As quickly as it took to turn out the lights, the Burger King in Cross County, a main stay for over 40 years is now defunct, slated to lay dormant among the throng of commercial real estate until further notice.

Now I realize that many of you may be thinKING…why is he getting sentimental over a crappy lil Burger King.  Truth be told, I have spent hundreds of hours of my life, going back to the age when I was too young to walk into the store, waiting on lines, playing in multi-colored ball kiddie play areas and perhaps most fondly, mastering the game of Street Fighter II, which sat next to the game Mortal Combat near where the bathrooms are located.

These two video games alone kept me company and catapulted me to stardom through the 1990′s and on a rainy summer afternoon or a cold winter day, whether it was chicken fingers, quarter pounders or video games, my life always seemed to find its way into that Burger King.

And now it’s gone.  Will another franchisee buy the Burger King and simply turn back on the lights?  Who knows.  Will it become a Five Guys Burger…more than likely.

The fact remains that Yonkers, just like NYC, is a city that never disappoints in keeping up with the times and tearing down the old, before you can even catch your breath and have a chance to spend sometime sitting back and recalling your experiences from the past.

Is it not bad enough that the Cross County mall has received a 50 year facelift, rendering it completely unrecognizable?  The mall where I first learned what it was like to hold hands with a girl, to go out with friends with out the supervision of my mother and countless other coming of age experiences.

In my humble opinion, the original developers got it right and the mall in 2012 resembles a place that really has no character and fails in every attempt in my mind to bring people together and showcase an esthetic concourse for shopping and promenading.

The place is already under renovation with chairs and booths being taken out.

It’s an eerie sight to see the dimly lit counters of a Burger King.  This is so definitely a place that WOULD be open in one of those “I know what you did last summer” movies and the kids would run in because they were of course being chased.  Freddie Prinze Jr’s line would read, “Hello…hello…man, looks like this place is drive thru only…ahhhhhhhhh”

Well, I bid farewell to you my childhood friend and one that has served millions and millions over a long 40+ year career.  No more long lines. No more messed up orders.  No more nasty bathrooms.  No more Mr. Bean look-a-likes as managers…has anyone seen this guy or know who I am talking about??  No more colored ball play areas.  No more Street Fighter II.  Time to turn the page.

–Joshman

My apologies to those residents who live either near Getty Square or even on the now infamous Mill St.  I say “infamous” because I have unofficial cited it as the spookiest place in Yonkers for one reason in particular.  As you enter off Main St. you turn into a courtyard which is a dime-a-dozen, but as you proceed further into Mill St., it reveals its creepy secrets…

Proceeding toward the end of the courtyard, you begin to hear a rush a water and it is at this point that many people who have lived in this section of Yonkers know exactly what I am talking about.  For those who don’t though, proceed with caution…

In order to investigate further the sound of the rushing water, you need to open this gate…

Then, Mill St. reveals it’s secret, that the Saw Mill River, now in rapids form due to the flume that it has to travel through to flow beneath Getty Square, is exposed between two buildings and for a brief few seconds, whatever or whoever may be flowing downstream is hit with a ray of light before going back underground for the final 500 ft journey out toward the Hudson River.

Now truth be told, I was afraid…very afraid.  Afraid that someone could push me in or worse, pull me in.  Imagine seeing some transient riding the waves down river, bathing in its glory and having the time of his life, vicariously transporting himself out West to the mighty Colorado River.

I imagined Shredder himself, leader of the Foot Clan; pulling me into the river and into his world, where I would become a minion, tasked with defeating once and for all, those pesky Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

What ever the case, I think we learned something today.  That you can judge a book by its cover.  That small courtyards in downtown Yonkers can reveal secrets that sometimes you’re not prepared for.  That the Saw Mill River is truly a river of secrets, a river that pops in and out of daylight in dozens of locations along its snake-like journey toward the Hudson through Westchester.

Next time you find yourself in Getty Sq., be sure and check it out and while I suppose most of you will not experience the  trepidation that I did, I think you will enjoy Mill Street’s hidden little secret.

