Westchester Secures First CDBG, Home Funding in Nearly a Decade

Westchester County Executive George Latimer and U.S. Rep. Nita Lowey were joined by county government leaders and municipal leaders that are members of the re-established Westchester Urban County Consortium.

ELMSFORD—At a press conference at DeLuca Park here, Westchester County Executive George Latimer and U.S. Rep. Nita Lowey announced on June 17th the re-establishment of the Westchester Urban County Consortium and the first Community Development Block Grant award in nearly a decade.

The new consortium is comprised of 25 towns and villages in the county, with a combined population of more than 347,000 residents. The consortium is established in order to secure federal funding for affordable housing projects via the Community Development Block Grant program, which provides funds to local municipalities and nonprofits for physical facilities and public services and the federal HOME Program, which provides funds to developers of affordable housing

U.S. Congresswoman Nita Lowey, chair of the House Appropriations Committee helped secure CDBG funding for $67,500 for improvements at DeLuca Park.

To re-establish the Consortium, Latimer convened a meeting in March 2018 of the eligible municipalities along with regional Housing and Urban Development (HUD) representatives. The county then worked directly with each eligible municipality to educate them on the benefits, responsibilities and application process for the program. Westchester County is now eligible to apply for the following federal community development grant programs.

Once the consortium was reestablished, the county submitted an application to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on May 1, 2019. The county was awarded more than $3.5 million in CDBG funding, and $880,000 in HOME funding for the 2019 fiscal year.

County Executive Latimer and Rep. Lowey were joined at the press event by county officials and chief executives of some of the 25 municipalities that are now members of the Westchester Urban County consortium. The cities of Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, White Plains and Yonkers can file directly with the federal government for CDBG and Home financing.

The members of the consortium are: Ardsley, Bedford, Buchanan, Cortlandt, Croton, Dobbs Ferry, Elmsford, Greenburgh, Hastings, Irvington, Lewisboro, the Town of Mamaroneck, the Village of Mamaroneck, Mount Kisco, the Town of Ossining, the Village of Ossining, the Village of Pelham, Pleasantville, Port Chester, Rye Brook, Rye Town, Scarsdale, Sleepy Hollow, the Village of Tarrytown and Yorktown.

“Westchester County stands to get millions in funding from these programs. I am pleased to have jump-started the process for municipalities and nonprofits to receive much-needed federal funding for important local projects such as infrastructure improvements, and community development,” Latimer said. “This is another example of how working cooperatively at all levels of government, we can provide real benefits to residents and save money for local taxpayers.”

Rep. Lowey said, “Reestablishing the Westchester County Urban Consortium is an important step forward in securing the necessary federal resources to meet the community development, housing and infrastructure needs of our communities. I was proud to have brokered an agreement with New York State in 2015 that made $5 million in HUD funding available to local governments and non-profits.”

The CBDG grant award was the first the county has received since 2010 when Westchester County was embroiled in a fair housing dispute with the HUD and the U.S. Justice Department.