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At 115 Opal, Mount Vernon Gave Away the House

The IDA lost millions, got its own math wrong, and rewarded the mayor's campaign fundraiser.

The Mount Vernon IDA's own consultant corrected the math: Opal 115 leaves the city $5.8M short and the schools $26M short over its 30-year tax break.
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mount-vernon-ida-chart

PILOTs and the IDA – Legal, Profitable, and Corrosive (Part 4)

A Way Forward — Oversight, Reform, and Real Accountability

Mount Vernon's IDA gave away $44.4M with almost no oversight. Pending state bills and the Orange County monitor model show how to fix it.
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ida-pilots-money-cartoon

PILOTs and the IDA — Legal, Profitable, and Corrosive (Part 3)

Campaign Money, Conflicts, and the Machine That Runs Mount Vernon’s IDA

Developers fund the mayor. The mayor's IDA approves their tax breaks. Political operatives broker the deals. Inside Mount Vernon's pay-to-play machine.
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clowncar-and-sharks

PILOTs and the IDA — Legal, Profitable, and Corrosive (Part 2)

Why Mount Vernon Is Different — and Why That Matters

Mount Vernon's IDA has the weakest governance in New York State. Part 2 examines who controls the board, what it approves, and who pays the price.
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greedy real estate developers

PILOTs and the IDA — Legal, Profitable, and Corrosive (Part 1)

What Is the IDA, What Are PILOTs — and Why Should You Care?

Most Mount Vernon residents have never heard of the Industrial Development Agency. They've never been told that a board they didn't elect has been giving away tens of millions in tax revenue to developers, for decades. This series puts those decisions in the open.
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