Research & Investigations on Government Accountability

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We investigate how our local government works – and where it falls short. Our work includes public records research, analysis, and accountability efforts designed to make power more visible and institutions more answerable to the residents of Mount Vernon.

We are volunteers, and while we take care to verify our work, we welcome corrections and additional information if something is incomplete or wrong.

At a time when local journalism has largely disappeared, we aim to help fill that gap by documenting public decision-making and bringing scrutiny back to local government.

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April 1, 2026

The 2026 State of the City That Wasn’t

Mount Vernon’s 2026 Address Ignored Bankruptcy Warnings, Police Scandals, and $44 Million in Lost Tax Revenue. Here’s What the Mayor Didn’t Say.

The mayor said Mount Vernon is "thriving." The comptroller says it could be bankrupt within two years. We fact-checked the 2026 State of the City address.

March 31, 2026

Gala Dinners On The Taxpayer’s Dime

The Mount Vernon Public Library approved gala and dinner-dance tickets for their board trustees

Library trustees voted to buy themselves gala tickets with public money, then showed up the next night. That's not community engagement. It's self-dealing.

March 29, 2026

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.

March 27, 2026

The Austerity Budget That Wasn’t – Part 2

The Framework That Couldn't Survive a Single Question

Mount Vernon's "austerity budget" promised discipline. But one email exchange with the Comptroller shows the framework was never a framework at all.

March 26, 2026

The Resolution That Wasn’t

A resolution issued without consent—and a process that shouldn’t exist

Councilmembers say their names appeared on a resolution they never approved. The Council President's response? That's just how things work in Mount Vernon.

March 24, 2026

Self-Congratulation Isn’t Leadership

Honoring "excellence" in a city steeped in dysfunction

Before the State of the City even happens, the Council wants to declare it a success. Mount Vernon residents deserve real leadership, not self-congratulation.

March 22, 2026

Planning Board

Conflicts of Interest Don’t Matter

Inside Mount Vernon’s Planning Board

Undisclosed real estate dealings. A late recusal. No accountability. Inside a conflict of interest Mount Vernon's Planning Board refused to address.

March 19, 2026

Can Mount Vernon Get a Fair Shake in Westchester Supreme Court?

Off-Record Sessions, One-Day Dismissals, and a System That Closes Ranks

Off-record sessions, one-day dismissals, and ignored court orders. A closer look at how Westchester Supreme Court handles politically connected cases.

March 17, 2026

Planning

Mount Vernon’s Comprehensive Plan Is Being Challenged in Court

Did the City skip required environmental review and rush adoption of a framework that reshapes zoning citywide?

A Westchester County lawsuit challenges Mount Vernon's Comprehensive Plan, alleging the City skipped required environmental review before adoption.

March 17, 2026

Planning

Where is our Money ?

Residents Asked to Pay for What the Public Record Suggests Is Already Funded

A Mount Vernon proposal would charge taxpayers $85,546 for traffic improvements that developer escrow funds may already cover. Residents ask: where's our money?

March 14, 2026

Building Department

Had Trouble With Mount Vernon’s Building Department?

The city posted an online 'customer satisfaction' survey. Make your experience count.

Mount Vernon's Building Department has been plagued by permit backlogs, lost paperwork, and state warnings of a takeover. If you've dealt with it, your experience matters — take the survey.

March 11, 2026

ARPA, Audits, Finance

City Hall’s Private Charities

How Mount Vernon Officials Built Two Nonprofits to Fund Themselves with Your Money

Two city-employee-run nonprofits operate out of the same room in Mount Vernon City Hall. The Comptroller leads both — and approved $60,000 in federal funds to one of them. Public records reveal deep conflicts of interest and zero public oversight.

March 9, 2026

Audits, Finance

We Met With Assemblyman Pretlow About Mount Vernon’s Fiscal Emergency

He supports state financial oversight — if the city council asks for it.

MVCIP met with Assemblyman Pretlow to discuss Mount Vernon's fiscal crisis. He supports state financial oversight — but the City Council must request it first.

March 7, 2026

Finance

The Austerity Budget That Wasn’t

Mount Vernon is operating under what City officials describe as “austerity budget protocols.”

