Part 1 of a 5-Part Series on the Lack of Accountability in Government in Mount Vernon

A lot has happened since I last sat down to write an article like this. It is important that we take time to critically look at topics, particularly ones that impact our lives and our institutions. In this series, we’re going to tackle the lack of accountability in Mount Vernon’s government and the different ways that affects our lives using real-world examples.

Let’s start with the one that’s grabbing the headlines right now: the sentencing of former Mount Vernon Corporation Counsel Lawrence Porcari to prison for participating in a criminal scheme to loot the Water Department of money and divert that money to things unrelated to the department. How this scheme played out and how Porcari managed to pull it off should be a lesson in how the lack of accountability in government costs us dearly.

When Officer Derek Chauvin was kneeling on George Floyd’s neck in Minneapolis, there were three other police officers standing around, watching. When it came time to make arrests, Chauvin certainly got the lion’s share of the charges, but the officers who stood idle while it happened were arrested also and rightly so. They will face justice for their part in a crime that has torn apart our communities and, maybe, our nation. In the world of criminal justice, those three officers are charged as accomplices because they aided and abetted Chauvin in committing his crime. How did they help? By doing nothing to stop him.

Let’s apply that same concept to Porcari and his crimes. Let’s also ask why the result is so different.

For those of you who haven’t been keeping up on the story, I’ll give you a quick recap. Almost exactly two years ago, I wrote a story in this paper about Mount Vernon’s Water Department being used as a “slush fund” by the Mayor’s office and about how they were using money collected from increased water rents to pay for all sorts of things they couldn’t get passed by the Board of Estimates or the City Council. I even took the Water Department to court to stop them from doing that.

Everyone, from the top down swore, with hands on Bibles, that nothing of the sort was happening, there was no “slush fund,” and everything they spent money on was related to the Water Department. Don’t take my word for it. You can go look at the court filings yourself. But I’ll give you one example: in our petition, we alleged the Water Department improperly spent “funds on activities and expenses unrelated to its mandates from the City of Mount Vernon, in either their official or individual capacities and either independently or at the direction of third parties, including, but not limited to the Mayor of the City of Mount Vernon.” In their answer to our petition, they denied under penalty of perjury that the entire allegation was untrue.

Mayor Thomas called me all sorts of names at the time. In Black Westchester, he said, “Master fabricator Wallace distorts anything to fit his fake news…”. People accused me of playing politics. I couldn’t even get the City Council to agree to join me in the lawsuit. Everyone ran for the hills or issued blanket denials when I exposed this scheme.

I was Mayor for a few months after Mayor Thomas forfeited his office by pleading guilty to crimes involving his campaign fund, crimes which Porcari used Water Department money to fund a legal defense. I fired Porcari. I cleaned up the Water Department. I reduced the water rates. I went after those law firms that got money from the Water Department and even got some of it back before I left office. Mount Vernon got another new Mayor, and she promptly circled the wagons and surrounded herself with many of the same cast of characters as the last one.

During Porcari’s trial, Ben Marable, who was the head of the Water Department, testified under oath after denying everything during my case against him and his department, the Water Department actually spent money on LOTS of things unrelated to water, including: party tent rentals for the Recreation Department, TVs for the City, equipment for the Police Department, funds for the Planning Commissioner and the Urban Renewal Agency, an administrative assistant for the Building Department, outside lawyers for the Law Department, and a legal defense team for Mayor Thomas and lots more.

What made me think about George Floyd was a statement made by the judge at Porcari’s sentencing, where he said that he was giving Porcari a reduced sentence (the minimum, in fact) because, among other reasons, he “received none of the stolen money himself.” No one else was charged with this scheme, not even the people who did receive the money. Not the people who stood around and watched it happen, even if they didn’t get the money. Not one other indictment.

In essence, Porcari was convicted of “corrupting the government” and no one in that government who worked side-by-side with him was “corrupted” by him?! That’s a ridiculous result. Its implications are dangerous. If we’re not going to go after the people who sat idle and watched Porcari steal our money, then why are we holding those other three officers in the Floyd case?

Police brutality and stealing from Mount Vernon’s Water Department are based on the exact same form of wrongdoing: abuse of power. Those cops in Minneapolis used the power they had over George Floyd to watch him die. Now, they’re sitting in jail. Those government officials in Mount Vernon who watched Porcari abuse his power to steal from this City aren’t sitting in jail. They’re sitting in much nicer places like the Mayor’s office, the Corporation Counsel’s office, the City Council, and the Industrial Development Agency.

