Hudson Valley's First Chick-Fil-A Is A Go

YONKERS, NY — Westchester residents will no longer have to trek to Connecticut, NYC, New Jersey, Long Island, or upstate New York to get their Chick-fil-A fixes because the Hudson Valley's first Chick-fil-A is on its way after overcoming stumbling blocks.

Fans of the Atlanta-based fast food chain will be delighted to learn that the proposed Central Park Ave. location of the popular chicken fast food chain was unanimously approved by the Yonkers Planning Board on Wednesday night, with certain provisions to be met.

SEE ALSO: Chick-Fil-A Planning Its First Westchester Location

In July of 2021, Chick-fil-A submitted its plans to the Yonkers Planning Board to build a 3812-square-foot standalone outlet on 1.17 acres with a two-lane drive-thru and seating for up to 54 customers at a disused HSBC Bank in Yonkers. The site is located at the northwest corner of the intersection of Central Park Ave. and Roxbury Drive. It is adjacent to an area with single family detached homes at the southern and eastern property lines, and an existing shopping center to the north.

The newly constructed restaurant will include a 45-space parking lot, and the two-lane drive-thru will have a stacking capacity of 28 vehicles, with wayfinding signs and specialized striping for drive-thru operations and directions to egress points. The Chick-fil-A in Yonkers will be open for dine-in, drive-thru and carry-out from 6:30 a.m. - 10 p.m., Monday - Saturday. Chick-fil-A restaurants do not open on Sundays.

Chick-fil-A representatives expressed their excitement to become an integral part of the community at the Central Ave. location. They said they were eager to begin offering community service beyond this project, including employment opportunities and leadership training skills.

"Chick-fil-A is proposing to invest $1.5 million in the City of Yonkers and support the construction industry by hiring over 12 construction trades to redevelop the currently-vacant site," company representatives said in filings with the city in 2021. "After supporting 60-80 part time construction jobs for a 24-week construction duration, Chick-fil-A will be hiring 125 to 150 local team members to run the store."

Before the vote on the resolution to approve the site plan application for the new Chick-fil-A took place, representatives for the proposal, Mark Blanchard, Esq. and Timothy Freitech, Project Manager at Bohler, discussed the latest changes to the application and conditions.

The new restaurant said it will forego a grand opening and promotional activity out of respect for neighbors and to appease the planning board on the issue of overflow of people on the first evening of business. State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) studies were completed, and design and traffic implementation changes were made for the benefit of the restaurant's neighbors, according to developers.

Part of those changes included better shielding neighbors from the high volume of customers expected to visit the location. There will be screening, extensive landscaping with shrubs, grasses and trees, sound walls, reduced and customized lighting, customized HVAC equipment to meet noise ordinance requirements, stringent delivery schedules and trash pickup times; new sidewalks, curbing, paving and pedestrian crossings; considerations of the nearby school and traveling public on Roxbury Drive, $750,000 in off-site improvements to the signal controlled intersection, and widening of Roxbury Drive.

Not everyone is thrilled about the fast food chain finally arriving in the Hudson Valley.

The company has previously faced opposition to plans in the region. Some state lawmakers objected to the company being named as a vendor at refurbished New York State Thruway rest stops.

SEE ALSO: Bringing Chick-fil-A To NY Thruway Rest Stops Sparks Controversy

Assemblyman Harry B. Bronson, D-Rochester, wrote in a letter to the Thruway Authority Executive Director Matthew Driscoll, co-signed by Democratic Assemblymembers Deborah Glick and Daniel O'Donnell, both of Manhattan, that Chick-fil-A and its founders "have a long and controversial history of opposing the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals and families."

Bronson called out the chain's CEO Dan T. Cathy for making public comments opposing same-sex marriage and, through a charitable foundation, donating millions of dollars to organizations hostile to gay rights.

For its part, the company says that it does not have a political or social agenda. The developers say the newest project will be a boon to the local economy at a time when the restaurant sector is struggling.