Early settlements

Philipse Manor Hall State Historic Site

The indigenous Native American village of Nappeckamack was located near the Neperah stream (now Saw Mill River, also called Nepperhan Creek) which flowed into the Shatemuck (Hudson River).^[10] The land on which the city is built was once part of Colen Donck, a Dutch 24,000-acre (97-square-kilometer) land grant. It 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.

Adriaen van der Donck built a saw mill near the confluence of Nepperhan Creek and the Hudson River. Van der Donck died in 1655. Near the site of Van der Donck's mill is Philipse Manor Hall, a Colonial-era manor house owned by Dutch colonists. In modern times, the manor is operated as a museum and archive. Around 1682, the original structure was built by workmen and slaves for Frederick Philipse and his wife Margaret Hardenbroeck de Vries. Philipse was a wealthy Dutchman who, by the time of his death, had amassed an enormous estate which encompassed the entire modern city of Yonkers and several other Hudson River towns. Philipse's great-grandson, Frederick Philipse III, was a prominent Loyalist during the American Revolution. He had many economic and political ties to English businessmen. Because of his political leanings, he fled to England. The American colonists in New York state confiscated and sold all lands and property that belonged to the Philipse family.^[11]

Gentrification and redlining of neighborhoods

Yonkers has undergone several changes to neighborhoods in a effort to revitalize the city including gentrification. Changes were done to the Yonkers waterfront including a revitalization of green spaces, which brought an increase in the quality of life for wealthier residents.^[7]

In the 1980s, as residents were fighting against segregation, residents of the western area of downtown Yonkers opposed the Pierpointe, a condominium complex development proposal that would build over 1,900 condominiums including six 38-story towers. Critics stated that the proposal would bring homelessness and gentrification to the area as the total rent amount would make it harder for poorer residents to pay.^[12]

The gentrification process in the downtown area raised concerns that it could force poorer residents of the city.^[13] A painting named "But It’s Ours: The Redline Between Poverty and Wealth”, which was created by Shanequa Benitez, symbolizes the effects of gentrification on the city. The painting is displayed at the Yonkers Arts Gallery.^[14]

In an effort to combat redlining in Yonkers, the city announced the Yonkers Greenway project, a $14 million project that would run on tracks that were used by former railways such as the New York and Putnam Railroad. The tracks will run 3.1 miles from the Van Cortlandt Park to areas of downtown Getty Square.^[15] Construction is expected to start in spring of 2024 and is estimated to be completed in 2026.^[16]

Incorporation and growth

Yonkers in 1867, including the Village of Yonkers, which was very small; the southern part of Yonkers was annexed by New York City in 1874.

The Village of Yonkers was incorporated in the western part of the Town of Yonkers in 1854, and the village was incorporated as a city in 1872. In 1873, the southern part of the Town of Yonkers, outside the City of Yonkers, was separated as the Town of Kingsbridge. This included the current neighborhoods of Kingsbridge and Riverdale, as well as Woodlawn Cemetery and Woodlawn Heights. In 1874, the Town of Kingsbridge was annexed by New York City as part of the Bronx. In 1898, Yonkers (along with Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island) voted on a referendum to determine if they wanted to become part of New York City. While the results were positive elsewhere, voters in Yonkers and neighboring Mount Vernon opposed the referendum and were not included in the consolidated city, remaining independent.^[17] Still, some residents call Yonkers "the Sixth Borough", referring to its location on the New York City border, its urban character, and the failed merger vote.^[18]

In 1942, a short subway connection was planned between Getty Square and the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line, which terminates in Riverdale at 242nd Street slightly south of the city line. The plan was dropped.^[19][20]

In 1937, a 175-foot water tower collapsed in the Nodine Hills area, injuring 9 people.^{[21]: 1 : 4–5} The injury toll increased by 3 after the collapse, bringing the total number of injuries to 12.^[22]: 1 Around 100,000 U.S. gallons (380,000 L) of water from the tower were spilled, causing flooding in the area that crushed cars and damaged homes. Construction on the new tower began in 1938, and the tower opened a year later in 1939.^[23]

Wartime history

During the American Civil War, 254 Yonkers residents joined the U.S. Army and Navy. They enlisted primarily in four regiments: the 6th New York Heavy Artillery, the 5th New York Volunteer Infantry, the 17th New York Volunteers, and the 15th NY National Guard. During the New York City Draft Riots, Yonkers formed the Home Guards. The Home Guards were a force of constables formed to protect Yonkers from rioting that was feared to spread from New York City, but never did. In total, seventeen Yonkers residents were killed during the Civil War.^[24]