—Joshman

You have to love and respect the Irish representation that has been in place on McLean Ave. for generations now.  Sure places like Artuso’s Pastry Shop and Angelos Pizzaria hang tough with Italian pride, but in all honestly, the city should just get on with it already and put a Green line down between the double Yellow lines from about Central park Ave. east, till Bronx River Rd.

Things are so Irish over on the southeast side of Yonkers that they can get away with celebrating St. Patrick’s Day one week late, holding their first annual parade this past March and while the main event may have been the pipers and grand marshalls, I particularly was drawn to the window dressings along the avenue, all of which have been decked out all month in Irish green, but one in particular was very creative.

Blossom Flower Shop, a staple of the neighborhood for some time now, decided to go with a St. Patrick’s Day effigie that is recognizable to any ethnicity that happens to stroll by, a giant, green, all-knowing, all-powerful, pot of gold totting leprechaun.

Having been permanently scared for life from such horror movies about these guys, their presence irks me to that of circus clowns.  Still though, he does look festive with his almost finished mug of green beer and large lumberjack looking beard.

He can even be seen holding a bouquet of flowers, perhaps further proof that this leprechaun is a friendly, non-green-thumbed florist who enjoys a good pint almost as he enjoys putting together an array of flowers for all occasions.

I stand corrected, Leprechauns, when given a vocation other than jumping through Irish fields of grass, can be friendly and not psychopathic killers as portrayed in the movies.

—Joshman

I think every person that spends more than 5 years living in the city of Yonkers should take a Bee-Line bus at least once in their lives, whether it be to enjoy the bounciness of the ride, the pitch of the bell that rings for stops requested, or even to simply indulge in a slice of humble pie and ride the democratic conveyance across town.

As a kid, I certainly put in my fair share of time on the Bee-Line bus system.  My Mom only drove a car once in her life and decided that it wasn’t for her. Add in a Dad who worked nights and you have a childhood riddled with bus rides up Central Ave., bus rides to downtown Yonkers, even on occasion, we would take the bus from Cross County, up the hill to Kimball Ave to our house, just two stops away.

In High School, the ride on the #25 bus to Park Ave., where I would then have to decide if I wanted to jump on the #2 bus, filled to the brim with Gorton HS students, to the point where limbs are hanging out of windows due to space issues…OR simply get some exercise and walk the final mile or so to school.  I always chose the latter.

In hindsight, the Bee-Line afforded me many opportunities to be with friends, to venture into different and new sections of Westchester County and to skip school, more times than I care to say on this website and dabble in the fun of being somewhere else other than school at 11 a.m. on a Tuesday.

Recently, I was driving on 9A near Jackson Ave. when I passed by what I thought was an outhouse.  To my astonishment and upon closer inspection, what certainly could be used as an outhouse was in fact, a bus stop for the #5 bus, without question, the worst bus stop in Yonkers.

This thing is scary, even on a sunny afternoon as it was when I decided to pay a visit to it.  With paint peeling, sharp nails sticking out of wood boards and the windows, stained glass but not in the angelic sense, I imagined what it must be like to wait for a bus here day in and day out.

With a bus stop like this, it is only inevitable to have garbage strewn all over the place.  Ironically however, a Sunny-D bottle and a few other items seemed tame.

Electricity?  Not at this stop.

I think I’ve belabored the point enough here.  I guess that is one of the things I enjoy doing on this site.  Showing the polarizing features that make up this great city. Doors to nowhere, stairways to nowhere, swamps, bus stops…it’s all in a day’s work.

Well it only took 100 years, a mere stones throw from when the school was first erected on Park Ave. but finally, my Alma mater, the place where I came of age, finally has a marquee outside of the aging building.

Plans from what I have heard are still in place to tear down the original building and build a brand new, state-of-the-art, asbestos free center for learning, which would hopefully attract more students to the Northwest side of Yonkers.

The sign is nice though and hopefully will be a further source for school pride.  I know when I attended Gorton in the late 90′s, school pride was a big thing.  Football games, dances and other extra curriculars were well attended, hell even the Indian-American club had something like 200 members strong!

