Yonkers, New York

Coordinates: 40°56′29″N 73°51′52″W / 40.94139°N 73.86444°W / 40.94139; -73.86444

Yonkers, New York City View of Yonkers from the New Jersey Palisades Flag Seal Nickname(s): The Central City, The Land of Hudson, The Terrace City, The City of Hills, The City of Vision, The Sixth Borough, The City of Gracious Living, Y.O. Location in the State of New York Coordinates: 40°56′29″N 73°51′52″W / 40.94139°N 73.86444°W / 40.94139; -73.86444 Country  United States State New York County Westchester Founded 1646 (village) Incorporated 1872 (city) Government  • Type Mayor-Council  • Body Yonkers City Council  • Mayor Mike Spano (D) Area  • Total 52.6 km2 (20.3 sq mi)  • Land 46.8 km2 (18.1 sq mi)  • Water 5.8 km2 (2.2 sq mi) Elevation 25 m (82 ft) Population (2010)  • Total 195,976  • Density 4,187.5/km2 (10,827.4/sq mi) Demonym Yonkersonian Yonkersite Time zone EST (UTC-5)  • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4) ZIP codes 10701, 10702 (post office), 10703, 10704, 10705, 10707 (shared with Tuckahoe, NY), 10708 (shared with Bronxville, NY) 10710 Area code(s) 914 FIPS code 36-84000[1] GNIS feature ID 0971828[2] Website www.yonkersny.gov

Yonkers is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (behind New York City, Buffalo, and Rochester), and the most populous city in Westchester County, with a population of 195,976 (according to the 2010 Census). Yonkers borders the New York City borough of the Bronx and is located two miles (3 km) north of Manhattan at the cities' closest points.

The city is home to several attractions, including: the Saw Mill River Saw Mill River Daylighting, wherein a parking lot was removed to uncover a river; Hudson River Museum; Sherwood House; Science Barge; and 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. There are also many large shopping areas in Getty Square, on South Broadway, the Cross County Shopping Center; Ridge Hill Shopping Center and 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.

History

The land on which the city is built was once part of a 24,000 acre (97 km²) land grant called Colen Donck that ran from the current Manhattan/Bronx border at Marble Hill northwards for 12 miles (19 kilometres), and from the Hudson River eastwards to the Bronx River. This grant was purchased in July 1645 by Adriaen van der Donck, a lawyer, scholar, and author who had emerged as a leader of the New Netherland colony. Van der Donck was known locally as the Jonkheer or Jonker (etymologically, "young gentleman," derivation of old Dutch jong (young) and heer ("lord"); in effect, "Esquire"), a word from which the name "Yonkers" is directly derived.^[3] 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. Van der Donck and his family were killed in the Peach Tree War.

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.

In 1894, the voters of Yonkers were able to take part, along with the voters of Kings, Queens and Richmond Counties, in a referendum to determine if they wanted to become part of a "Greater New York City". While the results were positive elsewhere, the returns were so negative in Yonkers and Mount Vernon that those two areas were not included in the consolidated city, and remained independent.^[4] Still, some residents call the city "the sixth borough" referring to its location on the New York City border, its urban character and the failed merger vote. 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.

Bakelite, the first completely synthetic plastic, was invented in Yonkers circa 1906 by Leo Baekeland, and manufactured there until the late 1920s. Today, 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, a collective group of talented artists that works out of private studios there.^[5]

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 part of The Bronx. The city declined to join the City of Greater New York,and plans were dropped to extend the new subway to Getty Square. Aside from being a manufacturing center, Yonkers also played a key role in the development of entertainment in the United States. In 1888, Scottish-born John Reid founded the first golf course, with just three holes, in the United States, St. Andrew's Golf Club, in Yonkers.

Early in the 20th Century, Yonkers also hosted a brass era automobile maker, Colt Runabout Company;^[6] 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.

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.

