Yonkers, New York
Yonkers is the fourth most populous city in the state of New York (behind New York City, Buffalo and Rochester), and the most populous city in Westchester County, with a population of 196,086 (according to the 2000 census), and an estimated 2008 population of 201,588. Yonkers borders the New York City borough of The Bronx and is 2 miles (3 km) north of Manhattan at the cities' two respective closest points.The city is home to several attractions: the Hudson River Museum, the Sherwood House, Beczak Environmental Education Center, the Science Barge, Cross County Shopping Center, Yonkers Raceway, a harness racing track that has renovated its grounds and clubhouse and added legalized video slot machine gambling in 2006 in a 'racino' called Empire City. The race track's renovation forced the move of the city's weekly Flea Market; it is now held in the parking lot of the Edward J. Murray Skating Center, located at 348 Tuckahoe Road, every Sunday between the months of May & December. There are also many large shopping areas along Central Park Avenue (NY 100), informally called 'Central Ave' by area residents, a name it takes officially a few miles north in White Plains, New York.
Geography
The city is spread out over hills rising from near sea level at the eastern bank of the Hudson River to 416 feet (126 m) at Sacred Heart Church, whose spire can be seen from Long Island, New York City, and New Jersey. Its landscape has been compared to San Francisco, Sarajevo, Hunts Point and Rome.Yonkers is located at 40°56′29″N 73°51′52″W / 40.94139°N 73.86444°W / 40.94139; -73.86444 (40.941478, -73.864365).The city occupies 20.3 square miles (52.6 km²), including 46.8 km² (18.1 sq mi) of land and 5.8 km² (2.2 sq mi) (11.02%) of water, according to the United States Census Bureau.The Bronx River separates Yonkers from Mount Vernon, Tuckahoe, Eastchester, Bronxville, and Scarsdale to the east. The town of Greenburgh is to the north, and on the western border is the Hudson River.On the south, Yonkers borders the Riverdale, Woodlawn, and Wakefield sections of The Bronx. In addition, the southernmost point of Yonkers is only 2 miles (3 km) north of the northernmost point of Manhattan when measured from Broadway & Caryl Avenue in Yonkers to Broadway & West 228th Street in the Marble Hill section of Manhattan.The gentilic for residents is alternately Yonkersonian or Yonkersite Climate: Yonkers has cold winters and warm summers. Temperature ranges average lows of 27 degrees F in January, and average highs of 84 degrees F in July.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 196,086 people, 74,351 households, and 49,294 families residing in the city. The population density is 10,847.5 people per square mile (4,187.5/km²). There are 77,589 housing units at an average density of 4,292.2/sq mi (1,656.9/km²). The cultural makeup of the city is 57.00% White, 16.61% African American, 0.44% Native American, 4.86% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 13.44% from other races, and 4.42% from two or more ethnicities. 25.93% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any ethnic background. 19.9% were of Italian and 11.6% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000. 61.3% spoke English, 22.7% Spanish, 3.9% Italian, 5% Arabic and 1.3% Portuguese as their first language.There are 74,351 households out of which 30.9% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.2% are married couples living together, 17.2% have a female householder with no husband present, and 33.7% are non-families. 29.2% of all households are made up of individuals and 11.9% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.61 and the average family size is 3.23.In the city the population is spread out with 24.3% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 25, 30.6% from 25 to 45, 21.2% from 45 to 65, and 15.0% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 36 years. For every 100 females there are 88.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 84.2 males.The median income for a household in the city is $44,663, and the median income for a family is $53,233. Males have a median income of $41,598 versus $34,756 for females. The per capita income for the city is $22,793. 15.5% of the population and 13.0% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 24.8% of those under the age of 18 and 9.9% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
History
