December 2021

EDITOR’S LETTER

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As we conclude 2021, we have dedicated our December issue to New York state’s newly minted third largest city — behind the Big Apple and Buffalo — Yonkers.

At the helm of a revitalized Yonkers

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“I needed to change the perception of our city,” Mayor Mike Spano says of his efforts to reinvigorate Yonkers. “I needed to change the perception of our city not just from the outside looking in but from the inside looking out.”

A city council president for all

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As Yonkers chief ombudswoman, newly elected City Council President Lakisha Collins-Bellamy wants to advocate on behalf of the entire city, ensuring diversity in housing, education, the workforce and government.

Minority (leader) rules

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Attending funerals, coping with elevators that don’t work, coaching girls’ softball and, perhaps most important, taking care of constituents: It’s all in a day’s work for Yonkers City Council Minority Leader Mike Breen.

A rising entertainment capital

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The simultaneous arrival of a major Hollywood entertainment studio’s production facilities coupled with a new chapter for a popular gaming destination is resulting in Yonkers being reinvented as the region’s new crossroads of commerce and culture.

Celebrated Yonkers

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From quirky mentions (the city is the title character’s hometown in the 1925 pop song “If You Knew Susie”) to more thoughtful explorations (the 2015 miniseries “Show Me a Hero,” about Yonkers housing desegregation crisis), Yonkers has been a wellspring for some of our most resonant works as well as some of our finest artists, civic leaders, athletes and inventors.

Mr. Yonkers

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An ambitious visionary, 17th-century Dutch lawyer Adriaen van der Donck advocated for a more representative government in the Dutch West India Co. colony of New Netherland. His dream foreshadowed New York and the United States even as he gave his name to the city of Yonkers.

Where jobs are job one

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As it heads into the bakery’s 40th year, Greyston Foundation Inc. has relegated many of the aspects of its former mission — HIV/AIDS, homelessness, a community garden — to other organizations to focus on “jobs, jobs, jobs.”

Sustainable Yonkers

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While many municipalities across the United States are running for the solar energy train, Yonkers has been on board long before the train left the station. Back in May 2017, the city was recognized by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) as a Designated Clean Energy Community and cited for providing training to employees on energy code enforcement, developing a standard solar permit application, investing in alternative fuel vehicles and infrastructure for its fleet and converting streetlights to energy-efficient LEDs.

Making new retail memories

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Since Cross County Center opened on April 28, 1954, it has been many things to many different people. And despite the advent of online retail and Covid, it continues to supply shoppers with new experiences and memories, attracting more than 11 million people annually to its 1.165-million-square-foot complex at the intersection of Cross County Parkway and I-87 in Yonkers.

The grocer as showman

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“When the smoke alarm goes off, that’s how I know it’s done,” Stew Leonard Jr. says, kidding about his own char-grilled creations. WAG’s Jeremy Wayne walks the aisles of his eponymous Yonkers store with him as he jokes and kibbitzes with customers.

‘The city of gracious living’

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There are pockets of Yonkers so tony and quaint, they are considered hidden gems. Not only are they situated on the doorstep of New York City, but they have well-crafted houses on sun-dappled streets with ample, manicured yards and neighbors who know your name.