In 1960, the Census Bureau reported Yonkers's population as 95.8% white and 4.0% black.^[7] The city's struggles with racial discrimination and segregation were highlighted in a decades-long federal lawsuit. After a 1985 decision and an unsuccessful appeal, Yonkers' schools were integrated in 1988. The federal judge, Leonard B. Sand, ruled that Yonkers had engaged in institutional segregation in housing and school policies for over 40 years and tied the illegal concentration of public housing and private housing discrimination to the city's resistance to ending racial isolation in its public schools.^{[citation needed]}

Yonkers moved to the center of national/international attention during the summer of 1988, when the city was found in contempt of the federal courts, after it refused to build promised municipal public housing in the eastern portions of the city. It had earlier agreed to do so in a consent decree, after losing the appeal in 1987. Being fined one dollar, doubling every day until the council passed the ordinance set out in the consent decree, Yonkers remained in contempt of the courts until September 9, 1988. On that date, the City Council relented, in the wake of library closures, sanitation cutbacks, while looking at massive city layoffs, which would have been required to continue its resistance to desegregation.

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.

Mayor Nicholas Wasicsko, in his first term, fought to save the city from financial disaster and bring about unity. He was a lonely figure in city politics at the time, which was scarred with the stigma of the "Balkanization of Yonkers." He succeeded in helping to end the city's contempt of the courts, but was voted out of office as a result. Yonkers still suffers the stigma of having bitterly opposed 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, Czechoslovakia, 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, Most Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church, Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church, and St. Michael's Ukrainian Catholic Church. Yonkers still has a large Slavic community. The city also has a "stanytsia" (branch) of Plast. Yonkers also has a large Arab population, coinciding with the high percentage of Arab speakers in Yonkers. Most of these Arabs come from The Levant, from mainly the countries of Jordan, Palestine, and Lebanon, and are of the Christian faith. The Arabic community specifically Jordanian currently has three churches in the city, Virgin Mary Orthodox Church, St Mary's Roman Catholic Church, and Christ the Savior Melkite Church. The community settled in Yonkers in the late 1940s and has since continued a steady growth.

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.^[8] There is also a small Jewish Cemetery, the Sherwood Park Cemetery.^[9]

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.

The city occupies 20.3 square miles (52.6 km²), including 18.1 square miles (46.8 km²) of land and 2.2 square miles (5.8 km²) (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 kilometres) 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.^[10]

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

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1860	8,218		—
1870	12,733		54.9%
1880	18,892		48.4%
1890	32,033		69.6%
1900	47,931		49.6%
1910	79,803		66.5%
1920	100,176		25.5%
1930	134,646		34.4%
1940	142,598		5.9%
1950	152,798		7.2%
1960	190,634		24.8%
1970	204,297		7.2%
1980	195,351		−4.4%
1990	188,082		−3.7%
2000	196,086		4.3%
2010	195,976		−0.1%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census of 2010,^[11] there are 195,976 people in the city. The population density is 10,827.4 people per square mile (4,187.5/km²). There are 80,839 housing units at an average density of 4,466.2 per square mile (1,727.3/km²). The cultural makeup of the city is 55.8% White, 18.7% African American, 0.7% Native American, 5.9% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 14.7% from other races, and 4.1% from two or more races. 34.7% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any racial background. Non-Hispanic Whites were 41.4% of the population in 2010,^[12] down from 89.9% in 1970.^[7]

According to the 2000 Census,^[1] 19.9% were of Italian and 11.6% Irish descent. 61.3% spoke only English at home; 22.7% spoke Spanish, 3.9% Italian, 5% Arabic and 1.3% Portuguese at home.

There were 74,351 households out of which 30.9% have children under the age of 18 living with them in 2000, 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 2000, 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 was $44,663 in 2000, 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.

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

Northeast Yonkers is a primarily 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 (born Steven Tallarico) of the rock band Aerosmith, whose childhood home was just off Central Avenue on Pembrook Drive. Northeastern Yonkers contains the desirable Crestwood, Colonial Heights, Cedar Knolls, and Beech Hill sections of the city, as well as several other wealthy enclaves such as Lawrence Park West, and gated communities such as Winchester Villages. Landmarks include St Vladimir's Seminary, as well as Sarah Lawrence College, and the Tanglewood Shopping Center (one-time home of the The Tanglewood Boys gang). The northeast section of Yonkers consists of more upscale housing 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, 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 Terrace and Hudson Terrace. The population of northwestern Yonkers is probably the most ethnically diverse in the city.

