The city of Yonkers is situated just outside New York City and is only 2 miles north of the city of Manhattan. With a population over more than 195,000, Yonkers is considered the fourth most inhabited city in New York State and is the largest within the county of Westchester. The most populated cities in New York State are Buffalo, Rochester and New York.
Quite a few attractions are situated within the city, including the Sherwood House, the Hudson River Museum, Cross County Shopping Center, the Science Barge, Ridge Hill Shopping Center, and Yonkers Raceway. The raceway just renovated in 2006, adding legalized video slot machine gambling and revitalizing its' grounds and clubhouse. There are several shopping areas scattered all over Central Park Avenue, that is usually referred to as "Central Ave" by the people who live there.
The city's history begins when Adriaen Van der Donck got a land grant form the Dutch East India Company in the late 1640's. He built one of the very first saw mills within the region at the place where the Nepperhan Creek intersects the Hudson River. Van der Donck was affectionately referred to as Jonk Herr, which translates to young nobleman. Later, his land became called "Jonk Heer's land." The phrase developed into "the Younckers" and then finally into Yonkers. Because of it's centralized site, Yonkers City rapidly established itself as a main trading center. During the early history of Yonkers it was mainly an agricultural community, but it's waterfront location soon led to innovations in travel, that in turn accelerated the establishment of different industries throughout Yonkers. There are several times during history where Yonkers played a main role in carpet and hat manufacturing. Furthermore, it was the site of the globe's very first elevated mass transit system. Yonkers was first incorporated in the year 1872 with a population of approximately 20,000.
With over $3 billion dollars in changes, the city of Yonkers has just put forth a proposal to revitalize the locality. The proposal consists of a lot of waterfront development, luxury housing, and lots of retail and commercial space. The objective is to increase tourism as well as the economic significance of Yonkers to the county and state.
There are quite a few yearly events that draw thousands of individuals to the city each and every year. The Yonkers Hudson Riverfest, that provides a diverse selection of entertainment, ethnic foods and crafts, draws a crowd of over 15,000 individuals. The Untermyer Performing Arts Festival holds performances each Saturday evening during the summer season. The events, that include opera, dance, music and street theatre, are free and are held on the Hudson River. Furthermore, the Yonkers Philharmonic Orchestra plays five times every year.