Business Licensing & Operations in Yonkers, NY (2026)
7 verified business licensing & operations rules for Yonkers, New York, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Adult Entertainment
In Yonkers, a sexually-oriented business needs a special use permit and must sit at least 500 feet from any residence zone, school, place of worship, place of public assembly, or another adult use, measured lot line to lot line.
Yonkers Adult-Use Zoning: 500-Foot Buffer, Special Permit
Significant RestrictionsYonkers, N.Y., City Code § 43-74G (Sexually oriented businesses)
G. Sexually oriented businesses. (1) No sexually-oriented business shall be located within 500 feet of another such use, nor within 500 feet of a residence zone, school, place of worship or place of public assembly. Such measurement shall be made from the lot lines of the respective establishments. ... (3) Those sexually oriented businesses which include live performances shall be subject to th...
Tattoo & Body Modification
Yonkers zoning treats a tattoo parlor as a personal service establishment but layers on one hard spacing rule: no tattoo establishment may sit within 500 feet of another tattoo establishment. The distance is measured lot line to lot line under Section 43-8's definitions, so the limit applies citywide wherever the underlying use is permitted.
Yonkers Requires 500 Feet Between Tattoo Shops
Some RestrictionsYonkers City Code § 43-8
TATTOO ESTABLISHMENT For the purposes of this chapter, shall be considered as a personal service establishment, however, no tattoo establishment shall be located closer than 500 feet to any other such establishment. The distance between such uses shall be measured from the lot lines of the respective establishments.
Tobacco Retail License
Yonkers requires every retailer of cigarettes, cigars, e-cigarettes and other tobacco products to hold a cigarette dealer license from the Office of Licensing before opening. The license costs $200 a year per establishment, expires every January 31, and cannot transfer between owners or locations under City Code Chapter 31, Article XVII.
Yonkers Tobacco and Vape Retailers Need a License
Some RestrictionsYonkers City Code § 31-153
A license must be obtained for each place of business, wherein such person sells cigarettes, cigars, e-cigarettes and other tobacco products in the City. The possession or transportation at any one time of 5,000 or more cigarettes, cigars, e-cigarettes and other tobacco products by any person other than a manufacturer, an agent, a licensed wholesale dealer or a person delivering cigarettes in t...
Secondhand Dealers
Yonkers requires anyone who commercially buys or sells secondhand goods, from jewelry and coins to general used merchandise, to hold a secondhand dealer license from the Office of Licensing. § 31-205 makes operating without one unlawful, and licensees must hold every purchased item at least 15 business days and cannot buy from anyone between midnight and 6 a.m.
Yonkers Secondhand Dealers Must Be Licensed
Some RestrictionsYonkers City Code §§ 31-205, 31-209(F), (G)
§ 31-205. License required. It shall be unlawful for any person or business to act as secondhand dealer and/or engage in the sale of used merchandise without first having obtained and having in force and effect a license therefor. ... F. Not sell or dispose of any secondhand goods, articles, or things until the expiration of 15 business days after the acquisition by such dealer of such articles...
Pawnbrokers
Pawnbrokers in Yonkers must hold a Director-issued license costing $750 a year, post a $10,000 surety bond, and cannot charge more than 3% monthly interest on loans under $100 (2% above that) for the first six months.
Yonkers Pawnbroker License, Bond and Interest Cap
Significant RestrictionsYonkers City Code § 26-2
No person, corporation, partnership or firm shall hereafter carry on the business of pawnbroker in the City of Yonkers without first having obtained a license authorizing the carrying on of such business in the manner and upon the conditions stated in the succeeding sections of this chapter, to be issued by the Director of the Office of Licensing.
Auto Repair on Residential Property
Yonkers zoning flatly excludes automobile repair from what counts as a lawful home occupation. Residents may run a quiet accessory occupation out of a dwelling under strict rules, but Section 43-8's definition of home occupation expressly carves out automobile repair servicing or body shop, so no home-occupation permit can ever cover fixing cars for pay at a residence.
Yonkers Excludes Auto Repair From Home Occupations
Heavy RestrictionsYonkers City Code § 43-8
An occupation, excluding a home-based business, and excluding establishments offering services to the general public, carried on in a dwelling by the resident thereof as an accessory use to a dwelling unit and meeting the requirements of § 43-41G of this chapter. The term shall not include businesses or occupations such as the operation of a beauty parlor, barbershop, automobile repair servicin...
Towing Companies
Yonkers caps private-property towing at 190 citywide licenses issued by the Police Commissioner. Towing an unauthorized car from a private or public lot requires a $250 annual City Clerk permit for the premises plus a posted three-by-three-foot sign disclosing the towing and storage fees.
Yonkers Non-Consent Towing: License and Rate Caps
Significant RestrictionsYonkers City Code § 111-21
No person shall tow or cause to have towed an unauthorized motor vehicle from a private or public parking lot, as heretofore defined, unless the following requirements have been complied with: A. A towing permit shall have been obtained for the premises from the City Clerk and an annual fee of $250 paid to the City of Yonkers for each permit. B. A sign of minimum dimensions of three feet by thr...
Looking for Westchester County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Yonkers city rules.
Business Licensing & Operations in Westchester County →