Affordable Housing Initiatives Move Forward

by Kathy Savolt -

Things have been quiet on the affordable housing front for a while but apparently a lot has been happening behind the scenes.

Affordable Housing Meetings Scheduled

On May 22nd and 23rd the Village of Mamaroneck will host two meetings to address residents’ concerns about housing, affordable housing, and the proposed Hunter Tier Lot project.

The May 22nd meeting will focus on the Hunter Tier Lot project.  Separate sessions with each of the proposed developers – Westhab/Washingtonville Housing Alliance and Luna Collective, LLC will be conducted.  Each proposer will be given time to make a presentation and answer questions that had been previously submitted to the Village.  There will not be any questions from the audience at this meeting.

The May 23rd meeting will feature a panel of knowledgeable speakers moderated by Professor Tiffany Zezula, Deputy Director of the Pace University Law School Land Use Center.  The speaker panel will include Westchester County Planning Commissioner Blanca Lopez and others.  Mayor Torres told The Observer that 80% of the questions submitted by residents in February were general questions about housing and affordable housing.  This panel will address those questions.  Again, there will not be any questions from the audience at this meeting.

Both meetings will take place at the Emelin Theatre beginning at 7 pm.  A reservation system will be set up for the 267-seat venue.  More details will be available soon.

Ad Hoc Housing Task Force Appointed

In related news, the Ad Hoc Housing Task Force was formed at the April 8th BOT meeting.  These seven residents will be present at the May meetings and begin their work on June first.  The members are:

            Donyella Bierman

            Jeanhee Chung

            Michelle Goodman

            Jennifer Jacobs Guzman (also the Chair of the Washingtonville Housing Alliance)

            Brian Kerr

            Andrew Potash

            Andrene Smith, Chair