The Board of Water Supply is just a sleepy office off of one of the many corridors in City Hall. You’ve probably walked by it many times without taking much notice. But, this small office is allegedly ground zero for the most profitable “slush fund operation” in Mount Vernon. Under the sole control of the Mayor, Mount Vernon property owners are unknowingly overpaying millions of dollars per year into this agency, and those funds are being siphoned off into discretionary accounts of his choosing.

To put this in context, tax revenue collected from city residents is placed into the city’s general fund and is overseen and controlled jointly by the Comptroller, the City Council, the Mayor, together, through the Board of Estimates and Contract. From the collected taxes, regular cost items such as employee salaries, police cars and sidewalk repairs are budgeted and deducted. For items that are not regular cost items, such as the renovation of Memorial Field or emergency projects, ordinances are passed and approved by the various committees and branches of government. All transactions whether it is collecting taxes or paying cities bills are supposed to be transparent and available to the Mayor, City Council, Comptroller, and the general public.

Collection of water bill revenue is the one exception that does not follow the regular tax collection and spending process. Water bill assessment and collection is done through the Board of Water Supply, a department solely and wholly overseen by the Mayor. The City Council, Comptroller and the Board of Estimate and Contracts are not involved in water bill transactions. However, the Mount Vernon City Charter section (§30) mandates that the Board of Water Supply provide all requested information and documentation to the City Council. Collected funds are supposed to pay for the costs of getting our water from New York City’s aquifer system to our residents and maintaining water lines. If the process is working properly, the money collected from taxpayers should be equal to the cost of providing water to the city. Water bills paid by property owners are not intended to be a profit-making scheme. Any excess money in any given year is to be turned over to the Comptroller.

It appears the Mayor has turned the Mount Vernon Water Department into a money-making operation to generate millions of dollars hidden from the Comptroller and City Council members. By deliberately manipulating the water bills, the Mayor is creating a huge “slush fund” by collecting far more money than what is needed to provide water to those residents. Because the Mayor won’t allow oversight, checks or balances from the Council, this money can be siphoned off and given to anyone, including political cronies and elected officials’ family members. It can, in short, be used for anything, good or bad. What it’s used for, though, is irrelevant. It’s theft. It is stealing from Mount Vernon’s taxpayers to fund whatever the Mayor decides he wants to spend it on.

This scam has been going on in Chicago for decades and, it appears, that it has found its way to Mount Vernon. Chicago’s former Mayor, Richard Daley, recognized that people tend to scrutinize property tax bills far more carefully than water bills. If questioned about the scheme, he would just say that the money was needed to fix the city’s water infrastructure. No one could prove that wasn’t the case and didn’t have the ability to monitor whether the work was being done at all. In reality, he was just using those funds for his own corrupt purposes, giving spoils to his cronies and friends. It looks like the same thing is happening here today.

If you have examined your Mount Vernon water bill lately, you will notice that over the last couple of years the amount has miraculously doubled or even tripled. There can only be a couple of plausible reasons for the increase. One possibility is that Mount Vernon residents are simply using more water. But, the most current Water Quality Reports issued by the Board of Water Supply actually show that Mount Vernon used less water in 2017 than we did in 2016. So, that doesn’t explain such a huge increase. The second possibility is that the City Council raised the water rate, charging more per 100 cubic feet, and making the same amount of water usage more expensive, but that didn’t happen either. The Council’s water rate has remained the same since 2015 ($3.30 per 100 cubic feet). If the City of New York raised the price for its water (which we are told it did not), that wouldn’t explain it either.

The only other plausible explanation is that the water bills are being manipulated by the Mayor to charge you more for the same usage. For the past six months, I have asked the Board of Water Supply for documents and explanations to justify this increase. To date, I’ve received no paperwork, justification, or reason for the increases in the water bills. They have been unwilling to provide the City Council or the Comptroller with an accounting of expenditures being made out of their department. Indeed, Mayor Thomas even indicated there were about 1 million dollars in excess funds at the end of last year, but refused to turn those funds over to the Comptroller.

