Yonkers is the biggest city in Westchester County and also the most misunderstood. People from other parts of Westchester have opinions about it. People from the city think it is the suburbs. People who live in Yonkers know it is its own thing entirely.
If you just moved here, or you are thinking about it, here is what we have learned from our members. Yonkers has more Club West members than any other town by a wide margin, so we have heard a lot of takes.
The neighborhoods
Yonkers is big and the neighborhoods feel genuinely different from each other.
The waterfront / downtown area has changed a lot in the past few years. New apartment buildings, restaurants, the whole thing. If you are coming from the city, this is probably where you will end up. It is walkable by Westchester standards and the Metro North is right there.
Northwest Yonkers around McLean Avenue has an Irish-American neighborhood feel and some genuinely great pubs and restaurants. It borders the Bronx so you get a more urban vibe than the rest of Westchester.
East Yonkers / Crestwood / Bronxville border is quieter, more residential, and close to the Bronx River Pathway which is great for walks and runs. If you want the suburban feel without leaving Yonkers, this is the area.
Getty Square / South Broadway is the historic downtown. It is grittier than the waterfront development but it has character and the food options reflect Yonkers’s actual diversity, which the newer parts sometimes do not.
Where to eat
Our members have strong opinions about food in Yonkers. A few spots that come up constantly in the Discord:
The waterfront restaurants are the obvious picks for a nice dinner or brunch with a view. Beyond that, Yonkers has really good Mexican food, great Italian spots in the older neighborhoods, and a growing coffee shop scene that did not exist five years ago. Ask in our Discord and you will get 30 responses in an hour.
What to do
Untermyer Gardens is the answer everyone gives and they are right. It is a public garden overlooking the Hudson and it is free and it is genuinely one of the most beautiful places in Westchester. Go on a weekday if you can.
The waterfront has a trail that is good for walking and running. Ridge Hill has shopping and a movie theater if you want something low-effort. The Cross County Shopping Center just got renovated. And the Metro North gets you into the city in under 30 minutes from the Yonkers station.
For fitness, there are studios scattered around the city and Club West runs fitness events in south Westchester regularly. Yoga, Pilates, dance classes, pickleball. Check our events page for what is coming up.
Meeting people
This is the hard part and the whole reason Club West exists. Yonkers is big enough that you can live here for a year and not know your neighbors. The waterfront buildings are especially tricky because everyone moved in around the same time and there is no established community yet.
Our Yonkers members are by far our most active group. They show up to everything, they organize their own meetups through Discord, and they have strong opinions about which restaurants to do brunch at. If you just moved to Yonkers and want to know people fast, joining Club West is honestly the most efficient way to do it.
Apply here. Two minutes, $10 a month, and you will probably have plans by the end of the week.