Y-Enterprise

The Y-Enterprise Company Center, with full-service spaces for beginning new businesses, is destined to become one of Westchester County’s most essential small business development programs. The Downtown Economic Development program’s Y-Enterprise Business Center is located in the center of rejuvenated Yonkers, just steps from the newly restored rail station and overlooking the Hudson River. By Metro-North, Midtown Manhattan is only 30 minutes distant.

Y-Enterprise will be located in i-Park on Hudson, a thriving center for existing and new enterprises in the vibrant Yonkers Waterfront region, and will offer tenants:

  • Workspaces that are large and completely functional
  • Administration personnel
  • Conference facilities are available.
  • Within the Yonkers/Westchester business community, access to business options.
  • Obtain advice from financial and legal professionals.

The City of Yonkers is committed to providing broad services for Y-Enterprise tenants, ranging from tax benefits to assisting growing firms in finding local suppliers.

Why did they launch Y-Enterprise Program?

The Y-Enterprise program was created by the Yonkers Department of Planning & Development. Yonkers is home to 10,000 firms, including Domino Sugar and Consumers Union. From the Otis elevator to FM radio, the city has been the cradle of many technological advancements. The Y-Enterprise Business Center will have rents ranging from $500 to $2,500 per month, depending on the size of the enterprise. The facility is located in the heart of downtown Yonkers, only steps away from the recently refurbished train station and with a view of the Hudson River. By Metro-North, Midtown Manhattan is only 30 minutes distant.

It has a three-tier program called Y-Innovate, Y-Accelerate, and Y-Expansion. Y-innovate has the following benefits: staffed business center, utilization of meeting and conference facilities, counsel from financial and legal advisors, and located within a Federal Empowerment Zone with New York State tax incentives. Y-Accelerate has the following benefits: staffed business center, utilization of meeting and conference facilities, counsel from financial and legal advisors, and located within a Federal Empowerment Zone with New York State tax incentives. And Y-Expansion has the following benefits: sourcing office facilities in Yonkers for companies with more than eight employees, rent subsidies as per program guidelines and located within a Federal Empowerment Zone with New York State tax incentives.

Yonkers

The discovery of a part of the Saw Mill River in December 2010 marked a significant step forward in Yonkers’ downtown restoration. At the Ridge Hill complex, Lord & Taylor announced the opening of its first new store in almost a decade. ContraFect Corporation, a biotech company, has begun building on a new 15,000-square-foot headquarters at i-Park on Hudson. Yonkers has been a center of the industry since Adriaen Van der Donck erected the first sawmill in the New World in the 17th century. Its four and a half miles of Hudson River waterfront and easy access to Manhattan assist to explaining why so many successful enterprises have chosen to call it home. Downtown Yonkers is a Federal Empowerment Zone and a New York State Empowerment Zone. The city is designated as a state excelsior zone, which means that businesses based there benefit from significant tax benefits. Elisha Graves Otis invented the first elevator safety devices in Yonkers in 1854, and the first street lighting in the country was installed in 1861.

In 1867, Yonkers resident Charles T. Harvey invented the world’s first elevated mass-transit system, which was backed financially by a group of Yonkers investors. Leo H. Baekeland produced the synthetic plastic “Bakelite” in 1906, while Edwin H. Armstrong invented FM radio broadcasting in 1912. In the 1700s, Yonkers was a modest rural town, but it quickly grew into a bustling metropolis. Yonkers has produced pioneers such as Elisha Otis, who invented the first safety elevator, which allowed skyscrapers to be built. In 1888, near Lake Avenue on North Broadway, the first game of golf was played in the United States. Samuel Tilden was the first candidate for President to win the popular vote yet lose the electoral vote (1876).

Business Center

Y-Enterprise is meant to give entrepreneurs the space they need to focus on founding or improving their businesses. Thanks to the design’s communal areas, tenants can discuss ideas and plans in a collaborative environment. The business development center offers professional legal and accounting advising services in addition to rent-subsidized offices. The City of Yonkers provides business development and administrative support in addition to the office staff.