Westchester's biggest city kicked off an extended Green Week celebration this weekend, an observance packed with about three dozen events including films, lectures and family-fun that will stretch through April 27.

Among the highlights: Tuesday morning, a blessing of the Hudson River by local religious leaders; also Tuesday, a hands-on look at the Hudson River estuary at the Beczak Environmental Center; and Thursday evening, a Hudson River tour aboard New York Water Taxi, at a cost of $10 for adults and $5 for children.

"I hope this first annual Green Week will reinforce the notion that Yonkers is environmentally friendly," Lesnick said, "and that we want to recycle, that we are looking to do do things differently, and we want to attract green technology to Yonkers that will create new jobs."

The educational program is organized by the City Council's Green Policy Task Force, but potentially one of the biggest events isn't on their list - the release by Friday of an environmentally sustainable plan for Yonkers designed by the New York League of Conservation Voters.

The study aims to be a mini-version of the voluminous PlanNYC-2030 for New York City, said Marcia Bystryn, president of the Manhattan-based nonprofit. An initiative of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, PlanNYC-2030 lays out a program to make New York City more environmentally sustainable by reducing energy use, reducing auto use and creating more green space.

"We believe cities have a tremendous opportunity to be leaders in environmentally sustainable development," Bystryn said.

Yonkers, with its major redevelopment effort, has a particularly good opportunity to create a sustainable downtown - one that reduces energy demand in government and private buildings and also preserves open space, Bystryn said.

The New York League of Conservation Voters endorsed Amicone's successful re-election bid last year, something that the organization's officials believe will make the administration more receptive to the proposal.

Amicone has supported a range of environmental initiatives, including city spending to reduce untreated sewage leaking into the Saw Mill, Bronx and Hudson rivers, said Amicone spokesman David Simpson. The city is under court order to take those steps.

Perhaps the mayor's biggest environmental goal, Simpson said, is his commitment to create a sustainable downtown, one more reliant on transit and walking. The mayor also supports improved building standards, though they these measures need to be carefully examined, Simpson said.