Encyclopedia
Yonkers is the fourth largest
city in the
U.S. state of
New York and the largest city in
Westchester County, with a population of 196,086 . A July 1, 2002 estimate showed the city's population to be 197,234. The population fell to 197,126 according to the 2004 estimate; the 2005 estimate saw the population drop to 196,425. Yonkers borders the
New York City borough of the
Bronx and is just 2 miles north of
Manhattan.
The city's best-known attraction is Yonkers Raceway, a
harness racing track that plans to boost revenue by renovating the grounds and clubhouse and adding legalized video slot
gambling in the late 2000s. There is also a large shopping area along Central Park Avenue . Central Park Avenue is informally referred to as "Central Avenue" by area residents. In fact, a few miles north in
White Plains, New York, the street is officially designated as "Central Avenue."
Geography
The city is spread out over many hills rising from sea level at the eastern bank of the
Hudson River to as high as 416 feet at Sacred Heart Church . The landscape of the city has been compared to that of
San Francisco and
Rome.
Yonkers is located at .
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 52.6 kmē . 46.8 kmē of it is land and 5.8 kmē of it is water.
Yonkers is directly on the New York city line, bordering the
Riverdale,
Woodlawn, and
Wakefield sections of the Bronx. In addition, the southernmost point of Yonkers is only 2 miles 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.
Neighborhoods
Though Yonkers contains dozens of small residential enclaves and communities, it could probably be best described as consisting of four major regions.
Northeast Yonkers
This is a heavily
Irish-American,
Italian-American,
Latin-American, largely lower working class and lower
middle class area. House sizes vary widely, from small houses set close together, to some larger houses in areas like Lawrence Park. The main thoroughfare is Central Avenue, lined with a vast array of stores as well as several high-rise apartment buildings, a sight not typically seen in this concentration in most of generally affluent Westchester County. Tuckahoe Road, which intersects Central Avenue, contains many stores as well. Notable former residents include
Steven Tyler of the rock band
Aerosmith , whose childhood home was just off Central Avenue. Northeastern Yonkers contains the Crestwood section of Yonkers, as well as several other enclaves. Landmarks include St Vladimir's Seminary, the Tanglewood Shopping Center , as well as
Sarah Lawrence College. The Lawrence Park and Cedar Knolls sections are unique in many ways from the rest of Northeast Yonkers. These two neighborhoods include more upscale housing and residents are generally commuters to
Manhattan. This is mostly due to the promixity of various nearby
Metro-North commuter railroad stations. Both sections are heavily white but unlike most other Yonkers neighborhoods are not dominated by any particular ethnicity. Because they share the zip code of the neighboring upscale village of
Bronxville, many residents feel they are more a part of
Bronxville than
Yonkers even though they still pay taxes to and get services from the latter.
Northwest Yonkers
A difficult area to categorize, northwest Yonkers is a collection of widely varying neighborhoods, spanning from the
Hudson River to around the New York State Thruway/I-87 and north of Ashburton Avenue, roughly speaking. While Warburton Avenue and other areas on the
Hudson River contain some beautiful older Victorian homes, a walk a few blocks east to Lake Avenue reveals a drastic change as the riverside estates give way to not only a more inner-city feel but also one of sheer desolateness reminiscent of back-end neighborhoods of New York City's nearby outer boroughs. In sharp contrast, parts of northwestern Yonkers look nearly identical to the upscale neighboring village of Hastings-on-Hudson as one approaches the northern boundary of Yonkers. The population of northwestern Yonkers is more mixed in ethnicity and less heavily
Italian-American or
Irish-American than in northeastern Yonkers; the remainder of the
Jewish community in
Yonkers mostly lives in this part of the city, though it is not large enough or concentrated enough to really be called a
Jewish neighborhood. The Runyon Heights neighborhood in the southeastern part of this area is a historically
African-American enclave that is more upscale and suburban than a similar population cluster in the southwestern part of the city. Landmarks include
Stew Leonard's and the Hudson River Museum.
Southeast Yonkers
Southeast Yonkers is mostly Italian-American and a large population of Irish-Americans though somewhat more visibly working class, urban and mostly Catholic. Much of the architecture and types of stores in the area cause southeastern Yonkers to 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 of 1995.