Historically, our Water Department’s revenue has exceeded its expenses. Annually, such excess revenue was transferred to the City’s general fund so the Comptroller can balance the city’s books. Now, abusive increases and deliberate overcharging are being used to keep the Water Department and whatever pet project the Mayor wants to fund in the black, never making its way to the city. Lawless behavior by Mayor Thomas’s administration has caused and continues to cause hardship on citizens as well as businesses in the City of Mount Vernon. If you don’t pay the inflated water bills, the Mayor places a lien on your property for failure to pay, charging interest on top of the already outrageous amounts. Liens can turn into foreclosures and eventually seizures of property. This fleecing of our citizens is appalling. What the money is ultimately being used for doesn’t matter. City-sponsored block parties, back-pack giveaways, popular entertainers for City-fest, kickbacks, legal defense funds, 50” flat screen TV’s, family members, new cars, or funneling money to offshore bank accounts? The point is that nobody outside of the Mayor’s office knows. There’s no transparency in the system, and that is extremely dangerous. We can let the Attorney General and the District Attorney decide whether it is also criminal.

What we do know though, is that we are not getting answers from the Mayor’s office, and it’s time we demand some answers. I am asking for an independent forensic audit of the Water Department to be performed by a qualified firm. I am also asking the State Comptroller, Thomas DiNapoli, to investigate the finances of Mount Vernon’s Water Department. I’m asking that a plan be established to ensure that no further over billing takes place and that existing liens associated with water bill non-payment be immediately removed from properties until this investigation is completed. Finally I am asking all Mount Vernon elected officials to stand by me, to help protect the citizens of this city.

I’m going to keep looking into wrongfully collected funds and asking other agencies to do so as well, but I encourage you to reach out to the Mayor directly and ask him yourself. It’s our money. We have a right to know where every penny of it is going.

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

In September 2014, Governor Andrew Cuomo made the following statement about Mount Vernon’s Sixth Avenue, Tenth Avenue and 14th Avenue Bridges: “Our administration has made it a top priority to rebuild our infrastructure, and by replacing these century-old bridges [in Mount Vernon], we are taking an important step toward preserving and improving a vital part of our transportation system and providing peace of mind to the motorists who depend on it. I am proud that the State is joining with our local and federal partners to move these important projects forward.”

Since that time four years ago, the 300-foot combined length of the closed bridges show no sign of construction. Then in 2018, our current Mayor announced that the MTA would begin work on the 14th Avenue Bridge for a period intended to last ten months. That would be an estimated opening in March 2019; however, it is now half way beyond the ten-month period, and construction has still not yet begun. To make matters worse, according to the MTA construction on the Sixth Avenue bridge (closed) and the Tenth Avenue bridge (closed more than a decade) is not scheduled to begin until after the 14th Avenue bridge is done. In stark contrast, the new Mario Cuomo (New Tappan Zee) Bridge opens with fanfare, and construction on the East Third Street Bridge into Pelham is ending. But, construction has not begun on even one Mount Vernon bridge. It appears that MTA follow-through is particularly lacking in Mount Vernon.

The MTA has miserably failed us, and we can no longer sit quietly on the sidelines and wait. So that attention can be paid to our city and its needs, it is time for us to act. Neglecting the bridges has real life and death consequences for Mount Vernon. Don’t just take my word for it. Over the last few weeks, I have heard from a number of first responders who deal with this problem on a daily basis. A former deputy police commissioner stated, “The present condition of the bridges hinders the ability of emergency vehicles to respond to life-threatening or otherwise dangerous situations in a timely manner that could be the difference between life and death. I personally find it heart-breaking that the MTA has not addressed the needs of Mount Vernon. It only leads to more questions as to why the most diverse community in one of the richest counties in the country has been ignored for so long?” An EMS professional in Mount Vernon echoed much the same concern telling me “the bridge closures create a problem with appropriate care due to delays in accessing the patient and getting them definitive care. Help us help the citizens of Mount Vernon because a delay in construction now means life or death!”

The most infuriating aspect of this entire issue is the sheer simplicity of the problem we are trying to solve. I’ve been in the construction business for more than three decades. I know for a fact that replacing five 100-foot bridges is not a difficult task by any stretch of the imagination. By doing nothing, the MTA is broadcasting to the world that disrupting the lives of Mount Vernon’s residents or preventing great harm to them is not worth the very minimal amount of work required to complete these projects. But, you can bet that if one of those bridges collapsed on the Metro North tracks and delayed the commute for our neighbors for even a single day, there would be a lightning fast response. This disparity is unacceptable, unjust and is a smack in the face to Mount Vernon residents.It is clear that waiting is a luxury we can no longer afford. I will immediately begin at the City Council level and move to our representatives at every level of government to hold the MTA accountable. It is time we start producing tangible results in the form of immediate bridge repair. We’re going to move concurrently on the following three fronts:

ENGAGEMENT: We shall begin conversations with our representatives in White Plains, Albany and Washington who secured funds, and to whom the MTA made promises about repairing our bridges. We shall outline the failure of the MTA and the degree with which they have delayed work in Mount Vernon as compared to other communities. We shall request a review of MTA’s actions with respect to Mount Vernon bridges. Additionally, the MTA must provide a schedule for the work to begin immediately and to proceed without delay. Failing that, we shall request that other agencies, including the Army Corps of Engineers or the federal and state departments of transportation, get involved and do the job the MTA is unwilling to do.

