Yonkers holds public hearing on honorary renaming of Runyon Avenue to "Milton R. Holst Way"

The Yonkers City Council held a public hearing Tuesday evening, Oct. 28, 2025, to consider a resolution to honorarily rename Runyon Avenue, from Dunbar Street to Tuckahoe Road, as "Milton R. Holst Way." The hearing was held in City Hall chambers at 40 South Broadway and was opened by the council president.

Neighbors who grew up in Runyon Heights told the council the proposed name change recognizes decades of neighborhood service. "I am Rhonda Lewis Warren. I've been a resident of Runyon Heights since 1965, and... we are in favor of the street renaming," Warren said, citing the honoree's leadership as a scoutmaster, service on the parks and recreation board, work as 10th Ward Republican district leader, and efforts to help seniors with home repairs and ramps.

Another attendee, Maria George, told the council the honoree helped build the community house with other families and started a neighborhood newsletter, the Runyon Heights Voice. "This is long overdue," she said, urging the council to approve the honorary designation.

The public hearing notice, read into the record by the deputy clerk, gave the council's public hearing details (6:15 p.m., Oct. 28, City Council Chambers) and identified Vincent Spano as the official who signed the notice on Oct. 14, 2025. The notice describes the measure as a "proposed resolution of the Yonkers City Council" to honorarily rename the street segment.

Council members recognized 95-year-old lifelong neighborhood resident Muriel Fuller in the gallery; Fuller did not make a recorded statement in the transcript but was mentioned by speakers as representing one of the original Runyon Heights families.

No formal motion or vote on the resolution appears in the transcript; the council closed the public hearing after hearing from the two residents who signed up to speak. Next procedural steps, including whether the council will schedule a vote on the resolution or send it to a committee, were not specified in the record.

The resolution text printed in the hearing notice uses the spelling "Milton R. Holst Way." During oral remarks neighbors pronounced the name variously (references in the record include "Milton Holt"). The council notice and the resolution text should be taken as the official spelling unless corrected in a subsequent council action.

The public may obtain further information from the city clerk's office at City Hall or via the city's website, as noted in the hearing notice.