It certainly appears to be yew. And you can cut it to stumps but its in rather a small space so you'll need to keep doing it.

Yes they planted it at the top of my retaining wall, in a 4x4 corner. I just had the 12 foot wall rebuilt so I dare not pull it out of there.. I replaced the wall after a portion of it slid out, ivy and that yew were the only thing holding the wall up , they said. I would rather continue the railing straight across and take the shrub out but I'm afraid to mess with it since it's RIGHT on the edge of the wall. So when exactly could I do this? Up here the weather is still in the negative numbers at night.

get rid of it ;..

though it can be done... its going to be so stinkin' ugly.. that you will hate it ...

cut it to the ground... treat the stump with stump killer or 100% roundup ...

backfill with the stone thats under the decking.. and build the rest of the handrail ...

this plant will not recover from a hard pruning.. the way a perennial or something will ... i would suspect 3 to 5 years.. before it looks good again ..

and i dont really see a reason why you couldnt dig it out.. i wouldnt PULL it out.. as you said.. but again.. there is no reason to even bother digging.. just cut it flush and kill it ...

its like you have a million dollar.. very cool wall.. and a half a million dollar stairway ...

and a 3 dollar improperly placed .... ugly ... overgrown plant.... be done with it.. and perfect your million dollar facade ...

ken

Yeah, cut it off as low as you can and treat it with RoundUp, or a brush killer. It might take several times, but you won't have to use much, even at undiluted full strength. Full strength is the way to go to end the battle and move on as quickly as possible.
I'd plant a more appropriate plant for the space and a good groundcover. If the stump covers too much room for a narrow specimen plant replacement, just plant a groundcover.
Nice stairway and wall!
Mike