The land on which the city is built was once part of a 24,000 acre (97 km²) land grant that ran from the current Manhattan/Bronx border at Marble Hill northwards for 12 miles (19 km), and from the Hudson River eastwards to the Bronx River. This grant was given in July 1645 by New Netherland Director-General Willem Kieft to Adriaen van der Donck, originally named Colen Donck. Van der Donck was known locally as the Jonkheer or Jonker (etymologically, 'young gentleman'; in effect, 'Esquire'), a word from which the name 'Yonkers' is directly derived. Van der Donck built a saw mill near where the Nepperhan Creek met the Hudson; the Nepperhan is now also known as the Saw Mill River.Near the site of van der Donck's mill is Philipse Manor Hall, a Colonial-era manor house which today serves as a museum and archive, offering many glimpses into life before the American Revolution. The original structure (later enlarged) was built around 1682 by Frederick Philipse and his wife Margaret Hardenbroeck. Frederick was a wealthy Dutchman who, by the time of his death, had amassed an enormous estate which encompassed the entire modern City of Yonkers, as well as several other Hudson River towns. Philipse's great-grandson, Frederick Philipse III, was a prominent Loyalist during the American Revolution, who, because of his political leanings, was forced to flee to England. All the lands that belonged to the Philipse family were confiscated and sold.For its first two hundred years, Yonkers was a small farming town with an active industrial waterfront. Yonkers's later growth rested largely on developing industry. In 1853, Elisha Otis invented the first safety elevator and the Otis Elevator Company, opened the first elevator factory in the world on the banks of the Hudson near what is now Vark Street. It relocated to larger quarters (now the Yonkers Public Library) in the 1880s. Around the same time, the Alexander Smith and Sons Carpet Company (in the Saw Mill River Valley) expanded to 45 buildings, 800 looms, and over 4,000 workers and was known as one of the premier carpet producing centers in the world. In 1892, Smith carpets were sent to Moscow for the tsar's coronation. Bakelite, the first completely synthetic plastic, was invented in Yonkers circa 1906 by Leo Baekeland, and manufactured there until the late 1920s.The community was incorporated as a village in the northern part of the Town of Yonkers in 1854, and as a city in 1872. The southern part of the Township became the South Bronx. The city having declined to join the City of Greater New York, plans were dropped to extend the new subway to Getty Square.Early in the 20th Century, Yonkers also hosted a brass era automobile maker, Colt Runabout Company; despite the car's seemingly glowing performance, the company went under.Yonkers was also the headquarters of the Waring Hat Company, at the time the nation's largest hat manufacturer. World War II saw the city's factories manufacture such items as tents and blankets in the Alexander Smith and Sons Carpet Factory and tanks in the Otis Elevator factory.After World War II, however, with increased competition from less expensive imports, Yonkers lost much of its manufacturing activity. The Alexander Smith Carpet mill fell on hard times and ceased operation on June 24, 1954. In 1983, the Otis Elevator Factory finally closed its doors. With the loss of jobs in the city itself, Yonkers (predominantly the east side) became primarily a residential city and some neighborhoods of the city, such as Crestwood, became popular with wealthy New Yorkers wishing to live outside the city but not in an entirely suburban environment. Yonkers' excellent transportation infrastructure, including three commuter railroad lines (now two, the Harlem and Hudson Lines) and five parkways and thruways, as well as its 15-minute drive from Manhattan and picturesque 'period' homes and apartments, made it a desirable city in which to live. Yonkers' manufacturing sector has recently shown a resurgence. A Kawasaki railroad cars assembly plant opened in 1986 in the former Otis plant, producing the new R142A, R143 and R160B cars for the New York City Subway, and the PA4 and upcoming PA5 series for PATH.Aside from being a manufacturing center, Yonkers also played a key role in the development of entertainment in the United States. In 1888, Scottish immigrant John Reid founded the first golf course in the United States, St. Andrew's Golf Club, in Yonkers. On January 4, 1940, Yonkers resident Edwin Howard Armstrong transmitted the first FM radio broadcast (on station W2XCR) from the Yonkers home of C.R. Runyon, a co-experimenter. Yonkers also had the longest running pirate radio station, owned by Allan Weiner during the 1970s through the 1980s.Yonkers was at the center of national/international attention during the summer of 1988 when the city refused to desegregate its public school system as well as build new municipal public housing in the eastern part of the city. The federal judge, Leonard Sand, ruled that Yonkers had