Mount Vernon

I have lived here for 16 years and this town has many pros. We are right on two Metro North lines, and I have neighbors who also park at the subway in the northern Bronx to get to NYC.

The wave pool is really great if you have kids and the pool house is gorgeous. Residents also can use the skating rink with rentals for free on Saturdays if you sign up. Skating classes are a mere $25 per child per season-including rental. On the south side you can find just about every major shopping chain, plus a Fairway. The Cross County Mall is one stop over. We are right between a number of major parkways taking you quickly upstate to New York's beautiful natural areas, over to Jersey, Ct and of course NYC.

There is a lot of diversity and you can make friends in the neighborhood from all over the world. There are many multi-racial families. There are many housing options. The grade schools are decent, and the district is re-structuring to a k-8 model so hopefully this will help. Lincoln has a very nice honors, art and music program. There is a lot to be done with it-but a lot of people seem to care enough to facilitate change.

For everyday takeout food-because of the ethnic diversity-we have some of the best Italian/pizza joints, Brazilian barbecue, Caribbean and more. Lots of dedicated fruit/vegetable stores. Fleetwood has several options in the shopping area on Gramatan-Japanese, Asian fusion, tavern, Italian and Cajun.

There is just one beautiful house after the next throughout the town with mature, well kept landscaping which is very pleasant and enjoyable, especially if you like to walk to the train or to school. People are generally friendly and although there is a reputation for crime, I have only known of the petty nuisance type which I believe seems to exist in most towns. I found this out when I went through jury selection at the Westchester court and 50+ people from all over Westchester were asked if they had ever been a crime victim. It was interesting to hear of how pervasive petty crime was, and the more serious ones did not really relate to the "bad" towns in the juror pool.

If you want a super value for a wonderful home(especially the gracious turn of the century type), and want an easy commute to the city, Mount Vernon has it for you. Compared to the crime, rodents, lack of green space and crowded conditions of living in NYC-this is so much nicer-urban yet suburban.

An intriguing suburb with a mixed reputation….
Mount Vernon is one of the cities in Westchester County that gets a less than attractive rating on school and safety. It seems a sad stereotype as this is also one of the most diverse cities in the whole county. While some of the reputation may be prejudice or bias, the truth is Mount Vernon is struggling with repairing its reputation.
The city, which is the eighth largest in all of New York state, is just north of the Bronx and has sections which reveal a strongly urban flavor. The city landscape of apartment buildings and more concrete than greenery indicate that Mount Vernon is not quite a stereotypical suburb. However, those who see only that part of Mount Vernon are not getting the full picture because there is another sections which is all about those large lots and single family homes that one envisions as the essence of the American suburb.
Mount Vernon housing tends to be more affordable than other parts of Westchester because it has a mixed reputation. Those who are willing to be part of a city that is defining itself can find much to appreciate in this town with character. It is multi-ethnic and more economically heterogenous than many of the neighboring communities and can be a great way for children to grow up with a real awareness of the world at large. It is interesting to note that there’s a sizable Brazilian population in Mount Vernon. It is perhaps only fitting that the town’s soccer team draws passionate parental support during local league matches! And Chalanas is a good Brazilian restaurant in the area….
There is talk of gang and gang-related crimes in Mount Vernon and it is important for parents to be vigilant in monitoring their children’s activities and companions, if they decide to live in the area. Visitors should also probably make sure they have a rough idea of the neighborhoods if they are going to be out late at night as there is said to be a ‘good’ and ‘bad’ part of town.

Once severely segregated, Mount Vernon has grown as a city, but still has a long way to go. Its schools are struggling with outdated textbooks and there are still lots of poverty-ridden areas. Even so, Mount Vernon is a very proud black community. There's some interesting restaurants like Yvonne's House of Soul, which has live blues and zydeco music (something you won't find in most Westchester areas); their food is traditional New Orleans style, and you'll want to try the crawfish for sure. Another great restaurant is Yvonne's House of Soul, which even has comedy hours, and you can celebrate your birthday there. In spite of Mount Vernon's worrisome crime rate and troubled school system, there are some fun things to do with your family: you can take your kids to Wilson's Woods Park, a water park that even has an 18-foot tall water slide and man-made waves! The town has a Memorial and Veteran's Day Parade, and there's other parks as well to play sports or have a picnic. Take your kids to The Ice Hutch to see a hockey game or go ice-skating, or to The Hobby Shop for a cool new toy.

