From the Mayor's Desk.....

Dear Yonkers,

This week we mourned, remembered, honored and said good bye to one of the most iconic figures in the history of Yonkers.  Former Yonkers Mayor and successful businessman Angelo Martinelli passed away at his home peacefully at the age of 91 on October 27th.  

We have lost a great man, a selfless public servant and a beloved father and grandfather.  Mayor Martinelli, the city's longest serving Mayor, is synonymous with Yonkers in every way and his contributions to our city, like his legacy, will live on forever.  

During his tenure as Mayor, Martinelli's accomplishments were endless.  He is responsible for reactivating the Yonkers Police Athletic League (PAL), he re-constituted the Yonkers IDA, conceived the historic Putnam Rail Line, began the annual holiday celebrations in Getty Square, brought back the historic Yonkers Marathon to the city and founded the popular Yonkers Farmers Market.  

Martinelli is also credited for beginning the renaissance of downtown Yonkers, particularly focusing on the Metro North's Yonkers Train Station.   His tireless advocacy set the stage for the restoration of the train station and was responsible for Amtrak making Yonkers a main stop on their routes north. Within the past two years, it was my absolute honor to present him with the first-ever City of Yonkers Lifetime Achievement Award and also honor Angelo at our Yonkers Train Station, where his name will live on forever.
Please keep the entire Martinelli family in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time."

MIKE SPANO
Mayor
Prayers For Pittsburgh

Mayor Spano, Yonkers City Council and local religious leaders and clergy gathered at the City Hall Unity Fountain this week for a candlelight vigil to remember and mourn the 11 victims of the recent Pittsburgh synagogue shooting.
Thank you to all of the City employees and residents who attended this special gathering.  

Don't forget to set those clocks back this weekend.  You get an extra hour of sleep on Saturday night Yonkers!
Honoring Martinelli

Mayor Mike Spano and his administration honored the life and legacy of Former Mayor Angelo Martinelli this week by dimming the Yonkers City Hall Clock Tower lights in his honor.  The Rotunda of City Hall was also dedicated to the memory of the longest serving Mayor in the city's history. 

A Happy & Safe 2018 Halloween!

Thank to you all of the residents, parents, Yonkers Police Department and of course our young Trick or Treaters, who made this year's Halloween in the City of Yonkers safe and lots of fun.  Don't eat too much candy this weekend!

Around Town: What's Happening in Yonkers 
11/4 - Veterans Day Mass
St. Ann's Church | 854 Midland Avenue, Yonkers
10AM

11/6 - Election Day  |  City Hall Closed

11/11 - Veterans Day Ceremony
Veterans Monument  |  Yonkers City Hall
11AM

11/11 - Veterans Day Service
Empire VFW Post 375 | 10 Huber Place, Yonkers

11/12 - All Yonkers City Hall & Yonkers Public Schools CLOSED in recognition of Veterans Day

11/19 - Puerto Rican Flag Raising
Yonkers City Hall, 40 South Broadway
4PM

11/22 - Thanksgiving Day

*11/22 & 11/23 - City Hall & All Yonkers Public Schools Closed

11/27 - Yonkers City Hall Tree Lighting Ceremony
Washing Park | 40 South Broadway, Yonkers
4:30PM

11/30 - Downtown Waterfront BID Tree Lighting Ceremony
Getty Square, Downtown Yonkers
4:30PM

Colonial Heights Association Tree Lighting Ceremony
St. George Parkway/Longvue Terrace
7PM

*Maya Lin Exhibit at Hudson River Museum
October 12 - January 20

*St. John's Farmer's & Flea Market | August 2 - Dec 13
St. John's Church | 1 Hudson Street, Yonkers
Every Thursday
7AM - 5PM

*Adopt a Pet - Yonkers Animal Shelter | 1000 Ridge Hill Blvd. Open Daily from 11AM - 4PM  |   914-377-6730

*Month of November Activities For All City of Yonkers Public     Libraries:  Click Here
City Sells Chicken Island 
For $16 Million

A major, long awaited announcement took place in the City of Yonkers this week as Mayor Mike Spano announced the sale of the downtown parcel commonly known as "Chicken Island" to developer AMS Acquisitions LLC.   AMS Acquisitions agreed to purchase the six acre property from the City for $16 million.