systemic segregation which was being implemented by the city government. Being fined one dollar and doubling everyday until the council passed the ordinance set out by the federal judge, Mayor Nicholas Wasicsko bravely fought to save the city from financial disaster and bring about unity in a city scarred with the stigma of the 'Balkanization of Yonkers.' He succeeded in bringing about desegregation, yet Yonkers still suffers from the stigma of opposing desegregation.The Irish-American community is prominent in Yonkers, and the city hosts one of the nation's oldest St. Patrick's Day parades. There is also home to a large Italian-American community, and the city hosts a large Columbus Day festival with a Miss Italian-American pageant.Yonkers also has a significant Portuguese population.Another large community is the Slavic community. In the early and mid 20th Century a large amount of people emigrated from Poland, Ukraine , Czechoslavakia , Russia , and Croatia . Recently a large number of immigrants from the former Yugoslavia have called Yonkers home. The Slavic community is centered around St. Casimir's Roman Catholic Church, Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church, Most Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church, and St. Michael's Ukrainian Catholic Church. Yonkers still has a large Slavic community.There also once was a significant Jewish population (the Broadway plays Hello Dolly! and Lost in Yonkers both take place within the Yonkers Jewish community). However, it has dwindled. In the 2000s, some areas bordering similar neighborhoods in Riverdale began seeing an influx of Orthodox Jews. Subsequently, Riverdale Hatzalah Volunteer Ambulance Service began serving some neighborhoods in the southwest section of the city.
Neighborhoods
Though Yonkers contains many small residential enclaves and communities, it can conveniently be divided into four quarters, demarcated by the Saw Mill River. There are 37 or more distinct neighborhoods, many of these names being rarely used except by real estate agents.
Northeast Yonkers
This is a heavily Irish-American and Italian-American area. Though suburban, it is noticeably less so than the Town of Greenburgh to the north. House sizes vary widely, from small houses set close together, to some larger houses in areas like Lawrence Park West. Tuckahoe Road, which intersects Central Avenue (NY 100), contains many stores as well. Notable former residents include Steven Tyler of the rock band Aerosmith (born Steven Tallarico), whose childhood home was just off Central Avenue on Pembrook Drive. Northeastern Yonkers contains the desirable Crestwood, Colonial Heights, and Beech Hill sections of the city, as well as several other wealthy enclaves. Landmarks include St Vladimir's Seminary, the Tanglewood Shopping Center (one-time home of the Tanglewood Boys gang) which most of the members were young men of Irish or Italian decent from the Crestwood/Colonial Heights area, as well as Sarah Lawrence College the most expensive college in the United States. The northeast section of the city is unique in many ways from the rest of Yonkers. The area consists of more upscale housing, and, due to the promixity of several Metro-North commuter railroad stations, its residents tend to be employed in corporate positions in Manhattan.
Northwest Yonkers
Northwest Yonkers is a collection of widely varying neighborhoods, spanning from the Hudson River to around the New York State Thruway/I-87 and from Ashburton Avenue north to the Hastings-on-Hudson border. With the Hudson River bordering it to the west, this area has many beautiful Victorian-era homes with panoramic views of the Palisades. An interest in historic preservation has taken hold in this neighborhood in recent years, as demonstrated on streets like Shonnard Terrace, Delavan Place and Hudson Terrace. The population of northwestern Yonkers is probably the most ethnically diverse in the city.Landmarks include the Hudson River Museum, Untermyer Park and the Lenoir Nature Preserve. The significant amount of surviving Victorian architecture and 19th century estates in northwest Yonkers has attracted many filmmakers in recent years.The two block section of Palisade Ave between Chase and Roberts Ave in northwest Yonkers is colloquially known as 'the north end' or 'the end'. It was and still is the only retail and food shopping area in the neighborhood, and was well known by the local kids for an original soda fountain store, 'Urich's'. It was once the end of the # 2 trolley line. The # 2 bus replaced the trolley line. One part of Yonkers that is sometimes overlooked is Nepera Park. This is a small section at the northern part of Nepperhan Avenue on the Hastings-on-Hudson border.
