WESTCHESTER LAWMAKERS RESPOND TO SUBMISSION OF COUNTY HOUSING IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

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WESTCHESTER LAWMAKERS RESPOND TO SUBMISSION OF COUNTY HOUSING IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

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Tue, 02/02/2010 - 3:46pm

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 2,
2010

Contact: Tara L. Martin | TaraM@westchesterlegislators.com | 914-995-2016
(office) | 914-380-0931 (cell)

WESTCHESTER
LAWMAKERS RESPOND TO SUBMISSION OF COUNTY
HOUSING IMPLEMENTATION
PLAN

(White Plains, NY)
-- Westchester
County Board of Legislators Chairman Ken Jenkins (D-Yonkers), along with
several colleagues, today, responded to the submission of the County’s
implementation plan to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and
to the federal monitor overseeing the county’s compliance with last year’s
settlement of the fair and affordable housing lawsuit. The settlement was
in response to a lawsuit brought against Westchester County
by the Anti-Discrimination Center (ADC), accusing the county of making false
statements on federal applications about its efforts to integrate
housing. The approved settlement requires Westchester
to spend $50 million over seven years to build 750 fair and affordable housing
units, in areas that are overwhelmingly white and affluent. The
agreement, also, calls for a federally-appointed monitor, James Johnson, to
assist the county in creating a housing implementation plan to meet these
goals. “The Administration has taken a major step towards creating
fair and affordable housing throughout our county,” said Board Chairman
Ken Jenkins (D-Yonkers). “Throughout the transition of county
executives and our own internal process of due diligence, the Board has played
an essential role in negotiating key elements within the presented
implementation plan, as well as meeting the affordable housing needs throughout
the County.”

The Board
received the settlement agreement signed by then County Executive Spano in
August 2009. The Board and its Litigation Subcommittee spent six weeks of due
diligence analyzing the settlement agreement and questioning members of the
Spano Administration and its counsel regarding the agreement. As a result
of the direct involvement of the Litigation Subcommittee, chaired by Legislator
John Nonna (D-Mount Pleasant), members met with lawyers for the U.S. Justice
Department, important clarification of the agreement was obtained, confirming
the cap on the County's financial commitment and the standard for incurring any
penalties, as well as the County's relationship with municipalities under the
settlement. “It has been our primary focus ensuring that the
members of the Legislature and our residents were fully informed of this
process and our obligation to the agreement,” said Legislator
Nonna. “The Administration has taken an important step towards
complying with the terms of the settlement today. We look forward to working together with the Administration in
accomplishing its goals in cooperation with our towns and villages, the monitor
and the federal government. We are mindful and attentive to the concerns of our
residents, as to the impact of this settlement.”

Following approval of the settlement
by the Board in September 2009, a special subcommittee was appointed to monitor
the preparation of the Implementation Plan. Led by Majority Whip Judy Myers (D-Larchmont),
Legislators John Nonna (D-Mount Pleasant), Peter Harckham (D-Katonah) and Bill
Burton (D-Ossining), this subcommittee monitored the preparation of the
Implementation Plan closely, including meeting with the new County Executive's
staff, working on the Implementation Plan and maintained communication with the
Monitor to assure him that the Board was actively participating in the process.
“Throughout the transition period, moving from one Administration
to the next, the Board ensured the continuity needed within the process,”
said Legislator Myers. “It was of the utmost
importance that we kept the ball rolling during the transition, as we faced
significant challenges in meeting the approved timetable for the plan, given
the dynamic of a new Administration and the need to meet the agreed upon
deadlines.” The Board’s Housing and
Planning Committee plan to meet with Administration officials to continue
meeting the benchmarks that were outlined in the plan. "Our committee will
have the person in the County
Executive's office who
will be responsible to carry out the implementation plan attend a
meeting in the near future,” said Legislator Burton.
“Our interest is the same as the County
Executive: that Westchester
complies with the spirit and letter of the settlement agreement while ensuring
that fair and affordable housing is constructed or acquired promptly and
within the cost limitations we have to live with.”