Mount Vernon, New York
Encyclopedia
Mount Vernon is a city in Westchester County, New York
, United States. It lies on the border of the New York City
borough
of The Bronx
.
county. Northside Mount Vernon has a suburban presence with tree lined streets and close knit homes side by side while Southside Mount Vernon has a very urban feel, nearly mirroring its border with the New York City
Borough, The Bronx
. The city's downtown business district is also located on the city's southside, which features the City Hall, Office buildings, and other municipal establishments. Mount Vernon was named after the Virginia
plantation where George Washington
spent his final years, just as neighboring Wakefield was named after the plantation where he was born.
Mount Vernon has in recent years undergone a transition from a city of homes and mediocre 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 metropolitan area of New York. Mount Vernon is often considered a poster child for cities within the county for having such a large magnitude of diversity for a city of its size.
During the 1960s, Mount Vernon was a divided city on the brink of a "northern style" segregation. Many blacks from the South
came to the north and settled in the city of Mount Vernon for better job opportunities and educational advancements. At the same time, many Caucasians 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 by the New Haven Line railroad tracks of the Metro North
railroad into two parts north and south. The population of the "South Side" of the tracks became predominantly African American while the "North Side" 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. Mr. 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 in office until 2007. Clinton I. Young, Jr. became the city's mayor on January 1, 2008.
In the election held on November 3, 2009, Maureen Walker was re-elected as Comptroller. She ran unopposed.
Democrats Yuhanna Edwards, Karen Watts and Roberta Apuzzo won election to four-year council terms and Diane Munro was elected to fill a term that expires in two years.
. It has three elected full-time judges who serve for ten years and one part-time associate judge who is appointed by the mayor for a period of eight years. The Judges of the Court are William Edwards, Mark Gross, and Helen Blackwood. Adam Seiden serves as an Associate Judge of the court. The Court handles a wide variety of cases including initial processing of all felony criminal cases; handling of all misdemeanor cases from inception through trial; civil proceedings with a limited monetary jurisdiction of up to $15,000; all landlord tenant cases originating in the city; small claims cases; and all vehicle and traffic law matters. The court is housed in a state-of-the-art facility in the public safety complex which is adjacent to city hall.
Law enforcement services are provided by the Mount Vernon Police Department (New York).
, the city has a total area of 4.4 square miles (11.4 km²), of which, 4.4 square miles (11.4 km²) of it is land and 1.7 square miles (4.4 km²) of it (0.76%) is water.
Mount Vernon is bordered by Bronxville
and Eastchester
to the north, Pelham
and Pelham Manor
to the east by the Hutchinson River, New York City borough The Bronx to the south, and Yonkers
to the west by the Bronx River
.
"Mount" Vernon's elevation at City Hall is about 235 feet (71.6 m), reflecting its location between the Bronx River
to the west and the Hutchinson River to the east. From many parts of the City Throgs Neck Bridge
can be seen from 10 miles (16.1 km) away on a clear day and at night the bridge lights can be seen. The seal of the City, created in 1892, depicted 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.
Mount Vernon is typically thought to be divided into four major sections in four square miles: The North Side, the South Side, Mount Vernon Heights and Downtown.
. includes the neighborhoods: Parkside, and Southside. Numerous industrial businesses are located in Parkside, while the rest of Southside 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, and the Boys and Girls Club (made famous by Denzel Washington
who started attending the club when he was 6 and has often given the club credit for keeping him on the straight path), 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.
, Best Buy
, Petco
, Staples, Stop and Shop, Bed Bath & Beyond
, Famous Footwear
, Colonial Plaza, Hooperstown and Restaurant Depot.
Sandford Blvd is also a certified commercial corridor in the city attracting shoppers from nearby communities in the county as well as Bronx residents even as far away as Connecticut via the Merrit Parkway which merges onto the Hutchinson River Parkway
. Most of the commercial development has occurred since the 1980s. The area is still undergoing revitalization to encourage economic development within this 400 acres (1.6 km²) of land situated along and around the boulevard.
Downtown is currently in the same condition it was 40 years ago. It features the same mid-century architecture and format, little changed. It struggles to keep up with the surrounding communities' rapid development. The current mayor Clinton Young has vowed to make Mount Vernon a new epicenter
with a new central business district. His plans include establishing commercial office space and rezoning to allow high density development in the downtown as well as affordable and market rate housing.
Numerous events take place periodically during the year, both indoors and outdoors. The Ice Hutch is a domed sports complex where ice hockey
is played during the winter, located on the grounds of Hutchinson Field, on the southbound side of the Hutchinson River Parkway
. Indoor golf
and tennis
are also available at the Ice Hutch throughout the year. Outdoors at Hutchinson Field, there are many minor-league fields and a batting cage. Hooperstown, a sports facility located on Sandford Blvd (6th St), 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. Adjacent to Hutchinson Field is the stadium-like Memorial Field, which contains a track for running, a soccer/football
field, and a tennis court.
The city hosts many annual events, including a Memorial Day parade in May, a Veterans Day
parade which is held in November, and Ben Gordon Day in August.
sector which boosts the city's economy, with industries such as manufacturing
, electronics
, engineering
, and high tech
mainly located in the Southside section of the city. The city is home to the headquarters of Zelco Industries Inc., Unitex, and Clickable Enterprises Inc., as well as Capri Album Inc. and Spl Integrated Solutions' northeast branch. Mount Vernon is also home to Columbus Construction Co., who helped at Ground Zero
during the World Trade Center
cleanup in lower Manhattan
. Mount Vernon also has an established Empire Zone
for commercial and industrial use located in the southern portion of the city which has attracted manufacturing companies and nationally recognized businesses for major retailers and companies such as:
Mount Vernon is served by two different commuter railroad lines (Metro North's Harlem Line traveling north, and the New Haven Line traveling east) with a total of three station stops (Mount Vernon West, and Fleetwood on the Harlem Line and Mount Vernon East on the New Haven Line). Fleetwood, the former A&P supermarket was renovated in 2010, and is now a CVS pharmacy.
of 2000, there were 68,381 people, 27,048 households, and 18,432 families residing in the city. The population density
was 14,290.3 people per square mile (5,792.7/km2). There were 28,558 housing units at an average density of 7,205.9 per square mile (3,509.3/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 28.63% White, 59.58% African American, 0.32% Native American, 2.12% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 4.85% from other races
, and 4.44% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.48% of the population. A significant proportion of the population is of Brazilian origin, and they can be included into the categories of African American
, White
, Multiracial
and/or Latino
. Similarly, a significant part of the Black and/or Latino population is of Caribbean
origin.
