Mount Vernon Mayor Richard Thomas released a picture of himself with iconic hip-hop entrepreneur Sean "Diddy" Combs in the hope of enlisting the former resident in the renewal of Memorial Field.

The picture was released amid an ongoing lawsuit involving Thomas, the city and the county over the future of the field. So far, there is no word from the Combs camp what that involvement may be.  

Crews were hard at work at the field in May, attempting to renovate the facility in time for early fall. Those plans came to a halt a month later when Thomas abruptly evicted the Kela tennis club in the middle of the night and deflated its million-dollar bubble. A week later, after the City Council sued, a judge ordered all work stopped until he could decide who has the authority to control the future of the athletic field: the mayor, the City Council or the county.

When the mayor had the bubble deflated, his contractors confiscated the parts needed to re-inflate it,  and the city has refused to give them back.

The Kela tennis club has been asking the city to turn over the parts for weeks. For at least three consecutive weeks, a judge ordered that the city hand over the parts by Thursday or face being in contempt of court.

Kela is now suing the city for $27 million - not only for its parts, but also for an eviction that its lawyers insist is ruining its business.

News 12 was told that if the city turns over the parts by Thursday,  lawyers from all sides will be back in court next week.