HEADLINES
Yonkers Broken Sidewalks Equal Broken Promises: PROPERTY OWNERS RESPONSIBILITY  "Know Your Responsibilities  As a property owner/renter/business owner, you are responsible to keep the entire sidewalk area abutting your property free of litter, debris, high grass and weeds as well as any high grass or weeds covering a fire
Cost of Migrant ESL Programs: As the migrant crisis at the southern border continues, the impact is felt throughout the United States. Cities such as New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia have been the recipients of unexpected busloads of asylum seekers.  Texas Governor Abbott has vowed
Migrants Arrive At Yonkers Ramada Inn: Contrary to a previous SW Yonkers Hamlethub article and insider info, southern border migrants have arrived at the Ramada Inn located in Yonkers, NY as of late Monday evening, on 5/15/2023. The smaller than expected number of mostly women and children
Yonkers Asylum Seekers May Be A No Show: The proposed placement of  asylum seeking migrants en route from the southern border to Yonkers, may not be a fait de complis.. According to statements made by Westchester County Executive, George Latimer on Westchester Eye on the Radio, the plan appears to
Asylum Seekers Will Be Sent To Yonkers: YONKERS, NY – May 12, 2023 – Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano issued the following statement on reports of New York City sending asylum seekers to the City of Yonkers in the coming days:“Yonkers is a City of immigrants and there’s
Yonkers Dirty Dollar Tree Store: The Family Dollar Store located at 382 Warburton Avenue in Yonkers is temporarily closed. Those who are seeking a bargain have migrated to the Dollar Tree store, located further south at 303 South Broadway.  Dollar Tree has been a fixture in
Gold Medal Flour Recall: A CDC food safety alert regarding a multistate outbreak of Salmonella infections linked to flour has been posted: https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/infantis-03-23/index.html Key Points: Investigators have identified Gold Medal flour as the source of this outbreak. Interviews with sick people and laboratory data show that Gold Medal flour contaminated
Yonkers Warburton Avenue Fire Scare: On April 20th, 2023, a fire broke out at 1 Willow Place, Yonkers NY.  Fire happens often in Yonkers. However, this was a fire that could have easily been prevented. The threat to property and public safety was reason for
Are Westhab Offender Programs Enough?: Westhab has been in business for more than forty years. Plenty of time to "get it right." Their score card is littered with failure and success. https://www.westhab.org/tag/success-story/ https://www.westhab.org/westhab-client-housed-after-nearly-a-decade-of-homelessness/No business remains consistently productive on a steady basis. Social service organizations are particularly
Yonkers Westhab Growing Problems: Westhab, based in Yonkers, NY, was founded in 1981 to address the affordable housing crisis in Westchester County. In it's early stages, the organization bought vacant buildings and renovated them into transitional and permanent housing. In response to the growing

Yonkers Hi Rise Clean Up

  • Print
Details
Published on Monday, 20 February 2023 16:46
Written by Ardina Seward
  • 1 of 11

The corner of Riverdale Avenue and Main Street located in downtown Yonkers, may soon be transformed into an affordable housing site. https://www.realestateindepth.com/news/yonkers-ida-votes-preliminary-approval-for-50m-mixed-use-residential-building-2/

MacQuesten plans on proposing 31 below-ground parking spaces, which would fall below code requirements. The company would propose a payment in lieu for the other spaces needed. The deal is yet to be finalized on many levels.  MacQuesten doesn’t own all of the property needed for construction. The firm is in contract to buy two of the lots, but the other three are owned by the Yonkers Community Development Agency, 

MacQuesten Development of Pelham is slated to build the ten story mixed use development which will have a set aside of 76 units for affordable housing. 

Both Mayor Spano and District 1 Councilwoman, Shanae Williams have applauded the proposal. “Having access to good quality affordable housing is a right that every person deserves. I am proud to support this development along with the IDA and Mayor Spano because it will make a difference in Downtown Yonkers,” said Shanae V. Williams, Yonkers City Councilwoman, District 1." - Real Estate In Depth

However, what is not being addressed is the toxicity of the area on which the development is being built. 

The City of Yonkers was built by commerce and industry. Long before green grass and modern hi rises became the landscape that Yonkers is touting today, the City was a hub of factories, warehouses, and businesses loaded with toxic chemicals used in manufacturing. Considering that the EPA, (Environmental Protection Agency) was not created until 1970, there was minimal supervision or awareness as to the consequences of hazardous waste. 

MacQuesten Development has applied to the DEC for a permit to clean up the brownfield that the proposed site is located on. The program provides tax incentives to the buyer. 

https://www.dec.ny.gov/data/DecDocs/C360220/Application.BCP.C360220.2021-10-13.Complete_BCP_application.pdf

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/NYSDEC/bulletins/2fb8198

On October 4th., 2016, the location was the site of a day time demolition, after concerned citizens of the landmark status of Richard Haas murals, lost their fight with the City of Yonkers. Prior to that day, the corner, renamed Sid Caesar Way, and the entrance to the downtown Yonkers dining area, hosted three iconic murals painted by international artist. Richard Haas.

Richard Haas painted a three panel "Gateway to the Waterfront" Mural on three buildings in Yonkers in 1997. The panel murals depicted  the history of the city. The center panel was destroyed in that demolition by the local developer who owned the buildings at that time despite the fact that the murals were land marked. The City of Yonkers vowed to replace the mural elsewhere but to date has not. https://news.hamlethub.com/swyonkers/life/1907-yonkers-haas-mural-demolished

In the process of that demolition, the toxic waste that MacQuesten plans to clean up was dispersed into the air during the demolition in 2016. It is unknown if any air monitoring was employed in that operation. 

Although restaurant Havana customers have been dining on the brownfield for years. there are caveats.  Brownfields can impact public and environmental health due to contamination that can pollute soil, air, and water resources on and off-site. People might be exposed to these hazards by walking on the site, by wind carrying contamination off of the site, or by drinking groundwater affected by the site. This can occur before, during, or after redevelopment.

 Councilwoman Williams and the present candidates for her office have repeated the mantra of more affordable housing needed, yet none have spoken about the health hazards of brownfield clean up and the impact on their constituents.

What is also unknown is what MacQuesten plans to do with the remaining Haas mural. Will it meet a similar fate as the previous landmark? 

In the midst of the proposed hi rise sits a small brick building joined to the boundary of 38 Main Street.  A  sign reads, Tequilero. a.k.a. 38 1/2 Main Street. It has remained unoccupied and unopened for several months. Their liquor license is pending. Recently, a notice from the State Liquor Authority was emailed to the owners. In the end, will their efforts be worth it, or will they too be swallowed up in the name of progress?

Subscribe

Follow SW Yonkers HamletHub