Mount Vernon officials approved $20,800 in conference travel, a Las Vegas junket for a Building Commissioner whose department is in shambles, and a portrait ceremony — all while claiming austerity.

February 27, 2026

City Charter

If It’s Administrative, Why Create It?

City Hall Ignores Austerity Budget and Lowers the Bar for Civil Service

Mount Vernon’s new infrastructure chief raises questions about executive power, consultant costs, and long-term fiscal risk. Who really pays?

February 24, 2026

When the System Fails, but the Workers Don’t

An Ode to the DPW Crews That Keep Mount Vernon Running

Good local government isn't abstract. It's the guys who show up at 7 a.m. with a laugh and get it done. This one's for Mount Vernon's DPW crew.

February 24, 2026

Why “Nothing Works” in Mount Vernon

How Dysfunction, Incompetence, and Corruption Became the Operating System

When dysfunction, incompetence, and corruption overlap, nothing works. Mount Vernon's government trifecta explained — and why reform can't wait.

February 14, 2026

New York: The State of “There’s Nothing We Can Do.”

Mount Vernonites deserve more than Press Releases

New York State claims oversight over Mount Vernon — but never enforces it. When every agency passes the buck, residents have one option: fix it ourselves.

February 14, 2026

Finance

Mount Vernon Needs a State Financial Monitor – Now

Rising Costs, declining Capacity, and a Government that has lost Control of its Finances.

Rising taxes, declining services, and no bond rating — Mount Vernon's finances are in freefall. MVCIP explains why the State must appoint a financial monitor now.

February 12, 2026

When Your Government Lies to You

One FOIL Request. Zero Records. Thirteen Days Later, a Cover-Up

When Mount Vernon officials said no records existed, thirteen days later they appeared on a council agenda. MVCIP breaks down the FOIL response, pension filings, and what residents deserve to know.

February 11, 2026

The Body of ‘Yes’

Mount Vernon’s City Council Exposed: 497 Votes, 98% Approved, Zero Oversight

We analyzed all 497 roll-call votes from the 2025 Mount Vernon City Council minutes. 98% were approved. 93% were unanimous. Only two items were voted down all year — both on the same night, with two members absent. The data reveals a council that almost never says no.

February 7, 2026

Building Department, Planning

What Does Civic Power Look Like?

Public Pressure Stops Bronxville Field Club Settlement

How public pressure and community organizing stopped a backroom settlement, and what this moment reveals about civic power, transparency, and accountability in Mount Vernon.

January 30, 2026

Planning

$450,000 for Silence

The Bronxville Field Club Settlement That Sacrifices Hunt’s Woods and Guts Public Accountability

A secret settlement. A powerless Planning Board. A flooded neighborhood left out of the room - sold off for $450,000.

January 28, 2026

Buried Sewers and Broken Trust

How Mount Vernon Denied the Hunt’s Woods Crisis and One Resident’s Fight to Hold Them Accountable

For years, residents warned Mount Vernon that something was wrong in Hunt’s Woods. The City denied it, dismissed them, and attacked the messengers - until independent testing proved sewage was flowing through a public park.

January 27, 2026

Finance, Taxes

Sloppy Governance, Predictable Consequences

How an unforced error pushed higher taxes onto Mount Vernon’s most vulnerable residents

A fee for low-income seniors was quietly doubled, passed into law, and mailed out on tax bills without anyone at City Hall stopping to ask if it made sense.

January 22, 2026

City Services

An Accidental Moment of Honesty

The City’s Own AI Chatbot ‘Lucky’ Offers Solutions

Mount Vernon is talking about “AI leadership” while its own chatbot diagnoses political dysfunction and broken governance. The gap between rhetoric and reality is hard to miss.

January 15, 2026

When Criticism Becomes “Misinformation”

How Mount Vernon Officials Are Reframing Dissent

As Mount Vernon residents question major policy decisions, officials have begun labeling criticism as “misinformation,” a shift that risks chilling public participation and weakening democratic accountability.

January 11, 2026

Building Department, Comprehensive Plan, Planning

Planning Didn’t Prevent the 214 Gramatan Project — It Enabled It

The 214 Gramatan Project and Why It Matters in a City with a Newly Adopted “Comprehensive Plan

The 214 Gramatan project shows how planning failed to stop harm and instead enabled it. A Comprehensive Plan that relies on broken review and record keeping cannot deliver meaningful protection to residents.