Call me a grumpy old man, call me a realist, call me whatever, but in the last decade or so, there seems to have been somewhat of a decline, both academically and spiritually at G-high.  One look at the football field is all one would need to understand what I’m talking about as I believe the field currently contains more dirt and rocks then blades of grass.

Surely the late Football Coach Don DeMatteo would not be happy with the condition of the field that bears his name.  I had the pleasure of having “coach” as a gym teacher all 4 years of High school and while most days it seemed as if we were hassling him, he was a good guy.  I say hassling because each class would go as follows.

Lets say class begins at 11am, he would waltz out of his office at about 11:10am, all the while we would just be sitting there like herds of cattle, waiting for him to come out and feed us or give us direction.  As he emerged out of his mancave of football videotape and playbooks, he would usually have a newspaper in hand, as well as the all important attendance sheet, which was the main event of gym class.

He would then take role call…making fun of a few people’s names in the process for his own amusement…the best being class Valedictorian Sharif Nesheiwat, who Coach DeMatteo would always proceed to break into song while saying his name, singing “I shot the Sharif…”

By the time senior year came around, he wouldn’t even leave his mancave and we would simply waltz in and check our own names off of the list, while he intently watched game film or on occasion, monitored the situation in the weight room.

All in all though, Coach cared about his players and by all accounts, he was a beloved coach who touched the lives of thousands of students in his 3 decades at Gorton.

As for the new and shiny sign outside of the school, I think coach would like it…that is assuming he ever was to leave the mancave to see it.

—Joshman

As I have stated in previous posts, the Old Put Train line, that back in the early and mid 20th century, snaked its way through Westchester County, leaving a trail of steam and then a smell of diesel, has always fascinated me.  As many of you know, the County decided to create a park out of the entire railway after it was completely abandoned in 1982, taking what was once train tracks and paving over them with black top for outdoor enthusiasts to run, jump and bike their way through a carved out train path.

Recently, well a few months ago to be exact, I decided to check out the final segment of what was the Put.  Yonkers finally finished the final segment of the South County Trail back in 2011 and now, you can literally take the Old Put from the Bronx border, all the way north to Mahopac uninterrupted.

The section that is most recently completed is near Tuckahoe Rd., where the Saw Mill Parkway…the roadway that would eventually ensure the demise of the Old Put, crosses Tuckahoe.  You can park in any number of locations near the path, including in the nearby Dunkin Donuts Parking lot, across from the Ramada.

The path is truly a thing of beauty in my opinion and the County did an excellent job of creating something that is sustainable and will be enjoyed for years to come.

First off, the path is now lined with wood fencing, something that I think adds to the history and nostalgia of the path.  Also, you can find some beautiful masonry work with stone walls that line other sections as the path ascends up Bryn Mawr Hill toward Palmer Rd.

Also, another cool part about the newest section of the South County Trail is the work that was done underneath Mile Sq. Rd.  Having been a teenager who, along with many others used to light firecrackers among other hijinx underneath that bridge in what was a wooded, leaf strewn wasteland, this is pretty impressive.

As you approach Palmer Rd., you really feel as if you are on one of the massive locamotives since you go from being in a completely wooded area, back to civilization, at Bryn Mawr Park Station.

And lastly, one of the coolest finds you can see on the path are some of the old and I think original wooden power lines that used to flank the railway to the east and west.

Sadly, I did see some of this as well in the woods just to the West of the tracks…

Lets hope that the trash stays to a minimum people…who the hell are tossing television sets into the woods anyhow???  Also, there are some new panoramic views of Central Ave. and the area near Roosevelt High School that are now opened up for us all to enjoy!

So all in all, the newest section of the bike path is one of beauty and one that the County should be very proud of.  Just think, when the homes that were built in the area 50-75 years ago thought they were putting their houses flush against a major train path, now they are within a stone’s throw from a public park and an ideal way to get some exercise, appreciate the outdoors of Yonkers and reminisce of the great iron horses that rumbled through these very woods decades ago.

How many of you have seen this?  You go and park your car in the Stew Leonards parking lot.

As you get out, you look to your right, towards the fence that lines the property and you see a guard rail…

Then you see a person emerge from the guard rail, really from the woods and you ask yourself, “WTF?”

