MOUNT VERNON - Downtown Mount Vernon will soon undergo a facelift.  Work to improve the area will begin this coming Monday at Petrillo Plaza, the area of East Prospect Avenue between North Third Avenue and Park Avenue.

The $2.4 million project is a joint initiative of Westchester County and the City of Mount Vernon.  It will enlarge the waiting area for Bee-Line passengers, install new bus shelters and benches, street lighting and a landscaped center median along East Prospect Avenue.  The street will also be paved and new traffic signals installed.

“This project is a springboard for Mount Vernon to redevelop the downtown area,” said County Executive Andrew Spano.  “Not only will it be welcomed by all who visit the area, but our bus passengers will be able to wait for buses in comfort and out of the elements.”

With 3,500 daily passengers, Petrillo Plaza is the third busiest bus stop in the Bee-Line system.  “We want to make available to our Mount Vernon passengers amenities that have been included in the White Plains and New Rochelle bus terminal projects, said County Transportation Commissioner Lawrence Salley.