Mount Vernon Resident Challenges Legality of Library Bond Resolution in Court
Mount Vernon, NY – May 7, 2025 — A local taxpayer has taken legal action on Monday, May 5th, to stop a $1.7 million bond referendum tied to a controversial real estate acquisition of the childhood home of author E.B. White, who wrote “Charlotte’s Web” and other classic children’s books, located at 101 Summit Ave, by the Mount Vernon Public Library, claiming the authorizing resolution was adopted in violation of state law.
Axel Ebermann, a homeowner and taxpayer of Mount Vernon, filed a verified petition (see full document below) in the New York State Supreme Court, Westchester County, under Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules (CPLR). Acting pro se, Ebermann alleges that the Mount Vernon Public Library’s Board of Trustees approved Resolution 099-24 without a lawful quorum during its January 7, 2025, meeting.
Mount Vernon Resident Challenges Legality of Library Bond Resolution in Court by BLACK WESTCHESTER MAGAZINE on Scribd
According to the petition, the resolution authorizes the acquisition of property at 101 Summit Avenue, Mount Vernon, and would be funded by a $1.7 million bond referendum added to the Mount Vernon City School District’s May 2025 budget ballot. However, Ebermann argues that only two trustees were physically present at the meeting, with a third joining remotely via Zoom. This, he claims, violated state law requiring a minimum physical quorum of three members for a public body to take official action.
Efforts to cure the procedural defect at a later meeting on January 15, 2025, were unsuccessful, with no valid vote taken since, according to Ebermann.
The petition alleges that despite being aware of the flawed vote, the Library and the School District moved forward with the referendum. The School District’s decision to proceed appears to have resolved a separate lawsuit the Library filed against it in April 2025, which demanded the referendum be placed on the budget ballot. In that lawsuit, the Library asserted it had “done all that is legally required” to initiate the bond vote.
Ebermann disagrees, arguing that the procedural violations render the resolution invalid and that moving forward with the referendum without a lawful vote misuses public funds and undermines transparency. His petition seeks a court order to annul Resolution 099-24, halt any related actions, and award legal costs under Public Officers Law § 107(2).
“The law requires strict adherence to open meeting procedures for a reason,” Ebermann said in his filing. “Taxpayers should not bear the burden of decisions made in violation of those laws.”
The case highlights ongoing concerns about governance and transparency in the City of Mount Vernon’s local institutions. No hearing date has been announced, and the respondents have yet to file a formal response.
We reached out to Peter E. Brill of the Brill Legal Group, who represented the Mount Vernon Public Library Trustees in their lawsuit against the Mount Vernon City School District last month. If he responds, we will update the article.
Stay tuned to Black Westchester for more on this developing story!
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