There were 27,048 households out of which 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.9% were married couples
living together, 28.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.2% were non-families. 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.27.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.3% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 31.1% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 82.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 76.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $47,128, and the median income for a family was $55,573. Males had a median income of $41,493 versus $37,871 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $24,827. 13.9% of the population and 11.8% of families were below the poverty line. 12.7% of the population is 65 or older.
The city of 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).
According to estimates by the city and the Brazilian Consulate in New York, one in 10 people in Mount Vernon is from Brazil and two-thirds of those Brazilians are from Poços de Caldas
.
The Brazilian community is heavily concentrated in an area along and near West Lincoln Ave., from its beginning at the corner of Mt. Vernon Ave. going about half a mile down to Gramatan Ave. (N. Fourth Ave.), and has begun to expand into East Lincoln Avenue. Brazilian stores line commercial areas in these parts of Mount Vernon (especially within Gramatan Avenue [North Fourth Avenue]. from the railroad tracks to Lincoln Ave. and adjacent blocks), and neighborhood public schools have brought in teachers and counselors who speak Portuguese. The language can be heard on the streets throughout this area.
The Brazilians living in Mount Vernon have also transformed their Brazilian hometown, pumping millions of dollars into its economy and helping to pay for new homes and businesses there. So important are these remittances that Brazilian journalist Walther Alvarenga has made Mount Vernon the focus of a series of documentaries for Brazilian public television called New York, O Sonho Brasileiro ("New York, the Brazilian Dream").
In November 2005 Mayor Ernest D. Davis traveled to Poços de Caldas to sign a sister-city agreement to strengthen the bond between the two cities.
The Mount Vernon Public Library is the largest public library
system in Westchester County
and the sixth largest in New York State
.
Mount Vernon Hospital has 228-beds. It 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 (Sound Shore Medical Center, White Plains Hospital, and Westchester Medical Center are the others), which provides programs in medicine, nursing, surgery and podiatry. The hospital has “some of the finest medical doctor educators on staff. There is a 92 percent pass rate on boards for medical residents.”
Mount Vernon hospital's emergency room is going to be expanded at a cost of 2.5 million dollars. The 115-year-old hospital is doubling the size of its emergency room from 9000 square feet (836.1 m²) to 18,500. The expansion plans include 15 private treatment rooms and upgrades to the waiting area, triage room and other areas in the emergency department.
The hospital treats 25,000 patients a year in the emergency room and is part of the Sound Shore Health System.
The area around the hospital has many medical office buildings and facilities for treatment 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.
Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic, the Planned Parenthood affiliate that services Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Suffolk and Westchester Counties of New York, opened its first medical center in Mount Vernon in 1935, and the affiliate remains a vital source for reproductive health care services to Mount Vernon residents.
Westchester Community College
also has an extension site education facility located in the downtown.
, Portuguese
, Eritrea
n, India
n, Middle East
ern, and Brazil
ian to Mexican
, Gambian, Italian
, Jewish, Korean
, Puerto Rican
, and Jamaica
n. The city has a large Brazilian community located in the neighborhoods just north and east of the downtown, and it also has the largest West Indian and West Africa
n population in the county, these groups mainly occupy the southwest corner of the city nearer to The Bronx
borderline. The Korean-American association of Mount Vernon calls the city home. Throughout the year, the city hosts events that honor these groups for their contributions to the city of Mount Vernon. The city's previous motto was "A City That Believes". This is reflected in the houses of worship in the city that represent over 25 denominations.
Major ancestry groups reported by Mount Vernon residents include:
Selected Mayors: William Hart Hussey, Joseph Vaccarella, August Petrillo, Thomas E. Sharpe, Ronald Blackwood, Ernest D. Davis
(IMDB). The Thomas Crown Affair
(1999) shot a scene in Willson's Woods Park as it was transformed to look like Central Park
, with the Vernon Woods co-op complex being used to stage and store equipment during the scene.
A stadium in Mount Vernon was used to film the classic "Mean Joe Greene
" Coca-Cola
commercial in May 1979.
's novel The Pawnbroker
, the main character Sol Nazerman lives in Mount Vernon.
has three train stations in Mount Vernon. Mount Vernon East
is in the heart of downtown, on the New Haven Line. Mount Vernon West
and Fleetwood
on the Harlem Line are both on the western edge of the City. Petrillo Plaza, adjacent to the Mount Vernon East station in downtown Mount Vernon, is the hub for Westchester's Bee-Line Bus System
service in Mount Vernon. Bee-Line routes serving Mount Vernon are 7, 40, 41, 42, 43, 52, 53, 54, 55, as well as the 91 which operates during the summer. MTA NYC bus route serving two blocks in Mount Vernon are Bx16 [Mundy Lane (S. 11th Ave) between W. 5th Street (Nereid Avenue) and W. Sandford Blvd (Pittman Avenue)]. The Mount Vernon's taxi services operate from Petrillo Plaza as well. 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 Bee-Line Bus System
, and 1,500 use the Metro North railroad.
Both the 2
and 5
trains 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
(During rush hours the 5 also goes to Nereid Ave), and the 5 train terminates at Dyre Avenue in Eastchester
. Both locations are within 5 minutes walking distance of Southside Mount Vernon.
Mount Vernon is served by three of the county's busiest parkways which link to New York City, the Cross County Parkway
, the Bronx River Parkway
, and the Hutchinson River Parkway
. I-95
and I-87 are both less than a mile from Mount Vernon's borders, offering both passenger car and truck access to the area.
Westchester County, New York
Westchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. Westchester covers an area of and has a population of 949,113 according to the 2010 Census, residing in 45 municipalities...
, United States. It lies on the border of the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
borough
Borough (New York City)
New York City, one of the largest cities in the world, is composed of five boroughs. Each borough now has the same boundaries as the county it is in. County governments were dissolved when the city consolidated in 1898, along with all city, town, and village governments within each county...
of The Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
.
Overview
Mount Vernon is the eighth most populous city in the state of New York. It is a predominantly African-American city in a majority CaucasianCaucasian race
The term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...
county. Northside Mount Vernon has a suburban presence with tree lined streets and close knit homes side by side while Southside Mount Vernon has a very urban feel, nearly mirroring its border with the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
Borough, The Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
. The city's downtown business district is also located on the city's southside, which features the City Hall, Office buildings, and other municipal establishments. Mount Vernon was named after the Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
plantation where George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
spent his final years, just as neighboring Wakefield was named after the plantation where he was born.
