Yonkers has completed its purchase of eight parcels of land including a bus depot that will be combined with a county-owned parcel to create a 3.8-acre waterfront park on the Hudson River. The site is in the city”™s Ludlow section. The bus depot was owned by Anthony Mauro and covers 2.95 acres.
“The next step is to work with the current tenant to relocate and then complete design and construction of the park,” Mayor Mike Spano said. “Southwest Yonkers is the only portion of the city”™s waterfront not to have a public park, and we are now well on the way to changing that.”
The park will be a joint project of the city and Westchester County. The county is expected to spend at least $10 million complete the build-out of the park.
The property is immediately north of the Westchester County Joint Sewage Treatment Facility and bordered on the north by American Sugar Refiners.
Spano said that a commercial developer had offered $2 million more than the city paid for the land.
“Not only did we preserve this property permanently for public recreation and enjoyment of the Hudson River, but we negotiated a pretty good deal,” Spano said. “This is an enormous step forward for our goal to make the Hudson Waterfront available to the public.”
The property was home to an ice plant in 1886, and more recently an oil tank farm in addition to its status as a bus depot. Westchester County performed a comprehensive environmental assessment of the property to confirm that there were no issues that would prevent its use as a public park. The assessment was carried out in coordination with the State Department of Environmental Conservation.
Public input will be sought on proposed designs for the park with construction expected to begin in the next year.
County Executive George Latimer has said of the project, “Yonkers residents deserve riverside park access the same way that all Westchester residents do. I am looking forward to implementing our shared vision, and more importantly, seeing the enjoyment it will bring to the residents of Ludlow Park and beyond.”
The idea of establishing a Hudson River waterfront park north of the county”™s wastewater treatment plant was covered in the January 20, 2020 report that was titled “Ludlow Street Transit Oriented Development Plan.” The report said that potential activities at the park could include concerts and events taking place in a space designed for the purpose, a marina, a restaurant and seasonal recreational activities.
