The chairman of the county Board of Legislators announced last week he would request a meeting between federal officials and county lawmakers to come to terms over a local housing dispute. But Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino is skeptical a meeting will be of any benefit.
County Board Chairman Michael Kaplowitz, a Democrat, had announced legislators would take more of a leadership role in making sure Westchester came into compliance with the terms of a 2009 affordable housing settlement. Astorino said county lawmakers could “go right ahead” to set up a meeting, but he doubted any consensus would be reached. The issue, he said, is Astorino”™s administration believes it is in compliance but the federal government continues to say it is not.
“I”™ve been meeting for five years,” he told the Business Journal on Friday, saying he has already discussed the matter with Congressional representatives, a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development monitor and others.
The federal government has already reallocated $7.4 million in federal grants dating back to 2011, and last week said it would reallocate another $5.2 million if the county didn”™t release an analysis of impediments to fair housing in its 43 communities. Astorino has continually said the county has analyzed impediments and does not see any exclusionary practices. As part of the suit, Westchester is in the process of building 750 units of affordable housing, most of which are to be placed in its 31 communities where the black and Hispanic populations are less than 2 percent and 7 percent, respectively.
The Rev. Al Sharpton visited Westchester on Thursday, holding a news conference and calling on Astorino to comply with the federal order and have the money released. Kaplowitz held a news conference later in the day, saying he would request an extension of a federal deadline of May 9 to come into compliance.
