Workforce Housing Coalition
c/o 75 South Broadway-Suite 340
White Plains, NY 10601
(914) 683-1010
www.workforcehousingcoalition.org

 
  
Thursday, 
  April 
  9, 
  2015 
  
 
  
The 
  Hon. 
  Robert 
  Astorino 
  
Westchester 
  County 
  Executive 
  
48 
  Martine 
  Avenue 
  
White 
  Plains, 
  NY 
   
  10601 
  
 
  
Re: 
   
  Request 
  to 
  Intervene 
    
  
 
  
Dear 
  County 
  Executive 
  Astorino: 
  
 
  
As 
  a 
  coalition 
  of 
  citizens 
  and 
  organizations 
  in 
  Westchester 
  County, 
  we 
  request 
  that 
  you 
  
intervene 
  in 
  the 
  approvals 
  process 
  for 
  new 
  apartments 
  in 
  Harrison, 
  pursuant 
  to 
  your 
  
obligations 
  under 
  New 
  York 
  State 
  and 
  federal 
  law. 
  
 
  
Exclusionary 
  zoning 
  discriminates 
  against 
  working 
  families 
  and 
  minorities 
  and 
  has 
  
produced 
  an 
  exodus 
  of 
  young 
  adults 
  from 
  the 
  county. 
   
  This 
  hurts 
  the 
  economy 
  and 
  drives 
  
away 
  businesses 
  and 
  jobs. 
   
  Local 
  land 
  regulation 
  has 
  created 
  a 
  mismatch 
  between 
  supply 
  
and 
  demand 
  as 
  numerous 
  communities 
  in 
  Westchester, 
  including 
  Harrison, 
  restrict 
  most 
  
housing 
  built 
  to 
  expensive 
  single-­‐family 
  houses. 
   
  When 
  apartments 
  are 
  built, 
  they 
  tend 
  to 
  
be 
  luxury 
  units, 
  unfriendly 
  to 
  families 
  with 
  children. 
   
  
 
  
As 
  you 
  know, 
  our 
  coalition 
  applauded 
  your 
  intervention 
  last 
  month 
  in 
  brokering 
  the 
  first 
  
units 
  of 
  affordable 
  housing 
  in 
  a 
  quarter 
  century 
  in 
  Harrison, 
  a 
  town 
  two-­‐thirds 
  the 
  size 
  of 
  
Manhattan. 
   
  Seven 
  apartments, 
  however, 
  out 
  of 
  143 
  proposed 
  in 
  the 
  MTA/AvalonBay 
  
transit 
  oriented 
  development, 
  does 
  not 
  begin 
  to 
  address 
  the 
  shortage 
  of 
  such 
  housing 
  in 
  the 
  
county, 
  or 
  even 
  Harrison’s 
  “fair 
  share” 
  of 
  the 
  regional 
  need 
  as 
  determined 
  by 
  the 
  county 
  
itself. 
   
  
 
  
Today, 
  another 
  463 
  units 
  are 
  moving 
  through 
  the 
  approvals 
  process 
  in 
  Harrison 
  without 
  
any 
  set 
  aside 
  for 
  affordable 
  workforce 
  housing. 
   
  We 
  believe 
  the 
  county 
  has 
  a 
  legal 
  
obligation 
  under 
  the 
  Consent 
  Decree 
  to 
  insure 
  that 
  each 
  of 
  the 
  named 
  municipalities 
  
provides 
  its 
  fair 
  share 
  of 
  housing 
  that 
  is 
  affordable 
  to 
  households 
  at 
  or 
  below 
  60% 
  of 
  the 
  
Area 
  Median 
  Income, 
  or 
  about 
  $56,000 
  for 
  a 
  family 
  of 
  three. 
   
   
  
 
  
In 
  2004, 
  a 
  study 
  commissioned 
  by 
  Westchester 
  County 
  determined 
  that 
  the 
  Town 
  of 
  
Harrison’s 
  fair 
  share 
  of 
  the 
  regional 
  need 
  for 
  affordable 
  housing 
  was 
  756 
  units, 
  to 
  be 
  
completed 
  by 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  last 
  year. 
  The 
  validity 
  of 
  these 
  goals 
  for 
  municipalities 
  was 
  
affirmed 
  in 
  the 
  Berenson 
  line 
  of 
  cases, 
  including 
  Triglia 
  v. 
  The 
  Town 
  of 
  Cortlandt 
  (1996), 
  
decided 
  in 
  the 
  New 
  York 
  State 
  Court 
  of 
  Appeals. 
  Despite 
  Harrison’s 
  goal 
  of 
  756 
  contained 
  in 
  

 
  

1 
  

 the 
  County 
  Housing 
  Allocation 
  Plan, 
  not 
  one 
  unit 
  was 
  produced. 
  Surely, 
  if 
  a 
  private 
  
developer 
  like 
  Triglia 
  can 
  successfully 
  assert 
  a 
  claim, 
  the 
  county 
  itself 
  may 
  do 
  so, 
  as 
  well. 
   
