Mount Vernon, New York facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mount Vernon
City
Looking northeast at statue and Community Church of the Circle in Mt Vernon on a cloudy afternoon
Seal
Location within Westchester County and the state of New York
Country	United States
State	New York
County	Westchester
Incorporated (as a village)	1853
Reincorporated (as a city)	1892
Government
• Type	Mayor-Council
Area
• Total	4.41 sq mi (11.42 km2)
• Land	4.39 sq mi (11.38 km2)
• Water	0.02 sq mi (0.04 km2)
Elevation	108 ft (33 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	73,893
• Density	16,756/sq mi (6,470.5/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (Eastern)
Area code(s)	914
FIPS code	36-49121
GNIS feature ID	0957917

Mount Vernon is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is an inner suburb of New York City, immediately to the north of the borough of the Bronx. As of the 2020 census, Mount Vernon had a population of 73,893, making it the eighth most populous city in the state (2010).

Mount Vernon has two major sections. South-side Mount Vernon is more urban while north-side Mount Vernon is more residential. Mount Vernon's downtown business district is on the city's south side, which features the City Hall, Mount Vernon's main post office, Mount Vernon Public Library, office buildings, and other municipal establishments.

Description

Mount Vernon, the eighth-most populous city in the state of New York, has two major sections. Southside Mount Vernon is more urban, resembling the Bronx to the south, while Northside Mount Vernon is more residential. Mount Vernon's downtown business district is on the city's Southside, which features the City Hall, Mount Vernon's main post office, Mount Vernon Public Library, office buildings, and other municipal establishments.

History

South Fourth Avenue in the 1890s

Former trolley company building, Southside

In 1894, the voters of Mount Vernon (and nearby Yonkers) voted, along with the voters of Kings County (present day Brooklyn), Queens County, and Richmond County (present day Staten Island), in a referendum on whether or not they wanted to become part of a "Greater New York City". While the results were positive elsewhere, the returns were so negative in Mount Vernon and Yonkers that those two areas were not included in the consolidated city and remained independent.

Unlike neighboring Wakefield (in the Bronx), which was named after the plantation where George Washington was born, Mount Vernon was not named after a site associated with George Washington; the naming of the city of Mount Vernon precedes the eponymous Virginia plantation where Washington spent his final years. Anne Hutchinson founded the Westchester city in the 17th century and named it for its green mount (hence the name, Mount Vernon).

The Mount Vernon Public Library, a gift to the city from Andrew Carnegie, opened in 1904 and is now part of the Westchester Library System, providing educational, cultural and computer services to county residents of all ages.

During the 1960s, Mount Vernon was a divided city on the brink of a "northern style" segregation. Many blacks from the southern United States migrated north and settled in the city of Mount Vernon for better job opportunities and educational advancements. At the same time, many white Americans from the Bronx and Manhattan looked to Mount Vernon as a new "bedroom community" due to rising crime in New York City (a "white flight" factor entailed as well). As a result, Mount Vernon became divided in two by the New Haven Line railroad tracks of the Metro-North Railroad: Northside and Southside. The population south of the tracks became predominantly black, while that north of the tracks was largely white.

At the height of this segregation in the 1970s, August Petrillo was mayor. When he died, Thomas E. Sharpe was elected mayor. Upon Sharpe's death in 1984, Carmella Iaboni took office as "acting mayor" until Ronald Blackwood was elected; Blackwood was the first Afro-Caribbean mayor of the city (as well as of any city in New York State). In 1996, Ernest D. Davis was elected the mayor of Mount Vernon; he served until 2007. Clinton I. Young, Jr. became the city's mayor on January 1, 2008. Four years later, on January 1, 2012, Ernest D. Davis became the 21st mayor of Mount Vernon. In 2013, Davis was investigated for failure to report rental income. In 2015, Richard Thomas ran against Davis (and several other opponents) and defeated him in an upset victory during the September primary. Thomas had to run again in the November general election, where he received 71% of the votes to become the next Mayor of Mount Vernon.

Mount Vernon has in recent years undergone a transition from a city of homes and small businesses to a city of regional commerce. Between 2000 and 2006, the city of Mount Vernon's economy grew 20.5%, making it one of the fastest-growing cities in the New York metropolitan area.

Notable people

Geography

The corner of Gramatan and Grand Avenues in Fleetwood

Location

Mount Vernon is at 40°54′51″N 73°49′50″W / 40.914060°N 73.830507°W / 40.914060; -73.830507 (40.914060, -73.830507). It is the third-largest and the most densely populated city in Westchester County. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.4 square miles (11.4 km²), of which 0.015 square miles (0.04 km²), or 0.39%, is water.

Mount Vernon is bordered by the village of Bronxville and city of New Rochelle to the north, by the town of Pelham and village of Pelham Manor to the east, by the Hutchinson River and the Eastchester and Wakefield sections of the Bronx to the south, and by the city of Yonkers and the Bronx River to the west.