INVESTIGATION: I will urge the other members of the Mount Vernon City Council to hold hearings, issue subpoenas, and get to the bottom of how our bridges have ended up in such deplorable states. We shall elicit responses from both the Mayor and the MTA. We shall probe agreements, side deals, and the whereabouts of funding secured four years ago. We shall delve into MTA’s delayed tactics and dismantle any idea that further delays will be tolerated. We shall explore why some of these bridges must be closed now, when the construction is not slated to begin for another two years. We shall not spare the decision makers in this scheme. We shall challenge the assumptions that too many people have about our city and its value relative to the surrounding area.

LITIGATION: If we do not see immediate and concrete progress then we shall promptly seek relief from the courts. The MTA has a contractual and a legal obligation to maintain and replace Mount Vernon’s bridges. If by inaction, the MTA refuses to honor their legal obligation then we shall ask the courts to find them in breach and levy a penalty to be paid to Mount Vernon for every single day they delay bridge construction. By their failure, the MTA daily exposes the City of Mount Vernon to costly liability and litigation if an injury or damage occurs. This is an expense that Mount Vernon’s taxpayers can ill afford. The City Council will seek to protect its taxpayers.

My message to the MTA is simple: No more excuses! No more empty promises! Get it done! Now!

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

It is hard to imagine a time in politics or society that was more divisive than what we are facing today. Cults of personality create discord, amplifying the messenger instead of the message. Moderates and common sense have been the first casualties. It seems like everything these days is about picking sides. Donald Trump. The Alt-Right. The Alt-Left. Fascists. Anti-Fascists. Democratic-Socialists. Black Lives Matter. #MeToo. The list goes on and on. What they all have in common, it seems, is a stubborn inability to compromise, each believing they need to take increasingly extreme positions – each trying to outdo the other. This trend is not just happening at the national or state level, but it is infecting local politics, as well.

More disturbing (if that’s possible) is the obsession with what I call the politics of personal destruction. This is nothing other than a zero-sum game, whereby for any one person to succeed, another has to fail. There are no other possible outcomes. For every step forward, someone needs to be pushed back one step. It eliminates the possibility of collaboration and, yes, even compromise. It creates gridlock. Most importantly, though, it under serves the people we are sent here to represent. It’s worth taking a step back, sometimes, to remember that we are here to serve the people – and not ourselves. Good ideas are not a monopoly; it’s collective, belonging to everyone.

It’s worth remembering a few other things as well. First, government institutions are larger than the individuals that temporarily inhabit them. We owe the citizens a duty to hold those institutions in trust, strengthening them so that they will endure for the next generation who will occupy them and continue to serve those who have created them. So, no matter the office, if we take an oath to serve the people, we are merely custodians. We succeed those who came before us, knowing others will follow. It’s a big responsibility that, unfortunately, elected officials sometimes forget.

Which brings us to the second point: these institutions are inhabited by human beings – human beings who fail, make mistakes, and fall short of their own better nature. We must be cognizant of the fact that an individual’s failing is his or her own. We should not confuse or impute those failings with the government office they hold. That only does a disservice to our city and ourselves. There is no one among us who hasn’t failed at something in his or her life, who hasn’t tread the wrong path. And, we can and do pay for those mistakes. The institutions, though, survive. The community will pull together to overcome short-term challenges to its institutions. That is the brilliance of the system – it is more resilient and wiser than the individuals that inhabit it.

Finally, it is worth remembering that the politics of personal destruction are epitomized by one thing: personal attacks. Reasonable people can disagree. They often do. And, disagreement is a healthy thing in politics; it generates better ideas. But, reducing healthy disagreement into personal attack says more about the attacker than the target. It is just the zero-sum game being played out at an individual level. This is what we’re seeing in national politics, for sure, but it’s happening here, too. The message is being lost through all of the attacks on the messenger. Both sides of the aisle are equally to blame. They use lies, half-truths, and fake news to push their agenda, with the end goal being the personal destruction of there targeted of attacks. It only weakens our democracy by depriving it of qualified and competent leaders who going forward will not participate for fear of being attacked.