Southwest Yonkers
This changing part of Yonkers has historically been regarded as a less desirable, poor, and crime-ridden area. A past riddled with economic, political, and social challenge have, in part, contributed to this perception, in turn leading to stereotypes which some argue are responsible for Yonkers' negative reputation. The current reality of Southwest Yonkers' existence calls for much more to be explored. A closer look at the area reveals a recent decrease in crime rate and a juxtapostion of poverty and revitalization that many will argue mirrors newly gentrified areas of Harlem and Downtown Brooklyn in New York City. There exist sections off of South Broadway where one can find residential neighborhoods, such as Park Hill, and Hudson Park with residential streets of million-dollar-plus, turn-of-the-century mansions, and upscale luxury rentals and condominiums. Another upscale neighborhood is Ludlow Park, west of Riverdale Ave, right over the Riverdale border - alongside the
Hudson River. There are also various impoverished neighborhoods, especially around Getty Square , which serves as a focal of point of downtown Yonkers.
The area enjoys a rich mixture of residents of African, Caribbean, Italian, and Hispanic decent. There has been an influx of other cultural backgrounds as well that has continued to shape a culturally diverse community. The revitalization of the downtown Yonkers area has helped to nurture growth for Southwest Yonkers. In the early 2000s many new luxury apartment buildings were being built along the Hudson, as well as a new monument park, renovation of a Victorian-era pier, a new public library housed in the remodeled Otis elevator factory, and many new projects are intended to revitalize downtown Yonkers. Among other attractions, the Sculpture Meadow along the pier boasts exposure to the arts and a fantastic view of the Hudson River year round. Music concerts, celebrations and restaurants along the pier have made the area quite an attraction during the summer months. Various new eateries have begun to fill an entertainment void in the area. New boutiques and small businesses have begun to take root in what has been deemed part of an Empowerment Zone.
Southwest Yonkers has and continues to improve from the once blighted landscape of downtown to that of a more cultured and diverse haven of sorts. Various residential and commercial projects are under way or planned for the near future and there has been visible progress. While many who have referred to the nearby Getty Square section of town as "Ghetto Square" perpetuate negative stereotypes of the city's blighted past, others celebrate Southwest Yonkers' impressive progress and resilience in the face of many a challenging economical and political climate. Opportunities for change remain. However, Southwest Yonkers is slowly becoming a destination as it evolves from the stalled existence and negative mold of its near past.
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 196,086 people, 74,351 households, and 49,294 families residing in the city. The
population density was 4,187.5/kmē . There were 77,589 housing units at an average density of 1,656.9/kmē . The racial makeup of the city was 60.18%
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 races.
Hispanic or Latino of any race were 25.93% of the population.
There were 74,351 households out of which 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.2% were married couples living together, 17.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.7% were non-families. 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.23.
In the city the population was spread out with 24.3% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 30.6% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 88.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $44,663, and the median income for a family was $53,233. Males had a median income of $41,598 versus $34,756 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,793. About 13.0% of families and 15.5% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 24.8% of those under age 18 and 9.9% of those age 65 or over.
History
The land on which the city is built was once part of a 24,000 acre land grant that ran from the current Manhattan/Bronx border at
Marble Hill northwards for 12 miles , and from the
Hudson River eastwards to the
Bronx River. This grant was given in July of 1645 by New Netherlands Director-General Willem Kieft to
Adriaen van der Donck, originally named Colen Donck. Van der Donck was known locally as the
Jonkheer , a word from which the name "Yonkers" is directly derived. Van der Donck built a saw mill near where the Nepperhan River 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 was built ca. 1682 by Frederick Philipse, 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.
For its first two hundred years, Yonkers was a small farming town with an active waterfront. Yonkers's later growth rested largely on developing industry. In 1853, the
Otis Elevator Company, opened the first elevator factory in the world on the banks of the Hudson. Around the same time, the Alexander Smith Carpet factory 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 czar's coronation.
Bakelite, the first completely synthetic plastic, was invented in Yonkers circa 1906, and manufactured there until the late 1920s. 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 Carpet Factory and tanks in the Otis Elevator factory.