They want you to believe this was a crime with only one criminal and no accomplices. They need you to believe that. That’s what lack of accountability in government looks like. Real accountability would mean that those accomplices would have to answer for their inaction, for their turning a blind eye, and for receiving the benefit of stolen money. They definitely don’t want that.

Don’t let them pull the wool over your eyes. More money is missing, lots more. And, they continue to sit on the sidelines and pretend it’s not happening. That excuse didn’t work in Minneapolis, and you should demand the same accountability in Mount Vernon. It’s your money. It’s your government. Hold it accountable.

If you have thoughts or comments about this issue or any other, reach out to me at ADWCMV@gmail.com.

There’s a lot of press around Mount Vernon these days. They’re camped out all around City Hall, and hardly a day goes by that Mount Vernon isn’t making local or, even, national news. I wish I could say all this attention is for a good reason, but I cannot. The reason for this column, however, is not to dwell on the negative circus going on in and around City Hall these days, but to reassure you that the work of your government is getting done. And, we’re moving fast. While I will address some of the legal issues below, I want to focus on some of the more productive things that are getting accomplished in Mount Vernon, despite the chaos.

MEMORIAL FIELD IS MOVING FORWARD

When I was sworn in, I told my team to make Memorial Field a top priority and move that project along with no more wasted time, no more wasted motion, and no more wasted tax dollars. I’m happy to report that, in just two weeks, we’ve made a ton of progress. First, the bid packages for proposed vendors have been published and are available for pick up at the City Clerk’s office. Second, we will select a vendor to clean up the Memorial Field site by August 20th, with work slated to begin immediately thereafter. Third, we’ve identified funds to pay for the remediation and will be setting them aside in a dedicated account for only that purpose. Our goal is to get this project completed by the end of the year so that the County can begin construction and have the field usable by next summer.

As you know, Memorial Field has been used for too long as a political football in this City. With the help of the Comptroller and the City Council, I am going to focus on getting it ready to play real football.

CHANGING THE CULTURE OF GOVERNMENT

I have established a good working relationship with Comptroller Deborah Reynolds and her staff, as well as with the City Council and Office of the City Clerk. They are all hard-working, dedicated public servants who have been maligned for the last two years. What surprised me the most is that, when I engaged them, they were still ready to do the City’s work. They know who they work for and just want a chance to do their jobs without being vilified in the press by the Mayor.

You’re not going to see me take people to task in public. That’s not leadership; that’s vanity. You’re not going to see me posting a bunch of Facebook rants. That’s not leadership; that’s ego. What you are going to see is me walking the halls and talking to people, encouraging them to share information, and being available to make decisions to make their jobs easier. That’s what leadership should look like.

I’ve run huge projects before. I know how all of the moving pieces fit together in this government. There’s no transition period needed. We’re working now. If someone in this government wants to put their own interest above that of the public interest, they won’t be around for very long. I can promise you that much. By working together, we’re able to move very quickly and accomplish big things in a short amount of time.

GETTING OUR FINANCIAL HOUSE IN ORDER

The current priority is making a realistic assessment of our financial situation. There’s been a ton of misinformation published over the last year or so about what’s going on with Mount Vernon’s finances. We’re going to end that practice. I’m working closely with the Comptroller and our legal team to stop the bleeding coming out of the Mayor’s “black box” agencies until we get some real independent audits completed. We’ve frozen the accounts of the Water Department and the Industrial Development Agency until that’s done.

The simple fact is that no one is going to want to do business with Mount Vernon if we can’t demonstrate fiscal responsibility in our government. We will be transparent, and we will make sure those who have taken advantage of our City will be held accountable for their actions.

As part of that process, we’re working to regain our bond rating with Moody’s. That plan is underway, and we’ll keep pushing to do what needs to be done to get the rating back this year. It’s vital to the future of our City that we have access to the municipal credit markets.

While the whole mess is still being litigated and disputed, I am confident that the Court will ultimately decide this matter is a lot clearer than former Mayor Thomas wants people to believe. His conviction vacated his office, and I was sworn in, pursuant to the City Charter. So, in both the legal and practical sense, there’s only one Mayor in the City of Mount Vernon, and I am the one doing the business for the city, as Mayor.

