Mike Spano | |
---|---|
42nd Mayor of Yonkers | |
Assumed office January 1, 2012 | |
Deputy | Steve Levy |
Preceded by | Phil Amicone |
Member of the New York State Assembly | |
In office January 1,1992 –December 31,2011 | |
Preceded by | Terence Zaleski |
Succeeded by | |
Constituency | 83rd district (1992) 87th district (1995–2004) 93rd district (2007–2011) |
Personal details | |
Born | Michael Joseph Spano April 22,1964 Yonkers,New York,U.S. |
Political party | Democratic (2007–present) |
Other political affiliations | Republican (until 2007) |
Spouse | |
Children | 3 |
Relatives | Nick Spano (brother) Leonard Spano (father) |
Website | Official website Campaign website |
Michael Joseph Spano [1] (born April 22,1964) is an American politician who is the 42nd mayor of Yonkers,New York. He is a member of the Democratic Party. A former Republican,he served as a member of the New York State Assembly.
Born and raised in Yonkers,New York, [2] Spano is the ninth of sixteen children born to Josephine and Leonard Spano (1930–2019). [3] [4] Spano was first elected to the New York State Assembly in 1992 as the assembly's youngest member. Due to the state's reapportionment plan,his seat was eliminated later that same year. [5] However,he ran again in 1994 and continued to serve in the New York State Assembly for nearly a decade until he chose not to run for re-election. [6]
Within the private sector,Spano worked for a New York governmental relations firm and served on the Board of Directors for Leake and Watts Services. [7] After his children became school-aged,he decided to return to public service and ran successfully once again for the State Assembly where he represented the people of Yonkers in the 93rd Assembly District.
On November 8,2011,Spano was elected as mayor of the City of Yonkers,New York. [8] During his tenure,Spano has passed two consecutive bipartisan budgets that included historic investment in education and kept taxes within the New York State property tax cap. [9]
He was reelected to a second term as mayor in 2015. [10]
In 2019,Spano was reelected to a third term as mayor following a revision in the city charter which overturned term limits by the Yonkers City Council. [11] Spano had previously said he would not seek a third term,stating,"even if they did overturn term limits,as much as I love being mayor,I wouldn’t seek a third term." [12]
In 2022,the Yonkers City Council voted to extend term limits for the second time for Mayor Spano. Citizens of Yonkers challenged the extension in New York State court,but the change in local law was upheld. [13]
In May 2023,the Westchester County District Attorney's Office received a letter calling for an ethics investigation into alleged "nepotism,abuse of taxpayer dollars,corruption and abuse of power" under Spano's administration. [14] The letter was prompted by media reports regarding Spano family members employed by the City of Yonkers. [14] As of April 27,2023,it was reported that at least 15 members of the Spano family were employed by the City of Yonkers,with the family collectively earning "at least $2 million annually" from the City. [15] Spano has denied the allegations. [16]
Spano is also a member of numerous community organizations such as the Yonkers Chamber of Commerce,Access Westchester,Exchange Club of Yonkers,Sons of Italy,and an Honorary Member (non-veteran) of the Armando Rauso AMVETS Post. [17] He is also a former member of the board of directors of Westchester School for Special Children and donor to the Luis Pani foundation. [17]
Spano appeared on the TV show Impractical Jokers during Murr's punishment that took place at Yonkers City Hall in the episode "Speech Impediment". [18]
A lifelong Yonkers resident,Spano has been married to CBS newscaster Mary Calvi since 1996 and has three children. [19]
Yonkers is the third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York and the most-populous city in Westchester County. A centrally located municipality within the New York metropolitan area,Yonkers had a population of 211,569 at the 2020 United States census. Yonkers is classified as an inner suburb of New York City,immediately north of the Bronx and approximately 2.4 miles (4 km) north of Marble Hill.
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The Alexander Smith Carpet Mills Historic District is a national historic district located at Yonkers,Westchester County,New York. It includes 85 contributing buildings. It encompasses 19 stylistically varied mill buildings and six rows of workers' housing. They were developed between 1871 and 1930 in the vicinity of northeastern Getty Square along the banks of the Saw Mill River. The main mill building was originally built in 1871 and expanded between 1876 and 1883. It is a three-story,rectangular building,52 bays wide and five bays deep in the Second Empire style. It features a four-story tower and a five-story tower. The workers' housing,known as Moquette Row,North and South,was built between 1881 and 1886. Many workers that lived in this housing originally were immigrants to the United States. They came from Scotland,Ireland,and Ukraine. The carpet works were developed by Alexander Smith (1818-1878) The company closed the Yonkers mills and relocated to Greenville,Mississippi,in 1954. At the time of its closing,there were 2,400 who worked at the carpet mill. At the time of World War II,there was 7,000 employees who worked at the mill.It was later absorbed into Mohawk Carpet,later Mohasco Corporation. The carpet weaving industry was revolutionized by looms invented in this plant by Alexander Smith and Halcyon Skinner. Skinner,an engineer,designed a loom known as the Axminster power loom,which revolutionized the production of carpets. A patent for this loom was created in 1877 and royalty rights were sold to European and American companies at the rate of twenty cents per yard of carpet produced.
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