By Dan Murphy
Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano celebrating the upcoming 250th Birthday of our country by touching on Revolutionary themes during his record 15th State of the City address.
Mayor Spano highlighted all the accomplishments in the city over the past year and during his term, but also issued a warning about an upcoming budget shortfall and the need for New York State to step up with additional funding so that Yonkers and the Yonkers Public Schools can continue making progress.
After mentioning the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and discussing Yonkers’ place in the country’s history, Mayor Spano spoke about how the city planned to honor its past while making improvements for the future.
“Yonkers is leading the pack in creating more homes for New Yorkers,” he said. “In the last
year, we’ve approved or started the approval process for 3,000 new housing units. Three hundred of those will be reserved as moderate-income, affordable homes. That’s in addition to the thousands of units we’ve built in recent years.”
These changes are part of the city’s Downtown development initiatives, which also include revitalizing the Waterfront area. Additionally, the mayor discussed development in other parts of the city, including Ridge Hill and the former Domino Sugar building in southwest Yonkers.
“The City Council has already expanded the Downtown Mixed-Use zoning there to include this property, where the City’s greatest potential lies,” he said, referring to the 33-acre Domino Sugar site. “New retail, dining, and deep-water docking all could make for a successful project, where residents have access to their own Metro North stop, just 17 minutes from midtown. There, we will encourage much-needed housing.”
Mayor Spano continued to discuss the need for new housing in Yonkers, where high demand and low affordability have long contributed to a housing crisis.
“Working with Council President Collins Bellamy and the rest of the City Council, we are expanding the Yonkers Affordable Housing Ordinance to include 12 percent of all new units,” said Mayor Spano. “That’s up from the previous 10 percent. We are also doubling down on that commitment with a new provision that facilitates affordable housing for ownership, so our residents can take root in our city for decades to come.”
Another affordable housing initiative includes Westchester Residential Opportunities, which helps residents become moderate-income, first-time homebuyers.
“Using federal HOME funds and our own Housing Trust Fund, qualifying applicants can receive up to 19 percent off the down payment of a single-family home,” the mayor explained. “With additional help with closing costs, that’s money in hand for families ready to build generational wealth in Yonkers.”
The former site of Mulford Gardens will also be transformed into the Park Square development.
“This will soon become home to over 300 families with direct access to retail at street level—along with a brand-new grade school,” Mayor Spano continued. “This community school will serve the entire neighborhood, providing access to a pool, gymnasium, auditorium, and medical offices.”
On the subject of school innovation, the mayor also spoke about the city’s investment in technology.
“Our Yonkers Public Schools continue to innovate,” he said. “In 2025, we launched a new one-to-one learning initiative for our youngest students, investing in more than 11,000 iPads for kindergarten through fifth grade. Regardless of income level, these students have access to high-quality digital tools necessary for success in the 21st century.”
The mayor also congratulated the city’s My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) program, and Yonkers Middle High graduate Cameron Williams, who was named one of 18 nationwide MBK ambassadors.
He then turned his focus to improving the city’s athletics programs.
“We know that a good education should also include athletic opportunity—something that had been sadly neglected in the past,” said Mayor Spano. “But no more. Over the last ten years, we’ve reinstated many of our sports programs, encouraging sportsmanship, teamwork, and good old exercise. The investment is paying off. Middle school intramural programs have expanded, and teams in nearly every sport are making headlines for their victories.”
He then congratulated the Yonkers Montessori Academy’s women’s basketball team, which just became the first girls’ team in any sport to win a state title in Yonkers Public Schools history.
Although the mayor spoke positively of recent achievements in the city’s public schools, he also noted that a lack of funding could halt this progress in the future.
“Together, we have fought hard over the years to build the District back—that includes our 90 percent graduation rate and programs like sports, music, and art,” he said. “But all this progress is severely threatened. We’ve lost critical federal dollars that once helped stabilize our schools in the aftermath of COVID-19.”
Mayor Spano suggested updating the Regional Cost Index to better show the city’s needs.
“It’s time to update the Regional Cost Index so it reflects the District’s location in Westchester County, instead of being compared to places 100 miles north of here,” he said. “Yonkers borders New York City, so why are we compared to Newburgh when it comes to cost reimbursement from the State? Why isn’t our wage base compared to Manhattan instead of Monticello?”
State funding was not the only challenge the mayor referenced in his speech.
“We are also facing real pressure in this year’s municipal budget—healthcare and pension costs are rising, demand for services is growing, and that limits our ability to find meaningful savings,” said Mayor Spano. “We will work closely with the City Council to soften the impact on our taxpayers, but the truth is, while we’ve managed tough budgets before, this may be one of the toughest yet.”
Still, the speech continued on a hopeful tone, as the mayor returned to discussing development projects that would help revitalize the city. After asking residents to advocate for better city funding, he went on to discuss several projects, including renovations at the North Yonkers Community Center and improvements at the JFK Marina Boathouse.
The Mayor also spoke about plans to improve the Nepperhan Community Center.