I will keep doing the people’s business, and I will keep letting you know in this column what is going on. Mount Vernon has a bright future. Even though it looks bleak now, the sun is rising on the horizon, and we’ll all get through the difficulties. As long as we keep an eye on the real priorities of this City, we will come out stronger than we started.

Respectfully yours,

Mayor André Wallace

There’s an old saying about changing one’s situation, that you won’t get out of a problem by using the same kind of thinking that got you into it in the first place. It’s a good lesson for cities too. When we look around Mount Vernon, all we see are “problems of the present” – not picking up the garbage, failing to pay bills, whining about conspiracies, etc. These are problems are plain and simple, the failings of leadership and the failure to properly plan. If we want to see a change in the way that Mount Vernon operates, we need to first change the thinking that got us into this mess.

My background is in construction. Nobody in that industry just launches out on their own and starts doing things for the sake of looking busy. You don’t start closing- up walls before you run the electrical and plumbing. You don’t start putting in windows before you’ve finished the frames. It sounds like common sense and it is. Because everything that occurs on a construction site is done pursuant to a very detailed plan, one that sets out the order of things. That’s how things get built. Take things out of order or forget things and that’s how things fall apart.

That’s the approach I’ve always taken to city government. But, amazingly enough, there are a lot of obstacles on the road to common-sense government. The first and most obvious obstacle is corruption and cronyism. I consider them together because they’re basically two sides of the same coin that produces the same result: decision-making that is in the best interest of someone’s pocketbook. You see it in obvious places like courtrooms, as high-ranking officials are indicted for looting the city’s coffers for personal benefit. But, it usually lives in harder to find places below the radar in places like the Water Department and the Industrial Development Agency. It goes on in the shadows behind the scenes. When you give political cronies special privileges disguised as PILOTs and zoning variances, you’re doing more than giving away taxpayer dollars; you’re undermining the foundation of the structure you’re trying to build, which is no different than building a skyscraper on shifting sand.

The other major obstacle in the way of common-sense government is incompetence. Not the kind that comes from people who are unintelligent, but the kind that comes from putting people in charge of problems who shouldn’t be there because they have no problem solving skills. They’re overwhelmed immediately and do one of two things: either they will do nothing, or they will do something and make the problem worse. So, both are equally terrible because, one ensures no progress can happen while the other takes you further back.

The final obstacle to common-sense government is failure to make a plan in the first place. A plan keeps everyone on the same page even the incompetent ones. A well-made plan broadcasts to everyone where they need to be when they need to be there and once there, what they need to do. A plan also lets people do what they do best. It keeps corruption and cronyism in check because the plan is a public document, one that has a lot of eyes on it. If your city plan is focused on enforcing code violations, then repeat offenders are going to be obvious unless corruption or incompetence gets in the way. Here’s the important point: if your goal is corruption, the single best way to accomplish that is to “not put forward a plan” and to stock your administration with incompetent people who will simply do nothing.

I’ve spent the better part of the last year trying to expose this corruption, cronyism, and incompetence. Sadly, it’s been nearly a full-time job because there’s so much of it.

I want to spend more time, however, addressing my plans for Mount Vernon’s future. I will be putting out some bold initiatives next week that are designed to give us a working and workable plan to succeed. My plans will set forth a framework, not just generic platitude like “we need a new vision” or “believe again”. I’m going to set forth a realistic plan that drives results so that we can all start building in the right order and goals in mind. We can start focusing on “opportunities of the future” rather than “problems of the present.”

I’ve been discussing my economic plan of Responsible Development over the past month or so in my columns, which you can access on www.andrewallace.com.

A lot of my fellow candidates have been reading them too, because they’re taking credit for a lot of my ideas lately. That’s fine. It’s what being a leader is all about. I want to see these plans come to fruition, so if others are jumping on the bandwagon, all the better.

I’ll keep putting my ideas out there because that’s how things will ultimately get done for Mount Vernon. Whether it’s a multi-pronged approach to attracting commercial development to Mount Vernon or a targeted attack on zombie homes and vacant properties in the city, the plans are there to guide policy development, implementation and execution. In short, they’re designed to solve problems.

What they’re not going to do is to deliver more of the same thinking that got us into this mess.

Due to the overwhelming response I received about the series on the Mount Vernon Industrial Development Agency (MVIDA) and the irresponsible PILOT (payment-in-lieu-of-taxes) programs, I am going to continue the topic to address a few more items we didn’t get a chance to spend much time on.

