We have just had a new 2025 Yonkers City Budget approved by the City council and there are new water fees and an increase in Real Estate tax for home, condo and coop owners. Large developers who have PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) programs are not affected
So why do we have such budget problems in the City of Yonkers? We have had the same administration in charge of a Strong Mayor style government since 2012. He has had a firm grip on the Administration, and his allies on the City Council have somehow failed to make the decisions that will fund our City tax base. We have had a tremendous amount of development especially by the Yonkers IDA (headed by the Mayor) In fact, their 2024 annual report lists almost 4 billion dollars in projects. These were all large developments, not small businesses. They pay no sales tax for the materials that they use to build the developments. No Real estate taxes until they open, and then sweetheart PILOT programs that allow them to make huge profits.
Small Businesses Struggle to Open
Small businesses, except for corporate stores, have failed to be established in Yonkers, and we seem to ignore the fact that most jobs in the USA are generated by small businesses. Start-up costs and the time to get a building permit from the Yonkers Building Department are a problem that the Administration has failed to correct since it took office in 2012. We walk around the City of Yonkers and see areas with no small businesses, which means no laundromats, small boutiques or novelty stores. We are a river community and these types of establishments give character and image to a city or town.
Startup costs given by some large corporate entities show why it’s so difficult. Here are 3 corporate storefront-type businesses that list their “Start Up Costs.”* These are national numbers.
- Arby’s: $644,950 to $2.4 million
- Burger King: $363,400 to $4.7 million
- Chick-fil-A $426,735 to $2.3 million
Now we can ask how the local baker, Auto Mechanic, Carpenter, plumber or retail Entrepreneur hopes to open a storefront when we make it impossible for them to afford to open a business so they can create jobs? Over the next few months we will meet with members of the Administration in an attempt to find out what services and assistance they provide to small businesses to help them establish and grow in the city of Yonkers. This will take several months to review and digest their methods, and then to visit recent businesses that did open to find out how the process went from their perspective. This assumes they are willing to speak on record.
Yonkers Economy Down
The DataUSA website on Yonkers shows that since the 2020 census, we have lost population in Yonkers and we have lost jobs. Their data is from 2023 and would lead any resident of Yonkers to ask why, with the billions we have spent on development, we have not been growing in population and employment? Is it not time for the City of Yonkers to reexamine our total reliance on big Developers and business?
*Start-up cost data from Yahoo Finance Hayley Peterson,Nancy Luna,Alexandra York,Alex Bitter
