More financial follies from the Comptroller & City Council

Dear Readers,

First, I want to thank those who are responding to these emails - both those who offer words of support as well as those who offer information about the City Council and the Comptroller. Without those who offer such information, it would be hard to compile enough to get these emails out.

Now, onto yet another story just getting out that you won't read about in the Journal News about the sheer silliness regarding the financial irresponsibility of our Comptroller Maureen Walker and her four allies on the Mount Vernon City Council.

Last week and into this week, when the area was plagued by a heat wave with temperatures into the 90's, the air conditioning units at the Doles Center and the Police HQ/City Courthouse completely broke down. Both units are beyond their useful lifespan and need complete replacement.

The Doles Center, which houses a senior program and a day care center was repaired within a few days. The Police HQ/Courthouse however, was out for over a week and the courts were forced to close for at least two days due to unbearable temperatures. The hardworking cops. unfortunately, had no such option as their job is to protect and serve the public through whatever the conditions may be. The original contractor who installed the unit at the PD/Courthouse refuses to ever come back into Mount Vernon due to not being paid by the Comptroller's Office. A second contractor who was brought in to try to get the system working, also walked off of the job due to poor payment history from the Comptroller's Office. This left workers in this vital facility to face stifling temperatures. Fortunately, a third company was brought in to get the system back up, at least temporarily. However, a permanent solution must be found to replace these units so that these expensive temporary patch jobs can end.

The cause of the outrage of this whole situation does not just rest with the Comptroller for poor accounts payable processes. It also lays at the feet of the new city council, her political allies. According to a source, last year the City Council unanimously approved a capital projects plan that would have provided money to repair and replace HVAC systems at city buildings. This foresight would have avoided the a/c issues that affected the health of our seniors. children, cops and other workers and public. However, at the urging of their political master Maureen Walker, the new city council, namely President Edwards and members Watts, Munro and Appuzo, gutted the capital projects plan removing money for replacement of HVAC systems and other infrastructure projects.

This kind of backwards thinking should be a thing of the past and is no surprise coming from the same group who is trying to force the elimination of the Office of the Inspector General. Week after week, at the direction of Comptroller Maureen Walker, Edwards, Watts, Munro and Appuzo stand in the way of our city's progress all due to a political agenda that serves only to increase Walker's chances of being elected Mayor in next year's election. Fellow Mount Vernon residents, you do not deserve this kind of governance. Councilmember Diane Munro-Morris is also up for election next year. Tell her loud and clear that she is betraying the trust and best interests of the public.

Stand up Mount Vernon and make your voice heard.

Send your letters to the city council to the below address:
Mount Vernon City Council
c/o City Clerk's Office
1 Roosevelt Sq.
Mt Vernon, NY 10550

Or, speak at the next City Council meeting on Tuesday, July 13th. You must call the City Clerk's office at 665-2300 to register as a speaker by 3pm on the same day of the meeting. Thanks to the reader who sent in the correction about the deadline to register as a speaker.

Finally, forward this email to your friends and family to alert them to the unethical practices of the Comptroller and the City Council President. Spread the word about what is going on.

To catch up on all of the latest goings on visit http://mvexposed.blogspot.com

Walker's & Edwards' gift to tax deadbeat political ally

Dear Readers,

As mentioned in last week's post, Comptroller Maureen Walker and City Council President Yuhanna Edwards, acting in their official capacity on the city's Real Estate Committee, voted to approve the sale of a city-owned East 3rd Street commercial property to a political ally who owes the city over $228,000 in back property taxes. Walker and Edwards votes were the two "Yes" votes on the three member panel. You can read the Journal News article here.

The property, appraised at $125,000, was sold to Henry Solly for the bargain price of $25,000. What the above-mentioned Journal News article failed to point out is that Solly is a longtime political supporter and donor of Maureen Walker and apparently this deal is the payback for that steadfast support. Solly is also the President of the All Islands Association, which is a prominent West Indian/Caribbean organization that has honored and backed Walker for many years.

Besides this outrageous act, which still must be voted on by the City Council, the question that begs to be asked is why Maureen Walker has failed to act to collect the back taxes owed by Solly. Rumors have swirled for years now that Walker has many political allies and friends who also owe past due property taxes, yet they get a free pass when it comes to collection action on those debts. Can this be why Walker enjoys the political support of some longtime City Hal insiders? How many other friends and allies owe back taxes to the city? This would make for an interesting query on the part of The Journal News who to date seems to have largely ignored the lack of financial management within Mount Vernon.