“One of the most revolutionary projects this year will be at the Nepperhan Community Center,” he said. “For generations, the Nepp has been a cornerstone for families on the west side. A few years ago, some in the community were afraid it would close, but there’s no chance we’d let that happen. Working hand-in-hand with a local developer, the City is undertaking a comprehensive renovation to modernize the facility from top to bottom — upgrading gathering spaces, installing a commercial kitchen, a gym, and enhancing accessibility. Nonprofits will be interviewed in the coming months to manage the enhanced programming the neighborhood so richly deserves. I look forward to the ribbon-cutting next spring.”
He also expressed dedication to improving the city’s parks.
“Our parks are truly urban sanctuaries, and none more so than Untermyer Gardens, which has blossomed into a regional attraction,” Mayor Spano said. “Its Persian gardens transport us to a bygone era. This year, with the guidance of the Untermyer Gardens Conservancy, the park pays tribute to the untouched beauty of the Hudson River. On your next visit to the Gardens, be sure to stop by the new bronze sculptures of the Hudson River School painters who depicted the majesty of the River dating back to the early 1800s. And as the Gardens grow in popularity, we must ensure that visitors are welcomed in a way that reflects the beauty and significance of this place. So, I’m pleased to announce that we will move forward with plans to build a new Visitors Center and café as part of a Cola Center expansion.”
The mayor went on to discuss the city’s improved crime rates.
“The numbers tell a powerful truth,” he said. “In 2025, Yonkers recorded one of the lowest overall crime totals in city history. More impressively, the crimes that affect most residents, like auto theft and shoplifting, are on average down nearly 30 percent in the last three years.
“How are we doing this? Police are getting real-time information and identifying patterns, trends, and emerging hotspots—and as a result, they deploy their resources proactively.”
One such resource is the D.F.R., or Drone as a First Responder.
“What was a pilot program just two years ago is now fully operational,” Mayor Spano explained. “Today, we have two strategically placed launch sites on the east and west sides of the City. Able to get eyes on any location in under three minutes of launch, these drones are groundbreaking technology as they safely maneuver the rough Yonkers terrain and offer faster incident resolution across the city.”
Mayor Spano also recognized the Yonkers Fire Department for its high-level training and accreditation.
“In 2025, Yonkers Fire completed the rigorous standards for New York State’s Advanced Rescue Training that includes structural collapses and confined space rescues. This enables us to respond to statewide advanced mutual aid when neighboring municipalities are in need of expert help,” he said.
The mayor added that the city will invest in two new engines, a heavy rescue truck, and a rescue pumper for the department.
Yonkers will also make efficiency improvements to reduce energy bills for residents.
“Over the next two years, we will roll out the new Yonkers Energy Savings Program or YES,” said Mayor Spano. “The energy conservation program targets 37 city facilities that will reduce energy costs by thirty-one million dollars over 20 years — making it the largest municipal energy performance program in Westchester. This investment will immediately relieve us of over six million dollars in urgently needed city building improvements like roofing replacements and HVAC systems.”
He added that current sustainability efforts have already reduced the city’s greenhouse gas emissions by 23 percent, putting Yonkers ahead on its reduction goals for 2030.
Mayor Spano went on to talk about job growth in the city, noting that the film industry has produced about $12 million in total earnings for the area.
“People often ask, how many of the jobs are going to Yonkers residents?” he said. “The answer is, a lot of them. A survey showed that 60 percent of all job holders at Great Point or Lionsgate live or are from Yonkers.”
The city is also investing in future film industry professionals.
“Partnering with the local film studios, we plan to give residents a bite at the industry apple,” said Mayor Spano. “The Mayor’s Office of Film and Photography will offer a Creative Innovators and Filmmakers Scholarship to budding Yonkers film producers. This scholarship would enable our local talent to produceauthentic stories that might be stalled due to any financial barriers. We know there are future Spielbergs amongst us – we just need to unleash that talent and
bridge the gap, from concept to career.”
Job growth has improved in other industries as well.
“I am happy to report our unemployment rate continues its downward trend as we create employment opportunities,” said the mayor. “It’s even eclipsing New York’s other Big 5 cities.”
Mayor Spano went on to affirm the city’s commitment to diversity and inclusion for all its residents.
“This administration considers it a priority to ensure every community has a seat at the table,” he said. “We created and appointed ten community advisory boards that reflect the voices and experiences of our residents — appointing another four this year alone. We’ve also worked hard to diversify our municipal workforce, so it better reflects the community we serve. When residents walk into City Hall, they should see people who understand their neighborhoods, their challenges, and their aspirations.”
The mayor wrapped up his speech by returning to the city’s revolutionary history and speaking about how those values are still alive today, as evidenced by the city’s planned Bicentennial celebration.
“Revolutionary Yonkers Two-Fifty is a challenge to each and every one of us, because we decide what our future holds,” he said. “And Yonkers will meet that challenge, the way we always have, because we are revolutionary in resilience. Because if 1776 was about declaring independence, then 2026 is about declaring our future. A future that is strong, that inspires. A future that is — in every sense of the word — Revolutionary.”