Whatever happens in the next few months, let’s remember these few points. Our community is not represented by the failings of any one individual, and our institutions are not flawed merely because flawed individuals inhabit them. We have a responsibility to ensure that our city is well represented no matter what happens. We have a responsibility to ensure that the narrative is a positive one; exemplifying the best examples our citizens have to offer. Above all, reveling in the weakness of another is not the same as being strong ourselves; we gain nothing because someone else loses everything.

Pursuing the politics of personal destruction, like all zero-sum games, ends in the same result: nothing. Mount Vernon is better than that. It always has been and always will be. So, no matter what the future holds, we will remedy any damage done by any one single leader. Whatever the future holds for our county or our city we will survive it together.

If you have any questions or comments on this topic or have other topics you’d like to see featured in a future column, e-mail me at ADWCMV@gmail.com.

Money is touted as ruling the world. The OJays sing about the love of money. We earn it and we spend it. What about the other aspects of money? Its extricable link to debt, credit, spending, saving, investing and wealth creation. Each directly impact the others. Saving instead of spending; timely payment of debt; limiting debt and investing are skills necessary for creating and maintaining wealth. These are all learned skills that are typically less practiced in Blacks and Hispanics household.

Our spending far exceeds our property/business ownership and investments. Case in point, Blacks spend $1.1 billion dollars on ethnic hair and beauty products – nearly nine times more than our non-Black counterpart: yet, much of the business are not owned by Black or Hispanics. Moreover, just in Mount Vernon alone Blacks account for 63% of the population and Hispanics 16.3%, but there is not one beauty supply shop owned and operated by either group.

The distribution of wealth in America is a little topsy-turvy. Ten percent of the nation’s population controls 90% of the nation’s wealth. That leaves 90% of the population (that’s us) controlling only 10% of our nation’s wealth.

When we make our purchases, we are often times contributing to the wealth of the top 10% (not us). We all need food, shelter, transportation, medicine and education. But, how do we use our money in ways to create personal wealth? Did you know that Warren Buffet one of the world’s wealthiest men, estimated to be worth $86.7 billion still lives in same house he purchased for $31,500 back in 1958? Or that by 1990, Bill Gates was worth $2.5B and was still flying economy class. You might think to yourself: “Well these examples don’t apply to me. Bill Gates and Warren Buffett had better opportunities than I did or ever will; moreover, they could enter places and sit at tables that I would never be invited. These guys are worth billions while I only have just a few dollars in my pocket. I just don’t identify with them.” And you would be correct on most counts. The point though is that wealth creation requires a plan, discipline and commitment. And that is something we can do. If you think not, then recall the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the economic distress it created for the offending bus company.

For 381 days, 1955 to 1956, Black people refused to use Montgomery transit system because of the bus company’s discriminatory practices. Black commuters chose instead to walk, use cars and truck pools. Despite suffering violent attacks, bombings and arrests, the boycotters persisted until they prevailed. Since 75% of the ridership were black, the absence of their patronage forced an end to the boycott. The boycotts from the civil rights era can teach us many things. It teaches us that even poor people with little education can determine how they spend their money. It also shows how we as individuals can affect policy by deciding how we purchase. It is a lesson in spending choice, discipline and commitment.

If we want to garner a greater share of the wealth distribution in this nation then we will need to educate ourselves. We need to learn the basic rules. Yes, just as sports have rules, so does wealth creation. We will need to understand the difference between the appearance of wealth and the substance of wealth. We will need to educate our children if for no other reason than they don’t squander the wealth we leave them. We need to learn the principles of running a successful business. We need to learn how to maximize our savings and investments. We need to learn how to save for retirement: it’s never too early. We need to learn how to use our spending to change policy. We need to understand how wealth creates financial security and widen our choices.

Some will shake their heads and say they are not interested in money management or that credit repair or wealth creation is boring stuff. Be reminded, that even the purchasing power of recent college graduates are lower relative to when their own parents graduated college. More young people live at home than ever before. If that’s not troubling enough. There are some medical school graduates who can’t afford to make ends meet. Student loan costs are going higher, wages are going lower and Washington is offering less help for low wage or no-wage earners. Help is not going to come from someone else. It’s time for self-sufficiency. Every man and woman must earn, save and invest for themselves and their families.