Neighborhoods include Nepera Park, Runyon Heights, Homefield, Glenwood, and Greystone. 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 Avenues 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" and Robbins Pharmacy. 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. Nepperhan Avenue in Nepera Park has a large A & P Supermarket, Walgreens, KFC, and several smaller stores, such as a bakery, deli, dry cleaners, a few beauty salons, and so on.

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

Centered on Getty Square and the South Broadway corridor, much of Southwest Yonkers grew densely along the multiple railroad and trolley lines connecting to [New York City]. Clusters of apartment buildings surrounded train stations and trolley lines, and these still remain, served by the Bee-Line Bus System. The railroad companies themselves built neighborhoods like Park Hill wherein the railroad also built a funicular to connect single-family homes atop a hill with the train station in the valley.

This traditionally African-American and white area has seen a tremendous influx of immigrants from Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, South Asia, and the Middle East. Off South Broadway and Yonkers Avenue one can find residential neighborhoods, such as Nodine Hill, Park Hill, Lowerre, 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), The Science Barge, Beczak Environmental Education Center, and a 2003 Yonkers Public Library.^[13]

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 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. There is also a new "Sculpture Meadow on the Hudson," renovation of a Victorian-era pier, and a new public library housed in the remodeled Otis elevator factory. Peter Kelly's award-winning fine dining restaurant X₂0 - Xaviars on Hudson is located at the renovated pier with much success.^[14][15] There are new proposals along with the current projects which are intended to revitalize downtown Yonkers.

Government

Yonkers is typically a Democratic stronghold just like the rest of Westchester County and most of New York state, but until recently it has had a small republican lean. In 1992, Yonkers voted for George H. W. Bush over Bill Clinton and Ross Perot for president, but has voted solidly Democratic ever since. At a local level, recent mayors of Yonkers have included Republicans Phil Amicone and John Spencer, while the Yonkers City Council was also mostly controlled by Republicans until recently when the Democrats took over the council again. The current mayor is Democrat Mike Spano. In the State Assembly, Yonkers is represented by Democrats J. Gary Pretlow and Shelley Mayer, and in the New York State Senate, by Democrats Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Jeffrey Klein. At the federal level, Democrats hold both congressional districts that include parts of Yonkers, with representatives Eliot Engel and Nita Lowey holding the seats as of 2011.

Yonkers is governed via a mayor-council system. The council consists of six members each elected from one of six districts. The mayor and city council president are elected in a citywide vote.

Education

Public schools in Yonkers are operated by Yonkers Public Schools.

Sarah Lawrence College, which gives its address as Bronxville/Yonkers,^[16] is actually located in Yonkers.^[17]

Libraries are operated by the Yonkers Public Library.

The Japanese School of New York was located in Yonkers for one year. On August 18, 1991 the school moved to Yonkers from Queens, New York City. On September 1, 1992 classes began at its current location in Greenwich, Connecticut.^[18]

St. Peter's Catholic Elementary School at 204 Hawthorne Avenue, founded by the Sisters of Charity, celebrated its 100th anniversary in September 2011

Academy for Jewish Religion, a rabbinical and cantorial school, is located in Yonkers.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Mass transit

Yonkers has the eleventh-highest rate of public transit ridership among cities in the United States.

Bus service in Yonkers is provided by 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 served by two heavy-rail commuter lines. 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. A third commuter line dating from the late 19th century, the New York and Putnam Railroad, was shut down in phases during the mid-to-late 20th century.

New York Water Taxi formerly operated a ferry service from downtown Yonkers to Manhattan's Financial District, but it ceased in December 2009.^[19]

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 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.

The historic Croton Aqueduct tunnel has a hard-packed dirt trail running above it for most of its length in Yonkers, with a few on-street routes near Getty Square.