Mount Vernon is average in home price, ranging between $200,000+$400,000. People can get away to the City for only $15.50 round-trip at the Fleetwood Train Station. It's a city, so there will be plenty of noise and traffic, so you'll want to watch your kids at all times. There's Mount Vernon Hospital which is right in town, in case you need to see a doctor for any medical or emergency needs. There's a few private religious schools and a Synogogue; however, the city is not very diverse---in spite of the smaller white population.

While it can be a good place to visit, Mount Vernon is still in transition and needs a lot of work---though if you have the money to live comfortably here and keep your wits about you, you and your family should be fine.

Mount Vernon is a city in Westchester County that borders the Bronx and retains much of the samel feel. Its Northside, which is close to affluent Bronxville, is the supposed "right side of the tracks," and includes the pleasant, more upscale (and safer) neighborhood of Fleetwood as well as an area of estates with property values that soar into the millions. This is strikingly different to the remainder of Mount Vernon which sadly, still suffers a terrrible reputation that it just can't shake. That rep is due to its high crime rate, which is above the national average, "rumored"gang action, high unemployment rate, high poverty rate and terrible school system.

It is a crying shame, really, for Mount Vernon does have some fantastic features and amenities including some great architectural elements, affordable homes and apartments, great shopping, some terrific restaurants, nice parks and a short, 29-33 minute commute into Manhattan.

A very cool must-visit culinary destination is The Bayou, a restaurant that offers authentic Cajun comfort cuisine at its best, with such favorites as crawfish, catfish Po' Boys, succulent fried chicken and even alligator sausage. It is also a great place to catch some stellar live music including blues and Zydeco acts. Another culinary claim to fame is Ripe Restaurant, which was featured on Bobby Flay's "Throwdown," and has the best Jamaican jerk dishes around. There is also the renowned Westchester County favorite for pizza, Johnny's, which serves by the pie only and is well worth the visit, and sometimes, the wait.

Sanford Square, considered the city's "commerical district," houses Best Buy, Target, Petco, Staples, Restaurant Depot, Bed Bath and Beyond and Famous Footwear. The downtown shopping district mostly comprised of Gramatan Ave, as well as Broad and Grand Streets, has an A & P supermarket, a dry cleaners, a bagel shop, florists, discount beauty supply stores, antique shops, thrift stores, home furniture and accessory stores, a couple of bakeries and several restaurants including a great teahouse.

Mount Vernon also has two wonderful parks: Wilson's Woods is a very old county park that has a wave pool, water slides, picnic areas and fishing. Hunt's Woods, which borders Fleetwood, is actually a Westchester County Preserve and has woods with nice hiking trails.

The Mount Vernon Public Library is the largest in Westchester County. There is also a terrific and well-developed Boys and Girls Club.

Mount Vernon's motto is "A City that Believes" and it is home to over 80 places of worship! St. Pauls National Church is a National Historic Site and is famous for once serving as a medical hospital during the Revolutionary War. It also contains a really cool old cemetery with gravestones that date all the way back to 1704.

Unfortunately, as mentioned before, the school system is not that good and actually borders on shoddy. The median SAT score is 1225 and 79% of Mount Vernon High School students do go on to attend college, however.

The median household income is $55,288. The median home value is $350,000 and the median rental rate is $1,175.00.

Mount Vernon is 61% African American, 18.5% White, 14% Hispanic and 2% Asian.

The population of Mount Vernon is approximately 68,000 with the median age being 37.

Mount Vernon is a town that should be a lot better than it is. Just a thirty minute ride from Manhattan on the MetroNorth, Mount Vernon offers relative affordability and convenience. The population here is primarily African-American and Hispanic, with a smaller percentage of whites. The homes and apartments here feature a wide variety of architectural design styles. There is a small but busy shopping district where you can find most staples. There are some public parks with fun things like a water playground and a wave pool. However, this town is very poorly regarded by most people because of its high poverty and crime rates. A significant percentage of the town’s residents have incomes that fall below the poverty line. This leads to many different types of crime. Another huge problem with living here is that although there are many of schools here, most of them are awful. While they have seen some improvements during the past few years, the schools are still overwhelmingly bad. While the commute to Manhattan is fairly short, the MetroNorth is significantly more expensive than taking the subway from the boroughs. Overall, I’d say that Mount Vernon has the makings of a pretty good town. However, it will take still needs a LOT of work before it becomes one.