Yonkers is the fourth largest city in New York, with a population of 188,082, according to the 1990 census. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, in the southwestern corner of Westchester County. Just across the city's southern border is Bronx County, a borough of New York City. The name Yonkers comes from the Dutch word "Jonkheer," meaning "Lord," the title of the landowner who built a mill on the site in 1648. Yonkers became a town in 1788, a city in 1872, and continued to grow throughout the late-19th century. Today the city is a residential suburb of New York as well as a manufacturing center that produces plastics, chemicals, and other products.
In its Consolidated Plan, Yonkers describes its housing and community development needs and priorities, outlining a 5-year strategy that will address these needs using Federal funds and other resources. For the first year of the plan, Yonkers is requesting $4.8 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, $1.5 million in HOME Investment Partnership (HOME) program funds, and a $170,000 Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG). This money will be used to finance the 54 housing, community development, and service programs.
Development of the citizen participation process is based on other recent planning efforts, including the city's downtown waterfront plan and Enterprise Community application. Citizens were encouraged to attend a public meeting on November 3, 1994, in order to discuss the Consolidated Plan process and time line. This meeting was advertised in the Herald Statesman and announced to local community organizations. A steering committee was formed to solicit and explore ideas for community development.
After two meetings the steering committee decided to subdivide the Southwest Community Development Target Area into six separate neighborhood areas and to budget $25,000 of Consolidated Plan funds to each. A committee in each area is responsible for determining the type of CDBG-eligible activity desired for its neighborhood. The objective of this approach was to increase citizen involvement in the targeted areas. So far, the six area organizations have held more than 30 meetings to decide how they will use their $25,000 allocations. Each area committee also elects two representatives to serve on the Consolidated Plan Steering Committee, which meets monthly to share information from area committees.
From March 28 to April 25, 1995, a draft plan was available for public comment. At a second public hearing on April 19, a summary of the Consolidated Plan was distributed, and citizens and community organization representatives gave testimony.
MAP 1 depicts points of interest in the jurisdiction.
Yonkers is a developed city. Approximately 500 acres of its 18.3 square miles remains vacant, and about 85 percent of that land is on steep slopes or underwater. Southwest Yonkers, where the city is targeting its CDBG and other HUD-funding housing programs, is urban in character. The eastern and northern parts of the city are largely suburban areas.
The city's population has declined during the past 20 years. The 1990 census counted a total population of 188,082, a decrease of 7,269 (3.7 percent) from 1980. In 1970 the city's population was 204,297. From 1980 to 1990, the overall population of Westchester County increased by about 1 percent. However, that growth occurred mainly in the northern parts of the county, while the southern portion, including Yonkers, lost 3.5 percent of its population.
Census data from 1990 show changes in the city's racial/ethnic populations. From 1980 to 1990, the white population shrank by 21,020 people (13 percent). During that same period, the nonwhite population grew by 13,751 persons (44 percent), and the Hispanic population grew by 14,552 (86 percent).
Median family income (MFI) for the area is $55,800. Of the 72,291 households in Yonkers, over 39 percent have annual incomes of 80 percent or less of MFI. Analysis of census data indicates the following levels of low- and moderate-income households:
Southwest Yonkers is characterized by an aging and, in many cases, deteriorating housing stock. Much of the housing, mainly multifamily dwellings, is more than 50 years old. A large percentage consists of assisted and public housing. There is a sizable low-income and minority population as well as a significant homeless population.
Given the underlying physical and demographic conditions, the greatest housing needs are:
In 1990 the city's housing stock consisted of 75,562 units. Of the 72,291 occupied units, 39,414 were occupied by renters, and 32,877 were occupied by owners.
Between 1980 and 1990, the price of housing soared. In 1980 the median value of owner- occupied housing in Yonkers was $70,200. By 1990 this median had climbed by 225 percent to $228,100. Comparatively, the 1990 median value for Westchester County was $259,000.