To briefly summarize, in the IDA series we attempted to give an overview of “economic development” in general, including all the ways that cities and governments can attract new investors to their area (e.g., new factories, new stores, new jobs, etc.). We walked through the Industrial Development Agencies and the extremely broad powers they have on a city-by-city basis, using taxpayer dollars, to attract these new investors. We also examined how bad decision-making can end up costing a city far more than it ever receives in benefit from the new developments. Finally, we outlined what I call “Responsible Development,” a blueprint for getting the MVIDA back on track and to end the gravy train for politically-connected “takers” to steal from future generations of Mount Vernon citizens.

Some readers asked me if I could give them some specific examples, so they can see how damaging these PILOTs can be. For the sake of simplicity, we’ll address one example, but understand that there are a number of these all being pushed through at the same time, so the effects are magnified. This is why it is vital that the MVIDA really spend the time needed to assess the cost-benefit analysis for these types of projects. They also need to be transparent in their findings because the potential decades-long property tax breaks for these developments are devastating to the City’s bottom line.

Let’s just deal with The Enclave, a 179-unit “market rate” residential PILOT development on MacQuesten Parkway in Fleetwood. This development received a 40-year property tax abatement, costing the City approximately $40 million in tax revenue. So, before a single brick is laid, the City is already out-of-pocket $40 million. I guess it’s not surprising that they were big contributors to Mayor Thomas’ campaign. To recoup $40 million, that development had better generate a ton of jobs in Mount Vernon or provide homes for people who will spend their money in the city. Is that what is going to happen? Not hardly. At best, the developers estimate it will create only 15 full-time jobs, probably low-paying custodial positions. So much for long-term benefit. We’re not going to get our $40 million back here.

Built right near the train station, The Enclave is designed as a “transit-oriented development.” That’s code, by the way, for apartments for people who work and spend most of their time somewhere else. These units are not designed to replace single-family homes, not designed for current residents, and they’re not designed to bring people into the fabric of our community. Instead, they’re designed for moderate-income (i.e., just above minimum wage) workers to lay their head until they go back to New York City in the morning, until they’ve saved enough money to find a bigger place in another city. Maybe these folks will spend some money in Mount Vernon, but more likely, they’ll spend it somewhere else. Either way, they’re not going to come close to spending enough to justify the $40 million gift the City gave to The Enclave’s developers. Do the math. Mount Vernon receives about 4% sales tax on money spent in our city. To recoup $40 million, that requires spending of $1 BILLION by the residents of this development alone over the 40-year PILOT. Each unit in The Enclave would have to spend about $140,000 per year, every year local stores in Mount Vernon for the City just to break even, roughly $12,000 per month. You know as well as I do that’s never going to happen.

Once built, we have to provide police, fire, sewer, and education services to this development. The Enclave’s developers, amazingly, have stated that they expect no more than 6 school-age children to live there. That is just an insane statement, one that no one in their right mind should believe. Yet, the MVIDA bought it and awarded them a PILOT just the same. There are going to be tons of kids in these apartments over the next 40 years, taking advantage of the school system while their parents pay nothing in property tax, while their building pays nothing in property tax. That $40 million is starting to look like it’s just a drop in the bucket as to how much it’s going to cost Mount Vernon for this single PILOT.

You have to understand; city government is a zero-sum game. If you deprive the City of revenue from taxes, you limit its ability to provide services. Those little things that you notice that make your city seem just that much less attractive? Those are quality of life issues. Litter, potholes, broken windows, dim streetlights, unreadable signs, sewer leaks, zombie homes, all of it. They don’t go away on their own. The City needs to fix them. But it can’t do it if it is deprived of funds. No one would suggest we should stop paying police officers and fire fighters, so they’re the priority. Once that’s done, and the rest of the priority city bills are paid, there’s nothing left to address these quality of life problems.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that these PILOTs are stealing from Mount Vernon. They’re not only ensuring that taxpayers have to bear an ever-increasing share of responsibility every year, reducing property values city-wide, but they’re also consuming resources at the same time without paying for them. They are dividing our City, sucking money from departments that fix those potholes, clean up the litter, reduce the hidden dangers to children, and fix the sewer system.

The Mayor keeps talking about needing funds to fix the sewers or to fix Memorial Field or to do this or that. But he omits a key fact: he already gave away that money. What he’s really asking is for you to spend more of your money so that his developer pals can get rich off these irresponsible PILOT programs.

