County Executive Rob Astorino lambasted the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in a press conference Friday, saying the department was overreaching in enforcing aspects of the county’s affordable housing settlement.
"We have no alternative but to say enough is enough to HUD," Astorino said Friday.
Astorino is scheduled to meet with HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan in Washington, DC on July 29 to discuss the affordable housing mandate. He held a press conference in White Plains to publicly ask the housing secretary to intervene "in ending the impasse created by his department's 'unprecedented bureaucratic overreaching' and 'unwarranted trampling of local zoning rights'."
"The bottom line is that HUD is asking us to spend money we don't have, pick fights with our own municipalities, do things we have no power to do and in fact may violate the New York State Constitution, local zoning and a host of environmental laws," he said.
There is a decided difference of opinion between HUD officials and the County Executive’s office about progress in enforcing which was reached in 2009 after an anti-discrimination group sued the county for taking federal housing funds without allegedly doing enough to further fair and affordable housing. In accordance with the settlement, the county will have to build 750 affordable housing units in 31 Westchester communities in the next seven years. HUD is tasked with ensuring the county complies with enforcing the terms of the settlement.
Astorino said Westchester County has 164 affordable housing units approved for development this year and is ahead of the requirement to complete 100 units by the end of 2011. Another 154 units have financing in place, and 107 have building permits in place. There are 102 units currently in the pipeline for local approval, according to information provided by the County Executive's office.
Astorino said HUD is now also calling for half of the 750 units to have three bedrooms. He said this demand "would force the county to run out of money well before all 750 units could be built."
The units currently under development are mostly studio and one-bedroom sized units. Costs are running at approximately $68,800 per unit in county-funded subsidy. Three-bedroom units could cost $150,000 per unit in county subsidy. The subsidy also includes funds from other agencies and grant programs.
Instead of the $51.6 million dollars the county has allocated for the project, providing 375 units of three bedrooms and 375 of the currently configured units could cost the county $94.3 million.
Things came to a head between HUD and the county with a recent letter. For the fifth time, HUD rejected a required element of the plan called an analysis of impediment (AI), which requires the county to stipulate the causes of the housing inequity. According to Astorino, the problems are based on economic ability to pay, not a pattern of racial discrimination.
"They are asking Westchester County for more than anywhere else in the United States," he said.
In the nine-page letter from HUD officials dated May 13, the agency outlines its reasons for rejecting the analysis of impediment statement.
The May 13 letter says that after working with the county on its rejected July 2010 AI statement: "the Submission remains substantially incomplete and unacceptable to HUD."
According to HUD, the previous AI failed to specify how the county would carry out required mobility counseling, promote source-of-income legislation (referring to Section 8 vouchers, social security, supplemental security income, veteran's benefits and pensions) or increase the availability of affordable housing for families with children.
The letter also says that the county failed to explain or analyze its history of segregation and the impact that has had on its housing patterns. The letter also says the county has not planned a strategy to deal with “exclusionary zoning practices" or "consider[ed] the effects that the location of affordable housing will have on segregation patterns.”
The letter recommends that the county give municipalities three months to act upon restrictive zoning laws before using strong levers like withholding county funds or even litigation to force action.
In a passage that drew the ire of Astorino, the letter states: "The AI must address the County's obligation to affirmatively further fair housing beyond the four corners of the settlement...the County must include a description of its strategies to develop, support the development of, or preserve affordable housing in areas of the County that are not included in the Settlement and for housing units beyond those provided for in the settlement."
In a July 13 letter, Vincent Horn, HUD Director of Community Planning and Development, informed the county that its revised June 13, 2011 AI had failed to address the concerns of the May letter. Horn said: "Therefore, HUD is rejecting the County's certification..."
The agency also has halted $6 million in payments of a Community Development Block Grant in the last of its three-year funding cycle.
Astorino says the move jeopardizes the jobs of 18 people who are working to ensure the county complies with the housing settlement. He said HUD is now using the rejected document to change the terms of the agreement and extending its concern into matters of local zoning practice.
Astorino also bristled at what he called HUD demands that the county make findings of racial discrimination and segregation.
"Westchester is the fourth most diverse county in New York, behind Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx, tied with Manhattan," he said. "I don't think anyone would say Manhattan is not diverse."