Fire Department

The city of Yonkers is protected by 459 firefighters of the city of Yonkers Fire Department (YFD), under the command of a Fire Commissioner and 3 Deputy Chiefs. Founded in 1896, the YFD operates out of 12 Fire Stations, located throughout the city in 2 Battalions, under the command of 2 Assistant Chiefs per shift.^[20] The Yonkers Fire Department also operates a fire apparatus fleet of 10 Engines, 6 Ladders, 1 Squad, 1 Rescue, 1 Fireboat, 1 Mask Service Unit, 1 Collapse Unit, 1 Foam Unit, 1 Fire Investigation Unit, 1 Urban Search and Rescue Unit, 1 Field Command Unit, 1 Field Communications Unit, 1 Water Tender, and numerous other special, support, and reserve units. The YFD responds to approximately 16,000 emergency calls annually.^[21]

Notable people

In popular culture

• In the Depression-era film Don't Tell the Wife (1937) Guy Kibbee's character, Malcolm J. Winthrop, lives in Yonkers. One of the characters jokes that going to jail is "better than Yonkers."
• In the Twilight Zone episode, "What's in the Box"(1964) William Demarest's character, cab driver Joe Britt, mentions Yonkers as one of his customers' locations as a reason for coming home late from work.
• Yonkers is the setting of two feature films by local filmmaker Robert Celestino: Mr. Vincent, a 1997 Sundance Film entrant in the non-competition Spectrum section, and Yonkers Joe, a scheduled 2009 release by Magnolia Pictures, starring Chazz Palminteri and Christine Lahti.^[23][24] Yonkers' locations also provide the setting for A Tale of Two Pizzas, a "Romeo and Juliet" theme played out among two rival pizza owners.
• Yonkers' decades-long struggle with racial discrimination and housing segregation was described in a documentary, "Brick by Brick: A Civil Rights Story," seen on PBS stations in 2007.
• The film Doubt, starring Meryl Streep as Sister Aloysius Beauvier, filmed scenes 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; and Kate and Leopold, with Meg Ryan and Hugh Jackman. Some episodes of the TV series Fringe were taped in the downtown area. the City Hall Courtroom is also the setting for many film scenes and commercials.
• Yonkers was also used as a filming location in the movie Riding in Cars with Boys.
• In Max Brooks's novel, World War Z, the US armed forces are defeated in the Battle of Yonkers by a horde of zombies.
• 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's play Lost In Yonkers, set in the city. The story is about two young boys during World War II, whose father leaves them with their grandmother in Yonkers so he can earn money for the family.
• 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 Hands".
• In 2011, rapper Tyler, The Creator of Odd Future released his song "Yonkers".^[25]
• On October 21, 2011, filming for the movie Disconnect (2012) took place at the Cross County Shopping Center.
• Jessie - In the episode "Kids Don't Wanna Be Shunned," a new girl at school named Bryn is mean to Emma and claims she's from Europe. At the end of the episode, it is revealed that she is from Yonkers.

Gallery

• 

  Yonkers Welcome Sign

• 

  Yonkers Saint Patrick's Day Parade 2010

• 

  Fountains at the Ridge Hill Shopping Center

• 

  The main Metro North Station

• 

  The Saw Mill River in Getty Square

• 

  Westbound McClean Avenue at ParkHill Avenue

• 

  Eastbound Cross County Parkway

Twin towns / sister cities

Yonkers is twinned with:

• Kamëz in Albania (2011-Present)^[26]
• Ternopil in Ukraine (1991-Present)^[27]

See also

• Jonkheer
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Yonkers, New York
• Westchester County, New York

References

Notes

External links

Media related to Yonkers, New York at Wikimedia Commons

• Yonkers official website
• Yonkers on the Open Directory Project
• The website for exhibits and events at Philipse Manor Hall
• The website of the Yonkers Historical Society
• Yonkers Arts - a source for all cultural and artistic events in Yonkers and a Directory of Yonkers Artists
• Hudson River Museum
• Beczak Environmental Education Center

