HUD is trying its grand experiment for America here in Westchester County to minimize racial discrimination by changing zoning. They have requested that Westchester (exclude zoning which limits multifamily housing development, including outright prohibition of such housing, limitation by size of a development, limitations directed at Section 8 or other affordable housing, and limitations on the number of such developments in a municipality, restrictions that directly or indirectly limit the number of bedrooms in a unit, restrictions on lot size or other density requirements that encourage single family housing or restrict multifamily housing, limitations on townhouse development, and infrastructure barriers related to zoning such as the absence of sewer systems that are impediments to the development of rental housing or to affordable housing.)
Take a moment and check out this interview with Rob Astorino.
There is an election coming up for County Executive, and with the exception of Rob Astorino, I have no idea how any other candidate may embrace HUD’s demands. It’s time to start getting involved and asking questions of whichever candidates emerge.
If you aren’t registered to vote it is time to make sure you are heard. If you are too complacent to vote, it is time to realize how quickly you are losing your liberties by not voting. Check out how easy it is to register to vote.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Noam Bramson, Democratic Nominee for Westchester County Executive has been tweeting on this topic.
The NY1 interview Noam references is here.
Proof of Astorino’s Lies
Attached is a link to the May 31, 2013 letter from HUD’s Deputy Secretary Maurice Jones, to the Chair of the Westchester County Board of Legislators.
This letter demonstrates that Rob Astorino is a desperate liar regarding his false assertions of Westchester County ‘s obligations to HUD, by the Federal Court’s ‘Stipulation and Order of Settlement and Dismissal’ entered in United States ex rel. Anti-Discrimination Center of Metro New York and Westchester County’, USDC SDNY Docket # 06 CIV 2860, referred to as ‘The Settlement’.
The Settlement was agreed upon by the government of Westchester County, so it’s clear its terms were not forced on Westchester by HUD, but instead was willingly agreed upon by our County government. As such our County Executive is obligated to the terms of that settlement.
According to the HUD letter of May 31, 2013, Westchester County is obligated to build at least 750 fair and affordable housing units. Despite Astorino’s intentional lies, Westchester is not obligated to build more that 750 units, but is not precluded from doing so. As such Astorino’s owes Westchester County residents an apology and the truth regarding his knowing lies or hallucinations of HUD obligating Westchester to build 10,000 units.
Apparently Rob Astorino also appears close to bigotry, in how he attempts to paint this Court Stipulation as the Federal Government illegally forcing wealthy Whites to have Black neighbors. This is an issue of providing affordable housing for minorities including Hispanics. The 14th Amendment makes unconstitutional, those State laws, regulations, acts, etc., violating the US Constitution.
Rob Astorino also lies, big-time, when he falsely claims that HUD wants to eliminate zoning throughout Westchester. Westchester’s obligations, under The Settlement, is to determine whether zoning is intended to create or perpetuate patterns of segregation, and to develop a clear strategy to overcome exclusionary zoning practices. Obviously, it is immoral and disgusting to advocate or to ignore intentional segregation of minorities.
HUD, while recognizing a community’s legitimate interest in zoning, properly asserts that “there is no place for a zoning scheme that, whether by design or effect, violates federal or state law by improperly precluding a protected class of individuals.”
http://westchesterlegislators.com/pdf/HUD_Letter_to_Chairman_Jenkins_5-31-13.pdf
Rob Astorino intentionally misleads, misinforms & confuses
Rob Astorino’s statement on Fox News is apparently intended to misinform and confuse the American public, with assertions that our American government intends to intrude on the property rights of all Whites in Westchester, or at least in 31 of its municipalities. As his appearance was on Fox News, I presume it was intended more for a national audience of Tea Partiers, than for the voters of Westchester.
Astorino’s statements would never play well among most of Westchester’s voters, so I presume his assertions are actually intended to obtain campaign contributions nationally, from people who know little of our enlightened, progressive Westchester County.
Astorino seems to imply that Westchester Voters will have to pay $1 billion to build 10,000 units.
But there is no such directive from HUD, from the federal monitor overseeing implementation of the settlement or from the federal courts. “It just isn’t so,” HUD spokesman Brian Sullivan stated.
What Astorino no doubt objects to is a rebuke from HUD contained in a March 13, 2013 letter. It rejects the county’s view that Westchester need not consider — when analyzing local impediments to fair housing — an authoritative study that concluded Westchester would face a shortage of nearly 11,000 units of affordable housing by 2015.
HUD wrote “The Department disagrees. Both the Needs Assessment and the Allocation Plan (the data predict future housing needs and set forth where units should go) provide important evidence of the regional needs. As such, the Department expects the County to consider such evidence in examining whether a zoning ordinance considers regional needs and requirements.” But that is no instruction to build — or to saddle taxpayers with a $1 billion-plus tax bill and 200 percent tax hike.
