Westchester Legislators Appreciate Forward Movement on County’s Capital Projects

Written By: Talk of the Sound News

White Plains, NY – Members of the Westchester County Board of Legislators offered guarded appreciation today in response to the announcement by County Executive Robert P. Astorino that he will be asking for approval of $58 million in capital projects “to restore important infrastructure and protect public safety,” but noted that he still needed to act on dozens of other projects that have already earned BOL approval—and which could potentially create over 1,500 jobs.

“The Board of Legislators has made scores of crucial investments and smart spending decisions regarding infrastructure repairs, public safety upgrades and transportation improvements, so news that the County Executive has finally decided to open the spigot a bit is certainly welcome,” said Vice Chair Lyndon Williams (D-Mount Vernon). “But we still have over $100 million in approved projects that he needs to act on. In the meantime, trades people around the County are waiting for new construction jobs and meaningful work to begin. That time is now.”

Since 2010, the BOL has approved $186,293,355 in capital projects, which, according to federal data sources, would create upwards of 1,500 new jobs. Included in this list of 99 projects are road repairs in Peekskill, federally required dam reconstruction in Mount Pleasant and County park improvements in Rye—all desperately needed but which are still wanting attention by the Astorino Administration.

“The Board approved $4 million for a downtown revitalization project in Mount Vernon that would create 305 construction jobs and 76 full-time positions, but the County Executive continues to block action on the bond legislation,” continued Williams. “Both Democrats and Republicans on the Board approved this project for a city with the highest unemployment rate in Westchester. County Executive Astorino has kept this and dozens of other capital projects off the table for too long. Instead of taking credit for a few hand-picked projects, he should explain why he is stalling on the creation of hundreds of potential jobs for our residents.”

The Atlantic Development Group’s $120 million Mount Vernon project will completely revive the retail corridor along Gramatan Avenue, creating new shops and housing, along with renovations to the municipal parking garages. The County will recover its $4 million capital project investment from additional sales and property taxes over six years, plus it gets to keep the additional revenues forever. At a cost of $25,000 per unit, the county funding is much less than the $68,000 per unit on average it spends for housing elsewhere in Westchester. Williams noted that there is not a single County funded project that better leverages county dollars to private dollars, and there is not another extant project with a shorter pay-back period over which the county recovers its investment.

Also included in the list of capital projects that County Executive Astorino has refused to act upon are bond acts that would fund planning, engineering and design of more construction projects that would exponentially create even more jobs.

“Approval requests from the Administration on capital projects have to be received on a timely basis,” said Legislator Catherine Borgia (D-Ossining), chair of the BOL Government Operations Committee. “I look forward to seeing more funding requests, especially for much needed infrastructure repairs.”

A number of capital projects approved by the BOL go back to April, May and July 2010, including work needed at Westchester County Airport, water quality improvements and flood mitigation.

“The two branches of County government have to work hand-in-hand on capital projects or too much work that is sorely needed will not be done,” said Legislator Bill Ryan (D-White Plains), who oversaw capital project spending in a BOL committee in 2010 and 2011. “The Board has been looking to get as many capital projects going in the field as possible, but the funding requests have to come from the Administration, and right now the process is too slow. When work is legitimately needed around the county, there should be no debate between the County Executive and the Board.”