After
World War II, however, with increased competition from less expensive imports and the appeal of foreign labor, 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 followed the trend of many suburban cities after
World War II, becoming primarily a commuter city. Yonkers's excellent transportation infrastructure, including three commuter railroad lines and five parkways and freeways, as well as its 30-minute drive from Manhattan, made it a desirable city to live in. Yonkers's manufacturing sector, however, has recently shown a resurgence. With the opening of a factory for
Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Yonkers now produces the new R142A and R160B cars for the
New York City Subway and will produce the PA-5 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 from the Yonkers home of C.R. Runyon, a co-experimenter. In spite of this historic broadcast, Yonkers has the dubious distinction of being the largest city in the United States to not have a broadcast station licensed to it.
The Irish-American community plays a prominent role in Yonkers, and the city hosts one of the oldest St. Patrick's Day parades in the country.
The city is also home to a large
Italian-American community, many of whom moved to the city after originally settling in the Bronx and in Brooklyn. The city hosts a large Columbus Day festival with a
Miss Italian-American pageant.
There also once was a significant
Jewish population . However, its size has dwindled as the older generation dies off and the younger generation moves to the
Sunbelt or to other parts of metropolitan
New York City, with the trend accelerating after the housing integration court battles .
There was a years-long battle over housing integration in the 1980s and 1990s, which ended only after a court ruling nearly bankrupted the city government, by imposing geometrically increasing contempt of court penalties after the then-mayor refused to build public housing in the wealthier parts of the city.
Transportation
Yonkers 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.
Interstate 87 , the
Saw Mill River Parkway, the
Bronx River Parkway, the
Sprain Brook Parkway, the
Cross County Parkway,
U.S. Highway 9,
New York State Highway 9A and
100 run through the city. Bus service is provided by the Westchester County
Bee-Line Bus System, and a
MTA Bus Company express route to Manhattan.
Image
Media portrayals of Yonkers often focus on crime and poverty. Native rappers such as DMX and Jadakiss have mentioned the city in their songs .
Italian Mafia groups such as The Tanglewood Boys, a recruiting body for the Lucchese Family, have been active in Yonkers in the past, although it's unclear how much of a presence they continue to have. Gangs such as the
Crips and
Bloods remain active in the city.
In reality, Yonkers fares well in most measures of crime. According to a 2003 report by the
FBI, violent crimes occurred in Yonkers at less that 3/4 the national rate, property crimes less than half. In their 2004 survey of the most dangerous cities in America, publisher Morgan Quitno rated Yonkers 218 out of 370 . The city ranked well ahead of other
New York City suburbs, such as
Newark, New Jersey, and
Paterson, New Jersey, as well as similarly-sized New York cities like
Buffalo and
Rochester.
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 Federal 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. A history of this battle can be found in Lisa Belkin's 1999 book
Show Me a Hero.
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 country, 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.
Although many city officials find much need for city revitalization and urban redevelopment efforts, controversy has surfaced over the major project. A growing number of residents feel the project is an insidious attempt by the city government and project officials to enforce a policy of outright gentrification. Through eminent domain and other methods, residents are fearful that they will ultimately be the victims in the redevelopment battle.
Others, however, are staunch proponents to the multi-billion dollar, foreseeing the transition of Yonkers from a suburban city in the shadows of
New York City, to a tourist attraction of economic importance.
Although no official time table has been proposed for the redevelopment project, it will likely take several years before the completion of the project.
Notable people
...
, actor
- Doug DeWitt, middleweight world-champion boxer
- DMX, rapper and actor
- Tommy Dreamer , professional wrestler
- Michel Fokine, ballet dancer and choreographer
- Lawrence Ferlinghetti
[i]
...
, poet
...
, band leader, drummer
...
who invented the first passenger elevator
- Patrick Quinlan, novelist
- Betty Shabazz , philosopher, leader, Wife-Malcolm X
- Steven Tyler, singer
- Jon Voight, actor
- Jay Walker, founder of Priceline.com
- George Wright
- Richard Yates, novelist
Trivia
Some residents call the city "the sixth borough" as well as "the backyard of The Bronx", referring to Yonkers' location on the New York City border, its urban character, and an unsupported vote to be included in the incorporations of boroughs to form New York City. A subway connection was planned, between Getty Square and the New York City subway line, but when Yonkers residents voted against the incorporation, the project was abandoned.
References
See also
Westchester County is a suburb [i]an county [i] with ...
External links