HUD spokesman Sullivan stated “Our calling attention to that report is not the same as requesting the building of 10,000 units at a cost of $1 billion. It just isn’t so. No matter how many times you say it, it doesn’t make it so.”
Actually, since 2009, Westchester County has been obligated to build only 750 housing units at a total cost of $51 million, which averages as $68,000 per unit. That sounds pretty inexpensive for housing in our expensive county.
Rob Astorino implies the tax burden is on Westchester tax payers. But as these are HUD related housing units, it certainly means that federal funding will be provided, in addition to whatever proportion Westchester taxpayers pay. That federal HUD money comes from all taxpayers in the USA, including persons and businesses, and will simply be spent in another county or state if Westchester refuses it. Why would Westchester voters want to turn down receiving federal money?
Astorino’s paranoiac false assertions that all zoning codes in Westchester County will be eliminated by our American government is beyond belief. Perhaps, some of the 750 housing units will need rezoning in a few municipalities.
But our municipal zoning has been affected by federal policy as long as there has been zoning and the USA government. Without local zoning changes, our American government would have been unable to fund or construct infrastructure, such as roads, canals, railways, airports, dams, our interstate highways, and of course buildings.
Noam Bramson is the
Noam Bramson is the consummate social engineer supporting Agenda 21, Iclei, GreeNR and transit oriented development. If Noam becomes county executive Westchester can look forward to higher taxes, new “FEES” and increased current fees. Bramson has never met a tax he didn’t like.
Bramson has twice porposed privatization so civil service employees will no longer have to worry about contributing to their health insurance because Noam Bramson will replace them with private sector companies.
Bramson is anti-first-responders consistently supporting corporate welfare tax abated development while reducing the number of first responders. Bramson was the ONLY council representative to vote against maintaing New Rochelle’s already depleated New Rochelle Fire Departent staffing in the 2013 budget vote.
Here’s a question for Noam; If you believe that Astorino is incorrect, why haven’t you changed the local zoning in districts 5 & 6 (North End) to allow high density, low income housing? Better yet, fi you are such a champion of women’s rights, why haven’t you called for Shelly Silver’s resignation?
Not Challanged
I cannot help but feel Noam is feeling a little jealous these days. With his local nemesis Peter Parente getting on national TV and now his rival for the CE spot also getting on national TV, Noam must be thinking why can’t I get on national TV? I expect Noam is working right now on ways to get invited on MSNBC.
I like these tweets, especially the one at the top, where Noam seems to imagine that Rob has some way to force Fox News Channel to book him as a guest and that his reason for doing so is to get softball questions. Even better, Noam offers a counter-example of an NY1 interview Rob did where he got a “real” interview.
Does that even make sense?
In Noam’s mind, that Astorino appears on NY1 and took “real” questions somehow supports Noam’s idea that he went on Fox News in order to get softball questions. What I see is that Astorino will appear on TV when he is asked and he will take softballs, hardballs and any other pitch an interviewer cares to throw. And that’s a bad thing?
Even more hilarious is this coming from Noam Bramson, a guy who stacks every deck, rigs every committee, and has otherwise shown himself unable and unwilling to engage in a real and public debate on topics of interest to New Rochelleans such as Echo Bay.
What I would really like to see is Noam go on Fox News and debate Sean Hannity. He ought to call FNC and demand equal time.
Why Astorino Probably Went On Fox
I suspect Rob Astorino went national on Fox News in hopes of getting campaign money from people living in other states, who know little of Westchester. Perhaps his main objective is donations from the Koch Brothers or secretive Tea Party PACs.
Going on Fox News is unlikely to obtain additional voters for Astorino, and probably will cause some voters to shy away from him.
He was ASKED
Brian,
Having been on many TV and radio shows, including Fox News several times, I can tell you how it works.
You have to be ASKED.
Astorino went on because he asked because a producer at FNC decided they wanted to do the story and they had Astorino on. I can also tell you that FNC liked the story because it fits in their narrative of an over-reaching Federal government.
The idea that Rob chose to go on Fox News to do this or do that presumes that Rob gets to pick and choose which TV shows he goes on. It does not work that way.
Thanks for the explanation
Bob,
Thanks for the explanation.
I think Fox probably benefits more from Astorino than he does from them, at least in his getting votes in Westchester. I think his main benefit would be to maximize financial contributions early in the campaign.
For the same reason, Noam should go on TV, but he has no reason to go on Fox even if they invite him.
Actually, most Westchester voters won’t pay attention to this election until after Labor Day, or until they walk into the voting booth, if they bother to vote at all. This will be a year of very low voter turnout, and of little voter interest.