Lionsgate Studios are expected to receive City Council approval for a private aerial foot bridge spanning their new studios on 90 Warburton to a parking lot on Woodworth Avenue.
The proposed plans
Lionsgate Studios are presently constructing a massive studio at 90-108 Warburton Avenue to add to the i.Park Hudson Studios development. Adjacent to this is a warehouse with a parking deck at 10 Woodworth Avenue. To avoid excess foot-traffic between the two locations across Warburton directly, they proposed a new pedestrian bridge. This 12-foot-wide enclosed bridge spanning the 86 foot length between the buildings is will rise 24 feet above the street.
Per documents before the City Council, there is no expected financial impact to the municipal budget for this project. The full costs for the bridge’s construction and its maintenance shall be incurred by the owner.
The approval process
The City Council originally set this item on its agenda for a vote on September 26th, 2023. Preceding that meeting, the engineers for Lionsgate, Pustola & Associates, presented the above site plan and renderings. Following this were two residents that expressed concerns about this new bridge.
Phil Armstrong questioned what benefit the citizens of Yonkers gained from a private bridge. He noted that the plans imply this bridge will be locked for private-use to only Lionsgate employees. In his opinion, this harms the sense of community in the area. If hundreds of tv/film workers travel via car to Yonkers from elsewhere, take an elevated bridge to their office, and return in the same manner, then they may never incorporate into the fabric of the city by using its local businesses and amenities.
Then, when the vote approached during that meeting, council member from the 1st district, Shanae V. Williams, requested more time to review the project. As the bridge would be in her district, she had concerns. In a statement delivered to The Yonkers Ledger, Williams echoed a similar sentiment to Armstrong’s.
It’s imperative that as we welcome the film industry to Yonkers we also focus on building a bridge between the studios and the community to make sure that the community benefits just as much as the studios will.
Shanae V. Williams
The item was then deferred, and now is scheduled for the next full council meeting on Tuesday, October 10th. Despite some of the concerns for this new bridge, it is expected to pass in a unanimous vote.
Ultimately, a solution had to be found to accommodate the inevitable influx of new pedestrians crossing this path. If not this aerial bridge, then most likely a new traffic light would have to be installed. This new light would cause even more traffic to the further dismay of residents.
While likely well over a year from completion, this bridge is justifiably coming because as Council Member Williams explains, it’s “sensible and necessary [as] a matter safety and traffic control.”
