Mt. Vernon extremely run-down (Mount Vernon, Scarsdale: big house, middle schools, to live in)

[bg7]

I've noticed Mt. Vernon has some excellent victorian era industrial buildings, really well built proud old warehouses and factory buildings with a flourish. I hope they have some preservation coverage. I'm surprised it hasb't become one of those satellite artsy areas for those priced out of the main NYC art-producing nabes. I suppose being in Westchester, its just ignored by that crowd.

[nonny]

I agree! The problem is that the hipsters look down on the Bronx and Westchester.

[hilltopjay]

With exception to a couple of places like Fleetwood, Mt. Vernon is a straight ghetto dump. No one else to blame for the decay than the residents who live there. Certain parts of Mt. Vernon reminds me of Newark.

[7 Wishes]

Originally Posted by roskybosky

Wow. I can't believe I'm part of an ethnic group that was actually discriminated against. It's news to me. I'm in my 60's, grew up in Westchester, and thought that Italians actually built the place and kept it the upscale area that it was. Hmmm...members of my family were members of Westchester Country Club way back in the 40s. Maybe i missed something, but the people of Italian background that I know are mostly professionals, affluent, etc.etc. Which Westchester was this?

While I hate seeing 2 year old threads get "bumped", note that I said "the first half of the century". Technically it started changing during/after World War II so it might make sense. But go back to say the 1920s and Italians were basically considered "blacks" (look up Sacco and Vanzetti) and Jews were even lower on the ladder bigotry-wise.

Originally Posted by Wes927

Keep in mind, if you have kids it has to be private school above elementary. The schools are well-run but the middle -school and high school are totally ruined by the "ghetto" element from the southside of town.

That's because the elementary schools are done by neighborhood and it's basically one (now 2) middle and high school for the entire city. And nowadays it's more "class flight" than "white flight" here, I live in one of the "nice" parts of Mt. Vernon and have plenty of black and Latino neighbors who feel exactly the same way about the schools, the "ghetto" element, etc. and either "run" or put kids in private/parochial schools after 6th grade.

[nonny]

Have the big box stores helped the city?

[AntonioR]

Mt Vernon is disgusting. Many areas have a Third World feel to it. I don't know how places like that can exist in a country as rich as this one.

There is an area of Mt Vernon that looks "normal" and seemed to be filled with Brazilians (all the one's I met were from Minas Gerais, don't know if it was coincidence or a sample of the Brazilian community in Vt Vernon).

The most interesting aspect of Mt Vernon is that it borders Pelham Manor. Despite being right there, it feels like a world away.

[DarkWolf]

Originally Posted by nonny

Have the big box stores helped the city?

They never help cities , they destory the mom and pop areas....

[hilltopjay]

Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey

They never help cities , they destory the mom and pop areas....

I disagree. I think big box stores help increase the curb appeal of the area mainly because their store fronts and landscaping around the store is done in good taste with clean lines. Everything looks orderly. That's usually not the case with mom and pop shops as the majority that I've seen look run down or poorly maintained. They can be an eye sore to the area.

[Forest_Hills_Daddy]

I wish a big box store would open at the former D'Agostino building in Chappaqua - a BJs, COSTCO or Sam's Club, perhaps. I'm sure the residents in the neighborhood would love that.

[roskybosky]

Mount Vernon used to be the perfect example of small-town America, and we all know those days are gone. But it serves a different and perhaps more important purpose these days (and I don't live in the area so I don't read about the crime, etc.) The people who have come to live in Mt.Vernon are using it as a stepping stone, or even as a final destination. From the outside, they might be a population that's looked down on, but from the inside they are their own kind of mover and shaker. When I drive through Mount Vernon these days (well, summer days) it's hard to find a block that doesn't have several houses being worked on; new siding, new decks, paint, additions. The houses are old and nice. It's a bustling place. I even had a Margarita in a sidewalk cafe and watched all different people calling out greetings, waving to friends. It was a very 'urban' feeling. But the city serves as a stepping stone for people and immigrants trying to better themselves. They're not anything like other Westchester populations. They're in a different stage of the game.