Yonkers, New York

Yonkers, bordering the New York City borough of the Bronx and just 2 miles north of Manhattan at the closest point of each, is the fourth largest city in the U.S. state of New York, with a population of 196,086 (according to the 2000 census). A July 1, 2002 estimate showed the city's population to be 197,234. It is by far the largest city in Westchester County. Younger residents have termed the city "the sixth borough" as well as "the backyard of the Bronx", referring to Yonkers' location on the New York City border resulting in a somewhat urban character not commonly associated with suburbia.

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Yonkers deals with a famously negative image. It is believed by most citizens of Westchester County, New York to have the worst crime rate of the area of Southern Westchester. Several native rappers such as DMX and Jadakiss help contribute to the criminal mystique of Yonkers. The worst neighborhood is considered Getty Square, a haven for gambling and drugs. Gangs in Yonkers range from Italian Mafia groups such as The Tanglewood Boys, which is a recruiting body for the Lucchese Family, to Puerto Rican gangs, to African-American chapters of the New York Crips and Bloods.

Related Topics:
Westchester County, New York - Southern Westchester - DMX - Jadakiss - Getty Square - Gangs - Italian - Mafia - The Tanglewood Boys - Lucchese Family - Puerto Rican - Crips - Bloods

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In fact, Yonkers has the lowest crime rate of any city of its size in the United States. This low rate is undoubtedly helped by the proximity to New York City. Much of the petty crime that one would expect to find in a large city is effectively "outsourced" to the Bronx or Upper Manhattan; the high-crime neighborhoods of Washington Heights and the South Bronx are only ten minutes' drive away. Also, in recent years, New York City itself has had one of the lowest crime rates of major U.S. cities, and this "spillover" effect of reduced crime has lowered neighboring Yonkers' crime rate as well.

Related Topics:
Bronx - Manhattan

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In the 1980s and 1990s, Yonkers developed a national reputation for racial tension, based on a long-term battle between the City of Yonkers and the NAACP over the building of subsidized low-rent housing. The City wanted to use federal funds to create or expand high-rise housing projects in southwest Yonkers; other groups, led by the NAACP, felt that concentrating subsidized housing in traditionally poor neighborhoods perpetuated poverty. The climax of the battle came when Federal District Court Judge Leonard Sand imposed a fine on Yonkers which started at $1 and doubled every day until the City capitulated to the federally mandated plan. A history of this battle can be found in Lisa Belkin's 1999 book Show Me a Hero.

Related Topics:
NAACP - District Court

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