Elevation

Mount Vernon's elevation at City Hall is about 235 feet (72 m), reflecting its location between the Bronx River to the west and the Hutchinson River to the east. On a clear day, the Throgs Neck Bridge can be seen from 10 miles (20 km) away from many parts of the city, while at night, the bridge's lights can also be seen. The city's seal, created in 1892, depicts what were then considered the highest points in Mount Vernon: Trinity Place near Fourth Street, Vista Place at Barnes Avenue, and North 10th Street between Washington and Jefferson places. Since then, it was discovered that the city's highest elevation is on New York Route 22, North Columbus Avenue, at the Bronxville line.

Neighborhoods

Map of Mount Vernon's neighborhoods

The Circle at Lincoln and Gramatan Avenues

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

Downtown

Downtown Mount Vernon features the Gramatan Avenue and Fourth Avenue shopping district (known as "The Avenue" by locals) and the Petrillo Plaza transit hub, and houses the city's central government.

Downtown is in the same condition it was 40 years ago. It features the same mid-century architecture and format. Former mayor Clinton Young vowed to make Mount Vernon a new epicenter with a new central business district. His failed plans included establishing commercial office space and rezoning to allow high density development in the downtown, as well as affordable and market rate housing.

Mount Vernon Heights

Mount Vernon Heights' highly elevated terrain has earned the moniker "the rolling hills of homes". It is home to the city's commercial corridor, along Sandford Boulevard (6th Street).

Sandford Blvd (6th Street)—also known as "Sandford Square"—is a certified commercial corridor, which anchors businesses such as Bed Bath & Beyond, Best Buy, Colonial Plaza (a strip mall), CVS Pharmacy, Famous Footwear, Hooperstown, Petco, Restaurant Depot, Staples, Stop and Shop, and Target. Sandford Square attracts residents from Mount Vernon, nearby communities in Westchester County and the Bronx, and shoppers from as far away as Connecticut via the Merrit Parkway and I-95, which merge onto the Hutchinson River Parkway.

Most of the commercial development in this corridor has occurred since the 1980s. The area is still undergoing revitalization to encourage economic development within this 400-acre (1.6 km²) of land along and around the boulevard.

North Side

Fleetwood Welcome Sign

Mount Vernon's North Side is one of the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods in Westchester County. The northern part of the city consists of five neighborhoods: Chester Heights, Estate Manor/Aubyn Estates, Fleetwood, Huntswood, and Oakwood Heights. In Fleetwood, many large co-op buildings line the center of town, which is bisected by Gramatan Avenue. The Huntswood and Estates sections are more affluent areas on the border between Mount Vernon and the Village of Bronxville, with property values ranging from high $400,000 to millions of dollars for single houses.

South Side

Church in South Side

Mount Vernon's South Side, which abuts the The Bronx, resembles New York City and includes the neighborhoods Parkside, South Side and Vernon Park. Numerous industrial businesses are in Parkside, while the rest of South Side Mount Vernon features multi-family homes, apartment buildings, commercial businesses and housing projects.

South Side Mount Vernon features notable city landmarks such as Brush Park, Hutchinson Field, the Boys and Girls Club, and St. Paul's Church National Historic Site. NBA basketball player Ben Gordon, who is from the South Side, has dedicated two playgrounds to the city: one on South Eighth Avenue, and the other at the Mount Vernon YMCA Family Center.

Demographics

2020 census

Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.

2010 census data

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 67,292 people living in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 61.3% Black, 18.5% White, 0.3% Native American, 1.8% Asian, <0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.4% from some other race and 2.5% from two or more races. 14.3% were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Parks and recreation

The grandstand at Memorial Field

The city limits contain a number of city parks large and small, and Willson's Woods Park, a 23-acre (93,000 m²) county-owned park. One of the oldest parks in the county system, Willson's Woods offers a wave pool, water slides, and a spray deck and water playground, against the backdrop of an English Tudor style bathhouse. The park also has areas for picnicking and fishing.

Straddling the Fleetwood-Chester Heights border is Hunt's Woods, a county preserve taken over by the city in 1967. It is a small stretch of open woods with hiking and nature trails.

The grounds of Hutchinson Field, on the southbound side of the Hutchinson River Parkway, include many outdoor minor-league fields and a batting cage, as well as the Ice Hutch, a domed sports complex where ice hockey is played indoors during the winter and indoor golf and tennis are available year-round.

Adjacent to Hutchinson Field is the stadium-like Memorial Field, which contains a track for running, a soccer/football field, and a tennis court. Memorial Field is currently closed and awaiting renovations.

Hooperstown, a sports facility on Sanford Boulevard (at 6th Street), contracts basketball-court time to teams and leagues and use of the facility for baseball clinics. It also rents the facility to other businesses that may offer one-on-one training or fitness camps. It is not yet open to the public.

Events

Numerous events take place in Mount Vernon during the year, both indoors and outdoors. The city hosts many annual events, such as a Memorial Day parade, Ben Gordon Day (inspired by the NBA basketballer) in August, the Arts on Third Festival in September, and a Veterans Day parade.

In popular culture

Motion pictures

Advertising

Memorial Field in Mount Vernon was used to film the classic "Mean Joe Greene" Coca-Cola commercial in May 1979.