Southeast Yonkers
Southeast Yonkers is mostly Irish-American (many of the Irish being native born) and Italian-American. Many of the businesses and type of architecture in southeast Yonkers bear a greater resemblance to certain parts of the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, or Staten Island than to points north. This is not surprising as southeastern Yonkers is largely within walking distance of the Riverdale, Woodlawn, and Wakefield sections of the Bronx. Many residents regard eastern McLean Avenue, home to a vibrant Irish community shared with the Woodlawn section of the Bronx, to be the true hub of Yonkers.Similarly, a portion of Midland Avenue in the Dunwoodie section has been called the 'Little Italy' of Yonkers. Landmarks of southeastern Yonkers include the Cross County Shopping Center, Yonkers Raceway, and St. Joseph's Seminary in the Dunwoodie neighborhood, which was visited by Pope John Paul II in October 1995 and later by Pope Benedict XVI in April 2008.
Southwest Yonkers
Predominately Latino and Black, this area in Yonkers has suffered from past economic, political, and social challenges that hindered many positive social changes. However, the area presently reveals a decrease in crime rate and a juxtaposition of poverty and revitalization that mirrors newly gentrified neighborhoods of New York City's Harlem and Brooklyn. Off South Broadway (a major thoroughfare) one can find residential neighborhoods, such as Nodine Hill, Park Hill, and Hudson Park (off the Hudson River) with residential streets of turn-of-the-century mansions, and upscale luxury rentals and condominiums. Other upscale neighborhoods are Ludlow Park, Hudson Park & Van Cortlandt Crest, off Riverdale Avenue, right over the Riverdale border - the former alongside the Hudson River.The area is also home to significant historical and educational institutions including the historic Philipse Manor Hall (a New York State Historic Site that houses one of three papier mache ceilings in the United States [dead link]), The Science Barge, Beczak Environmental Education Center, and a rather new Yonkers Public Library.Many southwesterners are of African, Caribbean, Italian, or Hispanic descent while an influx those from other cultural backgrounds has continued to shape a culturally diverse community. Some neighborhoods right on the Riverdale border are increasingly becoming home to Orthodox Jews. The revitalization of the downtown Yonkers/Getty Square area has helped to nurture growth for Southwest Yonkers.In the early 2000s several new luxury apartment buildings were built along the Hudson such as Hudson Park and 66Main, luxury high-rises, as well as Metro92, a converted trolley barn turned loft rentals, erected in 2007. There is also a new 'Sculpture Meadow on the Hudson,' renovation of a Victorian-era pier, a new public library housed in the remodeled Otis elevator factory. The award-winning fine dining restaurant Xaviars on Hudson is located at the renovated pier with much success. . There are new proposals along with the current projects which are intended to revitalize downtown Yonkers.
Mass transit
Yonkers has the eighth-highest rate of public transit ridership among cities in the United States. It has four Hudson Line Metro-North Railroad stations providing commuter service to New York City: Ludlow, Yonkers, Glenwood and Greystone. The Yonkers station is also served by Amtrak. Several Harlem Line stations are on or very near the city's eastern border. These include Wakefield, Mt. Vernon West, Fleetwood, Bronxville, Tuckahoe and Crestwood.Bus service is provided by the Westchester County Bee-Line Bus System, and an MTA Bus Company express route to Manhattan.Recently, New York Water Taxi has started a ferry service from downtown Yonkers to Manhattan's Financial District. As of January 4, 2008, this service runs four times a day.