January 11, 2026

Comprehensive Plan, Planning

You Can’t Build Forward on Broken Systems

Mount Vernon’s Comprehensive Plan Is a Failure of Planning, Law, and Basic Competence

Mount Vernon’s Comprehensive Plan ignores failing infrastructure, sidesteps environmental review, and removes public safeguards, all while placing greater strain on neighborhoods already at their limits.

January 9, 2026

City Charter

Charter Amended to Codify Mayor’s Chief of Staff Roles

Positions Written into the Charter Without a Voter Referendum

Mount Vernon quietly amended its City Charter to codify the Mayor’s Chief of Staff roles—without a voter referendum—raising serious legal and democratic concerns.

January 4, 2026

Audits, Finance, Taxes

Mount Vernon City Property Taxes Are Rising By 5.47%

A chaotic process, shifting figures, and a breakdown of basic accountability.

In less than six minutes, Mount Vernon officials locked in a 5.47% property tax increase after weeks of chaos, shifting numbers, and sidelined residents. This piece documents how the City ignored its own rules - despite explicit warnings - and why taxpayers keep paying the price.

January 4, 2026

ARPA, Finance, grants

Part 6: ARPA in Mount Vernon

How to Spend $41 Million in Federal Relief Funds and Still Be on the Precipice of Bankruptcy

By ARPA’s final year, accountability was missing. Millions were spent with minimal evidence of results, weak controls, and a recovery plan that never moved beyond paper.

December 29, 2025

Audits, Finance

State Comptroller Confirms Years of Financial Failures in Mount Vernon

But DiNapoli Says Enforcement Power Is Limited

A December 2025 response from the State Comptroller confirms what residents have long suspected: Mount Vernon’s finances have been repeatedly flagged for serious problems, yet the State has limited power to force accountability.

December 29, 2025

City Services

A Fallen Branch and a Broken System

Reflections on why nothing ever seems to work in Mount Vernon

A simple fallen branch reveals how easily basic city services fall apart in Mount Vernon, exposing gaps in communication, accountability, and follow-through.

December 28, 2025

ARPA, Finance, grants

Part 5: ARPA in Mount Vernon

When Direct Community Assistance Appeared, But Oversight Remained Hidden

By 2024, ARPA spending in Mount Vernon had become routine and opaque, with emergency declarations, vehicle purchases, and loosely monitored programs replacing any clear recovery strategy.

December 21, 2025

Building Department, Planning

The House Next Door

How Mount Vernon’s “nothing we can do” culture turned a historic home into collateral damage

Mount Vernon loves big speeches about “equity” and “revitalization.” But the paper trail at 214 Gramatan Avenue tells a different story: warnings ignored, approvals allegedly missing, and a city government that said “nothing can be done.”

November 20, 2025

ARPA, Finance, grants

Part 4: ARPA in Mount Vernon

ARPA in Mount Vernon, Part 4: 2023 — When “Emergency” Became the Business Model

Part 4 of our ARPA series examines how 2023 spending continued patterns of vehicle purchases, emergency declarations, and missing documentation — with little evidence of a coherent recovery plan.

November 11, 2025

ARPA, Finance, grants

Part 3: ARPA in Mount Vernon

2022 — Are Vehicles the Recovery Plan?

ARPA was meant to support recovery. In 2022, Mount Vernon instead spent millions on vehicles, with little reaching the people the program was designed to help.

November 5, 2025

ARPA, Finance, grants

Part 2: ARPA in Mount Vernon

The First Year of Spending (2021): Early contracts, early beneficiaries — and early warning signs

Mount Vernon’s first year of ARPA spending set the tone: millions spent, little documentation, and early warning signs that still matter today.

November 1, 2025

ARPA, Finance, grants

Part 1: ARPA in Mount Vernon

What Is ARPA, Anyway, and What Was It Supposed to Do?

ARPA was meant to help cities recover from COVID. In Mount Vernon, $41 million arrived — but missing reports and weak controls tell a troubling story.