Films

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

• Dead Presidents (1995)
• Empty Places (1999)
• The Thomas Crown Affair (1999): shot a scene in Willson's Woods Park, which was transformed to look like Central Park; the Vernon Woods co-op complex was used to stage and store equipment during the scene.
• Riding in Cars with Boys (2001)
• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Television

Scenes from multiple TV shows have been shot in Mount Vernon, such as:

• The Leftovers
• The Suburbs (web series) (2008–present)

Economy

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

Mount Vernon has a large commercial sector, with industries such as electronics, engineering, high tech, historical metal restoration, and manufacturing mainly in the Southside section of the city.

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

Education

Hamilton Elementary

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

Westchester Community College has an extension site education facility, downtown.

In 2011, The Journal News featured an article titled "Region's Aging Schools Crumble as Finances Falter", by Cathey O'Donnell and Gary Stern. The article discussed several old school buildings within the region that were in disrepair, how much it would cost to fix them, and which if any might need to be demolished. The Mount Vernon school district was included in the article, which stated:

"In Mount Vernon, meanwhile, where a high school wall collapsed last year, inspectors flagged buildings for insufficient smoke detectors, poor air quality, evidence of rodents and vermin, halls without emergency lighting and junction boxes with exposed live wires."

Infrastructure and services

Fire department

The city of Mount Vernon is protected by the Mount Vernon Fire Department (FDMV). The FDMV currently operates out of four firehouses, throughout the city, under the command of a Deputy Chief each shift. The department operates four engine companies, three ladder companies, and one rescue company. The department responds to approximately 8,000 emergency calls annually.

Healthcare

The 115-year-old Mount Vernon Hospital has 228 beds. It is part of the Montefiore Health System and provides in-patient, critical care, and ambulatory services to residents of Mount Vernon and neighboring communities. The hospital is most known for its premier Chronic Wound Treatment and Hyperbaric Center, which is one of the most advanced in the Northeast. It also offers a variety of services, including the Assertive Community Treatment Center (ACT), the Family Health and Wellness Center, the Hopfer School of Nursing, Hyperbaric Medicine, and Intensive Case Management.

Mount Vernon Hospital is one of four hospitals in the county that provides programs in medicine, nursing, podiatry, and surgery. (Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital, Westchester Medical Center, and White Plains Hospital are the others.)

Mount Vernon Hospital's emergency room treats 25,000 patients a year and is going to be expanded at a cost of $2.5 million, doubling its size from 9,000 to 18,500 square feet (800 to 1,700 m²). The expansion plans include 15 private treatment rooms and upgrades to the waiting area, triage room and other areas in the emergency department.

The area around the hospital has many medical office buildings and treatment facilities which provide healthcare to residents living in Mount Vernon, the southeast section of Yonkers, and the north Bronx, which shares a border with the city. For example, Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic, the Planned Parenthood affiliate that serves New York's Putnam, Rockland, Suffolk and Westchester Counties, opened its first medical center in Mount Vernon in 1935; the affiliate remains a vital source for reproductive health care services to Mount Vernon residents.

Places of worship

The city's previous motto was "A City That Believes". This is reflected in the houses of worship in the city that represent more than 25 denominations.

Research has confirmed the tradition that Grace Baptist Church was founded in 1888 by a few women who formally had been enslaved and it discovered their names: Emily Waller, Matilda Brooks, Helen Claiborne, Sahar Bennett, and Elizabeth Benson.

Transportation

In late 2005, the RBA Group conducted a study and found that over 5,000 commuters traverse the area on a daily basis; about 3,600 commuters use the Westchester County Bee-Line Bus System, and 1,500 use the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Metro-North Railroad commuter rail service.

• Petrillo Plaza, adjacent to Metro North's Mount Vernon East station in downtown Mount Vernon, is the hub for Westchester's Bee-Line Bus System service in Mount Vernon. The Mount Vernon's taxi services operate from Petrillo Plaza as well.
• Bee-Line Bus routes serving Mount Vernon are 7, 40, 41, 42, 43, 52, 53, 54, 55, as well as the 91, which operates during the summer.
• A New York City Bus route (MTA) serves two blocks in Mount Vernon along the NYC border. The Bx16 travels along Mundy Lane (S. 11th Avenue) between W. 5th Street (Nereid Avenue) and W. Sandford Blvd (Pittman Avenue).
• The Metro-North's north–south Harlem Line stops at Mount Vernon West and Fleetwood, both on the western edge of Mount Vernon; the west–east New Haven Line stops at Mount Vernon East, in the heart of downtown.
• Both the 2 5 trains (IRT White Plains Road Line) and the 5 train (IRT Dyre Avenue Line) of the New York City Subway system have terminals just south of the Mount Vernon border, served by the Bee-Line. The 2 train terminates at 241st Street in Wakefield. The 5 train terminates at Dyre Avenue in Eastchester. Additionally, the 5 goes to Nereid Avenue during rush hours in the peak direction. Both locations are within 5 minutes walking distance of Southside Mount Vernon.

See also

In Spanish: Mount Vernon (Nueva York) para niños