Mount Vernon has in recent years undergone a transition from a city of homes and mediocre 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 metropolitan area of New York. Mount Vernon is often considered a poster child for cities within the county for having such a large magnitude of diversity for a city of its size.
During the 1960s, Mount Vernon was a divided city on the brink of a "northern style" segregation. Many blacks from the South
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
came to the north and settled in the city of Mount Vernon for better job opportunities and educational advancements. At the same time, many Caucasians from the Bronx and Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
looked to Mount Vernon as a new "bedroom community" due to rising crime in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
(a "white flight
White flight
White flight has been a term that originated in the United States, starting in the mid-20th century, and applied to the large-scale migration of whites of various European ancestries from racially mixed urban regions to more racially homogeneous suburban or exurban regions. It was first seen as...
" factor entailed as well). As a result, Mount Vernon became divided by the New Haven Line railroad tracks of the Metro North
Metro north
Metro North can refer to either of* Metro-North Railroad, a commuter railroad serving parts of New York and Connecticut in the United States* Dublin Metro#Metro North, a branch of the proposed Dublin Metro, in Dublin, Ireland...
railroad into two parts north and south. The population of the "South Side" of the tracks became predominantly African American while the "North Side" 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. Mr. 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 in office until 2007. Clinton I. Young, Jr. became the city's mayor on January 1, 2008.
Law and government
Mount Vernon is governed by a Mayor and a City Council. Currently serving in the second year of his first term is Clinton Young, mayor of the city, who is a Democrat. The City Council consists of five representatives. Each council member is elected at large and therefore represents all of the citizens of the city. As of April 2010, the City Council President is J. Yuhanna Edwards. The other members of the city council are Roberta L. Apuzzo, Diane Munro-Morris, Steven D. Horton, and Karen Watts. All members of the City Council are Democrats. The city also has an elected Comptroller. Maureen Walker is serving in her fourth term (16th year) as Comptroller.In the election held on November 3, 2009, Maureen Walker was re-elected as Comptroller. She ran unopposed.
Democrats Yuhanna Edwards, Karen Watts and Roberta Apuzzo won election to four-year council terms and Diane Munro was elected to fill a term that expires in two years.
Court system
The Mount Vernon city court is part of the New York State Unified Court SystemNew York State Unified Court System
The New York State Unified Court System is the official name of the judicial system of New York in the United States. Based in Albany, the New York State Judiciary is a unified state court system that functions under the Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals who is its...
. It has three elected full-time judges who serve for ten years and one part-time associate judge who is appointed by the mayor for a period of eight years. The Judges of the Court are William Edwards, Mark Gross, and Helen Blackwood. Adam Seiden serves as an Associate Judge of the court. The Court handles a wide variety of cases including initial processing of all felony criminal cases; handling of all misdemeanor cases from inception through trial; civil proceedings with a limited monetary jurisdiction of up to $15,000; all landlord tenant cases originating in the city; small claims cases; and all vehicle and traffic law matters. The court is housed in a state-of-the-art facility in the public safety complex which is adjacent to city hall.
Law enforcement services are provided by the Mount Vernon Police Department (New York).
Fire Department
The City of Mount Vernon Fire Department (FDMV) has a fleet of 5 engines and 3 trucks and operates out of 4 fire stations in the following locations:- Fire Station # 3 - 50 W. 3rd St.
- Engine 201(Reserve)
- Engine 203
- Tower Ladder 61
- Tower Ladder 64(Reserve)
- Deputy/Battalion Chief
- Fleet Maintenance Unit
- Command Cars
- Fire Station # 4 - 9-11 Oak St.
- Engine 202
- Engine 204
- Fire Station # 5 - 435 S. Fulton Ave.
- Engine 205
- Ladder 63
- Rescue 2
- Foam Unit
- Field Support Unit
- Squad Support Unit
- Utility Unit
- Fire Headquarters - Fire Station # 6 - 470 E. Lincoln Ave.
- Engine 206
- Ladder 62
Geography
Mount Vernon is located at 40.914060°N 73.830507°W (40.914060, -73.830507). It is the third largest and the most densely populated city in the county of Westchester. According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 4.4 square miles (11.4 km²), of which, 4.4 square miles (11.4 km²) of it is land and 1.7 square miles (4.4 km²) of it (0.76%) is water.
Mount Vernon is bordered by Bronxville
Bronxville, New York
Bronxville is an affluent village within the town of Eastchester, New York, in the United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located approximately north of midtown Manhattan in southern Westchester County. At the 2010 census, Bronxville had a population of 6,323...
and Eastchester
Eastchester (town), New York
Eastchester is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 32,363 at the 2010 census. The town includes the villages of Bronxville and Tuckahoe.The Town of Eastchester is in the south part of the county.- History :...
to the north, Pelham
Pelham, New York
Pelham, New York is the name of two locations in Westchester County, New York:*Pelham , New York, the Town of Pelham*Pelham Manor , New York, the Village of Pelham Manor*Pelham , New York, the Village of Pelham...
and Pelham Manor
Pelham Manor, New York
Pelham Manor is a village located in Westchester County, New York, USA. As of the 2010 census, the village had a total population of 5,486. It is located in the town of Pelham.- Demographics :...
to the east by the Hutchinson River, New York City borough The Bronx to the south, and Yonkers
Yonkers, New York
Yonkers is the fourth most populous city in the state of New York , and the most populous city in Westchester County, with a population of 195,976...
to the west by the Bronx River
Bronx River
The Bronx River, approximately long, flows through southeast New York in the United States. It is named after colonial settler Jonas Bronck. The Bronx River is the only fresh water river in New York City....
.
"Mount" Vernon's elevation at City Hall is about 235 feet (71.6 m), reflecting its location between the Bronx River
Bronx River
The Bronx River, approximately long, flows through southeast New York in the United States. It is named after colonial settler Jonas Bronck. The Bronx River is the only fresh water river in New York City....
to the west and the Hutchinson River to the east. From many parts of the City Throgs Neck Bridge
Throgs Neck Bridge
The Throgs Neck Bridge is a suspension bridge opened on January 11, 1961, which carries Interstate 295 over the East River where it meets the Long Island Sound. The bridge connects the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx with the Bay Terrace section of Queens...
can be seen from 10 miles (16.1 km) away on a clear day and at night the bridge lights can be seen. The seal of the City, created in 1892, depicted 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
North Side
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: Fleetwood, Chester Heights, Huntswood, Estate Manor/Aubyn Estates, and Oakwood Heights. In Fleetwood, there are many large co-op buildings lining the center of town, which is bisected by Gramatan Avenue. The Huntswood and Estates sections are more affluent areas that are 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
Mount Vernon's South Side, heavily urban influenced resembling The Bronx and the rest of New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. includes the neighborhoods: Parkside, and Southside. Numerous industrial businesses are located in Parkside, while the rest of Southside 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, and the Boys and Girls Club (made famous by Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington
Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter, director, and film producer. He first rose to prominence when he joined the cast of the medical drama, St. Elsewhere, playing Dr...
who started attending the club when he was 6 and has often given the club credit for keeping him on the straight path), 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.