"This is now an integration order," Astorino said. "We will not have a gun held to our heads to do things outside of our agreement."
According to a map provided by the County Executive's office, affordable housing units under development and review are located in the following areas:
Ownership Housing
- Larchmont (Pinebrook Commons- 46 units)
- Rye (Cottage Landings- 18 units)
- Ardsley (Water Wheel- 17 units)
- North Castle (Armonk Crossing- 10 units)
- Yorktown (Crompond Crossing- 26 units)
- Briarcliff Manor (445 N. State Road- 14 units)
- Fewer units are under development in Pelham (3), Pleasantville (3), and Briarcliff Manor
Rental units
- Cortlandt (- 83 units)
- Yorktown (Freedom Gardens- 3 units)
- Bedford ( Wildwood Road- 10 units)
- New Castle (54 Hunts Lane- 36 units)
- Briarcliff Manor (191 Revolutionary Road- 9 units)
- Hastings (2 units, 4 ownership units with rental units)
Total Ownership units: 136
Total Rental units: 145
Mount Vernon, Yonkers, New Rochelle, Mamaroneck, Port Chester, White Plains, Greenburgh, Sleepy Hollow, Ossining, Elmsford, Peekskill and Mount Kisco are not included in the agreement.
Pelham Manor, Bronxville, Eastchester, Tuckahoe, Scarsdale, Harrison, Rye Brook, Dobbs Ferry, Irvington, Tarrytown, Mount Pleasant, Pound Ridge, Lewisboro, North Salem, Somers, Croton-on-Hudson, and Buchanan have no units under development at this time, according to information provided by the Westchester County Department of Planning.
Socialism never works...sooner than later you run out of other peoples money. Jesus said" The poor will always be with us"
From the Future of freedom foundation: We were warned long ago: Now we are waking up. Thank Goodness for the "Tea Party" Why are Americans embracing socialism while the rest of the world is abandoning it? Because Americans have been taught since the first grade that when American governments own enterprises and redistribute wealth, this is free enterprise while when the Soviet and Chinese governments engage in this conduct, it is socialism. Americans have no idea that many decades ago, they abandoned the principles of liberty on which America was founded. Morever, Americans have been taught that if American businessmen support a government enterprise, then it must be free enterprise. After all, haven't we all learned in our government schools that American businessmen favor free enterprise? The unfortunate truth, however, is that the American businessman of today, unlike his counterpart of the 19th century, is all too ready to run to government for his welfare. He wants nothing to do with such notions as self-reliance, private ownership, unhampered markets, and private capital investment. He wants partnerships with the politicians to ensure that his potential losses will be covered by the citizenry whether they like it or not.
And I would like to think that if Patch were paying people to comment, they spread the comments around more evenly to their other articles.
If it's true that HUD is now asking for half of the units to have three bedrooms, that is unreasonable and not part of the settlement. I have yet to see any documents that substantiate that, however. It may be true but it could also be political posturing. It would be helpful if Mr. Astorino posted the HUD demands publicly, so that people could react to facts. Assuming they care about facts, that is.
We don't pay people to comment. I have deleted a series of comments toward the end of this fascinating thread because they were personal attacks. It may be that everyone is back to discussing the situation—and this discussion has been overall productive and enlightening—still if all we've got left is liberals spend too much and conservatives are racist than maybe it's time to close this thread.
Astorino godspeed on destroying these liberal commies spend as much as you can destroy the federal over step on our right to live where and how we want.
Liberals wakeup....
THEY DON'T LIVE IN MT VERNON OR OTHER DESTROYED COMMUNITIES DUE TO HUD. I LOVE HOW LIBERAL LOVING NEWS 12 TALKS ABOUT THIS ISSUE AND LOOK WHERE THEIR NWS CASTRS LIVE ITS NOT IN HUD AREAS OR LOW INCOME AREAS. REMEMBER SOCIALISM IS FOR THE PEOPLE NOT THE SOCIALISTS..
John Meyer said "The only certainty here is that the taxpayer will get slaughtered if Mr. Astorino pursues to pick a fight with the feds and not honor the directives of the agreement that "
Please let's keep the discussion civil and refrain from name calling. Many of the comments here have been very insightful, but let's not let the discussion degenerate into an unpleasant one. We will shut down this thread if there is any more name-calling.