It’s almost impossible to exist in America without credit. Auto insurance companies check credit score before deciding cost of premiums. Many employers require credit score as a prerequisite to employment. Many business establishments will only take credit cards. In the world of online commerce, credit cards are the only options. Credit cards, mortgages and auto loans all rely upon a credit score. The lower the score the more it will cost to borrow money. The first step in wealth creation is to ensure you are not paying a high premium to borrow money. Luckily, we have financial experts in our own community who can help. On Saturday September 8, 2018 from Noon to 6pm, at 28 East First Street, Mount Vernon. There will be free seminar and workshops with financial literacy expert Jeff Broome (The Business Kings) and other guests who will provide valuable tips on budgeting, saving, improving credit, and putting you on the path to home ownership. Mr. Broome, I’m sure, will emphasize his important motto: Impress your Banker, Not your Friends! If we can raise the credit, we can raise the community!

This is also the venue for RapaCon/DJ-Con: “The Impact Of House Music On Hip Hop” The event celebrates the hybrid of Strictly Rhythm Beats and hip-hop breaks, responsible for some of the funkiest moments under the mirror ball from the 1980s to today.

For more information about the event and the free financial services offered this Saturday, visit https://rapacondjconimpactofhousemusic.eventbrite.com.

If you have any questions or comments on this topic or have other topics you’d like to see featured in a future column, e-mail me at ADWCMV@gmail.com.

See you on Saturday. This Saturday, September 8th from Noon to 6:00 pm at 28 East First Street, Mount Vernon. Come learn with us and celebrate with us.

Let’s get to work!

You’ve heard people say it a million times: “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” Those people probably didn’t live in Mount Vernon. As anyone who has spent any time here knows, that adage would read, “When we come to a bridge in Mount Vernon, it’s probably closed, and no one knows when we’ll get to cross it.”

Fully half of Mount Vernon’s downtown bridges are inaccessible – 3rd Avenue, 6th Avenue, 10th Avenue, and 14th Avenue. The other half are riddled with potholes and virtually impassable at peak times. At least two of these bridges (3rd Avenue and 10th Avenue) have been closed for more than a decade with no clear completion date in sight. To put that into some perspective, replacing just those two very short spans (approximately 60-100 feet each) over the Metro North tracks in downtown Mount Vernon, will take longer than building the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, the Mario Cuomo (new Tappan Zee) Bridge, the Empire State Building, the Erie Canal, the World Trade Center, the Barclays’ Center, and Citi Field – combined! It’s bizarre, unconscionable and, frankly, shameful.

As most Mount Vernon citizens know, these bridges are vital conduits for unifying our city. When the MTA built the New Haven line, it essentially split Mount Vernon in two – a North side and a South side. Socioeconomic forces have further divide the city along that same line. In Mount Vernon, the “other side of the tracks” is a sobering reality because it describes two very different and distinct communities. Having our bridges open will provide our residents with a sense of community; a unifying wholeness. And, it will do much to eliminate the division and sectional squabbling when certain residents are essentially cut off from the rest of their city. For many of them, those railroad tracks may as well be an impenetrable wall.

A bit of background here. Mount Vernon’s bridges, 11 in total, are jointly owned by the City of Mount Vernon and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and, as a result of historical agreements with previous railroads, the MTA is largely responsible for maintenance and replacement of them. The city does not have control over which bridges get fixed and/or when. It’s worth noting that many of these bridges date back to the 1890’s and some, unbelievably, still have wooden platforms on which the current road sits. To say that these structures are obsolete and have outlived their usefulness is a mammoth understatement. Yet, there they are.

The MTA has slated some of these bridges for replacement over the next few years, while the fate of others is to be addressed at an unknown time in the far future. But, even with the few that are to be repaired sooner, this schedule is too far in the future. These are extremely short bridges. If the political will is there, they could be replaced in weeks. Instead, the MTA’s Capital Plan reveals that they will require 16-30 months per bridge. By comparison, when the NYC Department of Transportation wanted to replace the Third Avenue Bridge connecting Manhattan and The Bronx – a 2,800-foot span (roughly 28 times longer than we’re talking about here!) – the entire bridge was built off-site while the old bridge remained operational. The completed structure was put into service in less than 3 months. The complexity of construction is not the issue. This is simply a matter of priorities.

