MOUNT VERNON – Mayor Patterson-Howard recently announced the launch of Operation
Better Living, a three-prong approach to addressing quality of life issues that have
plagued the City of Mount Vernon for years.
The innovative initiative features three programs designed to strengthen public safety, bolster quality of life, and manage COVID-19 related issues. Less than a week after formation, the recently retooled Quality of Life Task Force (Q.O.L), a joint effort of the Fire, O.E.M, Police, D.P.W, and Buildings departments, yielded immediate results as enhanced patrols were out in force throughout the Labor Day weekend.
The increase in patrols resulted in two bars receiving summonses and multiple citations for illegal backyard parties.
The other two programs, Cites Rise and Zombie 2.0 scheduled to launch in the coming weeks will focus on vacant or abandoned homes, promote a Tenants Bill of Rights, allow for the hiring of new code enforcers and launch a housing quality of life crowdsourcing app called SeeClickFix. SeeClickFix narrows the gap in communication between government and
residents, much like 311 it will enable residents to file complaints on their landlords remotely and anonymously if they wish to remain unidentified.
Mayor Patterson-Howard said, “Quality of life improvements are a joint effort between
government, community, business, civic & faith communities. With the formation of the Quality of Life taskforce, we will be addressing these issues and cracking down on slumlords, violent crime, and chronic code violators. In the next few weeks, I look forward to unveiling the SeeClickFix app, that allows us to communicate more effectively with our residents, as well as, officially launching Cities RISE to aggressively address slumlords who continue to take advantage of residents. We all have a role to play. I ask that we trust the process and remain engaged as we move Mount Vernon forward together.”