"Seven years ago the Chicken Island redevelopment plan was dead," said Mayor Spano, referring to a former plan to build a minor league baseball stadium on the site. He added, "Now we have a workable plan, backed up with hard dollars that the City can use in the short run to fund our schools and essential services, and in the long run we will collect many millions of real estate and income taxes plus take another giant leap forward in revitalizing the downtown."

AMS Acquisitions' vision for "Chicken Island" is it to become the epicenter of the downtown, with a concentration of shopping, dining and experiential retail, coupled with multifamily buildings, an office component and a luxury hotel.

Coined "Chicken Island" in the late 1800's when a small island in the Saw Mill River was used as a local chicken farm, the six acre site is located to the north east of Yonkers City Hall. The site is zoned D-MX (downtown mixed use zoning) a high density zone permitting development up to 25 stories and which permits a wide variety of uses including retail, restaurant, office, colleges, personal service establishments, residential as well as many other alternatives. AMS Acquisitions' development of "Chicken Island" will complement the building of the new Fire Station 1 on New School Street and the soon-to-be completed Phase III of the Saw Mill Daylighting along New Main Street.
Fire Prevention Tips by YFD

Mayor Mike Spano, School Superintendent Dr. Edwin Quezada and the Yonkers Fire Department joined Yonkers Public School students in recognition of National Fire Prevention month at Public School 30.   This month, our Fire Department has been visiting Yonkers Public Schools and giving presentations on safety awareness tips, as well as the importance of fire escape planning.

"Film Yonkers"
Thanks to the Mayor's Office of Film & Photography, "Film Yonkers," you've seen a lot of Yonkers City Hall recently if you're a big fan of Madam Secretary on CBS!
Since 2012, Yonkers has seen an unprecedented increase in film and photography production and has been host to some of the biggest feature film and television productions nationwide. We've seen new revenue and investment in local businesses and we continue to work to enhance the economic opportunity that exists for both the film industry and the City of Yonkers. Be sure to learn more about Film Yonkers at www.yonkersny.gov.

Have You Checked Out 
The Sculpture Garden?
In case you've missed it, the Sculpture Garden recently opened at Modera along the Hudson River in downtown Yonkers. Created by renowned artist Barbara Segal, these pieces of work have been restored and now are part of Yonkers' growing urban art scene. Be sure to check it out along the Hudson River esplanade on Water Grant Street the next time you're downtown!
Yonkers Film Festival

LIGHTS, CAMERA... YOFI!
 
They are rolling out the red carpet this weekend for the 6th annual YoFiFest!

"The festival has grown from its humble beginnings as a local weekend event to an international festival that this year will screen about a hundred and fifty films over ten days,"  said Dave Steck, the festival's Co-Founder and Executive Director,
 
The festival will open on Friday, November 2nd, with it's traditional Red Carpet Reception, followed by an exciting opening night program of selected shorts and features, and ending the night with an After-Party in a near-by lounge.
 
The festival will once again screen films from all over the world including Ireland, Australia, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Poland, Turkey, Sweden, Germany, Canada, Norway, Russia, and The United Kingdom. It will also feature filmmakers from right in their own backyard, including a "Done In Yonkers" showcase on the evening of Monday, November 5th, followed by "Westchester Wednesday" and "Local Students" showcases on Wednesday, November 6th.
 
The festival takes place in Downtown Yonkers from 11/2 to 11/11. Information, schedules and tickets are available at www.YoFiFest.com.


Did you know that famous, long-time actor James Belushi played the role of recently deceased, former Yonkers Mayor Angelo Martinelli in the hit HBO series SHOW ME A HERO?   Show Me a Hero was a 2015 HBO miniseries based on the 1999 non-fiction book of the same name by former New York Times writer Lisa Belkin. Like the book, the miniseries details a white middle-class neighborhood's resistance to a federally mandated scattered-site public housing development in Yonkers, New York, and how the tension of the situation affected the city as a whole.