Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We're considering renting a single family house in Mount Vernon. It's in the South Side between E. Sandford and E. 4th and between S Fulton and Nuber. I understand it's a primarily African American neighborhood. We're a white couple w/ a 12 year old. What I'm wondering is how would that be? Do people who live there want their own neighborhoods and aren't happy when other groups move in? Now, we're in a mixed neighborhood and it's great. I'm interested to know if it would be any different.
This is kind of awkward to ask but I'd really appreciate any honest responses from people who live or have lived in that area.
My cousins lived in Mount Vernon. When the oldest were in HS it was more white. By the time the youngest graduated (1980s) he was getting harassed on a regular basis and referred to as 'White boy' rather than his name. Hopefully attitudes in the schools have improved since then.
Mount Vernon has the worst school district in Westchester, and the high school is almost solid African American. It's a rough school, with monitors in the halls to watch for fights, etc.
Can you consider New Rochelle? The high school is considerably better, and it's about 30% (not sure) white. If your child goes to Mt Vernon HS, you'll have to give him/her a lot of support from home, possibly some private tutoring if you want your child to get into a decent college. It is a very troubled school district.
If you need to be in Mt Vernon, consider the Fleetwood area, and send your child to a Catholic HS.
Does this really have to be an issue in the year 2012? Did Lee and Grant fight for a useless cause? The white kids wanna be prep and the black kids wanna be gangster? On September 11th 2001 there was no black or white, there was a nation as one. Perhaps we should go back to that, a nation as one.
While MVHS is overwhelmingly black, he would not be the only white kid in the entire school. There are sites where you can find out these numbers (the state actually gathers stats on the number of white vs. black vs. Latino vs. Asian, etc. kids for testing purposes....like seeing how much of an "achievement gap" there is) and I think it's something like 100-200 non-Hispanic white kids out of 2000+ total students. That's obviously still very low (especially compared to when I went there in the mid 1980s when the percentages were something like what New Rochelle is today).
That said, in terms of the school district's performance, the only reason to go to school there is if Mt. Vernon is the only place in this area whose housing you can afford (housing is lower than other nearby areas because of the schools). It's not just white vs. black, even many minorities pull their kids out of the district after elementary school.
White Plains, along with New Rochelle would be good candidates for diversity and at least decent schools(at least in terms of reputation) in Westchester. There are others like Ossining, Pelham, Elmsford and Tuckahoe too. I'm sure that I'm forgetting a couple of other districts. Here is some places to look for information: Search for School Profiles
Yes, you will be racially discriminated against. You will be a target. Your son will change and you will live with regret. Society allows non whites to discrininate against whites, it is called affirmitive action.
I am currently living in Mount Vernon with my husband and daughter while we house hunt in Westchester. I am not from this area, and if it wasn't for the fact that my husband grew up here and we have easy access to childcare (grandma), we'd be renting elsewhere. Aside from the issue of being white (we are Af-Am), it really is a crime ridden city, especially the area you are considering. Schools beyond the elementary level (and only a few of those, Lincoln, Pennington and Traphagen) are pretty abysmal. Cops are outside the junior high school everyday when the kids are let out. The HS is likely worse. There is the sound of gunfire at night. There have been 21 shootings this year alone. While there are beautiful areas of Mount Vernon (Northern Mount Vernon and Fleetwood), the area you are considering, also known as "The South Side," is ground zero for crime in Mount Vernon. Add the fact that your child would stick out like a sore thumb and I am sure you can do the math. There is no way I would move to that area . . . white, black or green.
Columbus and Holmes are OK for elementary school too. Of the 5, if you're not Af-Am and don't want to "stick out like a sore thumb", Pennington, Lincoln and Columbus are the most "reverse diverse" (for lack of a better word), but unlike the South Side schools, you'll still be fine in Holmes and Traphagen too. But after 6th grade watch out!
Quote:
Originally Posted by nycjowww
i thought mt vernon specifically the south side was all jamaican. Not african american hmmm
It's a little of both. Generally, the areas closer to the Bronx border tend to be more Jamaican/West Indian as the neighborhoods right over the Bronx line are heavily that.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