During World War I, a total of 6,909 Yonkers residents (approximately 7% of the population) entered military service.^[25]: vi Most Yonkers men joined either the 27th Division or the 77th Division.^[25]: 6 In total, 137 Yonkers residents were killed during the war.^[25]: 77 In the 1918 sinking of the USS President Lincoln, seventeen sailors from Yonkers survived.^[25]: 15 Civilians helped in the war effort by joining organizations such as the American Red Cross. In 1916, there were 126 people in the Yonkers chapter of the Red Cross. By the end of the war, 15,358 Yonkers residents were members of the chapter. Mostly women, they prepared surgical dressings, created hospital garments for the wounded, and knit articles of clothing for refugees and soldiers. Besides joining the Red Cross, residents of Yonkers donated to various war drives. The total amount raised for these drives was $19,255,255.^{[25]: 23–24}

During World War II, the city's factories were converted to produce items for the war effort, such as tents and blankets by the Alexander Smith and Sons Carpet factory and tanks by the Otis Elevator factory. After World War II, increased competition from less expensive imports resulted in a decline in manufacturing in Yonkers, and numerous industrial jobs were lost.^[26]

Industrial history

Yonkers, c. 1860s

Yonkers Public Library in December 2014

Yonkers initially was a small farming town producing peaches, apples, potatoes, oats, wheat, and other agricultural goods to be shipped to New York City along the Hudson River. Water power allowed the creation of new manufacturing jobs.^[27]: 2 In 1853, Elisha Otis invented the first safety elevator, and the Otis Elevator Company opened the world's first elevator factory on the banks of the Hudson River, near what is now Vark Street.^{[28][29]: 66} In the 1880s, they relocated to larger quarters, which later became Yonkers Public Library.

Around the same time, the Alexander Smith and Sons Carpet Company in the Saw Mill River Valley expanded to 45 buildings, 800 looms, and more than 4,000 workers. It was known as one of the premier carpet-producing centers in the world.^[30]: 15 Aside from being a manufacturing center, Yonkers played a key role in the development of sports recreation in the United States.

In 1888, Scottish-born John Reid founded Saint Andrew's Golf Club in Yonkers; it was the first golf course in the United States.^[31] Beginning in 1888, the New York City and Northern Railway Company (later the New York Central Railroad) connected Yonkers to Manhattan and points north. A three-mile spur to Getty Square operated until 1943.^[32][33] Bakelite, the first completely synthetic plastic, was invented c. 1907 in Yonkers by Leo Baekeland, and manufactured there until the late 1920s.^[34]

In the early 20th century, Yonkers hosted brass era automobile maker Colt Runabout Company.^[35]: 63 Although the vehicle reportedly performed well, the company went out of business. Yonkers was the headquarters of the Waring Hat Company, the nation's largest hat manufacturer at the time.^[36] 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.^[37] Yonkers had the longest running pirate radio station, owned by Allan Weiner and operated during the 1970s and 1980s.^[38]

Alexander Smith Carpet Company, one of the city's largest employers, ceased operation during a labor dispute in June 1954.^[26] In 1983, the Otis Elevator factory closed.^[39] A Kawasaki railroad car assembly plant opened in 1986 in the former Otis plant. With the loss of manufacturing jobs, Yonkers became primarily a residential city.^[40] Some neighborhoods, such as Crestwood and Park Hill, became popular with wealthy New Yorkers who wished to live outside Manhattan without giving up urban conveniences. Yonkers's excellent transportation infrastructure, including three commuter railroad lines and five parkways and thruways, made it a desirable city in which to live. It is a 15-minute drive from Manhattan and has numerous prewar homes and apartment buildings. Yonkers's manufacturing sector has also shown a resurgence in the early 21st century.