Roads and paths
Major limited-access roads in Yonkers include Interstate 87 (the New York State Thruway), the Saw Mill, Bronx River, Sprain Brook and Cross County parkways. US 9, NY 9A and 100 are important surface streets.The former New York and Putnam Railroad running through the middle of Yonkers has been converted into bicycling and walking paths going north along the Saw Mill River to Elmsford and south to Van Cortlandt Park.In the 1980s and 1990s, Yonkers developed a national reputation for racial tension, based on a long-term battle between the City of Yonkers and the NAACP over the building of subsidized low-rent housing. The City wanted to use federal funds to create or expand high-rise housing projects in southwest Yonkers; other groups, led by the NAACP, felt that concentrating subsidized housing in traditionally poor neighborhoods perpetuated poverty. The climax of the battle came when United States district court Judge Leonard Sand imposed a fine on Yonkers which started at $1 and doubled every day until the City capitulated to the federally mandated plan.
Education
Public schools in Yonkers are operated by Yonkers Public Schools .Libraries are operated by the Yonkers Public Library .
Revitalization
Amidst a growing need for increased economic viability in Yonkers, a vast revitalization project proposal, promising to add luxury housing, waterfront development, commercial and retail space, has been designed for the city. With hopes of increasing the city's tourism and economic importance in the state and county, the project is one of the largest revitalization projects ever proposed for any locality within the New York Metropolitan Area, totaling more than $3 billion.The project is headed by Westchester County's Louis R. Cappelli, Struever Bros. of Baltimore, and New Jersey's Fidelco Realty. The project is expected to include a Minor League Baseball stadium, and an expansive retail and residential project, adding approximately 800 residential units throughout the downtown area and the waterfront.
Notable residents
Edwin Howard Armstrong- Transmitted firstFM radiobroadcast
David Berkowitz- Son of Sam serial killer
James Blake- Tennis player (born in Yonkers)
Mary J. Blige- Musician
Billy Burch- first NHL American player
Sid Caesar- Actor/composer/writer
Robert Celestino- Writer/director
Avram Davidson- Eccentric science-fiction and fantasy author
Doug DeWitt- Champion middleweight boxer
Tommy Dreamer(born Thomas Laughlin) - Pro wrestler
Outasight- Musician
W.C. Handy- Blues composer and musician
Ella Fitzgerald- Jazz singer
Thomas Mikal Ford- Sitcom actor
Frances Foster- Actress
Ekrem Jevrić- Montenegrin singer/rapper
Sheek Louch- Rapper
Eddie Kingston- Pro wrestler
Gene Krupa- Jazz musician
Joe Lapchick- Basketball coach
Stagga Lee- Musician
Henrietta Wells Livermore(1864–1933) - Suffragette
Richard Masur- Actor
Jadakiss- Rapper
Lawrence Monoson- Actor
Cathy Moriarty- Actress
Erik Palladino- Actor
Vincent Richards- International Tennis Hall of Fame
Adam Rodriguez- Actor
Styles P- Rapper
Steve Ridzik- Major League baseball player
Jay Servidio- Internet entrepreneur
Betty Shabazz- Widow ofMalcolm X
Samuel J. Tilden-Governor of New Yorkand winner of thepopular votein thedisputed Presidential Election of 1876which was one of the few U.S. Presidential Election in which the winner of the popular vote lost the election to his opponent who won theElectoral CollegeVote (185-184).
Steven Tyler- Musician (Aerosmith)
Jon Voight- Actor
DMX- Rapper/actor
Chip Taylor- Songwriter (brother of Jon Voight)
Elsie B. Washington(1942 – 2009) - Author (using the pseudonym Rosalind Welles) of the 1980 bookEntwined Destinies, considered the firstromance novelfeaturingAfrican Americancharacters written by an African American author.
George Wright- Baseball pioneer
Mike Breen- play-by-play commentator for theNBA on ABCand the lead commentator forNew York Knicksgames on theMSG Network(born in Yonkers).
Paul Teutul, Sr.- Founder ofOrange County Choppersand star of reality TV showAmerican Chopper(Born in Yonkers).