Mount Vernon Heights
Mount Vernon Heights highly elevated terrain has named it "The rolling hills of homes". It is home to the city's commercial corridor Sandford Square known as Sandford Boulevard (6th Street), which anchors businesses such as TargetTarget Corporation
Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...
, Best Buy
Best Buy
Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, accounting for 19% of the market. It also operates in Mexico, Canada & China. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, CinemaNow, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and, in Canada operates...
, Petco
PETCO
PETCO is a chain of retail stores that offers pet supplies and services such as grooming and dog training. Founded in 1965 and incorporated in Delaware, it is headquartered in San Diego, California...
, Staples, Stop and Shop, Bed Bath & Beyond
Bed Bath & Beyond
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. was formed in 1971 and today operates a chain of domestic merchandise retail stores across United States, Puerto Rico and Canada. They feature mostly medium-ranged, but also a limited selection of high quality, domestic merchandise: items for the bedroom, bathroom, kitchen,...
, Famous Footwear
Famous Footwear
Famous Footwear is a nationwide chain of retail stores in the United States dealing in branded footwear, generally at prices discounted from manufacturer's suggested prices. Established in 1960 as a single store, "Famous" is regarded as both a forerunner and champion of the trend towards the...
, Colonial Plaza, Hooperstown and Restaurant Depot.
Sandford Blvd is also a certified commercial corridor in the city attracting shoppers from nearby communities in the county as well as Bronx residents even as far away as Connecticut via the Merrit Parkway which merges onto the Hutchinson River Parkway
Hutchinson River Parkway
The Hutchinson River Parkway is a north–south parkway in southern New York, United States. It extends for from the massive Bruckner Interchange in the Throgs Neck section of the Bronx to the New York – Connecticut state line at Rye Brook...
. Most of the commercial development has occurred since the 1980s. The area is still undergoing revitalization to encourage economic development within this 400 acres (1.6 km²) of land situated along and around the boulevard.
Downtown
Downtown Mount Vernon features Gramatan and Fourth Avenue shopping district (known as "The Avenue" by locals), Petrillo Plaza transit hub and also houses the city's central government.Downtown is currently in the same condition it was 40 years ago. It features the same mid-century architecture and format, little changed. It struggles to keep up with the surrounding communities' rapid development. The current mayor Clinton Young has vowed to make Mount Vernon a new epicenter
Epicenter
The epicenter or epicentre is the point on the Earth's surface that is directly above the hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or underground explosion originates...
with a new central business district. His plans include establishing commercial office space and rezoning to allow high density development in the downtown as well as affordable and market rate housing.
Recreation
Within the city are a number of city parks large and small, and Willson's Woods Park, a 23 acres (93,077.8 m²) county-owned park. One of the oldest parks in the county system, Willson's Woods offers a wave pool, water slides, 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 border of Fleetwood and Chester Heights 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.Numerous events take place periodically during the year, both indoors and outdoors. The Ice Hutch is a domed sports complex where ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
is played during the winter, located on the grounds of Hutchinson Field, on the southbound side of the Hutchinson River Parkway
Hutchinson River Parkway
The Hutchinson River Parkway is a north–south parkway in southern New York, United States. It extends for from the massive Bruckner Interchange in the Throgs Neck section of the Bronx to the New York – Connecticut state line at Rye Brook...
. Indoor golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
and tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
are also available at the Ice Hutch throughout the year. Outdoors at Hutchinson Field, there are many minor-league fields and a batting cage. Hooperstown, a sports facility located on Sandford Blvd (6th St), 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. Adjacent to Hutchinson Field is the stadium-like Memorial Field, which contains a track for running, a soccer/football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
field, and a tennis court.
The city hosts many annual events, including a Memorial Day parade in May, a Veterans Day
Veterans Day
Veterans Day, formerly Armistice Day, is an annual United States holiday honoring military veterans. It is a federal holiday that is observed on November 11. It coincides with other holidays such as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day, which are celebrated in other parts of the world and also mark...
parade which is held in November, and Ben Gordon Day in August.
Economy
Mount Vernon has a large commercialCommerce
While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...
sector which boosts the city's economy, with industries such as manufacturing
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
, electronics
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
, engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
, and high tech
High tech
High tech is technology that is at the cutting edge: the most advanced technology currently available. It is often used in reference to micro-electronics, rather than other technologies. The adjective form is hyphenated: high-tech or high-technology...
mainly located in the Southside section of the city. The city is home to the headquarters of Zelco Industries Inc., Unitex, and Clickable Enterprises Inc., as well as Capri Album Inc. and Spl Integrated Solutions' northeast branch. Mount Vernon is also home to Columbus Construction Co., who helped at Ground Zero
Ground zero
The term ground zero describes the point on the Earth's surface closest to a detonation...
during the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
cleanup in lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York...
. Mount Vernon also has an established Empire Zone
Empire Zone
An Empire Zone is an area of up to two non-contiguous miles, in which tax incentives are offered by the state of New York, under the Empire Zones Program. This program was designed to bring new businesses and jobs to the state. In 1999, the New York State Economic Development Zones program became...
for commercial and industrial use located in the southern portion of the city which has attracted manufacturing companies and nationally recognized businesses for major retailers and companies such as:
- Tiffany & Company
- Closets By Design
- Bergamo Fabrics
- Beacon Adhesives
- Window Modes
- Esm/Bekins Movers
- HalCraft USA
- Granite Tops USA
- WDF Greene
- OWN Instruments
- Furniture Restoration
- Metal Man Restoration LLC
- Formasano
- Century 21 Awnings
- Travers & Company
- Complete Plumbing & Heating
- Megamat Laundromat
Mount Vernon is served by two different commuter railroad lines (Metro North's Harlem Line traveling north, and the New Haven Line traveling east) with a total of three station stops (Mount Vernon West, and Fleetwood on the Harlem Line and Mount Vernon East on the New Haven Line). Fleetwood, the former A&P supermarket was renovated in 2010, and is now a CVS pharmacy.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 68,381 people, 27,048 households, and 18,432 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 14,290.3 people per square mile (5,792.7/km2). There were 28,558 housing units at an average density of 7,205.9 per square mile (3,509.3/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 28.63% White, 59.58% African American, 0.32% Native American, 2.12% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 4.85% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 4.44% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.48% of the population. A significant proportion of the population is of Brazilian origin, and they can be included into the categories of African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
, White
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
, Multiracial
Multiracial
The terms multiracial and mixed-race describe people whose ancestries come from multiple races. Unlike the term biracial, which often is only used to refer to having parents or grandparents of two different races, the term multiracial may encompass biracial people but can also include people with...
and/or Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
. Similarly, a significant part of the Black and/or Latino population is of Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
origin.