Racial discrimination and United States v. Yonkers

In 1960, the population of Yonkers was 95.8% white and 4.0% black.^[41] In the 1980s and 1990s, Yonkers developed a national reputation for racial tension, based on a long-term battle between the city and the NAACP over the building of subsidized low-income housing projects in the city. The city planned to use federal funding for urban renewal efforts within Downtown Yonkers exclusively; other groups, led by the NAACP, believed that the resulting concentration of low-income housing in traditionally poor neighborhoods would perpetuate poverty. Although the City of Yonkers had been warned in 1971 by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development against further building of low-income housing in west Yonkers, it continued to support subsidized housing in this area between 1972 and 1977.^[42]

In 1980, the NAACP and the federal government filed suit against the city of Yonkers and its board of education, beginning United States v. Yonkers.^[43][44] After a 1985 decision and an unsuccessful appeal, Yonkers' schools were integrated in 1988.^[45]: 1 Federal judge Leonard B. Sand ruled that Yonkers had engaged in institutional segregation in housing and school policies for over 40 years. He tied the illegal concentration of public housing and private housing discrimination to the city's resistance to ending racial isolation in its public schools.^[46]

Yonkers gained national and international attention during the summer of 1988, when it backed out of its previous agreement to build municipal public housing in the eastern portions of the city, an agreement it had made in a consent decree after losing its appeal in 1987. After its reversal, the city was found in contempt of the federal courts. Judge Sand imposed a fine on Yonkers which started at $100 and doubled every day, capped at $1 million per day by an appeals court,^[47] until the city capitulated to the federally mandated plan. Yonkers remained in contempt of court until September 9, 1988. The city council relented as the financial impacts threatened a library closure and sanitation cutbacks. The city council also considered massive layoffs, which would have adversely affected its ability to provide services to the upper classes it was trying to retain.^[48] Nicholas C. Wasicsko, Yonkers' youngest mayor (elected at age 28), struggled in city politics. He succeeded in helping to end the city's contempt of court, but was voted out of office as a result.^[49][50] His story is the subject of the 2015 miniseries Show Me a Hero. It was adapted from the 1999 nonfiction book of the same name by Lisa Belkin.^[51] The 2007 documentary Brick by Brick: A Civil Rights Story also covers racial discrimination and housing segregation in Yonkers.^[52]

As as a result of the federal lawsuit, Yonker's public school enrollment dropped from 54% of the city's eligible population to under 30% as thousands of white families either left the city for suburbs or enrolled their children in private schools, effectively gutting Yonker's middle class and tax base. This compounded the school district's financial burden as they estimated the cost for integration was over $262 million. Being forced to cut programs, Yonker's schools slid heavily in national rankings as test scores also sharply declined. By 1995 The New York Times called the desegregation effort "a profound disappointment to blacks and whites alike." Michael Sussmann, the NAACP's lawyer during the case, blamed Sand for failing to set federal funds aside to help relieve the cost of integration.^[53]

21st century

Welcome sign on northbound Riverdale Avenue at the Bronx line (2013)

In the 2000s, some areas of Yonkers that border 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.^[54] There is also a small Jewish cemetery, the Sherwood Park Cemetery.^[55]

Two of the former Alexander Smith and Sons Carpet Company loft buildings, located at 540 and 578 Nepperhan Avenue, have been repurposed to house the YoHo Artist Community which works out of private studios there.^[56] Yonkers Raceway, a harness racing track, renovated its grounds and clubhouse, and added legalized video slot machine gambling in 2006 to become a "racino" named Empire City.^[57][58] MGM Resorts International bought the raceway and casino in 2018 for $850 million.^[59]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the city opened several test sites at the ParkCare Pavilion of St. John's Riverside Hospital, which was seen as a COVID-19 hotspot in the city.^[60] The test site was operated by the New York State Department of Health during the pandemic.^[61] More test sites opened in the city as students prepared to return to school for in-person learning.^[62]

In February 2023, the Yonkers City Council approved the US Post Office on Main Street for Local Landmark status after being listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.^[63]

On September 29, 2023, a state of emergency was declared in the city after flash flooding affected most of the Hudson Valley and New York City. Most of the parkways in the area were closed and flooding was reported in the Mount Vernon area of the city.^[64] Following the floodings, crews pumped water out of homes.^[65]

