Mt. Vernon (New York, Yonkers, New Rochelle: high crime, houses, neighborhoods)

[scox]

My boss is thinking about moving to Mt. Vernon and wanted to know what the commute is like into Midtown at 8:30am by car...can anyone help?

[brahmos]

Dear scox,

For your boss' sake, please advise him NOT to move to Mount Vernon. Mt. Vernon is a S**thole with high crime and poverty. The city constantly goes bankrupt. Its possibly worse than Brentwood on Long Island. The school system also is horrible, and Mt. Vernon is notorious for gang violence

But if he must live there then I suggest living in the Fleetwood section of Mt. Vernon, which is more like a neighborhood with nice houses, and certainly more civilized than the rest of that god forsaken city.

Yes Mt. Vernon borders the Bronx so it should be a quick commute into NYC. THe major backup I see is on the FDR.

[brahmos]

Hello????

The only decent area is Fleetwood. Just because I dont live there does not mean I do not know about it. It is notorious for gang violence and urban decay. Nobody in the county or who knows one tid-bit about the Vern will tell you the same thing.

I have been throught it as well. I have not seen more run-down neighborhoods.

Decreasing? Says who? The place turns into a bigger landfill by the day. And surely the police (some of the lowest paid in all the county) are all the more willing to put in the extra effort.Have you heard the news of the various armed robberies in the area?

You are doing this poor man a great disservice by refusing to acknowledge that the city is in shambles and needs a dramatic change. It is well known throughout Westchester that this is fact.

If we were talking Yonkers, I would give the city the benefit of the doubt. Despite all your pride in the Vern it ain't going anywhere but south.

I stand by what I said. Learn some responsibility and do not steer this poor man into the dump called Mt. Vernon.

[mvgirl]

Mount Vernon consistently has a surplus in its city budget. FY 05 it was more than $8.5M thanks to the fiscally conservative measures of an excellent city comptroller. I do not know where Brahmos is getting his information from, but he is ignorant to that salient fact.

Mount Vernon is a community with more than 98 different nationalities. It has its share of impoverished neighborhoods, but it is balanced with many more middle and upper middle class communities as well. It is a place known for its tolerance, as evidenced that when other communities freely participated in urban removal, MV accepted the bulk of the displaced (read poor) people from White Plains and New Rochelle. The city prides itself as being the only place that consistently provides affordable housing in westchester. It also has several market-rate higher density housing projects on the boards.

The school system has a great deal of challenges. However note it has three National Blue Ribbon Elementary Schools of Excellence- more than any other community in Westchester. Every public school has a new media arts center and library. Mount Vernon High School has over 100 electives, including 5 AP classes.

As for gangs, there are four identified gangs that have presence in the city. However, Westchester County recently had a gang summit, and there were more than 100 gangs identified as having a presence THROUGHOUT the county- including Rye, Mamaroneck, White Plains and other affluent communities and it transcends race, and class. No one is immune to crime I am afraid.

MV has THREE metro-north stations, and access to two subway stations in the Bronx. The commute to New York is a breeze, all of 25 mins on the train. It has impeccable highway access. Another plus is that there is a great recreational tennis center, an ice hockey rink, a several new retail areas. It is also very close to Stamford and White Plains.

MV is also noted for having a number of local celebrities who call it home from Broadway (a recent Tony award winner), television news (two anchors) and an Emmy Award Winning actress. Dick Clark, Art Carney, Denzel Washington, Anne Bancroft, and Sidney Poitier are all former MV residents.

[Kathleenh54]

I wouldn't live in Mt. Vernon if someone gave me a free house. It's a pit.