Yes it is true, there is an alternate, albeit secret entrance to Stew Leonards that only few people know about, and most of them travel on foot to get to the mega store with the singing cows and dancing butter.

This entrance or path, eventually leads to Austin Ave. and my suspicion is that bus riders on the #5 bus probably get off near homefield and then walk up the rather large hill to get to the complex from that side.

Either way, what began as something out of the movie “The Village” where people were just wandering out of the woods and into the commercial complex of Stew’s, has now been solved, no thanks to me!

So either this path is a matter of convenience, or Stew Leonard’s prices are so good that people wander out of the woods to shop there.  Nice work Stew!

 

———-Joshman

 

Well sincerest apologies to all whom have awaited the return of new postings on MyYonkers.  Let’s see what has happened since I last left:

• Yonkers is hit with a freak October Snowstorm resulting in 4-8 inches of snow across the city
• Mayor Mike Spano is voted into office rather convincingly, continuing on in the long family tradition of being Yonkers Legislators.
• Ridge Hill officially opens its doors…no free parking, go directly to jail, do not pass go, do no collect $200.00.

That’s the great part about Yonkers and cities everywhere I suppose, no matter what your life is filled with, the city is constantly in motion and if you take a moment to turn away, you can miss things like Mayors, Snow Storms and the opening of commercial monstrosities.

In any case, I hope everyone had a great Turkey Day and look for more MyYonkers Posts to come in the near future including things like:

• Chicken Island
• The Scariest Spot in Yonkers
• The Secret Stairs of Stew Leonard’s
• New Sections of the Old PUT

For now though, I leave you with a thanksgiving memory.

My Day job, for those who do not know, is that I am a writer for an online news website called Patch.com.  Recently, I wrote an article, explaining how my Thanksgiving tradition always included going to someone else’s house…each and every year and NEVER having Thanksgiving at my own house.

I miss sharing the Ins and Outs of Yonkers with you all and I am very touched by how many people are actually enjoying MyYonkers!  I get emails very often asking about various places we have covered or places that people would like to have covered and bringing two things that I love, writing and Yonkers together in one place has been a passion and privilege that I have very much enjoyed over the past 9 months.

Here is my article titled: Thanksgiving On The Fifth Floor, Click on the link below to access it!

http://bronxville.patch.com/articles/thanksgiving-on-the-fifth-floor

—–Joshman

Hey everyone, my sincere apologies for the hiatus from posting on here, no I was not hit by a truck, no I was not swept away by Hurricane Irene.  Simply, I have not had enough time to sit down and write an article.

My schedule is hectic to say the least as right now I am attempting to cultivate two separate careers.  Much like superman, or Batman as I prefer, I have a day job and a night job and while my night job does not entail beating villains to a bloody pulp…at least not yet…still it is demanding.

Rest assured though, I will be back soon to write more articles about the ins and outs of Yonkers and in the meantime, if you have a place or location you think I should check out, I am always open for suggestions and would love to help out those who now live in other parts of the country but often wonder about their native home in Yonkers with new information on their favorite Yonkers landmarks.

Email me at myyonkers@gmail.com suggestions and I hope to have another article up here sometime soon!

 

—Joshman

So based on the picture in the title slide, perhaps people were not dancing, but for the 3rd year in a row, miles of NYC streets were shut down to motor vehicles and for a few Saturdays in the summer, men, women and children colonized the concrete, biking, rollerblading and strolling their way north from the Brooklyn Bridge, all the way up Park Ave to 72nd st.

The Summer Streets Program provides more space for healthy recreation and is a part of NYC’s greening initiative by encouraging New Yorkers to use more sustainable forms of transportation.

According to their website, the Summer Streets is modeled after other events from around the world including Bogotá, Colombia’s Ciclovia, Paris Plage, and even New York’s own Museum Mile, the event is part bike tour, part block party, a great time for exercise, people watching, and just enjoying summer mornings.

It is also an excellent opportunity for photographers such as myself to get up close and personal with locations along Park Ave that normally would not be easily photographed due to heavy automobile traffic.