Yonkers has been used as a filming location for many films and television series.^[66] The City Hall courtroom is used for many film scenes and commercials.^[67] Yonkers is part of New York City's union zone, meaning crews do not need to be paid travel fees.^[68] Catch Me If You Can (2002) and Mona Lisa Smile (2003) were partially filmed in Yonkers.^[68][69] Yonkers is the setting of two feature films by local filmmaker Robert Celestino: Mr. Vincent (1997) and Yonkers Joe (2008).^[70][71] Yonkers is also the setting for A Tale of Two Pizzas (2005).^[72] Neil Simon's play Lost in Yonkers and its film adaptation are set in the city.^[73] The city also opened a new Lionsgate Studios facility, which hosts the Spanish multimedia communications group Mediapro, and a new $500 expansion will be planned for the facility that would make it the largest production filming in the Northeast.^[74]

Northeast Yonkers

The Blue Cube, a former factory turned into a television production facility on the Northwest Yonkers waterfront, seen from across the Hudson River

Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church

Riverdale Avenue looking north from The Bronx line

Messiah Baptist Church

Northeast Yonkers is a primarily Irish-American and Italian-American area. House sizes vary widely, from small houses set close together, to larger homes in areas like Lawrence Park West and mid-rise apartment buildings along Central Avenue (NY 100). Central Avenue (officially named Central Park Avenue) provides an abundance of shopping for Yonkers residents. Notable former residents include Steven Tyler of the rock band Aerosmith, whose childhood home was located at 100 Pembrook Drive.^[91]

Northeast Yonkers contains the affluent neighborhoods of Crestwood, Colonial Heights, and Cedar Knolls, as well as the wealthy enclaves of Beech Hill and Lawrence Park West. It also contains a gated community off the eastern edge of the Grassy Sprain Reservoir, known as Winchester Villages. Landmarks include St Vladimir's Seminary, Sarah Lawrence College, and the Tanglewood Shopping Center (one-time home of the Tanglewood Boys gang). Northeast Yonkers is somewhat more expensive than the rest of the city, and due to the proximity 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, northwest Yonkers has many Victorian-era homes with panoramic views of The Palisades. The significant amount of surviving Victorian architecture and number of 19th-century estates in northwest Yonkers has attracted filmmakers.^[69]

An interest in historic preservation has taken hold in this area in recent years, as demonstrated on streets like Shonnard Terrace, Delavan Terrace, and Hudson Terrace. In Delavan Terrace, this was shown with the 1854 Smith-Collins House, which was considered as part of the city's architecture in a 1983 article by The New York Times.^[92] The house was demolished in 2007, and former City Council President Chuck Lesnick called for a legislation that would make a demolition of a 75-year-old landmark in the city be subject to the landmark review process.^[93]

Neighborhoods include Nepera Park, Runyon Heights, Homefield, Glenwood, and Greystone. Landmarks include the Hudson River Museum, the Lenoir Nature Preserve, and Untermyer Park and Gardens.

The two-block section of Palisade Avenue between Chase and Roberts Avenues in northwest Yonkers is colloquially known as "the north end" or "the end". It was, and still is, the only retail area in northwest Yonkers, and was well known for its soda fountain, Urich's Stationery, and Robbins Pharmacy. It was once the end of the #2 trolley line, which has since been replaced by a Bee-line Bus route. Nepperhan Avenue in Nepera Park is a major shopping district for the area.

Southeast Yonkers

The residents of southeast Yonkers are mostly Irish American and Italian American. Among the Irish Americans, there is a notable population of recent immigrants from Ireland.^[94][95] The architecture in southeast Yonkers bears greater resemblance to certain parts of the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island than to points north. Southeastern Yonkers is largely within walking distance of the Woodlawn and Wakefield sections of the Bronx.

Many residents regard eastern McLean Avenue, home to a vibrant Irish community shared with Woodlawn, to be the true hub of Yonkers.^[96][97] 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.^[98][99]

Southwest Yonkers

The center area of Getty Square

Getty Square is Yonkers's downtown and the civic center and central business district of the city. Much of southwest Yonkers grew densely along the multiple railroads and trolley (now bus) lines along South Broadway and in Getty Square, connecting to New York City. Clusters of apartment buildings surrounded the stations of the Yonkers branch of the New York and Putnam Railroad and the Third Avenue Railway trolley lines and these buildings still remain although now served by the Bee-Line Bus System. The railroad companies themselves built neighborhoods of mixed housing types ranging from apartment buildings to large mansions in areas like Park Hill wherein the railroad also built a funicular to connect it with the train station in the valley.^[100]

Off South Broadway and Yonkers Avenue one can find residential neighborhoods, such as Lowerre, Nodine Hill, Park Hill, and Hudson Park. These neighborhoods have a mix of building styles including dense clusters of apartment buildings, blocks of retail with apartments above, multifamily row houses, and detached single-family homes.^[101] The neighborhoods of Ludlow Park, Hudson Park, and Van Cortlandt Crest have a larger number of detached houses.

