The first phase of renovations at the city park named after former Yonkers Mayor James Lennon that is located on 5.4 acres at Lake Avenue and Park Avenue in Yonkers has been completed. At a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new basketball court and other improvements, Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano practiced his basketball skills with students from the nearby Sacred Heart High School, scoring at least one basket.
“Since 2012 we have actually renovated more than two-dozen parks,” Spano said. “That can’t happen unless the City Council is willing to put the dollars in. They put the dollars in the budget.”
“This park is a memorialization of one of the most influential figures in Yonkers history,” Parks Commissioner Steve Sansone said. “James Lennon in the late 1800s was the son of Irish immigrants. He worked in the carpet mills and owned a drug store on Ashburton Avenue. In 1909 he was elected to the mayoralty in Yonkers where he served four consecutive terms. This park is the cornerstone of the Lake Avenue corridor.”
Sansone said that more improvements are planned at the park. The expenditure so far is $375,000 with a $34,000 donation from the Yonkers Rotary Club. In addition to the basketball court and soccer area, the park’s facilities include three baseball diamonds, a softball Little League diamond, open grass areas, benches and playgrounds.