About 12,000 of the rental apartments in Yonkers have been converted to condominium or cooperative status. Although the conversions have affected mainly upper-end apartments, the reduced supply of rental housing affects all households in the city. Because the current recession has affected the ability of apartment owners to sell their units, some families live in apartments that no longer meet their needs, while other units now are vacant and for sale.
A family of four with a median income of $55,800 can afford to purchase a home costing about $140,000. However, $140,000 is far below the Westchester County median price of $259,000, and the city median of $228,100.
A large proportion of low-income renter and owner households are cost burdened, paying more than 30 percent of their gross income for housing expenses, including utilities. Some are severely cost burdened, paying more than 50 percent of their income for housing expenses.
Of the city's 14,791 extremely low-income (0-30 percent of MFI) households, 73 percent are cost burdened, while 53 percent are severely cost burdened. Of the 10,208 low-income (31-50 percent of MFI) households, 50 percent are cost burdened, while 10 percent are severely cost burdened.
About half the homeless people in Westchester County are in Yonkers, which has the highest concentration of homeless people in the State, except for New York City. Yonkers has more homeless people than the combined total of 51 upstate New York counties.
In 1992 there were an estimated 2,527 homeless persons in Yonkers. This figure included: 1,292 persons in 394 families with children, and 1,235 adults who were not member of families. Of these, 46 families with 149 members and 263 individual adults remained unsheltered. Reception centers, emergency shelters, or transitional housing served the remaining homeless people.
Subpopulations of homeless persons with special needs are as follows:
Despite the growing number of programs and accommodations for the homeless in Yonkers, emergency beds, support services, and permanent housing are still needed.
The Municipal Housing Authority (MHA) owns and manages a total of 2,609 public housing units in 19 projects. All public housing units are occupied and habitable. The waiting list for public housing contains approximately 3,800 households.
MHA administers a Section 8 rental assistance program with about 1,300 certificates and vouchers. Because Section 8 certificates are portable and can be used to live in places other than the issuing jurisdiction, about 350 of these portable certificates are from New York City but are being used by households residing in Yonkers. MHA also estimates there are another 900 to 1,000 Section 8 households who are living in Yonkers but using certificates from other communities in Westchester County. Although the Section 8 waiting list also contains 3,800 names, the list for Section 8 is not identical to the list for public housing.
There are 31 multifamily housing projects, with 4,517 units, that are subsidized under other Federal programs.
The important barriers to affordable housing in Yonkers are:
Yonkers is under Federal court order -- 1986 Housing Remedy Order, U.S. v. Yonkers -- to correct the geographical balance of the city's assisted housing. Under a court mandate, 25 percent of the city's Community Development Block Grant funds will be administered through the Fair Housing Implementation Office.
Most of the city's minority population -- and most of its assisted and public housing -- are located in Southwest Yonkers. The court's Long-Term Plan Order (LTPO) requires the construction of new affordable housing units in the eastern part of Yonkers. In 1994 the court approved using up to 250 existing cooperatives and condominium units in eastern Yonkers as partial fulfillment of the LTPO. Between 1992 and 1994, 200 units of MHA public housing were completed and occupied in eastern portions of the city.
Concern about lead-based paint hazards focuses on private-market rental housing units built before 1980. There are 32,332 such units in Yonkers, and of these, about 14,200 are occupied by low- and very low-income households. In 1992 and 1993, about 55 cases of lead poisoning were reported each year.
There are also housing and supportive needs for the elderly, the mentally disabled, the mentally ill, the physically disabled, substance abusers, and victims of domestic violence. Although the needs of each group are generally similar, such as affordable and accessible housing, each group requires somewhat different supportive services.
The city's community development needs include youth center and child-care facilities, and street and sewer improvements. In the area of public services, needs include additional services related to youth, substance abuse, employment training, child care, and tenant- landlord counseling.
Economic development needs include a loan program to assist small and emerging businesses, and rehabilitation of commercial and industrial structures and infrastructure.
