Local officials are calling on the state to open a COVID-19 vaccine center in the city of Yonkers.

Mayor Mike Spano says thousands of residents within the city are eligible to get vaccinated, and that the Westchester County Center alone should not be expected to mass vaccinate everyone in the lower Hudson Valley. "Our Yellow Zone mostly impacts our lower income communities, many of whom rely on public transportation, so traveling to the County Center for the vaccine comes even more burdensome," says Spano.

Spano is recommending the Yonkers Police Athletic League and Yonkers Public Libraries be used for vaccine distribution centers.

He says that since March 2020, over 17,000 Yonkers residents have contracted COVID-19.