Assemblymember Dana Levenberg, speaking at 5 in 2025 Press Conference in Yonkers, with former Yonkers Council President Chuck Lesnick, Tim Foley and other housing advocates
On September 23, 2024, the Welcome Home Westchester campaign launched an opening salvo and sought to reignite the debate around building the housing we need in advance of the 2025 legislative session in Albany.
In a press conference held in Yonkers steps from the Ludlow Metro North Station, campaign speakers challenged all city, town, and village elected officials throughout Westchester to not wait for state action but instead to commit to taking specific actions to address the housing shortage and an affordability crisis which threatens the health of the local economy and the vibrancy of Westchester County’s communities. They further called on residents and activists in every city, town, and village to insist that their communities be part of the housing solution, and neither to wait for action from Governor Kathy Hochul and the State Legislature, nor to let only a dozen or so communities monopolize the economic benefits, the possibilities of infrastructure funding, and the moral imperative to make Westchester a welcoming community for all who wish to live and work here.
The campaign also unveiled its “5 in 2025” Agenda, highlighting 5 actions that municipalities can take on their own to remove barriers to building the housing needed.
Those five options include:
1-Produce a Housing Action Plan
2-Create a fast track environmental review for sustainable, energy efficient housing and transit oriented development
3-Promote Accessory Dwelling Units, (ADU) and Transit Oriented Development, (TOD)
4-Establish a Core Curriculum for Volunteer Land Use Board Member Training
5-Use the new State provided tools and become a pro-housing community
Read the 5 in 2025 agenda at welcomehomewestchester.org/five-in-25-policy-agenda/
Assemblywoman Dana Levenberg (95th Assembly District), who herself had led efforts to carefully and thoughtfully increase the supply of badly-needed housing as Town Supervisor for Ossining and has proven to be a leader on the Assembly Committee on Housing, said, “New York State needs more housing, but as a former Town Supervisor, I know that a one-size-fits-all approach will not work for every community. No one knows local communities and their unique circumstances better than the residents and leaders of those communities. My colleague, Assemblymember Chris Burdick, and I have drafted housing legislation in consultation with municipal leaders. These bills are intended to help municipalities identify ways they can say yes to more housing in ways that make sense for them, and to support them as they plan to build more housing. I look forward to continuing to work with the Welcome Home Westchester coalition on this important issue.”
Other speakers emphasized that, given the size and dire effects of the housing shortage, every community had a responsibility to choose one of the five elements of the policy agenda and determine what would work for their own community. The other speakers included Michael Romita of Westchester County Association (WCA), Nance Shatzkin of Croton Housing Network, Dr. Kevin Middleton of Acts Church in Yonkers, and Tim Foley of the Building & Realty Institute (BRI).
Michael Romita, President and CEO of Westchester County Association said: “New York’s housing crisis, particularly acute in our suburbs, continues to undermine the health of our economy and the vibrancy of our communities. It will not be magically wished away. Rather, we need our local towns and villages to see past the NIMBY rhetoric and to work with us. Welcome Home Westchester’s ‘Five in ’25’ agenda is positive and straightforward. It asks each community to choose a single action to encourage more housing in a way that makes sense for them. Not everyone can do the same thing, but everyone should do something.”
Tim Foley, CEO of the Building & Realty Institute (BRI), said: “In the world of housing, the buck stops at the local level. Mayors, Supervisors, Trustees, Councilmembers and the dedicated volunteers who make up local land use boards have the ultimate authority on what gets built where, and whether their neighborhoods remain mired in the outdated and inefficient processes that led to the housing shortage crunch or will be welcoming to all who want to live and work here. With our ‘Five in 2025’ we’re highlighting the policies that we know work because they are already working in one of Westchester’s diverse communities without upsetting quality of life or overtaxing our infrastructure. The time to act is now.”
Jan Fisher, Executive Director of Nonprofit Westchester (NPW), said: “Nonprofit Westchester is proud to be part of the Welcome Home Westchester campaign, amplifying the efforts of nonprofits that are tirelessly ensuring the voices of those most affected by the housing crisis—families and individuals in urgent need of affordable housing—are heard. As the voice for Westchester’s nonprofit sector, we are committed to advocating for solutions that provide safe, accessible, and affordable homes for everyone in our community.”
Nance Shatzkin, President of Croton Housing Network, said: “The housing we created in Croton has helped the whole community. It created places for my friends’ parents to move as they aged out of their homes, it brought school kids who have added to our diversity and the experience of all our children, it’s brought volunteers to our fire and social service organizations, and it’s allowed friends of mine to come back to the village they love. And more growth – in your community – will do the same.”
Dr. Kevin Middleton, Pastor of Act Church in Yonkers, said: “The issue of housing is not just about making space for people to live in homes, it’s about first making space for people to live in our hearts. All people deserve to be housed, sheltered, cared for, and protected, and to not give that is a violation of our own humanity.”
The event concluded with a call to action, urging all members of the community and families who are concerned by the crisis to come together and commit to the “5 in 2025” Agenda. The Welcome Home Westchester campaign believes that with concerted effort and community engagement, Westchester County can tackle the housing crisis and build a more inclusive and vibrant future for all its residents and those who wish to live here.
The Welcome Home Westchester campaign is a multi-stakeholder advocacy effort consisting of business and nonprofit leaders, academics, think tanks, faith leaders, and community advocates working together to drive a new public conversation around fixing the housing shortage in Westchester County.
