NEWSROOM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Bill O’Reilly, 914-619-5252

To the Editor:

Big Brother is about to descend on Westchester towns and villages and voters deserve to know why.

There are always strings attached to federal or state grants. County Executive Andy Spano
should have known that when applying for Community Block Development Grant (CBDG) funds through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). But he didn't, so Westchester taxpayers are now on the hook for $62.5 million, and the very autonomy of our municipalities is at risk.

Thanks to Mr. Spano, towns and villages across Westchester may be forced to build housing wherever the federal government says it should be built. Homes in foreclosure, in any neighborhood, may be converted to rental housing under a federal monitor, regardless of local zoning laws. Lots could be sub-divided, changing the value and character of neighborhoods. The precedent this sets is alarming.

From 1992-2003, as an elected councilman in the town of Mount Pleasant, my fellow board members and I had a firm policy of declining CBDG money after reading the fine print on the applications. They would have granted the federal government the power to supersede local law in housing matters. A federally subsidized playground or sidewalk wasn't worth it, if it meant surrendering jurisdiction over local zoning .

The lack of affordable housing in Westchester County is a very real issue, especially for our seniors and middle-class workforce. Mr. Spano, despite laudable intentions, took what he thought was easy money and left our towns and villages in a terrible situation.

Families of all backgrounds and ethnicities can apply for this housing, so race is not, and must not become, the issue. The real issue here is home rule, the right of Westchester towns and villages to determine local policy.

Unfortunately, Mr. Spano just handed that power to bureaucrats in Washington.


Sincerely,

Rob Astorino
Westchester County Executive candidate (R-I)