The City of Mount Vernon gathered in celebration Saturday afternoon for the inauguration of Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard.

A standing room-only crowd filled the Grace Baptist Church as the mayor was sworn in to begin her second term in office.

Patterson-Howard, a Mount Vernon native, is the first female mayor who is African American to be elected as the city's mayor.

A host of local and state political leaders, including Sen. Chuck Schumer, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Westchester County Executive George Latimer, were also on hand to celebrate the start of Patterson-Howard's second term.