Saw Mill ‘daylighting' plan for Yonkers must move forward

Ellen Lynch

Imagine chatting over lunch at your favorite al fresco cafe, shopping at a chic downtown boutique or enjoying a performance at a new open-air amphitheater, all set along a meandering ”Riverwalk“ complete with waterfalls and natural rapids — in Yonkers.

For more than 85 years, the Saw Mill River has been buried underneath the heart of Yonkers. Uncovering — or ”daylighting“ — the river has been an urban-planning dream for decades. Finally, after years of talk, this transformation of Yonkers' downtown is on its way to becoming reality.

You only need to look to San Antonio and its world-famous River Walk — the No. 1 entertainment destination in Texas — to understand the transformative impact a project like this can have.

The restoration of the river, both at Chicken Island and at Larkin Plaza, has emerged as the most significant environmental remediation project in New York state in many years. Once uncovered, the river will be shaded by a canopy of trees creating an oxygen-rich environment that is able to support plant growth and filter pollutants. It will become a thriving habitat for a variety of aquatic life.

Additionally, new solid waste screens will be installed upstream to prevent an estimated 177 tons of floating trash from entering the Hudson River each year. The environmental benefits of the project are undeniable.

The economic benefits the project will foster are significant as well. Daylighting will transform downtown Yonkers into an important shopping, dining and recreation destination. The project is also a key part of the River Park Center, a residential, entertainment and parking complex that will create more than 5,300 permanent jobs and more than 13,000 construction jobs. When fully built (on a site that is now blighted with deteriorating buildings) it will generate $5.6 million in new property taxes in its first year and almost $35 million in year 30.

The New Main Street Development Corp. — a non-profit created specifically to move the Chicken Island daylighting project forward — has reached out to all the private landowners to acquire the land needed to create this public space. All property owners have been offered the fair market value for their land.

Already, NMSDC has reached tentative agreements to acquire two of the 13 parcels needed. The goal is to reach purchase agreements with all of the owners. For properties where agreement cannot be reached, as a last resort the NMSDC has called on the Yonkers Industrial Development Agency to explore the possibility of invoking eminent domain — a legal process that has existed for more than 200 years in New York state that allows private land to be converted into public land when there is a public purpose. If used, this process guarantees property owners are given at least fair market value, as determined by an impartial New York state judge. In fact, many private owners in public acquisition cases prefer this third party route — called a ”friendly taking“ — because it provides a significant capital gains tax benefit.

In the meantime, Yonkers is already putting into place plans to help residents and businesses relocate. With the help of Housing Action Council, one of the most reputable relocation management companies in the state, tenants living in the only residential building on the site will be provided with every tool and resource to help them identify new housing opportunities, prepare applications, establish credit and rent payment histories and cover moving costs and security deposits.

For commercial tenants, the Yonkers Office of Economic Development will implement programs to help commercial tenants relocate to new offices and retail facilities in the city. We want all of these businesses to stay in Yonkers and benefit from this renaissance.

The project must move forward now. Further delay will mean millions in lost tax revenue, lost jobs and lost environmental benefits. After decades of waiting, this is one project that must finally see the light of day.