Votes at a glance: Yonkers City Council adopts grants, street discontinuance, appointments and proclamations (Feb. 25, 2025)

The Yonkers City Council on Feb. 25 adopted multiple items on a largely noncontroversial agenda. All recorded votes noted in the meeting transcript were unanimous (6-0). Key actions recorded in the meeting minutes are listed below.

Votes at a glance

- Special ordinance accepting New York State Office of Children and Family Services grant, $50,000; amends the City's grant budget for fiscal year 2024-2025. Adopted, 6-0.

- Special ordinance accepting New York State Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) Coverdell 2024 grant, $58,159; amends the City's grant budget for fiscal year 2024-2025. Adopted, 6-0.

- Special ordinance discontinuing a portion of McMahon Avenue as a public street pursuant to Section 29 of the General City Law. Adopted, 6-0.

- Resolution appointing Gino Pugliese as Deputy Commissioner, Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation. Adopted, 6-0.

- Resolution calling on Governor Hochul, Yonkers' state delegation, the New York State Thruway Authority, the MTA and E-ZPass to protect motorists from scammers issuing fraudulent toll bills. Adopted, 6-0. Minority Leader Breen noted that constituents had received scam texts and said the governor had recently responded to the issue. "I even got this text on my cell phone ... it's a scam," Breen said.

- Resolution declaring March 2025 Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. Adopted, 6-0.

- Resolution declaring March 2025 Women's History Month and March 8, 2025, as International Women's Day. Adopted, 6-0.

- Resolution commemorating the 68th annual Yonkers St. Patrick's Day parade and related cultural events. Adopted, 6-0.

- Resolution affirming the City's commitment to fair-housing laws and designating the mayor or his designee as fair-housing officer. Adopted, 6-0 (see separate article for public comment related to 1 Glenwood Avenue).

- Motion to add and to adopt three commission-of-deeds applications received after the Friday 3 p.m. cutoff; added to the agenda and adopted, 6-0.

Procedural notes and context

Several items were introduced by the administration and had been discussed at the council's rules committee before being placed on the Feb. 25 agenda. The minutes show the president called each item for discussion, and where there was no debate the council closed discussion and called the vote. The deputy clerk recorded roll-call tallies as listed above.

Minority Leader Breen, during discussion of the consumer-protection resolution, urged constituents to check E-ZPass accounts and said he had shared scam reports with Assemblyman Nader Sayegh; he noted the governor had acted on the issue prior to the council's resolution.

The meeting record does not include detailed fiscal implementation steps for the proclamations or the street discontinuance beyond the vote language; grant-acceptance items amend the City's grant budget for 2024-25 as stated in the ordinance titles. The appointment of Gino Pugliese was presented as a continuation of Parks and Recreation staff service; the minutes note he has worked in the department for decades.

The council also approved a motion to schedule a public hearing under the Eminent Domain Procedure Law for a proposed leasehold acquisition at 76 From Brook Street (All County Bus LLC) for a waterfront park; that hearing is scheduled for March 11 at 6:30 p.m. (See separate article.)