The Westchester Brief | 07.07.26: Mount Vernon's School Money Problem

The Westchester Brief | 07.07.26: Mount Vernon's School Money Problem

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2468485/fan_mail/new] Mount Vernon closed three elementary schools to save $17 million, but the actual recurring savings landed closer to $6.8 million. In the county that pays the highest property taxes in America, the Mount Vernon City School District is in its sixth straight year of state-designated fiscal stress, and it still cannot close a roughly $5.5 million gap. We walk through the rejected budget, the June 16 revote, and the projected-versus-actual savings that families were promised. In This Episode (0:00) Mount Vernon's fiscal crisis: two budget votes, three closed schools, and a gap that will not close (5:15) Westchester becomes the first county in New York State to require visual gun-safety warnings Sources BlackWestchester, "Mount Vernon Community Approves $275.5 Million 2026-27 School Budget In Revote" Mount Vernon City School District, 2026-27 budget revote updates NYS Comptroller, Fiscal Stress Monitoring System Westchester County, "County Executive Ken Jenkins Signs Visual Gun Safety Legislation" Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or share the show with a neighbor. It genuinely helps. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2468485/support] I Live Here Westchester is a production of I Live Here Media. We spotlight the voices, visionaries, and stories that make Westchester County more than just a place to live—it’s a place to belong. Have a guest suggestion or want to partner with us? Email: jimjockle@iliveheremedia.com Website: www.iliveheremedia.com [https://www.iliveheremedia.com/] Follow us on Instagram: @iliveheremedia [https://www.instagram.com/iliveheremedia/] Subscribe, rate, and share to support local storytelling.

The Westchester Brief | 07.06.26: Penn Station Access slips to 2030

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2468485/fan_mail/new] Westchester commuters are paying higher Metro-North fares in 2026, but the marquee benefit keeps moving. We break down Penn Station Access, the New Haven Line's one-seat ride into Penn Station that promises up to 40 minutes a day in savings, and why its timeline just slipped to 2027 at the earliest and possibly 2030 for full service. We also look at where the county is spending now, from a roughly $125 million Yonkers station upgrade to cleaner, stronger locomotives on the Hudson Line. In This Episode (0:00) The commute shake-up: what's changing on your line, and when (0:35) Penn Station Access and the one-seat ride to the West Side (1:40) Why the timeline slipped to 2027, and maybe 2030 (2:25) Higher 2026 fares now, benefit later: the core tension (3:15) Yonkers, New Rochelle, and new Siemens Charger locomotives (4:30) What to watch next (4:55) What's Happening: free World Cup Final watch party at Kensico Dam Sources MTA, Penn Station Access project page (project overview and stations) NBC New York, Metro-North to Penn Station timeline reporting Streetsblog NYC, Penn Access completion delayed to 2030 MTA, 2026 fare and toll increase press release (effective January 4, 2026) Governor Hochul's office / New York State United, Kensico Dam World Cup Final watch experience Subscribe to our free newsletter at iliveherewestchester.com for the full story and everything else we're tracking across the county. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2468485/support] I Live Here Westchester is a production of I Live Here Media. We spotlight the voices, visionaries, and stories that make Westchester County more than just a place to live—it’s a place to belong. Have a guest suggestion or want to partner with us? Email: jimjockle@iliveheremedia.com Website: www.iliveheremedia.com [https://www.iliveheremedia.com/] Follow us on Instagram: @iliveheremedia [https://www.instagram.com/iliveheremedia/] Subscribe, rate, and share to support local storytelling.