There were 27,048 households out of which 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.9% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 28.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.2% were non-families. 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.27.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.3% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 31.1% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 82.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 76.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $47,128, and the median income for a family was $55,573. Males had a median income of $41,493 versus $37,871 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $24,827. 13.9% of the population and 11.8% of families were below the poverty line. 12.7% of the population is 65 or older.
The city of 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).
According to estimates by the city and the Brazilian Consulate in New York, one in 10 people in Mount Vernon is from Brazil and two-thirds of those Brazilians are from Poços de Caldas
Poços de Caldas
Poços de Caldas is a city and municipality in south-western Minas Gerais state, Brazil, in the microregion of the same name. Its estimated population in 2009 was 151,449 inhabitants...
.
The Brazilian community is heavily concentrated in an area along and near West Lincoln Ave., from its beginning at the corner of Mt. Vernon Ave. going about half a mile down to Gramatan Ave. (N. Fourth Ave.), and has begun to expand into East Lincoln Avenue. Brazilian stores line commercial areas in these parts of Mount Vernon (especially within Gramatan Avenue [North Fourth Avenue]. from the railroad tracks to Lincoln Ave. and adjacent blocks), and neighborhood public schools have brought in teachers and counselors who speak Portuguese. The language can be heard on the streets throughout this area.
The Brazilians living in Mount Vernon have also transformed their Brazilian hometown, pumping millions of dollars into its economy and helping to pay for new homes and businesses there. So important are these remittances that Brazilian journalist Walther Alvarenga has made Mount Vernon the focus of a series of documentaries for Brazilian public television called New York, O Sonho Brasileiro ("New York, the Brazilian Dream").
In November 2005 Mayor Ernest D. Davis traveled to Poços de Caldas to sign a sister-city agreement to strengthen the bond between the two cities.
Health and education
Mount Vernon City School District consist of 11 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, 2 high schools and 1 alternative high school.| Elementary Schools | Middle Schools | High Schools |
|---|---|---|
| Cecil H. Parker | A.B. Davis Middle | Mount Vernon High Mount Vernon High School (New York) Mount Vernon High School is a high school in the City of Mount Vernon in Westchester County, New York, and is part of the Mount Vernon City School District.-Basketball:Mount Vernon is a perennial powerhouse in the State of New York as well as the nation.... |
| Columbus | Longfellow Middle | Nellie A. Thorton High |
| Edward Williams | Nelson Mandela Alternative | |
| Graham School | ||
| Grimes | ||
| Hamilton | ||
| Lincoln | ||
| Longfellow | ||
| Pennington Grimes | ||
| Traphagen | ||
| William H. Holmes |
The Mount Vernon Public Library is the largest public library
Public library
A public library is a library that is accessible by the public and is generally funded from public sources and operated by civil servants. There are five fundamental characteristics shared by public libraries...
system in Westchester County
Westchester County, New York
Westchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. Westchester covers an area of and has a population of 949,113 according to the 2010 Census, residing in 45 municipalities...
and the sixth largest in New York State
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Mount Vernon Hospital has 228-beds. It 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 (Sound Shore Medical Center, White Plains Hospital, and Westchester Medical Center are the others), which provides programs in medicine, nursing, surgery and podiatry. The hospital has “some of the finest medical doctor educators on staff. There is a 92 percent pass rate on boards for medical residents.”
Mount Vernon hospital's emergency room is going to be expanded at a cost of 2.5 million dollars. The 115-year-old hospital is doubling the size of its emergency room from 9000 square feet (836.1 m²) to 18,500. The expansion plans include 15 private treatment rooms and upgrades to the waiting area, triage room and other areas in the emergency department.
The hospital treats 25,000 patients a year in the emergency room and is part of the Sound Shore Health System.
The area around the hospital has many medical office buildings and facilities for treatment 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.
Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic, the Planned Parenthood affiliate that services Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Suffolk and Westchester Counties of New York, opened its first medical center in Mount Vernon in 1935, and the affiliate remains a vital source for reproductive health care services to Mount Vernon residents.
Westchester Community College
Westchester Community College
Westchester Community College is a public, two-year community college in Valhalla, New York, sponsored by Westchester County, New York, and the State University of New York . The college is one of 30 community colleges affiliated with SUNY....
also has an extension site education facility located in the downtown.
Culture and ancestry
The city has an enormously diverse population for its size. Over 98 different nationalities call the city home. In just four square miles the ethnic background of the people range from GermanGermans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
, Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
, Eritrea
Eritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
n, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n, Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
ern, and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian to Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Gambian, Italian
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
, Jewish, Korean
Korean people
The Korean people are an ethnic group originating in the Korean peninsula and Manchuria. Koreans are one of the most ethnically and linguistically homogeneous groups in the world.-Names:...
, Puerto Rican
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, and Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n. The city has a large Brazilian community located in the neighborhoods just north and east of the downtown, and it also has the largest West Indian and West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
n population in the county, these groups mainly occupy the southwest corner of the city nearer to The Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
borderline. The Korean-American association of Mount Vernon calls the city home. Throughout the year, the city hosts events that honor these groups for their contributions to the city of Mount Vernon. The city's previous motto was "A City That Believes". This is reflected in the houses of worship in the city that represent over 25 denominations.