In its analysis of priority housing needs for the next 5 years, Yonkers estimates that it could utilize $11.5 million, which would leverage another $23 million in private or other public resources to produce or improve 518 units. (This figure does not include units produced by the ongoing modernization of public housing or by the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, the court-ordered fair housing remedy.)
Major priorities are preserving and upgrading existing housing which is occupied by low- income renters and owners, and eliminating blight caused by code violations and building deterioration. Other priorities include providing first-time homeownership opportunities for low-, moderate-, and middle-income homebuyers.
For the homeless, the priority is to assist community-based organizations in developing a "continuum of care" approach to providing services, including supportive services.
Major community development priorities are providing public improvements along the South Broadway corridor and in the downtown waterfront area, stimulating economic activity, and providing job opportunities for residents of Southwest Yonkers. More than $26 million in Federal, State and county funding has already been allocated for improving the waterfront and South Broadway areas. Plans include renovation of the Yonkers City Pier, a major streetscape project, and improvements to three commercial properties.
Main priorities for economic development are providing loans to businesses that will provide jobs and training to low-income residents, and supporting organizations that provide job training and child care to residents seeking employment.
One of the major goals of the Bureau of Economic Development, the newest bureau within the Department of Planning and Development, is to help with the creation of new jobs for low-income city residents. The city's programs that produce and preserve affordable housing are intended to reduce the percentage of household income spent on housing. Both job creation and housing programs are designed to help households move above the poverty line.
The financial resources needed to implement the 5-year plan include the $6.49 million in CDBG, HOME, and ESG funds, which Yonkers expects to receive this year. The city also anticipates that similar levels of HUD community development and housing funds will be available during the remaining 4 years of the plan. Other funding available to help the city implement its strategic plan includes numerous Federal and State programs.
Yonkers also has various organizational resources that contribute to the city's community development efforts. These resources include: the Yonkers Municipal Housing Authority; Westchester County Departments of Health, of Mental Health, and of Social Services; Westchester County Office of Aging; and housing providers, such as: REAPS (land trust), CLUSTER (resource center, tenant referrals), YCAP (community action agency), SWAP (affordable rental cooperatives), the Yonkers Residential Center, West Yonkers Affordable Housing, and WESTHAB.
Yonkers proposes to fund an additional 38 nonprofit community-based organizations that work closely with the city, including: community centers, youth service programs, day-care providers, counseling services, economic development groups, and community and neighborhood service providers.
The Yonkers Bureau of Community Development will act as the lead agency for
activities outlined in the Consolidated Plan. The Bureau will oversee the
receipt of funding and coordination of the Consolidated Plan even when the
appropriate day-to-day operations and activities are implemented by other city
departments or by outside sub-grantees.
In order to achieve its objectives, the Bureau will work cooperatively with
the Department of Planning and Development, other city departments, the
Municipal Housing Authority, county and State agencies, and the many local
community-based organizations and committees.
MAP 5 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects.
MAP 6 is a map, sectioned by neighborhood, which depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects.
MAP 7 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects within one of the four neighborhoods indicated in MAP 6. MAP 8 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded project(s) from a street level vantage point; in addition, a table provides information about the project(s).
For the 1995-1996 program year, Yonkers plans to use $6.75 million in CDBG, HOME, ESG, and program income funds for 54 activities that address specific housing, community development, and human services needs. Most of the activities will take place within the Southwest Yonkers community development target area.
For housing, more than $2.98 million is budgeted, including:
For services to the homeless, $152,500 is allocated to 8 nonprofit organizations. Funded activities include eviction prevention and case management.
For community development, $1.56 million is scheduled for 6 activities, including:
For economic development, $370,000 is allotted, including:
For public service efforts being implemented by nonprofit groups that serve low-income residents, $688,050 is allocated for 27 activities, including:
Housing activities within this year's Action Plan include the expected rehabilitation of 210 housing units.
