Gov. Cuomo, Congresswoman Lowey Announce Deal to End Hold Up of $5 Mil. in Housing Funds to Westchester

A deal that will free up about $5 million in housing funds earmarked to Westchester was announced Monday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and United States Congresswoman Nita Lowey.

The money had been held up for several years by the federal Department Housing and Urban Development as it and Westchester County sparred over the handling of an affordable housing settlement between the two entities.

Under the deal “local governments and non-profits in Westchester County will resume receiving affordable housing, community development and emergency shelter grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development” through the state.

Related:

• Astorino, Feds Continue Dispute Over Housing, Block Grants
• Astorino Says HUD Does ‘Extortion,’ Seeks Lawsuit & Hearing
• Astorino, Legislators Seek to Stop HUD from Withholding Funds
• Westchester County Exec Blasts HUD for Changing Terms of Affordable Housing Settlement

“This funding is an important resource for local governments and non-profit organizations in Westchester County that provide everything from affordable housing to public works improvements for their communities,” said Cuomo in a statement. “Our administration is proud to be joining with Congresswoman Lowey to make this funding available once again to the groups that need it most.”

In 2006, the Anti-Discrimination Center of Metro New York brought a federal lawsuit that claimed the county failed to live up to its obligation to provide affordable housing and address issues of racial segregation in its housing markets, wrote Patch in 2013.

The lawsuit eventually led the county to a settlement in 2009 of $63 million that required the county to ensure that 750 units of affordable housing were built in 31 of the county’s predominantly white communities. Those units were to be marketed to the nine counties surrounding Westchester.

Under the deal, the federal money essentially will be rerouted through the state. From the Cuomo/Lowey press release:

HUD reallocated grants from three programs that should have gone to a consortium of Westchester local governments and non-profits because the County was ineligible to receive funding as a result of its non-compliance with a legal settlement. The consortium disbanded at the end of 2014. Under the Governor and Congresswoman’s plan, communities that had previously been in the consortium will now be able to competitively apply to the State for funds, and approximately $5 million will be directed to projects in Westchester in 2015.

New York State Homes and Community Renewal will distribute approximately $3.3 million in Westchester County Community Development Block Grant funds through a competitive application to allow the funding to be distributed quickly and fairly to the most effective initiatives proposed by local community nonprofit organizations and localities. The funding will be made available only to initiatives located in the areas formerly served by the Westchester County Consortium.

“The Governor and I have found a creative solution so that going forward, HUD investments will once again be made in projects in Westchester,” said Lowey in a statement.

Westchester Board of Legislators Chairman Michael Kaplowitz and other legislators scheduled a press conference for Monday afternoon to offer their comments on the deal.

The press release continued:

Activities eligible for this funding include housing improvements for rehabilitation, homeownership, residential water/wastewater projects, structural improvements to public facilities that will serve special-needs populations, and infrastructural improvements to public water/wastewater systems and public works such as sidewalks and streets. This funding will also create jobs through grants and loans that will foster small business development.

More than $600,000 will be available from Emergency Shelter Grants, which can fund the renovation of buildings used as emergency shelters or transitional housing for homeless families as well as maintenance, operation, rent, repair, security, food, and utilities. More than $900,000 will be available for the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, which can fund a wide range of activities including building, buying, and/or rehabilitating affordable housing for rent or homeownership.

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