   
  
In 
  February, 
  a 
  public 
  benefit 
  corporation, 
  the 
  Westchester 
  Medical 
  Center, 
  successfully 
  
declared 
  itself 
  exempt 
  from 
  the 
  approvals 
  process 
  in 
  another 
  town 
  subject 
  to 
  the 
  
settlement, 
  Mount 
  Pleasant, 
  under 
  the 
  state’s 
  legal 
  doctrine 
  of 
  “balancing 
  of 
  public 
  
interests.” 
   
   
  
 
  
In 
  2009, 
  as 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  federal 
  Consent 
  Decree 
  with 
  HUD, 
  Westchester 
  County 
  committed 
  to 
  
achieving 
  its 
  goals 
  of 
  eliminating 
  exclusionary 
  zoning 
  and 
  producing 
  affordable 
  housing 
  in 
  
places 
  like 
  Harrison, 
  by 
  means 
  “including, 
  but 
  not 
  limited 
  to, 
  legal 
  action.” 
   
   
  
 
  
While 
  we 
  support 
  legitimate 
  home 
  rule, 
  it 
  does 
  not 
  license 
  communities 
  like 
  Harrison 
  to 
  
deny 
  housing 
  to 
  the 
  over 
  40 
  percent 
  of 
  households 
  in 
  the 
  county 
  earning 
  less 
  than 
  80% 
  of 
  
the 
  Area 
  Median 
  Income, 
  and 
  an 
  even 
  higher 
  percentage 
  in 
  the 
  Metropolitan 
  region. 
   
   
  It 
  
does 
  not 
  license 
  them 
  to 
  perpetuate 
  segregation, 
  either. 
   
  For 
  these 
  reasons, 
  we 
  call 
  upon 
  
you 
  to 
  immediately 
  initiate 
  talks 
  with 
  Harrison 
  to 
  insure 
  the 
  town 
  sets 
  aside 
  at 
  least 
  10% 
  of 
  
the 
  units 
  for 
  affordable 
  housing 
  in 
  the 
  Playhouse 
  Lofts 
  and 
  Corporate 
  Drive 
  projects, 
  pass 
  
the 
  Model 
  Zoning 
  Ordinance, 
  and 
  more 
  generally 
  to 
  press 
  Harrison 
  and 
  other 
  communities 
  
to 
  ease 
  highly 
  restrictive 
  zoning. 
   
  Absent 
  voluntary 
  compliance, 
  your 
  obligation 
  under 
  the 
  
Consent 
  Decree 
  is 
  to 
  initiate 
  legal 
  action 
  pursuant 
  to 
  the 
  Berenson 
  and 
  County 
  of 
  Monroe 
  
line 
  of 
  cases, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  the 
  Fair 
  Housing 
  Act. 
   
  
 
  
Sincerely, 
  
 
  
The 
  Westchester 
  Workforce 
  Housing 
  Coalition 
  
 
  
Alexander H. Roberts, Community Housing Innovations, Inc.
James Killoran, Westchester Habitat for Humanity
Lena Anderson, White Plains/Greenburgh NAACP
Graciela Heymann, Westchester Hispanic Coalition
Dennis Hanratty, Mount Vernon United Tenants and Hunger Action Network
David Schwartz, Working Families Party
Greg Maher, The Leviticus Fund
Nada Khader, WESPAC
Mara Winokur, ULI Westchester/Fairfield
Andrea Kocsis, Human Development Services of Westchester
Fr. Wilfred Tyrrell, S.A. Catholic Chaplain, Director-Duchesne Center/Manhattanville College
Richard Hyman, Urban Planner
Charles Pateman, Developer
Timothy Lewis, Greenburgh Town Attorney
 
  
c.c. 
  James 
  Johnson, 
  Esq., 
  HUD 
  Monitor 
  
Harrison 
  Mayor 
  Ron 
  Belmont 
  
 
  
 
  

 
  

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