		Hastings-on-Hudson
	Rockland		Mt Vernon
	Yonkers
		Riverdale	Bronx

v t e Municipalities and communities of Westchester County, New York, United States County seat: White Plains Cities Mount Vernon New Rochelle Peekskill Rye White Plains Yonkers Towns Bedford Cortlandt Eastchester Greenburgh Harrison Lewisboro Mamaroneck Mount Kisco Mount Pleasant New Castle North Castle North Salem Ossining Pelham Pound Ridge Rye Scarsdale Somers Yorktown Villages Ardsley Briarcliff Manor Bronxville Buchanan Croton-on-Hudson Dobbs Ferry Elmsford Harrison Hastings-on-Hudson Irvington Larchmont Mamaroneck Mount Kisco Ossining Pelham Pelham Manor Pleasantville Port Chester Rye Brook Scarsdale Sleepy Hollow Tarrytown Tuckahoe CDPs Armonk Bedford Bedford Hills Chappaqua Crompond Crugers Eastchester Fairview Golden's Bridge Greenville Hartsdale Hawthorne Heritage Hills Jefferson Valley–Yorktown Katonah Lake Mohegan Lincolndale Montrose Peach Lake‡ Scotts Corners Shenorock Shrub Oak Thornwood Valhalla Verplanck Yorktown Heights Other hamlets Banksville Bedford Corners Cortlandt Manor Granite Springs Millwood Pocantico Hills Purchase South Salem Sparta Waccabuc Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

v t e New York metropolitan area Counties Bergen Bronx Dutchess Essex Fairfield Hudson Hunterdon Kings Lehigh Litchfield Mercer Middlesex Monmouth Morris Nassau New Haven Northampton New York Ocean Orange Passaic Pike Putnam Queens Richmond Rockland Somerset Suffolk Sussex Ulster Union Warren Westchester Major city New York City The Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Queens Staten Island Cities over 100,000 Bridgeport Elizabeth Huntington Jersey City New Haven Newark Paterson Stamford Waterbury Yonkers Cities and towns over 25,000 Bayonne Bergenfield Branford Cheshire Clifton Danbury East Haven East Orange Edison Englewood Fairfield Fair Lawn Fort Lee Freehold Township Garfield Greenwich Hackensack Hamden Hoboken Howell Kearny Long Beach Long Branch Mahwah Manalapan Marlboro Meriden Middletown, NJ Middletown, NY Milford Mount Vernon Naugatuck New Brunswick New Milford New Rochelle Newburgh Newtown Norwalk Old Bridge Paramus Passaic Perth Amboy Plainfield Poughkeepsie Rahway Shelton Stratford Teaneck Torrington Trenton Trumbull Union City Wallingford West Haven Westfield Westport White Plains Woodbridge Cities and towns over 10,000 Ansonia Asbury Park Beacon Bethel Brookfield Darien Derby Dover Dumont Edgewater Elmwood Park Fairview Franklin Lakes Freehold Borough Glen Rock Guildford Guttenberg Harrison, NJ Harrison, NY Hasbrouck Heights Hazlet Hillsdale Holmdel Kingston Linden Little Ferry Lodi Lyndhurst Madison Monroe Morristown New Canaan New Fairfield New Milford North Arlington North Branford North Haven Oakland Orange Palisades Park Phillipsburg Plymouth Peekskill Ramsey Red Bank Ridgefield, CT Ridgefield, NJ Ridgefield Park Ridgewood Rutherford Rye Saddle Brook Scarsdale Secaucus Seymour Southbury Summit Tenafly Wallington Watertown West Milford West New York Weston Westwood Wilton Winchester Wolcott Wyckoff Regions Central Jersey Greater Danbury Greater New Haven Greater Waterbury Hudson Valley Litchfield Hills Long Island North Jersey Southwestern Connecticut

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v t e Mayors of cities with populations exceeding 100,000 in New York     Bill de Blasio (New York City) Byron Brown (Buffalo) Lovely Warren (Rochester) Mike Spano (Yonkers) Stephanie Miner (Syracuse) State capital: Kathy Sheehan (Albany) Other states AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY