Yonkers Tutors Come To You

As one of the boroughs of New York City, Yonkers has been memorialized in countless songs, cultural references, and art. Perhaps most famously, the play Lost in Yonkers, by Neil Simon, memorializes the city and references its famous immigrant populations and pre-war history.

Simon’s play takes place during World War II, and features the story of two young boys—Jay and Arty Kurnitz—sent to live with their eccentric, stern German grandmother in her Yonkers apartment. Their mother dies shortly before the play begins, and their father, to raise the necessary money to support his sons, sets out collecting and selling scrap metal for the war effort. While the boys live with their grandmother, they get to know their equally-eccentric aunts and uncle. Unhappy, intimidated, and missing their father, Jay and Arty are forced to grow up faster than they normally would. They scheme for ways to procure the necessary money that would allow them to live with their father again, especially once they learn their grandmother may have 15,000.00 hidden in her apartment somewhere. Eventually, the boys leave their grandmother’s apartment after ten months.

Lost in Yonkers is considered a coming-of-age story, with Jay as its primary focus. The difficulties of adolescence are explored by Simon as his main character matures. The colorful characters of the play highlight demographic history of Yonkers, emphasizing the tension between the dreams of immigrants and the ensuing complications of making a life in a new country. Jay and his brother find themselves lost—lost in the borough, lost in the shuffle of their family relationships, and lost without stable adult guidance through adolescence—but eventually, they find their way out as all characters do in a coming of age story.

Simon’s moving play won a Pulitzer in 1990 and has since been made into a movie with an all-star cast. The original actors who performed in Lost in Yonkers went on to have successful theatrical careers as well, which demonstrates the talent and heart in Simon’s playwriting. The borough, by extension, has seen a recent upturn in property values and pricing. Like Brooklyn and Queens, more and more people have flocked to Yonkers in the last few decades to participate in its unique culture.

Like Jay and Arty, students in Yonkers may feel lost as a result of bad grades and discouraging academic performance in general. But, there is no need to stay this way, thanks to Grade Potential tutors who are there to lead students to a path of success. Tutors in Yonkers dedicate time, expertise, and patience to their clients—they meet their needs and with time and effort, work together towards academic success.