Yonkers and Westchester County officials have announced that a new park is in the works for the city at a cost of $20 million.
The park, to be called Ludlow Park, will be next to a county wastewater treatment plant at 1 Fernbrook St., with views of the Palisades across the river.
It will be funded in equal parts by the city of Yonkers and Westchester County, with each contributing $10 million, but Yonkers will primarily decide the planning of the park.
County Executive George Latimer, Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano and county Legislator Jose Alvarado led a press conference and tour of the future site.
“To have this park here, in lower Westchester County, in Yonkers, north of this facility ”” it’s going to be transformative to this community and this region,” Mayor Mike Spano said.
“It will be the second access point to the Hudson River. I couldn’t be more excited and I know the residents here couldn’t be more excited. I know that there are people who are going to want to travel and come to Yonkers to come here and spend some time in this park. This is a partnership that the county executive and I are working on.”
The park will be on an approximately three to four acres of land that is a combination of privately owned and county land, including a privately owned bus depot.
“This is not an easy thing to do, but it’s something that we’ve put in motion and it’s going to happen,” Spano said. “Especially in a community like this, where there’s very little property to begin with. We’re taking a significant piece of the water’s edge, on the Hudson River, and giving it back to the people.”
Potential ideas for the space put forth by the city so far include boat slips, a playground, green space, a walking promenade and an amphitheater, but exact plans have not yet been confirmed.
“A couple of weeks ago, we were here discussing another partnership, for investing money to further renovate and further make the wastewater sewage treatment plant a good neighbor,” Yonkers City Council Majority Leader Corazon Pineda-Isaac.
“And it’s so great to be here to talk about a city and county partnership to provide access, to provide a waterfront park, provide opportunity for families to come and enjoy the many great things that Yonkers will offer.”
She also noted that the creation of the park is an investment in the community, as well as in the surrounding real estate.
The park could take up to two to three years to complete.
