UPDATE: The New York Post story originally said she was from New Rochelle. They have now changed that to say she is from Mount Vernon which has led to some confusion which we are still attempting to sort out. Sources at City Hall have told Talk of the Sound Jones is not on the payroll at City Hall. They said she is not on the Youth Bureau Board. That has also been confirmed based on data obtained by the Journal News. We will post more as we get it but it appears that the initial basis for this report may be incorrect. If you have any additional information post a comment.
UPDATE: We have now learned that there is some connection between Jennifer Jones and the New Rochelle Youth Bureau. The information provided by the City earlier today while accurate appears to have been an attempt to mislead by telling a narrow version of the truth. Sources now tell Talk of the Sound that either Jones or a company associated with her as done some sort of consulting for the Youth Bureau. This explains why sources saw her in and out of City Hall and in the company of Mr. Kelly, Executive Director of the Youth Bureau. We have contacted the City Manager’s office for further details and will file a FOIL request tomorrow.
New Rochelle’s own Jennifer Jones, a highly regarded and well-liked social worker from New Rochelle, who works for the City of New Rochelle’s Youth Bureau has become the subject of entirely unjustified national speculation after the New York Post reported that she was “affectionate and physical” with New York Governor David Paterson during a lunch at a New Jersey restaurant. Jones and Paterson have both flatly denied the New York Post story. New Rochelle residents rushed to defend Jones who all seemed to agree was being unfairly maligned as part of some political vendetta to “get” Paterson. Jones is “one of the good people” in New Rochelle, said one City Hall worker. [our source on this has either confused Jones with someone else or correctly identified Jones as someone who does spend time in City Hall but does not actually work for the City of New Rochelle].
Jones is a municipal employee in New Rochelle. She works for Kelly Johnson, Executive Director of the New Rochelle Youth Bureau. This information is not correct. Jones does not work for the City of New Rochelle.
From the a
The mission of the New Rochelle Youth Bureau and its Board of Commissioners is the prevention and reduction of juvenile delinquency through advocating and providing positive youth development programs to residents 21 years and under. The Bureau is committed through education to prepare our diverse youth population to develop high ethical and moral principles. This commitment, coupled with continuous research and data collection of youth behavior/trends allows the Bureau to bring to the forefront of the general population of the City an awareness of the major issues facing our young.
The Youth Bureau works in the areas of Student Advocacy, Crisis Intervention, Court Intervention, Drug/Substance Abuse Referrals, On-going Community Needs Assessment and Community Planning, Intergenerational Programs, Coordination of Youth Services, Allocation of Local Funds, Special Community Events, Summer Youth Employment Programs, Job Readiness Initiatives, and Job Service Referrals and offers Tutorial Programs.
Jones also runs Growing Minds of New York a day camp program in Mount Vernon, NY. The web site reads:
Growing Minds Day Camp was founded on the principle that providing positive alternatives to youth makes all the difference. Growing Minds offers a quality, economic alternative to local high-cost day camps and summer daycare. Our overall purpose is to build a bridge between summer and school-time learning.
Campers between the ages of six and thirteen will enjoy a variety of educational and recreational activities both on- and off-site as well as weekly swimming lessons. All activities, snacks and extended hours are included in the tuition at no additional cost.
Our program activities will teach effective communication, leadership, and social skills that will lead to the academic enrichment of our campers.
Growing Minds is where learning and fun are considered equal and at the end of the summer, campers are ready for school because they have mastered new skills.
In her capacity as director of the Growing Minds day camp, Jennifer Jones has been part of a lobbying effort to create a White House Office on Children and Youth which has drafted a proposed executive order for President Obama to sign to create a White House Office on Children and Youth as well an amendment to the Tom Osborne Federal Youth Coordination Act.
New York Post Mention of this Story
Dave’s lunch fox (1/19/2010)
http://bit.ly/5We4GC
Jones, who has three kids and lives with her handsome hubby, Harvey, in a two-family home, holds a master’s degree in social work from Fordham.
She works at a New Rochelle youth bureau, according to the local blog New Rochelle’s Talk of the Town, and also runs a day camp in Mount Vernon called Growing Minds of New York.