Brian Sweeney- Professional baseball player (born June 13, 1974) played for theSeattle MarinersandSan Diego Padresand currently plays for theHokkaido Nippon Ham Fightersof theNippon Professional Baseball League
Joseph Stilwell(March 19, 1883 – October 12, 1946) - United States Army General inWorld War IandWorld War II. He grew up in Yonkers, and went toYonkers High School
Charles Proteus Steinmetz(April 9, 1865 – October 26, 1923) - German-American mathematician and electrical engineer. He fostered the development of alternating current that made possible the expansion of the electric power industry in the United States, formulating mathematical theories for engineers. He made ground-breaking discoveries in the understanding of hysteresis that enabled engineers to design better electric motors for use in industry. On February 1893 he published the following notice in the Yonkers Statesman, 'Leaving Yonkers. I wish herewith to say goodbye to all my friends. Charles Proteus Steinmetz.'
Immolation- Death metal band formed in Yonkers whose career currently spans three decades of activity and who, along withSuffocation, are seen as spearheads of the American death metal movement.
In the media
Yonkers is the setting of two feature films by local filmmaker Robert Celestino: Mr. Vincent, a 1997 Sundance Film Festival entrant in the non-competition Spectrum section, and Yonkers Joe, a scheduled 2009 release by Magnolia Pictures, starring Chazz Palminteri and Christine Lahti. Yonkers' locations also provide the setting for A Tale of Two Pizzas, a 'Romeo and Juliet' theme played out among two rival pizza owners. The film 'Doubt' starring Meryl Streep as Sister Aloysius Beauvier filmed scenes for this movie at St. Marks Lutheran Church's school. Yonkers is also the location for many major filming projects: Catch Me if You Can with Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio; Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind with Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet; Mona Lisa Smile with Julia Roberts; A Beautiful Mind with Russell Crowe, Big Daddy with Adam Sandler, The Preacher's Wife (a remake of 'The Bishop's Wife) with Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston, Kate and Leopold with Meg Ryan and Hugh Jackman. Some episodes of the new TV series Fringe were taped in the downtown. The City Hall Courtroom is also the setting for many film and commercial scenes.The starting scene from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind where Joel Barish played by Jim Carrey drives his car up Riverdale Ave past the 3rd police precinct. Then turns right on Valentine Ave to his apartment.In Max Brooks's novel, World War Z, the US armed forces are defeated in the Battle of Yonkers by an army of zombies.Steve Meretzky created several Infocom games, such as Sorcerer. One of the spells in that game, 'Yonk', is named after Yonkers.Dunder Mifflin, the fictional paper supply company from NBC's The Office at one time had a branch in Yonkers, but the branch was closed during the course of the show.Yonkers is one of the settings in the musical Hello Dolly!A character in the musical Gypsy: A Musical Fable is named after Yonkers.Neil Simon wrote a play entitled Lost In Yonkers, set in the city. The story is about two young boys during World War Two, whose father leaves them with their grandmother in Yonkers so he can earn money for the family.In the episode 'The One With Ross' Tan' of Friends, Yonkers is mentioned as the town where Monica and Phoebe's old friend, Amanda Bouvamonteezi, is from.In the episode 'The Handcuffs' of I Love Lucy, Mr Walters, the locksmith has to return to his house in Yonkers.In the Twilight Zone episode, 'What's In The Box,' a philandering cab driver, played by William Demarest, tells his wife he was late coming home because he had to take a 'fare' up to Yonkers.Yonkers was shown on A Shot at Love 2 with Tila Tequila, as it was contestant Kristy's hometown.Yonkers is mentioned in Bon Jovi's song Raise Your HandsYonkers Was Mentioned in the Family Guy Episode:'Stew-Roids' in A cutaway about a Charles Paumpert Movie: Distracting TrumpetYonkers is mentioned in an episode of the show Grounded for Life, where character Lily Finnerty is supposedly going for a party.In the 2010 film 'Bounty Hunter,' Gerard Butler's character Milo Boyd tells Jennifer Aniston's character Nicole Houston of a 'great pizza place on Yonkers.'In the 2011 film 'MIB III (Men In Black 3) Will take place in Radio Shack in Cross County
Twin Towns - Sister Cities
Yonkers is twinned with:TernopilinUkraine(since 1991)