Westchester County Concludes Federal Civil Rights Case Over Housing Segreation & Exlusionary Zoning

Federal Judge Denise Cote ruled that Westchester County has been weighed down with a consent decree to build 750 affordable housing units like the ones above and that a federal monitor to oversee the work is no longer needed

George Latimer, executive of Westchester County, announced on 4. We recently received a notice from US District Judge Denise Cote that Westchester County is essentially complying with the Consent Decree and that government housing surveillance is no longer required. We didn’t do this on our own, and we have to thank our non-profit housing associations, local authorities, and the many property developers for everything they did to get us here.

“I’m not trying to credit all of the affordable housing that has been developed over the past 12 years. It was a long way, and much of it was covered before I walked in the door as the district chief. But I think we’ve proven time and time again that we believe in fair and affordable housing. We have consistently put a lot of money aside, we have carried out a housing needs study and we know exactly how great this need is. It will take more than 11,000 units to meet the demand for young families and fixed income seniors and we want these projects to happen across Westchester.

“We know we have a long way to go, but I would like to thank the Justice Department for recognizing our commitment to this cause. We made every effort to qualify for the case and I am delighted that we can leave it behind. “

In 2006, the Anti-Discrimination Center filed a lawsuit against Westchester County for the lack of affordable housing in many of the county’s smaller, more affluent communities.

This resulted in a settlement between HUD, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Westchester County government, and former county executive Andy Spano in 2009. The settlement called for the county to build 750 units of affordable housing that was over the top small towns are spread out and village in Westchester.

Former District Chairman Rob Astorino allowed the affordable units to be built while backing down some of the other demands of the Federal Monitor tasked with overseeing the settlement.