Our Work in Yonkers
The Threat
- Introduction
- What's at Stake
- The Threat
- Our Vision
- Timeline
Flaunting the downtown waterfront master plan created with substantial citizen input in 1997, as many as ?? high-rises are now on the drawing board along the Yonkers shoreline. These super-sized glass and steel dominoes -- some as tall as 30 stories—stand to obliterate river and Palisades views throughout the city. The 6,000 new residential units likely will strain schools, sewers, traffic and other municipal services.
Artist's rendering of latest proposal for Yonkers riverfront development.
In the Alexander Street Redevelopment Area alone, 18 skyscrapers ranging in height from 12 to 30 stories are proposed for the 112-acre property. Plans call for 3,752 apartment units, 210,000 square feet of retail space and 213,000 square feet of office space. Only 13 acres is devoted to open space. This disparity is similar all along the shoreline. On Parcels H & I, where twin 25-story apartment towers are planned, just ?? of the total ?? acres is slated for parkland.
At public hearings about the Alexander Street development, residents spoke out forcefully against the high-rises. Their concerns are shared by the state Department of State, which concluded that the project "appears to be an over-development of the site" that "will affect community character, beneficial public access, adequate provision of open space, public views and in-water habitats."
Even some of the city's business leaders realize these colossi don't belong on the Hudson River. "We don't want to have a Miami Beach effect here in Yonkers," said John Kolenda, president of the Downtown Waterfront Business Improvement District.