Major ancestry groups reported by Mount Vernon residents include:
- BlackBlack peopleThe term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
or African AmericanAfrican AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
- 60% - West Indian (excluding HispanicHispanicHispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
groups) - 17% - JamaicaJamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n - 13% - ItalianItalian peopleThe Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
- 11% - IrishIrish peopleThe Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
- 4% - TrinidadianTrinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
- 3% - Puerto RicanPuerto RicoPuerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
- 3% - German - 3%
- PortuguesePortuguese peopleThe Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
- 2% - MexicanMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
- 2% - Other HispanicHispanicHispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
or LatinoLatinoThe demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
- 2%
- Sub-Saharan African - 3%
- Asian Indian - 2%
- BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian - 2% - Polish - 1%
- West Indian - 1%
- HaitiHaitiHaiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
an - 1% - South AmericaSouth AmericaSouth America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
n - 1% - Dominican RepublicDominican RepublicThe Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
- 1% - EnglishEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
- 1%
- GuyaneseGuyanaGuyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
- 1% - Russian - 1%
- BarbadianBarbadosBarbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
- 1% - Central AmericaCentral AmericaCentral America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
n: - 1% - British West Indian - 1%
- Greek - 1%
- ColombiaColombiaColombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
n - 1% - FrenchFrench peopleThe French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
(except BasqueBasque peopleThe Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...
) - 1%
Notable persons from Mount Vernon
Each of the following was born, was raised, or lived in Mount Vernon.- Lou AlbanoLou AlbanoLouis Vincent "Captain Lou" Albano was an Italian-American professional wrestler, manager and actor. He was active as a professional wrestler from 1953 until 1969, then he became a manager, until 1995....
- Ralph BrancaRalph BrancaRalph Theodore Joseph Branca is a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball.From 1944 through 1956, Branca played for the Brooklyn Dodgers , Detroit Tigers , and New York Yankees...
- John BrancaJohn BrancaJohn G. Branca is an entertainment lawyer who specializes in representing rock and roll acts, as well as independent investors, music publishing catalogs, and independent music labels...
- Art CarneyArt CarneyArthur William Matthew “Art” Carney was an American actor in film, stage, television and radio. He is best known for playing Ed Norton, opposite Jackie Gleason's Ralph Kramden in the situation comedy The Honeymooners....
- David ChaseDavid ChaseDavid Chase is an American writer, director, and producer of television series. Chase has worked in television for more than 30 years; he has produced and written for shows as The Rockford Files, I'll Fly Away, and Northern Exposure. He has created two original series; the first, Almost Grown,...
- Dick Clark
- Larry Cohen (bridge)
- Ossie DavisOssie DavisOssie Davis was an American film actor, director, poet, playwright, writer, and social activist.-Early years:...
- Ruby DeeRuby DeeRuby Dee is an American actress, poet, playwright, screenwriter, journalist, and activist, perhaps best known for co-starring in the film A Raisin in the Sun and the film American Gangster for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.-Early years:Dee was born Ruby...
- P. Diddy
- DJ Eddie FEddie FEdward "DJ Eddie F" Ferrell is the co-founder, partner, and DJ of the Uptown Records rap group Heavy D & the Boyz. Ferrell is a producer, arranger, songwriter, executive and entrepreneur serving as CEO and President of Untouchables Entertainment Group, the parent company of his Closter, New Jersey...
- Damion EasleyDamion EasleyJacinto Damion Easley is a former Major League Baseball player who is currently Executive Director of Warrior Baseball Academy. He is also an assistant coach for the Peoria Padres.-Biography:...
- Linda FairsteinLinda FairsteinLinda Fairstein is an American feminist author and former prosecutor focusing on crimes of violence against women and children. She served as head of the sex crimes unit of the Manhattan District Attorney's office from 1976 until 2002 and is the author of a series of novels featuring Manhattan...
- Elise FinchElise FinchElise Finch is an American news journalist and currently a weekend weather anchor for WCBS-TV in New York City. She was a weathercaster at NBC's national forecasting service 'NBC Weather Plus' from December 2004 to December 2006 and also worked for MSNBC. Before that she was at KAAL in Austin,...
- Seth GodinSeth GodinSeth Godin is an American entrepreneur, author and public speaker. Godin popularized the topic of permission marketing.-Background:...
- Ben Gordon
- Paul Grassi
- Rudy HackettRudy HackettRudolph Hackett is a retired American professional basketball player. He was a 6'9" and 210 lb forward and played collegiately at Syracuse University....
- Mark HarrisMark Harris (author)Mark Harris was an American novelist, literary biographer, and educator.-Early life:Harris was born Mark Harris Finklestein in Mount Vernon, New York to Carlyle and Ruth Klausner Finkelstein...
- Heavy D
- W.C. Heinz
- Michael ImperioliMichael ImperioliJames Michael Imperioli , commonly known as Michael Imperioli, is an American actor and television writer. He is perhaps best known for his role as Christopher Moltisanti on The Sopranos for which he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2004. He also...
- Kay JohnsonKay JohnsonKay Johnson was an American actress who performed on the stage and in Hollywood films.-Family:Catherine Townsend Johnson was born in Mount Vernon, New York in 1904. Her father was architect Thomas R. Johnson who designed several noteworthy buildings in the New York City...
- Andy KarlAndy KarlAndy Karl is an American actor and singer, best known for performing in musical theatre. He has appeared on Broadway in the original productions of Legally Blonde and 9 to 5, as well as appearing in Wicked.-Early life:...
- Roz KellyRoz KellyRoz Kelly is an American actress, perhaps best known for playing Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli's girlfriend Carol "Pinky" Tuscadero on the hit television series Happy Days.-Before Happy Days:...
- Harvey KurtzmanHarvey KurtzmanHarvey Kurtzman was an American cartoonist and the editor of several comic books and magazines. Kurtzman often signed his name H. Kurtz, followed by a stick figure Harvey Kurtzman (October 3, 1924, Brooklyn, New York – February 21, 1993) was an American cartoonist and the editor of several comic...
- Benton MacKayeBenton MacKayeBenton MacKaye was an American forester, planner and conservationist. He was born in Stamford, Connecticut; his father was actor and dramatist Steele MacKaye. After studying forestry at Harvard University , Benton later taught there for several years. He joined a number of Federal bureaus and...
- Rodney McCrayRodney McCray (basketball)Rodney Earl McCray is a retired American basketball player. A 6'7" small forward, he spent ten seasons in the National Basketball Association, tallying 9,014 career points and 5,087 career rebounds.Rodney McCray attended the University of Louisville and was a key member of the Cardinals team...
- Scooter McCrayScooter McCrayCarlton Lamont "Scooter" McCray is a retired American professional basketball player. He had a career in the NBA from 1983–87. He was selected large-school player of the year in 1978 by the New York State Sportswriters Association after his senior season at Mount Veron High School...
- Robert MosbacherRobert MosbacherRobert Adam Mosbacher, Sr. , was an American businessman, accomplished yacht racer, and a Republican politician. In sailing, Sports Illustrated called him "the unquestioned master of fleet racing." In business in 1954, he found a million-dollar field of natural gas in South Texas...