I won’t bore you with all 200+ pictures that I snapped but here are some cool highlights from the event that in my opinion, does a great job as NYC often does of giving back to its citizens and allowing them to really utilize and enjoy the city in which they live in.

One question that comes to mind is what street in Yonkers would be a cool street to shut down and allow people to roam around on for a day?

My vote would probably be South Broadway from say Getty Sq. to maybe McLean.  There is still a good deal of architecture that has been preserved and it can sometimes be a bit difficult to see from the sidewalk.

Anyhow, here is a look at a few fun things from my stroll up Park Ave.

First off…lets begin at Grand Central, where at 8am on a Saturday Morning, one can certainly take advantage of the lull and get some great shots of the station.

I miss the days when all the ticket windows would be buzzing with activity and you HAD to get your ticket from there.

Also, many New Yorkers will remember that the new LCD Display board is only about a decade or so old now, the old one, that used to rely on rows of flip panels that displayed train information and moved only to a stiff breeze within the board was very New York and very old school.  I would love being in the station at rush hour and you can just see them flipping like crazy due to either track changes or whatnot.

Moving along…one of the cooler part of Summer Streets is being able to explore the Park Ave Viaduct, the roadway that is mostly used by Taxi’s that travel around the Met Life Building and then continue either up or down Park Ave.

The lamp posts are almost all original, approaching 100 years in age pretty soon and seeing the craftmanship up close is very impressive.  Light fixtures, railings and other parts of the viaduct are also original works.

Aside from again how cool it was to have the entire road to yourself, it was equally cool to pay homage to the one statue that probably does not get as much love as the one on the roof of the building due to where it is situated…

The Commodore can be seen on the south side of the station and the artist’s depiction of him was spot on.

He did have his down sides, rarely giving to charity as he would say, “on principle” and being very shrewd, but you have to admire a guy who at one time had the largest shipping empire in the country and then on a gutsy move, sells it all off and re-invests every dollar he has in rail.

Over time he then accumulates the largest railroad empire too, consolidating dozens of tiny rail lines to form one gigantic and very important one called the New York Central.  Something tells me he would have been very good at the game Monopoly.

Vanderbilt’s monument usually takes a back seat to the much more visible one on the  south-facing facade, with its clock and depiction of the Greek God Mercury, the winged God of Speed.

As you go around the terminal, you notice various entry ways, either that were practical in use at some point, or perhaps lead to hidden vistas that only a few know about…being chicken, I simply gazed, photographed and moved on.

One can also see that the Met Life building is actually supported in sections by these cool looking columns…again something you simply cannot see from the adjacent streets below.

Coming through the viaduct and onto Park Ave near 45th street, you can also see many cool things such as old light fixtures, a lion’s face and blackened road signs.

Some of the side streets were open to traffic so sometimes you would get hit with intersections where crossing guards would hold up STOP and GO signs.

Walking up Park Ave from 45th street to 72nd street, there were countless photo opportunities but here are just a few things I saw…

It was cool to take a few shots of some of the hotels along this stretch like the Waldorf Astoria that did NOT have cars in front of them!

Also, there are a few churches that have some unbelievable stone work, check out this one with the poetic sight of a homeless woman who was trying to get some sleep on a Saturday Morning.

Along the route, there were drinking stations set up, along with “rest areas” for eating and entertainment.

One of my favorite parks of the walk though were not only seeing some of the beautiful side streets of the upper east side deserted, with their beautiful Brownstones shining in the morning sun, but also the rise in view Park Ave gives you as it slopes upward in the 60′s, to give you an expansive look south.

I could go on and one here as there were many other people, places and things that I saw along the way.

Bottom Line, I love cities that show the people who live there that they care about them.  You can always tell how much a city cares about its people simply by looking at how much park space there is, how many public works projects there are and what type of community events, such as Summer Streets 2011 do they offer?

I’ll leave you with this yellow bear that was sitting on the sidewalk near the UBS building on 48th street.  With his reading lamp over his head, I guess this is as good a place as any in the city for enjoying a summer morning with a book…but turn the lamp off Mr. Bear, we need to conserve electricity during the day!!!

——Joshman