Yonkers station

Yonkers
Metro-North and Amtrak station
Main entrance to the station, facing downtown Yonkers.
Location	5 Buena Vista Avenue Yonkers, NY 10701
Coordinates	40°56′08″N 73°54′08″W / 40.9356°N 73.9023°WCoordinates: 40°56′08″N 73°54′08″W / 40.9356°N 73.9023°W
Owned by	MTA Metro-North Railroad
Line(s)	Amtrak:   Adirondack   Empire Service   Ethan Allen Express   Maple Leaf Metro-North:   Hudson Line
Platforms	2 island platforms
Tracks	4
Connections	Bee-Line: 6, 9, 25, 32
Construction
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	YNY
Fare zone	3 (Metro North)
History
Opened	1911
Rebuilt	2004
Electrified	700V (DC) third rail
Traffic
Passengers (2015)	26,127[1]  5.5% (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station Croton–Harmon toward Montreal Adirondack New York City Terminus Croton–Harmon toward Niagara Falls, NY Empire Service Croton–Harmon toward Rutland Ethan Allen Express Croton–Harmon toward Toronto Maple Leaf Metro-North Railroad Ludlow toward Grand Central Hudson Line Glenwood toward Poughkeepsie   Former services   New York Central Railroad Tarrytown toward Chicago Water Level Route 138th Street toward New York City Glenwood toward Peekskill Hudson Division Ludlow toward New York City

Yonkers station is a railroad station in the Getty Square area of Yonkers, New York. It serves Metro-North Railroad and Amtrak trains via the Hudson Line. It was formerly one of four express stations on that line south of Croton–Harmon,^[2] but as of November 9, 2014 the only express trains that stop there are a few reverse peak trains in early morning and late evening.^[3] Trains leave for New York City every 25 to 35 minutes on weekdays. It is 14.4 miles (23.2 km) from Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan and travel time to Grand Central is about 33 minutes.

The station also serves as the only Amtrak station in Southern Westchester serving points north and west like Albany, Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, Montreal, and Toronto.

The station is two blocks west of the center of Getty Square in downtown Yonkers (where additional Bee-Line Bus System connections can be made), across the street from the historic Yonkers Post Office. It is also near the former Yonkers Trolley Barn.

As of August 2006, daily commuter ridership was 922.^[4] Four outdoor bicycle parking racks sit across Buena Vista Avenue from the station at the edge of Van Der Donck Park.

Nearby amenities

Getty Square, Yonkers' downtown that surrounds the station, has workplaces, shops, restaurants, tourist attractions, and other services.

Attractions

• Van Der Donck Park. The train station is distinctive since it sits atop the Saw Mill River, a tributary of the Hudson River, at the point where the two rivers meet. Since the 1920s, a parking lot east of the station across Buena Vista Avenue covered the river, although the river could be seen below a boardwalk on the west side of the station. In 2011, the City of Yonkers along with the community development organization Groundwork "daylighted" the river by removing the parking lot. With the help of Project for Public Spaces, they designed and constructed an urban park, called Van Der Donck Park after Adriaen van der Donck, around the daylighted river featuring outdoor seating, performance and educational spaces, public art, and wildlife elements like a fish ladder and wild, native plants. The park is a popular waiting area for train riders. There is a seasonal, weekly farmers' market operated by Groundwork on Fridays in the park next to the train station.
• Ella Fitzgerald Statue Park. In the 2004 renovation, the bus stopping area in the south east corner of the station grounds was converted to a small sitting park centered on a stature of Ella Fitzgerald, a former Yonkers resident.^[5]
• The Riverfront Branch of the Yonkers Public Library. Originally part of the Otis Elevator Factory campus, this large library sits north east of the station.
• Getty Square (downtown Yonkers) Post Office. Built in the Classical Revival style, the post office sits south east of the station across Buena Vista Avenue.
• Science Barge. This floating, demonstration farm uses wind- and solar-power to hydroponically grow food. It is moored on the seawall along the Hudson at the mouth of the Saw Mill River within sight of the station, to the west.
• "'Philipse Manor Hall State Historic Site"'. The oldest residential building in Westchester County, now a historic house museum.

Transport services

There are four outdoor bicycle parking racks across Buena Vista Avenue from the station at Van Der Donck Park. There is currently no indoor bicycle parking or a bicycle valet.

Car sharing Zipcars are available near the Yonkers Train Station since 2012.^[6]

There are two parking garages for car storage: south of the station on Main between Hawthorne and Buena Vista Avenues with 428 spaces; and, east of the station at Warburton and Wells Avenues with 300 spaces.^[7][8]

History

The current station building was built in 1911 for the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad in the Beaux-Arts style. The architects were Warren and Wetmore, one of the firms responsible for Grand Central Terminal, and Guastavino tiles are featured prominently in both stations. As with many NYCRR stations in Westchester County, the station became a Penn Central station upon the merger between NYC and Pennsylvania Railroad in 1968. Amtrak inherited long-distance travel at the station in 1971, while Penn Central continued commuter travel until it was taken over by Conrail in 1976, which was taken over by Metro-North Railroad in 1983. In 2004, Metro-North completed a $43 million restoration of the Yonkers station.

The ticket office at this station was closed July 7, 2010 and tickets must be purchased from vending machines downstairs from the platforms.^[9] A Metro-North Railroad Police substation is in the terminal on the ground floor.

Platforms and tracks

4	■ Hudson Line	for Grand Central
2	■ Hudson Line	for Grand Central
	■ Empire Corridor	for Penn Station
	■ Empire Corridor	no stop
1	■ Hudson Line	for Poughkeepsie
	■ Empire Corridor	for Niagara Falls, Rutland, Montreal, or Toronto
	■ Empire Corridor	no stop
3	■ Hudson Line	for Poughkeepsie

The station has two high-level island platforms each 10 cars long. The west platform next to Tracks 2 and 4 is generally used by southbound trains. The east platform next to Tracks 1 and 3 is generally used by northbound trains.

The Hudson Line has four tracks here.

References

1. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2015, State of New York" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
2. "2006 Hudson Line timetable" (PDF).
3. "Nov 9 2014 Hudson Line timetable" (PDF).
4. The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/nyregion/commutemetro-north.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)
5. "Ella Fitzgerald". Yonkershistory.org. 1918-04-25. Retrieved 2014-04-30.
6. "Twitter / ZipcarNYC: Zipcars have arrived in #Yonkers!". Twitter.com. 2012-03-21. Retrieved 2014-02-26.
7. "iPark public garage on Wells Avenue in Yonkers - News 12 Hudson Valley". Hudsonvalley.news12.com. 2012-06-29. Retrieved 2014-04-30.
8. "MNR Stations". As0.mta.info. Retrieved 2014-04-30.
9. "mta.info - Metro-North Railroad: Selected Ticket Offices Close On July 7th". Metro North Railroad. Retrieved 2010-07-10.

External links

• Media related to Yonkers (Metro-North station) at Wikimedia Commons

• Amtrak – Stations – Yonkers, NY
• Metro-North Railroad - Yonkers
• List of upcoming Metro-North train departure times and track assignments from MTA
• Governor Pataki Celebrates Restoration of Historic Yonkers Station (N.Y. State press release)
• The Subway Nut - Yonkers
• Station House from Google Maps Street View
• Comparison of Yonkers Train Station with Grand Central Terminal
• Yonkers, NY (YNY) (Amtrak's Great American Stations)