People sometimes assume a personal injury attorney sees a city only as a collection of intersections and accident reports. I don’t. Yonkers is the fourth-largest city in New York and the most multi-ethnic community in Westchester County — a real city with a real waterfront, and one I’m proud to work in.

When a neighbor is hurt in a crash on Central Park Avenue or injured on the job at a Yonkers warehouse, they’re not a file number to me. So before the legal part, let me show you the Yonkers I actually love.

01Getting Around

The streets that move the city

Central Park Avenue — “Central Ave” to everyone here — is one of the busiest retail corridors in the county, and South Broadway is the historic spine running through downtown to the river. McLean Avenue anchors the city’s proud Irish neighborhood up north, while Yonkers Avenue and Warburton Avenue tie the rest together.

I’ll be honest about something: these are also where I see the most serious crashes. Central Ave’s stop-and-go traffic, the Saw Mill River Parkway, and the Cross County Parkway interchanges produce a steady stream of collisions. If you’ve been hurt on one of them, that’s exactly what my firm does — more on that below.

02Where I Eat

The Yonkers table

The reborn downtown waterfront is where I take out-of-towners first. For a Hudson view, it’s hard to beat Harvest on Hudson or Half Moon, and Yonkers Brewing Co. turned an old trolley barn into a great local hangout.

Beyond the river — away from the water, the city’s diversity shows up on the plate — Latin, Italian, Middle Eastern, and everything in between. The Sea Fire Grill handles a special-occasion dinner, and the shops and eateries around Cross County and Ridge Hill mean you’re never far from a good meal.

03What I Do

Gardens, the river, and a little history

If you’ve never been to Untermyer Park & Gardens, go — its restored walled garden is one of the most beautiful public spaces in the entire state, and it’s free. Down on the riverfront, the Hudson River Museum pairs art with a planetarium and sweeping water views, and the daylighted Saw Mill River at Van der Donck Park is a genuine urban-design success story. For a slower afternoon, Philipse Manor Hall carries the city’s colonial history.

04Where Our Kids Grow Up

The Yonkers schools

So much of what makes a place home is its schools. Yonkers families are served by Yonkers Public Schools, one of the largest districts in New York State, with neighborhood high schools like Yonkers, Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Gorton, plus the standout Saunders Trades & Technical High School. As a parent and a neighbor, I care a lot about the streets and crosswalks around those schools staying safe.