Mount Vernon Officials Welcome New Fire Trucks

MOUNT VERNON, NY — Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard, city officials and the Mount Vernon Fire Department celebrated the arrival of three new fire trucks to strengthen the ability to effectively respond to fire emergencies and protect Mount Vernon residents. City officials used federal block-grant funds to purchase them.

The brand-new state-of-the-art fire engines are critical to public safety and health, officials said.

"In 2018 we had 58 structure fires compared to 5 in New Rochelle, our neighbor of approximately the same size," Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard said at a press conference Jan. 31.

Patterson-Howard thanked the commissioner of planning and community development for working to get the $1.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

This is the beginning of a concerted effort to improve essential services, the mayor said. "There's a lot of work to do. Our fire department, our police department, our DPW have been terribly understaffed for years."

Fire Commissioner Deborah Norman said she was pleased that the sorely-needed additional equipment did not cost the taxpayers, and that the fire department was able to so quickly put the needed documentation together.

The process wasn't without problem. The money was being re-allocated from old grants for projects; the city comptroller had concerns and returned the money to HUD — but the fire department was on already the hook for the $1.6 million, having ordered the trucks. Mayor Patterson-Howard, whose extensive background in community development gave her links to the federal agency, officials at the planning department and former Acting Mayor Andre Wallace worked with HUD get the funds back, making sure they were appropriately used.

The mayor said that one of her priorities is renovating the firehouses and making sure they have needed equipment and resources.

"It's a victory for the city of Mount Vernon, it's a victory for the firefighters and it's certainly a victory for the taxpayers," Patterson-Howard said.