor Thomas

(l to r) Geraldine Christiana and Dwayne Brown

Rosemarie Cornacchio being honored by Mayor Thomas

The 70th Annual Mayor’s Advisory Board Thanksgiving Luncheon was held on Monday, November 21 at the Mount Vernon Armory,

and an overflowing crowd attended the event.

As in previous luncheons, Geraldine Christiana, Director of the Office for the Aging at the Armory, who opened with welcoming comments, put together a spectacular event that was attended by hundreds, including residents that were


Another record crowd attends Annual Thanksgiving Luncheon at Armory

bused in from all over Mount Vernon and beyond.

The very visible Pastor of Macedonia Baptist Church, Rev. Dr. Darren M. Mor-

ton, who is also the Mount Vernon Com-missioner of Recreation, provided the invocation soon after the Pledge of Alle-giance was recited by Dorothy Rock.




Mayor Thomas arriving with a stack of certificates he later presented to honorees

Mayor Thomas honoring Joe Parisi, publisher/editor of the Inquirer

Members of New Covenant Church of the Holy Spirit being honored by Mayor Thomas


The Master of Ceremonies for the im-pressive luncheon was Anthony Guarino, owner of Yannatuono Burr Davis Sharpe in Mount Vernon.

Several high profile individuals were observed serving food, including the President of the Chamber of Commerce, Dwayne Brown and realtor Steve Hess.

In attendance for his very first Mayor’s Advisory Board event was Mayor Richard Thomas, who entered the room carrying a handful of certificates of appreciation.

When introduced by Guarino, Mayor Thomas received a long and warm ap-plause, followed by a brief speech.

Guarino next recognized the dignitaries

and Advisory Board members and lunch was served.

After lunch, sixteen individuals and organizations were honored with certifi-cates of appreciation presented by Mayor Thomas. Those honored included:

• Food Bank for Westchester – Denise Tatosian

• The Wartburg• Visiting Nurse Services of New York –

Juan DeJesus• Guardia Lombardi Association – Nick

D’Antona• Montefiore – Mount Vernon Hospital –

Geneva Jermin• Mount Vernon Neighborhood Health

Center• Kiwanis Club of Mt. Vernon• New Covenant Church of the Holy

Spirit• Steve Hess• Westchester Community College –

Hannah Gross• Gramatan Bagel Café – Dominick De-

Benedictis• Mount Vernon Inquirer – Joe Parisi• Henry Hall• Yannatuono Burr Davis Sharpe – An-

thony Guarino• Progressive Services Group –Kern

BrightNear the end of the ceremony a turkey

raffle, special baskets/gifts raffle and a 50-50 raffle was held.

Prior to Rev. Morton providing the bene-diction, Christiana thanked the guests for attending and also thanked Advisory Board members and sponsors.




our city and make Memorial Field majestic again by paying the bills and executing the mayor’s plan!

THIS IS WHAT THEY BELIEVE: City-owned property should be given at dis-counted rates to mysterious no-name


companies located out of state, maintain-ing the “crony crossing to thieve opportu-nities for themselves.”

THIS IS WHAT I BE-LIEVE: Giving a shot to hard working Mount Vernon families, cou-ples, and individuals to gain equal access and treatment in purchasing city properties so they can afford to stay in the town they love and work with us to build our city back up.

THIS IS WHAT THEY BELIEVE: Removing an Inspector General and keeping ethics out of Mount Vernon, leaving the door open for crony contracts and shady side-deals, is a practice that should be protect-ed.

THIS IS WHAT I BE-LIEVE: Restoring the position of Inspector General so Mount Ver-non has an indepen-dent, ethical watchdog to ensure the city oper-ates on a level playing field.

The era of back-door budget deals rushed through at the last minute must come to an end.

Don’t let them block your future. Don’t allow small minds to stop practical think-ing. Call the situation what it is and reject Comptroller Walker’s and Council Presi-dent Griffith’s budget of more of the same.

We pay too much in taxes and the safe-ty of our families is worthy of the invest-ments needed in snow equipment, Fire, Public Works, and Police.

I believe in Mount Vernon.I believe that we can be better than the

best.I believe we need tax relief, not nefari-

ous shell games.I believe we can make our parks glori-

ous destinations for safe play. I believe in you. I believe in your family. I believe in us. I believe it’s time to move Mount Vernon

Forward.Join us on Wednesday, December 14th

at 7:00 PM for your opportunity to weigh in on the budget. Call 914-665-2351 by 2:00 PM on Wednesday, December 14 to ensure you can speak your mind and your heart at the City Council meeting.

They may believe in the dark but I know we believe in the light.

Sincerely,Mayor Richard Thomas







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