The Friday Intel | 07.03.26: The Airport's $150M Comfort Problem

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2468485/fan_mail/new] Westchester County wants to spend up to $150 million modernizing the HPN airport terminal. The Friday Intel digs into the data and finds the catch: HPN moves 2.2 million passengers through a 1995 terminal capped at 240 scheduled passengers every half hour, a 1980s limit the renovation won't touch. The county is buying comfort, not capacity. In This Episode (0:00) A $150 million fix, and the number nobody mentions (0:25) The 1995 terminal and 2.2 million passengers (1:10) The 240-per-half-hour cap and four-of-six-gates rule from the 1980s (2:15) The surprise: comfort versus capacity (3:00) What it means if you fly HPN, live nearby, or pay county taxes (3:50) Close Sources Westchester County and HNTB: the terminal modernization and feasibility study Airport capacity data: HPN passenger counts and the Terminal Capacity Agreement Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, or share this episode with a neighbor. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2468485/support] I Live Here Westchester is a production of I Live Here Media. We spotlight the voices, visionaries, and stories that make Westchester County more than just a place to live—it’s a place to belong. Have a guest suggestion or want to partner with us? Email: jimjockle@iliveheremedia.com Website: www.iliveheremedia.com [https://www.iliveheremedia.com/] Follow us on Instagram: @iliveheremedia [https://www.instagram.com/iliveheremedia/] Subscribe, rate, and share to support local storytelling.

The Westchester Brief | 07.02.26: Retail Musical Chairs in Westchester

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2468485/fan_mail/new] Barnes & Noble is gone from White Plains City Center and Neiman Marcus is leaving The Westchester, while Wayfair plants its first New York store in Yonkers. We map who is moving out and who is moving in across Westchester County, and explain what vacant anchors do to mall values and the local sales-tax base. In This Episode (0:00) Two stores out, a furniture warehouse in (0:20) The closings: Barnes & Noble, CH Martin, Neiman Marcus, Saks Off Fifth (1:15) The openings: Wayfair, MINISO, and the dining wave (2:15) Why a dark anchor hits shopping-center values and the tax base (3:00) The 20,000-unit residential bet underneath it all (3:40) What else is happening: Housing Flex Fund II's August 21 deadline (4:05) Close Sources Westchester Magazine: business openings and closings Westfair: Neiman Marcus and the Saks Global restructuring Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, or share this episode with a neighbor. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2468485/support] I Live Here Westchester is a production of I Live Here Media. We spotlight the voices, visionaries, and stories that make Westchester County more than just a place to live—it’s a place to belong. Have a guest suggestion or want to partner with us? Email: jimjockle@iliveheremedia.com Website: www.iliveheremedia.com [https://www.iliveheremedia.com/] Follow us on Instagram: @iliveheremedia [https://www.instagram.com/iliveheremedia/] Subscribe, rate, and share to support local storytelling.

The Westchester Brief | 07.01.26: 47,000 Lose Coverage Today

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2468485/fan_mail/new] The Essential Plan cliff lands today. As of July 1, New York lowered the income line for its no-premium health plan, and roughly 47,000 Hudson Valley residents, many in Westchester County, lose coverage. We trace the change from a 2025 federal law to a Westchester kitchen table, and explain where the costs go next. In This Episode (0:00) A rule changes today, and 47,000 neighbors wake up uninsured (0:25) How the income line dropped from 250% to 200% of poverty (1:15) The federal law that cut $7.5 billion from a $14 billion program (2:15) Marketplace plans, premiums, and the $2.5 billion left unspent (3:00) Why uninsured residents become a hospital and county cost (3:40) What else is happening: the Katonah Museum's founding-families exhibit (4:10) Close Sources Fiscal Policy Institute: regional impacts of the July 2026 Essential Plan cliff NY State of Health and NY Health Access: the income-eligibility change Subscribe to the newsletter for the full story delivered to your inbox at iliveherewestchester.com. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2468485/support] I Live Here Westchester is a production of I Live Here Media. We spotlight the voices, visionaries, and stories that make Westchester County more than just a place to live—it’s a place to belong. Have a guest suggestion or want to partner with us? Email: jimjockle@iliveheremedia.com Website: www.iliveheremedia.com [https://www.iliveheremedia.com/] Follow us on Instagram: @iliveheremedia [https://www.instagram.com/iliveheremedia/] Subscribe, rate, and share to support local storytelling.