Let’s be very clear here, the closures are not just a traffic nuisance; they are creating a health and safety crisis in our community. Montefiore Hospital and Mount Vernon’s Police Department sit just blocks away from the now-closed 6th Avenue bridge. In order to traverse the Metro North track, emergency responders are forced to find longer alternative routes. When minutes and seconds count, this could be the difference between life and death. Those routes are further constricted by closures of the other three downtown bridges. So, at the alternative route, our emergency personnel face traffic bottlenecks. This is a disaster waiting to happen. It creates a wicked probability calculus that boils down to a sad fact of geography: your chance of survival in an emergency situation is dramatically impacted by whether or not you live on this side or that side of the railroad tracks.

Here is another point of concern: what if parts or an entire bridge falls onto the Metro North tracks? And, what if this happens while a train is at the point of impact? Beyond the devastation to Mount Vernon motorists and pedestrians, there could be costly damage to property, and catastrophic injury to Metro North commuters and workers. There is little doubt that deferring these repairs is a short-sighted approach. And sadly, it also gives the appearance that these structures are being ignored because they are in Mount Vernon where people of color are in the majority, and the income level is lower than most Westchester neighborhoods. Yet, a bridge failure could and certainly will seriously Mount Vernon, as well as riders in New York and Connecticut.

Historically, a lot of hand-wringing and finger-pointing has occurred when questions are raised about why Mount Vernon’s bridges are left to literally rot while those of our surrounding communities are repaired. Despite valid questions and concerns, there is yet to be an answer that speaks to any immediate proposal to fix the bridges. Just holding up the mirror to those responsible and expecting a different result is not going to move these projects forward. Having righteousness on our side is great, but it’s not useful currency when infrastructure fails. It’s not going to get the ambulances to the hospital any faster or the Fire Department to the fire any quicker. We need more than just the moral high ground. In order to rebuild Mount Vernon’s bridges, we need to build some bridges of our own – with the MTA, with Westchester County, with Albany, and with Washington, D.C. Constructive, persistent, and regular dialogue needs to begin immediately and continue until we see concrete results.

It is imperative that Mount Vernon’s leadership make this a priority. We must make our case to our partners logically, persistently and in unison. We can no longer merely accept empty promises, instead, we must pursue significant outcomes. We must have a say in setting priorities. Most of all, we need to stop waiting for the MTA to “fit us into” their capital improvement plan. We must take the initiative to make our priority important to them. Lives are in jeopardy! A community is being divided. Our whole city is crippled by stakeholders who ignore our needs and overlook the ramifications of their inaction. It’s time to aggressively engage our partners. If they are not receptive then we need to work harder to make them receptive. We need to persist until real progress is made. We must consistently shine the spotlight on this problem until solved.

The issue with Mount Vernon’s bridges is, in some sense, symbolic of the challenges we continually face as a community. Mount Vernon was split down the middle to make it easier for other people’s travel through our city, at the cost of limiting our travel within our city. It’s not too much to ask that those who benefit, to do what is right and necessary on a timeline without further delay. We can choose to hope the status quo changes, or we can engage meaningfully with our partners in New York, Westchester, Albany, and Washington, D.C. to change the status quo.

This issue requires full-time leadership. It’s not one we can pursue half-heartedly or inconsistently. Neither can we accept empty promises nor pointless responses. It is a practical problem requiring focused attention, reliable solution and demonstrable results. The consequences of doing nothing could end up being counted in lives lost and not just dollars and cents. Bridge-building must become both our unified goal and our shared expectation of ‘common sense’ solutions. Take heed MTA; Mount Vernon goes on the record… we want our bridges repaired now!

Let’s get to work.

Communities succeed because they never give up on themselves, on their neighbors, on their institutions, or on their common values. When the leaders of Mount Vernon are united, they solve problems as well as any community in the country. When adversity occurs, often times a successful community relies on its foundation, shared strength, and hard work, to overcome adversity. Our community is increasingly divided and now faces a difficult test.

The choices we make together and the path we choose in the coming weeks and months will define Mount Vernon for years to come. The fork in the road ahead is an important decision that needs to be made. We can allow excuses to distract us or focus on facts. We can continue to assign blame that drives us to inaction or we can demand solutions. We can continue to let fear-mongering divide us or we can craft a way forward together.

Let’s not fool ourselves. Making excuses and assigning blame is a lot easier than doing the work, and all of us have fallen into that trap at least once in our lives. Unfortunately, there are those who practice this more than we’re willing to admit. But, we know that this is not the right path – because it leads to nowhere.