This is what failed leadership looks like. This is the cost of incompetence and corruption. This is how irresponsible development reduces your City’s quality of life. It’s just shameless. We shouldn’t have to take it anymore.

If you have thoughts or comments about this issue or any other, reach out to me at ADWCMV@gmail.com.

Dear Mayor Thomas:

It should come as no surprise by now to anyone following politics in Mount Vernon that you’ve issued yet another rambling, incoherent conspiracy theory about “forces” trying to bring you down. You’ve been beating that drum for a years now. If it’s not me, it’s Comptroller Reynolds. If not her, then former Mayor Davis or Comptroller Maureen Walker. If not them, then Chase Bank. The Attorney General, the District Attorney, the courts, the “system,” – the list goes on and on. One thing is always the same in all of these tinfoil-hat theories of yours: the blame for your personal failings always falls at the feet of someone else.

I’m not going to address the fiction contained in your latest post, except to give you some free “legal” advice. These are the elements of a suit for defamation: 1) a false and defamatory statement of fact; 2) regarding an individual; 3) which is published to a third party; and 4) which results in damage to that individual. But, don’t take my word for it. That’s from the Court of Appeals, the highest court in the State of New York (or are they out to get you, too?).

The problem with surrounding yourself with criminals is that those people never put their names on things. You, on the other hand, can’t help putting your name to things. Which is why it will be your name listed as “Defendant” in the defamation lawsuit, and not the criminals around you who suggested it was a good idea to publish that last post.

You’re entitled to your own opinion, but you’re not entitled to your own facts. You should be more careful with facts. They can cost you a lot if you disregard them, like you did in your last post.

The ultimately sad part of this story you’ve crafted about hidden forces trying to bring you down is that nobody cares that much about you to bother. Nobody cares that you are a Millennial. Nobody cares that you are spiritual. Nobody cares that you think you’re a visionary leader. Nobody has time to sit around and try to figure out how to “get” you.

We all have better things to do, even if you don’t.

If it feels like the walls are closing in on you, maybe it’s because you’ve closed so many doors in this city and shut down so many bridges that there’s nowhere left to hide. If you’re feeling like you’re in this all by yourself, maybe it’s because you’ve blamed so many people for your mistakes that there’s no one left to stand with you. “One day, you’ll understand that is not the mark of a leader.”

Mount Vernon deserves better leadership. And, it will get better leadership. Leadership that acknowledges that the team is never to blame, only the leader. Leadership that recognizes that good ideas are not a monopoly and that credit is earned, not bestowed. The people of this city see through your whole charade. They know “The Emperor has no clothes on”. And, frankly, they’re just tired of the whining, the antics, the grandstanding, and the lies. You’ve had four years to make a difference in the lives of the people of this city, and you’ve failed. All you’ve done is embarrass them time and again.

You’ve been throwing people under a bus for so long, you forgot what it means to take responsibility for your own actions. Who knows? Maybe you never knew how to do it.

But, what I think doesn’t really matter. The voters will decide whether they want to endure another four years of excuse-making, corruption, and incompetence.

I’m sure you’ll find new “villains” and come up with new comic-book conspiracies to blame for your mistakes. I’m sure you’ll keep telling people how much faith you have in God while you continue to sell out your neighbors to developers and campaign cronies, crippling the City you claim to love. Those, Mayor Thomas, are the facts you’re hiding from. That’s the “real” conspiracy out to get you: yourself.

As someone who claims to be a religious man, I encourage you to pull out the Bible you carry with you to court and spend some more time with it. There’s some good wisdom in there. Start with Luke 16:10-12. “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?”

Respectfully,

City Council President André Wallace

In Part 1 of the series, we talked about the dangers and bad actors that lurk in the background of “economic development.” Part 2 addressed the giveaways and misplaced priorities associated with the current version of the Mount Vernon Industrial Development Agency (MVIDA). This column is the final installment of my series on Responsible Development, which, we’ll look to pull everything together and chart a path forward.

It’s no surprise to anyone looking around this city or reading the press, Mount Vernon faces a number of tough challenges ahead. Whether from environmental orders or Federal lawsuits or the consequences of fiscal irresponsibility at the hands of this administration, we need to be focused on getting our financial house in order. Unfortunately, these challenges are being exacerbated by outrageous tax giveaways by the MVIDA. PILOTs (payments in lieu of taxes) are weapon of choice that has become a cancer that is eating away at the financial stability of Mount Vernon and the safety of our citizens. By robbing our city of hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue, these PILOTs negatively impact property taxes, crime, sewers, and schools. Wealthy developers walk away with huge gains, while we eat the cost of their misguided developments – for decades!

