Welcome to the Park Hill Residents' Association

Check Out the Latest Park Hill Reporter!

The pre-holiday months of 2020 were a busy time for the PHRA and neighborhood residents. The latest Reporter chronicles all the activity, including the annual Park Hill Tag Sale and the "Park Hill Beautiful" campaign, with photos of the local trash collection events and the Sutherland Park cleanup weekend. (See the article below for more information on the cleanup events.) So many in the community turned out, and we are truly thankful!

Also in the latest issue is an informative "Be a Good Neighbor" guide, which provides information on City of Yonkers ordinances that address the types of complaints most commonly brought to the PHRA's attention. This includes noise, garbage and illegal dumping, sidewalk maintenance and snow removal, signage, exterior lighting, and speeding. The issue also features an article on raising children to read, and a letter from PHRA President Lucy Vigilant-Smith. Don't miss the ads from local businesses, who need our support in these challenging times. And if you wish to join the PHRA or your membership has expired, a handy membership form is located on the inside back cover. (You can also become a member, or renew your membership, on this website.)

Check out the new issue by clicking the cover image to the left or the link here. And feel free to suggest topics for future issues at questions@parkhillyonkers.org! We look forward to hearing from you.

Candidates and City Officials Answer Community Questions at PHRA Board Zoom Meetings

Park Hill residents took advantage of two opportunities in October to listen to current and potential public officials discuss their priorities and answer their questions. At a Zoom meeting on October 22, candidates for a variety of state and local offices discussed their platforms and responded to community questions. Participants, and the offices they are running for, included Andrea Stewart-Cousins (State Senate, 35th District); Nader Sayegh (State Assembly, 90th District); Mimi Rocah (Westchester County District Attorney); Nilda Morales Horowitz (Family Court Judge); and Dan Romano, Verris Shako, Karen Best, and Tom Daly (all running for City Court Judge).

On October 28, Park Hill residents joined the PHRA Board via Zoom for a meeting with the new Yonkers Police Department 3rd Precinct Captain Michael Mulvey and City Councilmembers including Tasha Diaz, John Rubbo, and Corazon Pineda-Isaac. After the officials introduced themselves and answered several prepared questions, residents were invited to ask their own questions. Topics covered at the meetings included racial and social justice, crime, traffic, sanitation, taxes, and local development. We will be posting video recordings of both meetings soon so those who missed them can watch the discussions, and will follow up with you as we get more answers and results from our leaders. Meanwhile, minutes of the meeting can be found here.

Thanks so much to the Park Hill neighbors who participated in these events. Showing public officials that Park Hill residents are engaged and passionate about their community helps us to have a bigger voice at City Hall and beyond. We will continue to work with city, county, and state government officials and will invite the community to participate whenever possible.

Thanks to All for a Successful PHRA Annual Tag Sale!

Many thanks to the sellers, buyers, and volunteers who made the PHRA 2020 tag sale a success! With almost 30 households on the map and several "pop-up" sales as well, shoppers had plenty of variety to choose from. The weather cooperated to provide lots of opportunities for neighbors and visitors to socialize safely and discover new treasures, as evidenced by the photos below (all courtesy of Lucy Vigilant-Smith). We appreciate your participation and look forward to next year's sale!

A Big Thanks to Participants in Park Hill Fall Cleanup Events!

In our recent email survey, trash was one of the topics that residents mentioned most often as a concern. To help tackle this tough issue, the PHRA organized a series of cleanup events in September and October. Neighbors and PHRA Board members joined forces to collect trash on Rumsey Road on September 19th (in collaboration with the Yonkers Land Conservancy), on Courter Avenue and the McLean ramps to the Saw Mill River Parkway on September 26th, and on Park Hill Avenue on October 4th. Participants enjoyed the crisp fall air while meeting new neighbors and beautifying the community. And on Saturday and Sunday, October 17-18, the PHRA sponsored a maintenance and cleanup event at Leslie Sutherland Park. At this well-attended event on a glorious autumn weekend, volunteers of all ages removed dozens of bags of weeds and invasive ivy, cleared trash from the slopes, and spread wood chip mulch donated by the City to help maintain the newly weeded beds. Be on the lookout for another park event in the spring to continue the transformation and set out new plantings.

The PHRA is currently working on several other measures to combat trash in our neighborhood. After meeting with the PHRA Board and listening to residents' concerns in August, Councilmember Tasha Diaz has put in a work order for the city to post No Dumping signs at several locations. In addition, the Board is working with the Council to explore the addition of garbage cans on busy streets and evaluating a sponsorship of the Mayor's Adopt-A-Mile program (see here for more information). We thank you for your valuable input, and will keep you informed as progress continues!

Rumsey Road cleanup on September 19th, 2020. All photos by Lucy Vigilant-Smith.

Cleanup on Sawmill River Parkway ramp to Putnam Avenue, September 26th, 2020.

Park Hill Avenue cleanup participants on October 4th, 2020.

Stay Informed... Join the PHRA Email List

In addition to updating the website, the PHRA sends emails to members and other interested parties with information on upcoming events or news of interest to Park Hill residents. While we would love for you to become a member, we invite you to simply sign up for the email list to get the latest on what's going on in the neighborhood. Your privacy is important to us, and we do not share our email lists. To join, simply click on "Add Me To Your Mailing List" at the upper left-hand corner of this page. To join PHRA as a member, click the "Member Sign Up" tab. Thanks for your interest, and we look forward to seeing you at future events!

PARK HILL REPORTER

Summer 2020

Fall 2019

Winter 2019

A BRIEF HISTORY OF PARK HILL

In 1888, the American Real Estate Company established the Park Hill section of Yonkers. They created a community amid one of the most naturally beautiful areas in Westchester County. The neighborhood quickly attracted people who worked in Manhattan, but who wanted to live in a more tranquil setting. Among Park Hill's early residents were celebrities from the stage, screen and radio. The English actor Richard Bennett and his daughters Joan and Constance lived here. Dennis O'Brien, the corporate counsel for United Artists, hosted parties at his Park Hill home where guests included Charlie Chaplin, George M. Cohan, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. Alfred and Dora McCann broadcast their WOR radio program from their Park Hill house, and drummer Gene Krupa made his home here. A variety of artists still live here in a distinctive community where they are neighbors with plumbers, doctors, secretaries, clerks, teachers and others. A recent profile of our neighborhood in the New York Times delves into a little more of this history.