Green City Leadership Awards presented - Westfair Communications

Yonkers has created new awards to recognize students and local community organizations for their efforts to promote environmental sustainability and create programs designed to help protect the environment.

The first Yonkers Green City Community Leadership Award went to the Untermyer Gardens Conservatory, while the first Yonkers Green City Student Leadership Awards went to students from the city”™s Family School 32 and Roosevelt High School.

A Student Leadership Award went to the Family School 32”™s Student Government for the program “Beautify 32” in which students help keep school grounds clean and free of litter while also planting flower and vegetable gardens at the school. They”™ll also be developing educational materials on recycling to increase participation among students and parents.

Student Leadership Award winners from Family School 32 with Mayor Spano in center. Photo by Maurice Mercado, City of Yonkers.

Spano also presented a student Leadership Award to Devan Eldridge, a senior at Roosevelt High School and a member of the school”™s A-Team Autism Program. Eldridge leads the school”™s recycling program in which he and his team on a weekly basis collect paper and bottles from each classroom and then make them ready for the Yonkers Recycling Center. So far, they have recycled more than 2,290 pounds of plastic, glass and paper.

Untermyer Gardens Conservatory received the Community Leadership Award along with a $10,000 grant provided by the Yonkers Industrial Development Agency for its proposed Warblers On Warburton tree canopy improvement program. The Conservancy partnered on the project with the Hudson River Community Association, which represents residents in the Warburton Avenue area. They identified properties where shade trees could be planted in front yards, along the sidewalk, and obtained permission from property owners to plant trees on their property. There was no charge to the property owners. Six trees were planted in 2021 and plans call for planting an additional 30 trees this year. In addition, the Conservancy is offering paid internships to local high school students who will help with the tree plantings and other gardening projects.

“Yonkers has led the charge in sustainability for the last decade, working with our not-for-profits, schools, city agencies, businesses and residents,” Spano said during an awards ceremony at City Hall. “I am continually impressed by our city”™s vision, action and commitment to our environment. Congratulations to all our winners for your inspirational projects and being stewards of a healthier Yonkers.”

ThePlant.org, an organization headed by developer Lela Goren who has been working on redeveloping the long-closed Glenwood Power Plant, is supporting the awards.