Southwest Yonkers was traditionally populated by African American and white residents; it has seen an influx of immigrants from Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, South Asia, and the Middle East. Many residents are of African, Caribbean, Italian, Polish, or Mexican descent. Some neighborhoods on the Riverdale border are increasingly becoming home to Orthodox Jews.

The area is home to significant historical and educational institutions including the historic Philipse Manor Hall, the Science Barge, Beczak Environmental Education Center, and a 2003 Yonkers Public Library.^[102] The revitalization of the Getty Square area has helped to nurture growth for Southwest Yonkers. In the early 21st century, several new luxury apartment buildings were built along the Hudson River. A Victorian-era pier was renovated, and a new public library was housed in the remodeled Otis elevator factory. Peter X. Kelly's fine dining restaurant, X20 Xaviar's on the Hudson, is located at the renovated pier.^[103] In 2020, several more new rental buildings were placed at the river's edge on Alexander Street. Sawyer Place is an 18-story building that sits atop the site of the original old mill.^[104][105] There are new proposals along with the current projects which are intended to revitalize downtown Yonkers.

Mass transit

Yonkers Metro-North train station

Yonkers Metro-North platform

Yonkers has the eleventh-highest rate of public transit ridership among cities in the United States, and 27% of Yonkers households do not own a car.^[113]

Bus service in Yonkers is provided by the Westchester County Bee-Line Bus System, the second-largest bus system in New York state, along with some MTA Bus Company express routes to Manhattan. Yonkers is the top origin and destination for the Bee-Line Bus service area, which includes Westchester and the northern Bronx, with the Getty Square intermodal hub serving millions of passengers per year.^[114]

Through Metro-North Railroad, Yonkers is served by two heavy-rail commuter lines: the Hudson Line and the Harlem Line. The Ludlow, Yonkers, Glenwood, and Greystone stations serve the Hudson Line, which provides commuter service to New York City.^[115] The Yonkers station is also served by Amtrak. All of the named Empire Service trains except the Lake Shore Limited serve the Yonkers station. Several Harlem Line stations are on or near the city's eastern border. These include Wakefield, Mount Vernon West, Fleetwood, Bronxville, Tuckahoe and Crestwood.

Beginning in the late 19th century, the area was also served by the New York and Putnam Railroad, a commuter line that was shut down in phases until its final closure in 1958. Its path has been paved and is used as a public park and part of the Empire State Trail which spans 750 miles (1,210 km) from New York City to Albany.^[116] Until December 2009, New York Water Taxi operated a ferry service from downtown Yonkers to Manhattan's Financial District.^[117] From 2018 to 2020, Yonkers had a dockless bikeshare program operated by LimeBike.^[118] It now operates an electric scooter program, which was launched in August 2020 by Bird, making Yonkers the first city in New York to deploy an electric scooter program.^[119]

Roads and paths

Cross County Parkway (eastbound)

Major limited-access roads in Yonkers include Interstate 87 (the New York State Thruway) and the Saw Mill, Bronx River, Sprain Brook, and Cross County parkways. US 9, NY 9A, and NY 100 are important surface streets.

The main line of the former New York and Putnam Railroad has been converted into a paved walking and bicycling path called the South County Trailway. It runs north–south in Yonkers from the Hastings-on-Hudson border in the north to the Bronx border in the south at Van Cortlandt Park, where it is referred to as the Putnam Greenway.^[120]

The historic Croton Aqueduct tunnel has a hard-packed dirt trail, called the Old Croton Aqueduct Trailway, running above it for most of its length in Yonkers, with a few on-street routes on the edge of the Getty Square neighborhood.^[121]

Principal employers

According to Yonkers' 2022 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,^[126] the principal employers in the city are:

1. Montefiore IT – 780 employees
2. Liberty Lines Transit – 689 employees
3. Yonkers Raceway – 566 employees
4. Stew Leonard's – 511 employees
5. Kawasaki Rail – 455 employees
6. Consumer Reports – 508 employees
7. American Sugar Refining – 318 employees
8. Macy's – 285 employees
9. Cintas – 220 employees