Yonkers is the fourth largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind Rochester) and the largest city in Westchester County, with a population of 196,086 (according to the 2000 census). 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. Yonkers borders the New York City borough of the Bronx and is just 2 miles (3 km) 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 (New York State Route 100). 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."
The city is spread out over many hills rising from sea level at the eastern bank of the Hudson River to as high as 415 feet (126 m) at Sacred Heart Church (the spire of which can be viewed from as far away as Long Island, New York City, and New Jersey). The landscape of the city has been compared to that of San Francisco and Rome.
Yonkers is located at 40°56'29" North, 73°51'52" West (40.941478, -73.864365).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 52.6 km2 (20.3 mi2). 46.8 km2 (18.1 mi2) of it is land and 5.8 km2 (2.2 mi2) of it is water. The total area is 11.02% 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 (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.
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 4,187.5/km2 (10,847.5/mi2). There are 77,589 housing units at an average density of 1,656.9/km2 (4,292.2/mi2). The racial makeup of the city is 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. 25.93% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
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 24, 30.6% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, 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.
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 of 1645 by New Netherlands Director-General Willem Kieft to Adriaen van der Donck. Van der Donck was known locally as the Jonkheer (etymologically, "young gentleman"; in effect, "Squire"), 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 (later enlarged) 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 (in the Saw Mill River Valley) expanded to 45 buildings, 800 looms, and over 4,000 workers and was know 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 (now two) 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 cars for the New York City Subway.
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.
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 (the Broadway plays Hello Dolly and Lost in Yonkers both take place within the Yonkers Jewish community). However, its size has dwindled (but not vanished) as the older generation dies off and the younger generation moves to the Sunbelt or to other (usually more affluent) parts of the New York metropolitan area, with the trend accelerating after the housing integration court battles (see below).
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.
Source:
YonkersNewYork.com
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