President of the Mount Vernon Public Library Board of Trustees, Hope Marable, wrote the following letter to the editor in response to a recently posted op/ed by Library Advocate Tamara Stewart.
Dear Mr. Woodson,
Allow me to begin by acknowledging Black Westchester Magazine’s ongoing commitment to empowering others through the cogency of journalism.
New York Education Law § 260-a Section 5 specifies:
“The boards of trustees of public…libraries shall hold regular meetings at least quarterly and such boards shall fix the day and hour for holding such meetings.”
The Mount Vernon Public Library is mandated to meet every three (3) months or on four (4) occasions within a span of twelve (12) months.
Resolution 053-25, (which passed unanimously), at a legally called-for, regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday, September 24, 2025, complies with the aforementioned Statute.
The Board will assemble on the fourth Wednesdays in June, October, and September. December meetings will commence on the second Wednesday.
The Board will assemble for Work Session Meetings on the fourth Wednesdays in March, April, and May. January Work Session Meetings will commence on the second Wednesday.
With the exception of Committee Meetings and Special Meetings, the Board will not meet in February, July, August, and November.
The Finance Committee will continue to meet monthly.
The new meeting schedule will be formally drafted into the Library’s Bylaws by on or about the month of December, along with all other Amendments passed via majority vote of the Trustees.
Clerical errors in regard to Resolution 053-25 will be corrected as soon as practicable.
As for Resolution 058-25, which passed during a legally called-for public meeting on Monday, September 22, 2025, the suspension of Public Expression is temporary while the Library Board is reviewing its Policies and Bylaws; attendees maintain the right to attend, listen, and observe.
The Mount Vernon Public Library is now fully registered; the Board’s prior litigation with the NYSED is far behind us, and the NYS Librarian has graciously applauded us for our diligence and myriad of successful outcome(s).
March 2026, our Library looks forward to celebrating 130 years of continuous service to the Community of Mount Vernon, New York, and the County of Westchester.
The existing panel is grateful to the Regents, Division of Library Development, Westchester Library System, former Trustees, and dedicated Staff for his and her unwavering support.
The Board of Trustees will meet on Tuesday, October 22, 2025, at 6:30 pm in the J. Gary Pretlow Community Room. As always, the public is welcome and encouraged to attend.
“Thank you for supporting Mount Vernon Public Library”.
Sincerely,
Trustee Hope Marable, Board President
Mount Vernon Public Library
The writer of the op-ed is not a “Library Advocate”.
She is advocating solely for herself via virtue of intentionally disseminating false information at the sake of the Library’s reputation.
Hope Marable, (Citizen)
Mount Vernon, New York
We the tax payers, and by all definitions the stakeholders – a term that has been repeatedly held separate from us by Ms. Marable in commentary – have been silenced due to our factual discoveries and realizations regarding the functional capabilities of the board, especially at the last meeting that allowed public commentary. Budgets and expenses were trivialized among a whole host of other jaw dropping procedural revelations. The board and it’s president have been put on notice that we all have noticed. And will continue to make attempts to install a more professional and capable group to lead the Library.
To whom it may concern,
Your concerns and alleged “discoveries” (however vague), unfounded and uncorroborated, have not been ignored or “trivialized”.
I, however, (as an individual) am unable to address complaints that are not supported by facts, data, evidence, or merit.
Apart from that, Library Trustees are not enabled to “silence” you or anyone else; such a thing exceeds the purview of our duties, which is to simply:
“GOVERN THE LIBRARY”.
The existing Board is doing a terrific job in spite of routine efforts to usurp our Library’s conspicuous progress.