How did we get here? For years, County social programs have been steering at-risk and high-challenge residents from surrounding areas of Westchester County and New York City to Mount Vernon, leaving our city on the brink of collapse. Former County Executives enacted policies that place the overwhelming number of social programs, particularly residential programs, in our city. Affluent municipalities have refused to share the burden equally, and Mount Vernon has been used as a dumping ground. There’s no other way to put it. Our recent mayors have been complicit in helping other communities avoid their obligations with our taxpayer dollars, neglecting the needs of our people in the process. It’s just shameless.

In 2009, Westchester County settled a housing discrimination lawsuit with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, agreeing to develop affordable housing throughout the County. And, a majority of that housing has been centered right here, funded by PILOTs, giving the County plenty of cover. But, years of unfair County practices have left Mount Vernon saddled with a disproportionate number of Westchester County’s homeless, mental health sufferers, substance abusers, drug treatment centers, parolees, and sex offenders. There are for example, 1,000 homeless children in Mount Vernon schools right now, increasing the challenges beyond merely educating these kids. There is no way our neighbors are dealing with numbers like this.

It doesn’t end there. On a per capita basis, Mount Vernon has the highest number of homeless, foreclosures, murders, burglary, and the highest property taxes per dollar of property value in New York State. Further, Mount Vernon also has the highest number of sex offenders per capita; we house more sex offenders than Chicago and Los Angeles – yet we have no established sex offender or homeless task forces. The Modern, the multi-colored poster child of the MVIDA on Macquesten Parkway, received a 40-year, $40 million PILOT. Part of the deal was to place mentally ill patients in more than 20 units. These tenants are unsupervised, and some are without medication, while walking neighborhood streets.

Mount Vernon is the seventh most densely populated city in the nation, but we continue to build high-risk residential housing to support New York City and County residents. Poor planning, corruption and questionable PILOTs are destroying our city and undermining our ability to supply basic services to our residents. The Mayor, who controls the MVIDA, must stop the residential PILOT handout. There must be a priority on caring for the needs of our current citizens. Social programs, particularly residential programs, must be spread equally and our neighbors must pull their own weight. We have paid a tremendous price for the misguided “development” at the hands of the MVIDA through these unwarranted PILOTs. We must stop the assault on the taxpayers of Mount Vernon.

Responsible Development means setting real priorities with our development dollars. We need to end the gravy train these residential developers are on and re-embrace the original intent of the IDA – which is to encourage “industrial” (that is, commercial) development. Commercial development unlike residential development doesn’t consume nearly as many city resources (for example, a commercial store isn’t using the city’s schools but a high-rise apartment building certainly is), provides ongoing jobs beyond the construction itself and generates sales tax revenues for the city. So, even if there is some property tax reduction to encourage a retail store, that reduction is offset by other tax revenue – making a properly constructed “PILOT” actually beneficial to the city. Right now the PILOTs that have been approved are fleecing Mount Vernon under the noses our taxpayers.

Mount Vernon severely lacks the commercial infrastructure necessary to support a city our size. Movie theaters, car dealerships, hotels, catering halls, supermarkets, etc. A taxpayer in Mount Vernon should not have to spend his or her money in another city, simply because ours lacks basic commercial amenities. That’s money that is lining the pockets of the same cities that are dumping their problem citizens on us. We need to bring back businesses to support the “City of Homes.” Without that self-sustaining commercial infrastructure, real estate values will stagnate or more likely fall.

Responsible Development aims to ensure that every deal with the City of Mount Vernon to build here is a good deal, meaning the development brings more to this City than it takes from it. The “takers” can go somewhere else. With Responsible Development, they will. And, businesses who are looking for smart, forward-looking government partners will replace them. Right now, those legitimate developers are on the sidelines because they won’t play the “kickback” and “crony” game demanded of them by the current leadership of the MVIDA. With Responsible Development, we’ll get them off the sidelines, moving dirt and building useful beneficial projects for this City. We’ll replace the current string of lose-lose projects we’re dealing with now with win-win opportunities for this City.

It’s time to stop trying to improve our skyline by killing our bottom line.