There’s an old saying that a person who believes they can and a person who believes they can’t are both right. As a community we need to call upon our collective strengths and values to embrace the idea that despite the difficulty, we can and we will find a solution together. If we work hard, remain united, and ignore the noise, Mount Vernon will succeed.

The good news is that progress is being made. Work is starting again at Memorial Field to keep Mount Vernon in compliance with its obligations to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and to avoid any additional fines. Active, productive discussions are being conducted by the City Council with the DEC on this front, as well as with Westchester County to take over the renovation of Memorial Field once we’ve satisfied our obligations to DEC.

The bad news is that this progress has only occurred through the intervention of legal counsel, a temporary restraining order against the Mayor, and the oversight of a judge. The City Council was asked by the court to come to the table with a plan for moving this project forward, and we provided one last week.

The City Council as a whole is committed to getting the renovation of Memorial Field completed in the shortest amount of time and at the lowest possible cost to Mount Vernon’s taxpayers. We renew our call for Mayor Thomas to join us as a full participant in that process.

Regarding the sewer system rehabilitation. The City Council has yet to be presented with an actionable plan from Mayor Thomas to address this serious issue and one that will satisfy the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and DEC. Once submitted, the plan will allow Mount Vernon to begin a constructive dialogue with those agencies outside of the court system. Weeks have passed already since the EPA and DEC filed suit against the city, yet nothing has been done.

If Mayor Thomas wants us to help him craft a plan to solve this problem in a responsible way, we will do so. As a former City Council member, he knows where to find us. We have invited him on numerous occasions to join the Council’s working sessions, and we will continue to extend that invitation. That’s where the work of Mount Vernon’s government gets done. Press conferences, radio interviews, and grandstanding have accomplished nothing. Moreover, they are not substitutes for the hard work that is required.

Just like Memorial Field, the City Council is prepared to act in the best interests of Mount Vernon with or without Mayor Thomas’ active contribution to the solution. Our focus and goal today remains the same as it has been for some time: just solve the problem and not waste time talking about what might happen if we don’t solve it or, who gets credit when we do. The City Council will continue to ensure that the processes that exist to protect the citizens of Mount Vernon are followed, respected, and most importantly, are effective in meeting the city’s current challenges.

Mount Vernon is a special place, filled with passionate citizens who want the best for their community. They deserve an equal measure of devotion from their elected leaders.

To succeed as a community we must come together as a community. We must work hand-in-hand to forge a way forward, recognizing that when we face adversity together, we become stronger collectively than we ever would be facing it alone. The path of assigning blame, letting fear drive our decision-making, and remaining divided is how we got into this mess, but it will not be the way we get out of it. When we do, the credit will belong not to any one person, but to the entire community, on whose wisdom and strength each of us relies on for support.

Let’s get to work.

It is hard to imagine anything more dangerous than ignorance in action, but when combined with governmental power, history tells us that the results are devastating. Countless wars have been started by men unable to manage or comprehend the great responsibility that comes with their positions of power. As we have heard many times, “power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” For this very reason, our governmental system has put checks and balances in place to protect us all. Sometimes, though, that’s not enough, and it takes the courage of individual citizens to hold up the mirror to injustice and expose it to the world.

It seems that chasing power, political or otherwise, has become an all-consuming obsession for too many people. They forget that the achievement of power is not an end in and of itself, but far greater, is the responsibility that comes with power. How you use it, then, is what makes the difference. Obtaining power in life does not make you a better or worse person; it just makes you more of what you were before you had it. In other words, power just magnifies the very essence of your being. For example, if you are a malicious person, power gives you more resources to do immoral things at a greater level, and, if you are a loving person, power gives you more access to do more caring things at a greater level.

Most importantly, power can never be taken lightly nor should it ever be used to destroy or diminish others. Just as a palm tree grows taller it must learn to bend more and more to accommodate the wind, people who grow powerful must learn to become even more humble, compassionate, and understanding towards others.

As elected officials, we can never forget that we borrow, by permission, the power of the people when we are voted into office. We can never forget that it is not our own power that we wield, but it is theirs. Elected officials have authority only because the citizens have temporarily entrusted their collective authority in us. Citizens who cast their vote are trusting that we will not abuse that authority and believes that we are truly capable of handling this power given for the single and sole purpose of charting a course to a better life for them. Elected officials, then, are granted an extraordinary opportunity with immense responsibility to serve honorably and with integrity. But what do we do when that power is misused?