- Asia NitollanoAsia NitollanoAsia Nitollano is an American singer, dancer, model and cheerleader. After winning the television series Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll, Nitollano became a member of the Pussycat Dolls, only to leave a few months later to pursue a solo career.-Early life:Nitollano was born...
- Phylicia RashadPhylicia RashadPhylicia Rashād is an American Tony Award winning actress and singer, best known for her role as Clair Huxtable on the long-running NBC sitcom The Cosby Show....
- Leon RobinsonLeon RobinsonLeon Preston Robinson IV usually credited as simply Leon, is an American actor and singer, who began his professional career as an actor in 1981.-Personal life:...
- Pete RockPete RockPeter Phillips , better known by his stage name Pete Rock, is an American record producer, DJ and rapper. He rose to prominence in the early 1990s as one half of the critically acclaimed group Pete Rock & CL Smooth...
- Wayne Allyn RootWayne Allyn RootWayne Allyn Root is an American politician, entrepreneur, television and radio personality, author and political commentator. He was the 2008 Libertarian Party vice-presidential nominee. In June 2009 Richard Winger wrote he was the front runner for the 2012 Libertarian Presidential nomination...
- Ken SingletonKen SingletonKenneth Wayne Singleton is an American former professional baseball player and current television sports commentator. He played as an outfielder and designated hitter in Major League Baseball for the New York Mets, Montreal Expos, and Baltimore Orioles.-Baseball career:Born in Manhattan, New York...
- Betty ShabazzBetty ShabazzBetty Shabazz , born Betty Dean Sanders and also known as Betty X, was an American educator and civil rights advocate. She was the wife of Malcolm X....
- Davetta SherwoodDavetta SherwoodDavetta Sherwood is an American actress and musician. Sherwood first worked as a child model before venturing into an acting career including appearing in music videos and guest appearances...
- Roy SmithRoy Smith (1980s pitcher)Le Roy Purdy Smith is a former professional baseball pitcher and executive. He played all or part of eight seasons in Major League Baseball from until . He is currently a scout for the New York Mets.-Playing career:...
- CL SmoothCL SmoothCL Smooth is an American rapper, poet, and is best known as the vocal half of the hip-hop duo Pete Rock & CL Smooth....
- J. B. SmooveJ. B. SmooveJerry Brooks , better known by his stage name J.B. Smoove, is an American actor, writer and stand-up comedian, who began his TV career on Russell Simmons Def Comedy Jam in the early '90's...
- Robin GivensRobin GivensRobin Simone Givens is an American model and film, television, and stage actress. She is best known for her role as Darlene Merriman on the television series Head of the Class.-Early life:...
- Al B. Sure!Al B. Sure!Albert Jason Brown III is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He grew up in Leonia, New Jersey and Mount Vernon, New York. During the late 1980s under the stage name Al B...
- Denzel WashingtonDenzel WashingtonDenzel Hayes Washington Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter, director, and film producer. He first rose to prominence when he joined the cast of the medical drama, St. Elsewhere, playing Dr...
- E.B. White
- Eddie WilliamsEddie WilliamsEdward Laquan Williams is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and third baseman....
- Gus Williams
- Ray WilliamsRay Williams (basketball)Thomas Ray Williams, known as Ray Williams , is a retired American professional basketball player in the NBA. He is 6'2½" and 188 lb guard. He averaged 15.5 points per game and 5.8 assists per game during his NBA career, with a career-high of 20.9 points per game with the New York Knicks in 1979-80...
- Sylvia WoodsSylvia WoodsSylvia Woods opened the African American restaurant Sylvia's in Harlem on Lenox Avenue, New York, NY. The soul food eatery is a popular gathering place not far from the Apollo Theater....
- Malcolm XMalcolm XMalcolm X , born Malcolm Little and also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz , was an African American Muslim minister and human rights activist. To his admirers he was a courageous advocate for the rights of African Americans, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its...
- Sidney PoitierSidney PoitierSir Sidney Poitier, KBE is a Bahamian American actor, film director, author, and diplomat.In 1963, Poitier became the first black person to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Lilies of the Field...
- Lionel StanderLionel StanderLionel Jay Stander was an American actor in films, radio, theater and television.-Early life and career:Lionel Stander was born in The Bronx, New York, to Russian Jewish immigrants, the first of three children...
- Floyd PattersonFloyd PattersonFloyd Patterson was an American heavyweight boxer and former undisputed heavyweight champion. At 21, Patterson became the youngest man to win the world heavyweight title. He was also the first heavyweight boxer to regain the title. He had a record of 55 wins 8 losses and 1 draw, with 40 wins by...
- Michael O'KeefeMichael O'KeefeMichael Raymond O'Keefe is an American film and television actor.- Early life :O'Keefe was born Raymond Peter O'Keefe, Jr. in Mount Vernon, New York, the oldest of seven children in a devoutly Roman Catholic Irish American family. His father was a law professor at Fordham University, as well as...
- Adam Clayton Powell
- DMX (rapper)DMX (rapper)Earl Simmons , better known by his stage name DMX, is a multiplatinum American rapper and actor who rose to fame in the late 1990s. His stage name pays tribute to the Oberheim DMX drum machine, an instrument he used when he made his own rap beats in the 80's...
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Selected Mayors: William Hart Hussey, Joseph Vaccarella, August Petrillo, Thomas E. Sharpe, Ronald Blackwood, Ernest D. Davis
Films using Mount Vernon for set locations
For all movies except Dead Presidents, as reported in the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
(IMDB). The Thomas Crown Affair
The Thomas Crown Affair (1999 film)
The Thomas Crown Affair is a 1999 American heist film directed by John McTiernan. The film, starring Pierce Brosnan, Rene Russo and Denis Leary, is a remake of the 1968 film of the same name....
(1999) shot a scene in Willson's Woods Park as it was transformed to look like Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
, with the Vernon Woods co-op complex being used to stage and store equipment during the scene.
- Empty Places (1999)
- The Thomas Crown AffairThe Thomas Crown Affair (1999 film)The Thomas Crown Affair is a 1999 American heist film directed by John McTiernan. The film, starring Pierce Brosnan, Rene Russo and Denis Leary, is a remake of the 1968 film of the same name....
(1999) - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless MindEternal Sunshine of the Spotless MindEternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a 2004 American romantic science fiction film about an estranged couple who have each other erased from their memories, scripted by Charlie Kaufman and directed by the French director, Michel Gondry. The film uses elements of science fiction, psychological...