We have too much experience with senseless loss in Mount Vernon, too many personal stories of lives delayed, ruined, or lost. Our hearts are too heavy, too often in the wake of too much tragedy, especially when that tragedy visits our children. Unfortunately, we find ourselves here again, mourning the loss of another child too soon.

Drew Faustin, a fourth-grader at Graham Elementary School, was struck and killed by a car last week on Columbus Avenue. Just days before Mother’s Day and a week before his 10th birthday, Drew’s family must now try to make some sense of their loss. And, as a community, so do we. How do we find sense in this senselessness? How do we honor Drew’s memory in a way that helps us bring order to the chaos? How do move forward at all?

Some of us will turn to God and to prayer. Some to our families, neighbors, and friends. Some will curse; some will weep. All of us will feel deeply for Drew’s family as they navigate this tragedy as best they can. All of us will hold our children a little tighter and be quietly thankful. We will pull together as a community and process the implications of another interrupted young life. Hopefully, we will also make a commitment to Drew and his family to ensure his life, while too short, was nevertheless meaningful and profound.

To do that, we must first start by examining own lives and behavior. It’s too easy to get caught up in our own sense of self-importance and priority. We forget we live in a community and that we have a vital and important obligation to each other. You may think whatever it is you have to do is the most important thing in the world right then. You’re wrong. Whatever it is, literally, is not worth the value of the pain you can cause or the life you can erase in the process. Slow down, leave earlier, pay attention when you’re on the road, and focus on what’s around you. That’s what you can do every time you get in a vehicle. If we all did that, we wouldn’t need to be having this discussion nearly as much as we do.

Unfortunately, that’s not enough. As a community, we need to make sure it happens. Traffic is snarled by bridge closures, certain streets are littered with potholes, and it seems like you’re always going to be late. So, you go a little faster when you get the chance. I get it. I just won’t put up with it anymore. None of us should.

I will be introducing legislation to reduce the speed limit in Mount Vernon, city-wide, to 25 MPH. Every street, every day. I will look to increase penalties for violations, and I will be asking the Mayor to step up enforcement of these safety initiatives. It’s non-negotiable. Our children’s lives are too valuable to consider any other alternative. We will promote a culture of safe driving, and we will strenuously enforce against those who are unwilling to comply.

Even just a 5 MPH reduction in speed has an enormous impact on the survivability of an accident. Pedestrians struck at 25 MPH are half as likely to be killed as they are at 30 MPH and, if they are hit, the severity of the injuries is significantly less life-threatening at lower speeds. Lower speeds give drivers and pedestrians more time to avoid accidents altogether. Since the 25 MPH speed limit was instituted in New York City in 2014, pedestrian fatalities have almost been cut in half.

Almost a year ago, I began writing this column because I saw a little boy get injured when his bike hit a pothole on one of our streets. We’ve covered a lot of different ground and a lot of different topics since then. This is what I wrote at the time: “You can learn a lot about a place by looking at its roads. Where it’s going. Where it’s been. What are its priorities. What it’s willing to tolerate and, worse, what it’s willing to accept. What do our roads say about us? A lot I’m afraid, and what they are saying is not good.”

Well, in Drew’s memory, it’s time for us to start making a statement about what are our priorities, where we are going, and what we are willing to accept in Mount Vernon. And, we’re going to start making that statement immediately.

I know it means nothing now, but to Drew’s family I can only say that your loss is felt by this whole community, and we offer our most sincere condolences. As a father, my heart breaks for you. If there’s anything I can do for your family, just ask. We will remember Drew’s infectious laugh, and we will honor him in our prayers. Then, we will make sure that as a Mount Vernon community – as a family – we do what is necessary to protect the lives of all of our children.

We’ll get back to other topics next week. Right now, it’s more important to grab your kids and hold them tight, know where they are at all times, pay attention on the road, and, most importantly, keep Drew’s family in your prayers and thoughts.

If you have thoughts or comments about this issue or any other, reach out to me at ADWCMV@gmail.com.

In this series, we’re discussing a concept I call “Responsible Development,” primarily by analyzing the irresponsible development that has been going on for too long in Mount Vernon. To get to the root of that, we need to spend some time looking at the Mount Vernon Industrial Development Agency (MVIDA). Before we do that, though, I wanted to recap briefly Part 1 of this series where we learned that “industrial development agencies” are a creation of state law given exceedingly broad powers to spur local investment and development. The track record of these IDA’s is decidedly mixed, with more taxpayer dollars going out the door than coming in usually. As we’ll see with the MVIDA, these “black box” agencies operate in the shadows with very little oversight and can cost taxpayers more money and do it faster than any other agency in city government.

