Mount Vernon is a city. City Hall is at 1 Roosevelt Square North, Mount Vernon, NY 10550, on the City’s official site. Mount Vernon City Court is at 2 Roosevelt Square North, 2nd floor, according to the City’s court page. The two buildings sit on the same square. City Court is the local court for many matters that arise in the City. It is not the court that dissolves a marriage.
The City’s official overview places Mount Vernon just north of the Bronx, with the Town of Pelham and the Villages of Pelham and Pelham Manor to the east, the Village of Bronxville and the Town of Eastchester to the north, and the City of Yonkers to the west. A resident of Mount Vernon files for divorce as a city resident. Neighboring municipal lines do not send the case to a village, town, or city court next door.
For a Mount Vernon resident, the court of competent jurisdiction for a divorce is the New York State Supreme Court, Westchester County. It sits at the Richard J. Daronco Courthouse, 111 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, White Plains, NY 10601.
Gregory Salant, a partner at Harold, Salant, Strassfield & Rotbard, LLP, handles divorce and other family-law matters for people who live in the City. The consultation address is 81 Main Street, Suite 205, in White Plains, the city where Westchester County divorce cases are heard. He does not keep a Mount Vernon office.
City Court on Roosevelt Square
Mount Vernon City Court is a city court. It occupies the 2nd floor at 2 Roosevelt Square North. The City’s court page points to local civil calendars, and it notes parking in a municipal lot across the street. Whatever else City Court may hear, it cannot grant a divorce, an annulment, or a judgment of separation. Only Supreme Court can enter those judgments.
Three Metro-North stations, on two lines
The City’s official overview refers to three Metro-North stations in Mount Vernon. The MTA lists Mt. Vernon West on the Harlem Line and Mt. Vernon East on the New Haven Line. The City’s Economic Development Strategy names the three stations as Mt. Vernon East, Mt. Vernon West, and Fleetwood.
The stations do not determine the court that grants a divorce. The City’s overview also notes that the 2 and 5 subway lines end near the Mount Vernon/Bronx border. That fact, like the rail stations, does not move a divorce out of Supreme Court.
Opening the action, and the grounds
A New York divorce is opened by filing a summons with notice, or a summons and verified complaint, and by arranging for service. It is not opened by a petition for dissolution.
Domestic Relations Law § 170 supplies the grounds. A frequently used ground is DRL § 170(7): one spouse states under oath that the relationship has broken down irretrievably for at least six months. Before a judgment enters on that ground, economic issues and any issues about the children must already have been resolved or decided and must appear in the judgment. Other grounds remain in the same section.
Domestic Relations Law § 230 can also affect whether a New York court is available, depending on the residence history. That history has to be reviewed against the statute. Further statewide discussion is on the Westchester divorce and White Plains divorce pages.
Family Court cannot dissolve the marriage
Family Court is open for certain family-offense, custody, and support petitions. It is closed to a request for a judgment of divorce. The three Family Court sites now in use in the county are 111 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, White Plains; 131 Warburton Avenue, 3rd floor, in Yonkers; and 26 Garden Street, 3rd floor, in New Rochelle. Which location hears a particular matter depends on the case. The same subjects, when they arise in a divorce, are often handled in the Supreme Court action.
Mount Vernon City School District and children
The City’s official overview states that the school district is an independent entity. Mount Vernon City School District lists its offices at 165 North Columbus Avenue, Mount Vernon, NY 10553, on the district’s official site. The district for a given address should be confirmed there, not assumed from a mailing label.
Custody, parenting time, and child support are usually decided in the divorce itself. The court applies the best interests of the child. A current school placement can be relevant evidence. It does not lock a child into Mount Vernon City School District, and it does not require a 50/50 calendar. See the child custody and parenting time page.
Equitable distribution of city property
Under Domestic Relations Law § 236(B), the court first classifies property as marital or separate and then distributes marital property by equitable distribution. That process is not community property, and it is not an automatic even split.
The marital residence is often a central asset, along with pensions, deferred compensation, and any closely held business; among the statutory factors is a custodial parent's need to occupy or own the marital residence. A one-family house, a two-family house, or a cooperative or condominium in the City is classified under the statute, not by its proximity to Roosevelt Square or to a rail station. Separate property is generally not divided, and it can lose that status if commingled. An increase in the value of separate property is marital to the extent it is due to the other spouse's contributions or efforts. The high-net-worth divorce page addresses more complex estates.
If the issues have already been written down
A complete written resolution of every issue often allows the case to proceed as an uncontested divorce. The uncontested route is often more efficient when the issues are resolved. It is not a reduced fee. Unresolved points may be tried.
Scheduling an appointment
The contact page and the telephone number (914) 683-2500 are the ways to schedule time with Gregory Salant. Save confidential facts for the conference. Contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship.
A helpful file, if one can be assembled, may contain any papers already exchanged, last year’s tax return, account and loan statements, a deed, lease, or cooperative stock certificate for a home in the City, and a brief description of each child’s school.
Schedule a consultation · (914) 683-2500
Gregory Salant, Partner, Harold, Salant, Strassfield & Rotbard, LLP
81 Main Street, Suite 205, White Plains, NY 10601
(914) 683-2500 · gsalant@haroldsalant.com
Frequently asked questions
Can Mount Vernon City Court, at 2 Roosevelt Square North, grant a divorce?
No. The City’s court page places City Court on the 2nd floor of that building. It has no power to enter a judgment of divorce. The matrimonial case is filed in Supreme Court in White Plains.
The City borders Yonkers, Pelham, Bronxville, and Eastchester. Do I file in one of those courts instead?
No. Mount Vernon is a city. A border with another municipality does not change the court that grants a divorce.
The City has stations on both the Harlem Line and the New Haven Line. Does that change the filing court?
No. The City’s official overview refers to three Metro-North stations, and the MTA lists Mt. Vernon West and Fleetwood on the Harlem Line and Mt. Vernon East on the New Haven Line. The stations do not select the filing court.
If the children attend Mount Vernon City School District, at 165 North Columbus Avenue, does that decide custody?
No. Verify the district from the address. The court looks to the best interests of the child, and a current school can be relevant. Neither a required stay in that district nor a 50/50 calendar follows automatically from enrollment.
Serving Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Orange and Dutchess Counties, and the Bronx, Manhattan and the other New York City counties.
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