Yonkers is the third-most-populous city in New York State, with about 211,600 residents. It is known as the City of Seven Hills: Park, Nodine, Ridge, Cross, Locust, Glen and Church Hills. The Hudson River forms its western border, and the land climbs to 416 feet at Sacred Heart Church. Philipse Manor Hall, a State Historic Site and National Historic Landmark, anchors the old downtown.
Park Hill was laid out in 1888 by the American Real Estate Company, and its slope was steep enough that a funicular, the Park Hill Incline, ran up it from 1894 to 1937. On the east side, Crestwood's larger homes sit on hilly ground above the Bronx River valley. Elevation and open river views look good from inside the house, but for a roof they mean wind.
Park Hill Victorians, Crestwood hillsides and Getty Square flat roofs
Yonkers housing varies more than almost anywhere in the county. Park Hill has Victorian homes and Queen Anne-era mansions. The northeast holds single-family neighborhoods like Crestwood, Lawrence Park West, Colonial Heights and Beech Hill. Getty Square and the southwest are dense with multi-family and apartment buildings, and new luxury towers line the riverfront.
So a Yonkers roofer has to be at home on a turret, a postwar gable and a flat roof with parapets, sometimes on the same block.
What to plan for on a Yonkers roof
Wind on the ridges
Hilltop homes on Park Hill, in Crestwood and on Beech Hill take wind coming up the Hudson and across the Bronx River valley. Jersey Roofing installs these roofs to the manufacturer's high-wind specification, with starter strips at the eaves and rakes and secured hip and ridge caps. An Owens Corning Duration system with OC starter and hip and ridge qualifies for the 160 mph enhanced wind warranty.
Towers and dormers on Park Hill
Victorian roofs combine steep main slopes, towers, dormers and porch roofs. The leaks show up where those pieces meet. Jersey Roofing's crew step-flashes every wall intersection, counterflashes chimneys into the mortar, carries ice-barrier membrane through the valleys, and handles turret roofs with cut shingles or metal so the curve stays tight and watertight for decades.
Pitched and flat on the same building
Multi-family buildings in southwest Yonkers often pair a pitched front with flat rear sections. The flat areas get a membrane, the pitched areas get shingles, and the transition between them gets the most attention, since that's where water collects. Yonkers lets contractors file building permits online, which helps keep these jobs on schedule.
Historic districts and design review
Yonkers has several National Register districts, including the Alexander Smith Carpet Mills, Delevan Terrace, Bell Place–Locust Hill Avenue and Halcyon Place historic districts, and a Landmarks Preservation Board. If your home is a designated local landmark or sits in one of these areas, check with the city before changing roofing material or color. We can suggest period-appropriate options and supply specifications for any review.
Roof permits in Yonkers
- Office
- City of Yonkers Department of Housing & Buildings
- Phone
- (914) 377-6500
- Website
- yonkersny.gov/217/Housing-Buildings
The department is at 87 Nepperhan Avenue and accepts permit filings online; Jersey Roofing files for you. Yonkers also licenses home improvement contractors separately from the county, so ask any roofer for both license numbers.
The roof systems installed in Yonkers
Jersey Roofing installs complete GAF and Owens Corning systems: ice and water barrier at the eaves and valleys, synthetic underlayment, starter strips, architectural or designer shingles, matched ridge cap and balanced ventilation. On a qualifying GAF system it can register the Golden Pledge® warranty, and on an Owens Corning system, Platinum Protection. Both include lifetime workmanship coverage. Compare the warranties.
Neighborhoods we serve in and around Yonkers
- Park Hill
- Crestwood
- Lawrence Park West
- Colonial Heights
- Cedar Knolls
- Beech Hill
- Nepera Park
- Runyon Heights
- Homefield
- Glenwood
- Greystone
- Dunwoodie
- Nodine Hill
- Ludlow Park
- Hudson Park
- Getty Square