Edwards, along with Councilmembers Watts, Munro and Appuzo, have been solid supporters of Walker since they began the term of this new City Council in January. Walker was also their prime supporter during their election campaign. What is behind this alliance? Walker has been the ringleader in the push to eliminate the position of Inspector General in Mount Vernon and the above-mentioned city council members have supported her to no end. Are we now seeing the real reason behind this attempt to eliminate the only City Hall office responsible for ending fraud, waste and corruption in the city government?

Speak out against this travesty. Send your letters to the city council to the below address:
Mount Vernon City Council
c/o City Clerk's Office
1 Roosevelt Sq.
Mt Vernon, NY 10550

Or, speak at the next City Council meeting on Tuesday, July 13th. You must call the City Clerk's office at 665-2300 to register as a speaker by 12noon on the same day of the meeting.

Finally, forward this email to your friends and family to alert them to the unethical practices of the Comptroller and the City Council President. Spread the word about what is going on.

To catch up on all of the latest goings on visit http://mvexposed.blogspot.com

City Council President Edwards - oh what a tangled web you weave

It seems that Mount Vernon's newly sworn in City Council President has chosen to further align himself with criminal and all around dirtbag Scam Rivers. As previously noted, at a city council meeting on January 13th, Yuhanna Edwards publicly embraced Scammy Sammy in an attempt to position Rivers as an important community asset. Well, Edwards seems to have gone even further off of the deep end when at the Jan 27th council meeting he again praised Rivers, a gun-toting drunk and convicted criminal, and even assigned him marching orders and tasks to work on. What's next Mr. Edwards, creating another $85,000 a year part-time city council office position for Rivers similar to what you did for another close friend?



Scam Rivers, who became infamous this past summer when he was found by New Rochelle police passed out drunk on a doorstoop with a handgun protruding from his waistband. Fortunately, a passerby notified police before someone walked off with the idiot's gun and used it to commit a crime or kill someone. However, Rivers contact with law enforcement last year wasn't just limited to being passed out drunk while armed on a city sidewalk. No, indeed 2009 was a banned year for the career criminal as he was also arrested on the Saw Mill River Parkway after being pulled over by a county cop who discovered that Rivers was driving with a suspended NYS driver's license and without insurance. Not only was he charged with these crimes, but he also was in possession of a Georgia driver's license. Now state laws are quite clear and they state that you can only possess a driver's license from one state - Rivers had not only a NYS license (currently suspended) but he also had a Georgia DL. Fortunately for the law-abiding citizens of Mount Vernon, reports are that the Westchester County Police went to his home and finally confiscated his gun and he currently does not have driving priveleges in New York State. Since he cannot drive, Scam is often seen walking the streets of Mount Vernon, which may be a good thing for him as his suits seem to be getting tighter and tighter. Could his recent rapid weight gain have anything to do with him slothing at the free buffet tables at the strip clubs owned by his close friend Sam Zherka, who reportedly is also under investigation by the Manhattan D.A.'s office??



Rivers' criminal history isn't just limited to his 2009 dalliances, he has a long record of contact with the law which includes bank theft, harassment and threats of gun violence against women. Sadly, our new City Council President Yuhanna Edwards has chosen to throw in with this despicable character and his fellow Maureen puppets on the council - Watts, Munro and Appuzo are falling right in line. However, this alliance is no surprise as Rivers and the Four Blind Mice are frequent visitors to the comptroller's office in city hall where they receive their marching orders which are clearly to destroy and divide our city for the next two years.



Those concerned with the direction that the new city council will take us really needs to ask themselves this question, do you expect your city council members to embrace and support someone like Sam Rivers? Do you want your city council to follow an agenda of division and destruction? Do you want your city council members to conduct business in the dark, behind closed doors like they did when they voted (with no public notice) to increase the salary of a part-time legislative aide position from $35k to $85k so that their close friend can benefit? How comfortable are you with a City Council President that has made it a point to publicly praise a career criminal?



Mount Vernon, your future is at stake.

Please help to shine a light on this absurdity and forward this email to friends and family.