(2004) - Riding in Cars with BoysRiding in Cars with BoysRiding in Cars with Boys is a 2001 film based on the autobiography of the same name by Beverly Donofrio, about a woman who overcame difficulties including being a teen mother to earning a master's degree from the span of 1961 to 1986. It stars Drew Barrymore, Steve Zahn, Brittany Murphy, and James...
(2001) - The SuburbsThe Suburbs (web series)The Suburbs is a popular YouTube based, web series created, produced, edited and directed by Charles Plummer. An online reality docu-drama, it documents the lives of several teenagers living in the towns of southern Westchester, New York...
(Web series, 2008–2011)
A stadium in Mount Vernon was used to film the classic "Mean Joe Greene
Joe Greene (American football)
Charles Edward Greene, known as “Mean Joe” Greene, is a former all-pro American football defensive tackle who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL. Throughout the early 1970s he was the one of most dominant defensive players in the National Football League...
" Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
commercial in May 1979.
Literature
In Edward Lewis WallantEdward Lewis Wallant
Edward Lewis Wallant was an American writer.-Life:He lived most of his life in New Haven, Connecticut. Yet his years at Pratt in Brooklyn, daily commuting to the city and frequent visits to jazz clubs impacted the New York settings of his books.His first works were short stories published in the...
's novel The Pawnbroker
The Pawnbroker
The Pawnbroker is a novel by Edward Lewis Wallant which tells the story of Sol Nazerman, a concentration camp survivor who suffers flashbacks of his past Nazi imprisonment as he tries to cope with his daily life operating a pawn shop in East Harlem...
, the main character Sol Nazerman lives in Mount Vernon.
Transportation
Metro NorthMetro north
Metro North can refer to either of* Metro-North Railroad, a commuter railroad serving parts of New York and Connecticut in the United States* Dublin Metro#Metro North, a branch of the proposed Dublin Metro, in Dublin, Ireland...
has three train stations in Mount Vernon. Mount Vernon East
Mount Vernon East (Metro-North station)
The Mount Vernon East Metro-North Railroad station serves passengers at Mount Vernon, New York, via the New Haven Line. The station is the first station north of the junction where the New Haven Line splits from the Harlem Line and is the only station on the line before it changes from third rail...
is in the heart of downtown, on the New Haven Line. Mount Vernon West
Mount Vernon West (Metro-North station)
The Mount Vernon West Metro-North Railroad station is the first station in Westchester County, New York on the Harlem Line. It is 13.1 miles from Grand Central Terminal...
and Fleetwood
Fleetwood (Metro-North station)
The Fleetwood Metro-North Railroad station serves the residents of the Fleetwood section of Mount Vernon, New York via the Harlem Line. It is 14.3 miles from Grand Central Terminal....
on the Harlem Line are both on the western edge of the City. Petrillo Plaza, adjacent to the Mount Vernon East station in downtown Mount Vernon, is the hub for Westchester's Bee-Line Bus System
Bee-Line Bus System
The Bee-Line Bus System, branded on the buses in lowercase as the bee-line system, is a bus system serving Westchester County, New York. The system is owned by the County's Department of Public Works and Transportation and operated, on contract , by Yonkers-based Liberty Lines Transit, Inc...
service in Mount Vernon. Bee-Line routes serving Mount Vernon are 7, 40, 41, 42, 43, 52, 53, 54, 55, as well as the 91 which operates during the summer. MTA NYC bus route serving two blocks in Mount Vernon are Bx16 [Mundy Lane (S. 11th Ave) between W. 5th Street (Nereid Avenue) and W. Sandford Blvd (Pittman Avenue)]. The Mount Vernon's taxi services operate from Petrillo Plaza as well. 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 Bee-Line Bus System
Bee-Line Bus System
The Bee-Line Bus System, branded on the buses in lowercase as the bee-line system, is a bus system serving Westchester County, New York. The system is owned by the County's Department of Public Works and Transportation and operated, on contract , by Yonkers-based Liberty Lines Transit, Inc...
, and 1,500 use the Metro North railroad.
Both the 2
2 (New York City Subway service)
The 2 Seventh Avenue Express is a rapid transit service of the New York City Subway. It is colored red on station signs, route signs, and the official subway map, since it uses the IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line through most of Manhattan....
and 5
5 (New York City Subway service)
The 5 Lexington Avenue Express is a rapid transit service of the New York City Subway. It is colored green on station signs, route signs, and the official subway map, since it uses IRT Lexington Avenue Line in Manhattan....
trains of the New York City subway
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, a subsidiary agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and also known as MTA New York City Transit...
system have terminals just south of the Mount Vernon border, served by the Bee-Line. The 2 train terminates at 241st Street in Wakefield
Wakefield, Bronx
Wakefield is a working-class section of the northern borough of the Bronx in New York City, bounded by the New York city line with Westchester County or 243rd street to the north,and 222nd Street to the south, and the Bronx River, Bronx River Parkway and Metro-North Railroad tracks to the west...
(During rush hours the 5 also goes to Nereid Ave), and the 5 train terminates at Dyre Avenue in Eastchester
Eastchester, Bronx
Eastchester is a working class neighborhood in the northeast Bronx borough of New York City in the United States. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 12...
. Both locations are within 5 minutes walking distance of Southside Mount Vernon.
Mount Vernon is served by three of the county's busiest parkways which link to New York City, the Cross County Parkway
Cross County Parkway
The Cross County Parkway is a long parkway in Westchester County, New York. The parkway is a critical east–west connection throughout Westchester, having full interchanges with every major north–south parkway in southern Westchester, in addition to the New York State Thruway mainline....
, the Bronx River Parkway
Bronx River Parkway
The Bronx River Parkway is a long parkway in downstate New York. It is named for the nearby Bronx River, which it parallels. The southern terminus of the parkway is at Story Avenue near Bruckner Expressway in the Bronx neighborhood of Soundview...
, and the Hutchinson River Parkway
Hutchinson River Parkway
The Hutchinson River Parkway is a north–south parkway in southern New York, United States. It extends for from the massive Bruckner Interchange in the Throgs Neck section of the Bronx to the New York – Connecticut state line at Rye Brook...
. I-95
Interstate 95 in New York
Interstate 95 is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs from Miami, Florida, to the Canada – United States border near Houlton, Maine. In the U.S. state of New York, I-95 extends from the George Washington Bridge in New York City to the Connecticut state line at Port Chester...
and I-87 are both less than a mile from Mount Vernon's borders, offering both passenger car and truck access to the area.