In Part 3 of the series, I’ll go into some of the important foundational pieces of Responsible Development, including ways to bring the taxpayers’ voices back into the conversation. To see why that’s important, let’s turn back to the MVIDA.

Like industrial development agencies around the state, the MVIDA is tasked with trying to attract investment in Mount Vernon, whether that’s new commercial or residential developments. Ultimately, the idea is to increase the overall tax base of the city so as not to overburden existing taxpayers with increased spending on city services. As you might imagine, services cost more every year. If you don’t grow your tax “base,” existing taxpayers take the hit in the form of increased property taxes. The absolute worst thing you can do is to increase city service spending while allowing consumers of those services to avoid contributing to that increased cost. But, that’s exactly what the MVIDA has been specializing in lately.

In a shameless attempt to make it look like development is happening in Mount Vernon, the MVIDA has made some devastatingly bad deals, ones which we will be paying for over the next four or so decades. A common tool used by IDAs all over, but particularly by the MVIDA is something called Payment in Lieu of Taxes (called PILOTs or PILOT programs). These programs are designed to encourage developers to build in Mount Vernon, instead of somewhere else. Generally speaking, these developers agree to make some up-front “donation” to the MVIDA and, in return, they receive huge tax breaks, which can last for decades.

Just two residential projects alone which have been approved by the MVIDA in the last few years involve over $120 million in tax giveaways over the next FORTY years, meaning Mount Vernon’s taxpayers will be subsidizing these developments for the foreseeable future. These developments continue to use city services like police, fire, education, and sanitation – but they won’t contribute to the cost of those services until most of us are long gone. The developers turn around and sell the rights to the building’s ownership at the end of the PILOT program, pocket a huge gain, and leave the city’s taxpayers to foot the bill. These are just the ones we already know about. There are more in the pipeline.

If the goal is to increase the tax base, why does the MVIDA give away so many tax breaks to get people to build here? Seems counterintuitive, right? That’s because it is. The sad fact is that these developers are part of a larger game and the city is often a willing participant. They’re not looking to build in Mount Vernon because they want to build here. They’re looking to find property that is depressed now but potentially valuable in the future, especially if improved. They’ll get state and federal agencies to subsidize the building for “affordable housing,” they’ll get the city to eliminate the property taxes, and they’ll sell the whole thing for a huge profit. It’s big business, and it will sink this city.

We can argue the benefits of “affordable housing” as a concept, but let’s save that for another time. Let’s just focus here on how it impacts our tax base. This housing is generally not designed for current Mount Vernon residents and has the effect of “importing” new residents who consume city services, especially education services. Unfortunately, Mount Vernon has too often been the dumping ground for people other cities in Westchester County don’t want or won’t support. While we are generous with our time and tax dollars, at some point the breaking point will occur, and we’ll no longer be able to afford it.

Let’s not forget the sheer lack of transparency in how the MVIDA funds are spent. Recall that IDAs generally have tremendous discretion in how they choose to “attract” new investment. All of those Easter Egg and Pumpkin Patch events? Probably paid through the MVIDA. All of those festivals and concerts? Same thing. I’m not suggesting they are unnecessary, just that they are un-budgeted items that come out of our pockets without any oversight or control by the City Council or the Comptroller. Who gets paid to put on these events? Certainly no one who has been vetted by the Board of Estimate & Contracts for conflicts of interest, for example. The larger concerns are the “meetings” held with “potential” investors, justifying trips across the country to meet with Puff Daddy (over three years’ worth of those) or gaming companies who want to “invest” hundreds of millions in Memorial Field. These are just boondoggles that have no real likelihood of success – just pure tax dollar waste. Again, maybe there’s nothing corrupt going on there, but then again, how would anyone know?

What we do know is that the auditors have asked for a lot more controls over how the MVIDA operates. We do know that we’re seeing a lot of new PILOTs rushed along through the pipeline. And, we do know that developers are contributing to this Mayor’s campaign in record numbers. You can do your own math on that.

Maybe, it’s time we start asking ourselves if there’s a better way?

If you have thoughts or comments about this issue or any other, reach out to me at ADWCMV@gmail.com.