This past week, a young woman by the name of Miesha Stokely completely immobilized the misuse and abuse of governmental power here in Mount Vernon. She demonstrated what sometimes the just is forced to do when faced with the unjust. Ms. Stokely operates a small business in Mount Vernon, selling cupcakes. Under the auspice of a questionable “city wide sweep,” she was harassed by government officials to produce paperwork or face the threat of having her business closed. Even after producing the necessary papers, certain Mount Vernon elected leaders sent police officers to padlock her business and shut her down. And, in an act of singular bravery in the face of power, Meisha Stokely simply refused to leave the premises of her business.

Ms. Stokely’s actions reminded me of a young Rosa Parks who on December 1, 1955 refused to give up her seat to a white man on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama; a simple action which would later become a lighting rod for change far beyond Montgomery. Likewise, Ms. Stokely’s refusal to bend to abusive power can catalyze the removal abusive elements from our government. If nothing else, this incident should wake us up Mount Vernon! Even if you don’t own a business this could happen to you in your homes, in your cars or just walking on the streets of Mount Vernon. I am truly inspired by this young woman, and horrified by the circumstances that led to her actions and I’m not alone. Other elected officials (not involved in the conspiracy to harass her), clergy members, business owners, and Mount Vernon citizens have also been inspired by her act of resistance to unchecked power designed merely to harass.

Since taking office in 2016, I have continuously quoted Dr. King’s call to action that “injustice here is injustice everywhere,” and some have taken issue with my firm stance against civil rights violation by the misuse and abuse of our government’s power and authority. Opposition to abuse and unchecked injustice is the people’s imperative. And, for my part, I will never apologize for taking the side of justice over injustice, no matter whomever it offends. Unfortunately, the illegal closing of businesses has happened far too many times in Mount Vernon. In the past couple of years, I’ve witnessed the illegal closing of Kela Tennis Center, OK Freddy’s, Mega Beverage, Levister Towers, and many others. This has to stop, and stop now!

Our collective voice is the most powerful weapon we wield against injustice. My appeal to you, Mount Vernon, is this: If we continue to say nothing or do nothing when faced with injustice then our silence will be construed as an acceptance of injustice. If we want to see change then we have to speak up. If we stand up on the side of justice and simple common decency and respect then we will find that we will not be alone because I and a great many good people will stand together. Like Ms. Stokely’s or Ms. Parks’ example, sometimes it just takes one person to remind all of us that real power belongs to the people who loan it to the government, and it is use it for misguided purposes.

Our institutions were designed with checks and balances to thwart the corrupted and to help the people. Our constitution bestows freedom equally to speak up. Ours is a democracy that holds elected officials accountable to the people and to the courts. Ms. Stokely stood strong against an injustice and has made a difference for everyone. Her justice is your justice, as well. Mount Vernon residents should never be afraid to challenge their government or stand up for what is right. Shared power is safe power.

Let’s get to work!

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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.

This weekend, I saw a little boy in tremendous pain, lying on one of our roads. His bike had hit a pothole so large; he was thrown off the bike and on to the street. It was heart-breaking to see and infuriating. We need to do better. This young child was just enjoying a summer’s day bike ride, and now he’s in pain. This is Mount Vernon’s governments’ fault and we are all to blame.

Citizens of Mount Vernon need to stop “tolerating” the condition of our streets and roads. We need to stop “accepting” the status quo as somehow normal. We need to assess our priorities. Nowhere in Westchester County are roads dangerous to drive, ride a bike or walk across a street. It’s too easy to get lulled into inaction slowly, over time. Mount Vernon’s streets are terrible and embarrassing. What does it say about us living with less for so long?

Our government must to do better. Citizens must demand more of our leaders and, if they don’t listen, we must hold them accountable – myself included. We must demand the best for our community and ourselves at all times.

It may start with our roads, but it ends with a better, more inspired community that sees problems and finds solutions. One that rolls up its sleeves and tackles challenges. One that takes pride in itself and looks out for its people, especially its most vulnerable.

Tonight, one of those citizens is in pain because we all failed him. He may not be the only one. It’s our responsibility, now, to roll up our sleeves. We’re not afraid of challenges here in Mount Vernon. Let’s stop thinking that what we have is good enough or that somehow we deserve it. Let’s not stop until we identify all of those things that our children have to fear today but, if we’re successful, should not have to even think about tomorrow.

Let’s get to work.

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