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The $350,000 campaign, entitled "Generation Yonkers, "is aimed at Millennials and Generation Y -- those born between 1983 and the early 2000's. The year-long campaign will focus on attracting business and young people to the area with testimonials from some of the City's most successful businesses.
The testimonials are from companies such as Kawasaki Rail Car, Mindspark Interactive, Empire City Casino, Big Indie Pics, ContraFect and Yonkers Brewing Co, all of which have had measurable long-term and short-term success in Yonkers.
According to Spano, the ultimate goal is to get reactions from more businesses looking to invest in Yonkers.
"I think the most important part of this campaign is that nothing about it is pie in the sky. We have done all of this business already. When people see that, they'll want to check us out," he said.
Spano said the money for the campaign was passed in through the Yonkers IDA in the 2013 budget.
"One big company choosing to move here pays for the campaign by itself. We're getting new leads every day," he said.
Commissioner of Planning Wilson Kimball said Yonkers has seen an uptick in interest from businesses looking into moving into the area.
"We've been asking them to tell us about their needs, and we send them the properties we have available. Almost 100 percent of the time, they come up for a tour," she said.
Kimball said since beginning her job in 2012, they have given 20 tours to major companies.
"One major company is very close to moving here, along with a major hotel," she said.
Additionally, the New York Mets and New York Football Club have expressed interest in potentially using Yonkers for stadium space, Kimball said.
Laura Alemzadeh, of Kawasaki Rail Car, said her company chose to participate in the campaign because Yonkers has proven to be an excellent home to them company for 25 years.
"When the time came for us to find a home, the economic opportunity and affordability of Yonkers was too good to pass up," she said. "Not only that, but we're now located only 25 minutes from Grand Central Station, near many of our main customers in the rail industry."
Kawasaki Rail Car provides cars for Metro-North, New York City subways, the New York New Jersey Port Authority, Washington D.C. and has recently won a multi-billion dollar contract with the Long Island Railroad.
Check out the Generation Yonkers website here.
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