On September 23, 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 front of 70 Pier Street, a multi-family transit-oriented development 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. Each policy is already making a difference in suburban communities around the country – including those that have been productive partners in building more housing right here in Westchester.
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, joined campaign speakers to offer her thoughts on what progress is possible in Albany.
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).
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.”
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.
