Residents Give Their Take On Yonkers In State Of The People Address

Hoping to capture the attention of City Hall, Community Voices Heard presented its inaugural State of the People address Tuesday night inside its North Broadway offices. There, the group talked about the need for more affordable housing, job creation and education, particularly for low-income and minority residents of southwest Yonkers.

“Mayor Spano will be giving his State of the City address on Wednesday, and I am sure he will mention the downtown area developments, the improvement of Yonkers’ financial rating,” said Carlos Hodgson. “This is just one side of the story. It’s time to tell our side.”

Tuesday’s meeting was a gathering of city residents and members of the Yonkers chapter of Community Voices Heard, a statewide coalition dedicated to fighting for low-income New Yorkers. For more than a decade, CVH has been fighting for welfare change, policy changes and minimum wage, among other issues. 

In Yonkers, the group has several issues of concern, including job creation. CVH statistics show the unemployment rate for the city’s southwest side is 26 percent, more than three times the national average, Dorrian Stewart said.

He urged the city to create a committee to study the high numbers and recommend ways to improve the employment situation.

“Our neighborhoods are hurting and people are not working,” Stewart said. “Our communities need access to employment that provides a living wage."

Education is also a major issue impacting low-income and minority communities, said Matthew Dunckel, a city resident and father of two. He urged the city to find a way to restore full-day prekindergarten classes and find additional funding for the schools.

“Studies show that kids coming from these neighborhoods are performing at lower rates,” he said. “We all know the problems, but it’s time to really talk about the impact on our kids and, ultimately, our communities.”

Low-income and minority residents need to join together and find a voice because they have been largely ignored by many in power, Yonkers CVH leader Walter Lipscomb said.

“When they want federal money they count us,” he said. “When they want votes they come to us. Money, votes they’ll come to us. But when it comes to our issues, now they back up.”

CVH members vowed to attend Wednesday night when Spano presents his State of the City address at 7 p.m. inside the Yonkers Riverfront Library. But it won’t end there, they said.

“We’re not going anywhere so you might as well deal with us and address some of our issues,” said Valerie Pearson.  “If they (elected officials) see us out there and see us concerned about our lives and our community, I think we could turn some heads.”

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