HUD: Astorino must OK new affordable housing rules

Federal officials are calling on Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino to reintroduce legislation he vetoed last year that would require landlords to accept government vouchers as payment for rent.

In a statement issued Monday, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said last Thursday's ruling by Manhattan Federal Judge Denise Cote indicates that Astorino "is failing to comply" with the terms of a 2009 settlement. Cote's 28-page ruling said Astorino's veto violated one of the key provisions of the settlement, which required the county to "promote" legislation that mandates that private property owners accept Section 8 government vouchers.

The settlement also required the county to build 750 affordable housing units in predominantly white communities.

"We expect the county to comply fully with all of its obligations under the consent decree, and we stand ready to act as appropriate to enforce the county's obligations if necessary," U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement.

Ned McCormack, Astorino's spokesman, said Monday that the county will appeal the ruling and has no intention of submitting new legislation on government vouchers until the county has exhausted its legal remedies.

"The county executive is not taking a position against Section 8 vouchers. We use them, but on a voluntary basis," McCormack said. "If a landlord wants to accept them as part of their business model, that's fine. What this is doing is changing the game by forcing everyone to accept them, and we feel that that is not correct."

Legislative chairman Ken Jenkins, a Yonkers Democrat, echoed HUD's calls to resubmit the legislation.

"Westchester needs fair and affordable housing, and providing new homes for our seniors, veterans and young professionals will create hundreds of jobs and strengthen our communities," Jenkins said.

The ruling was the latest twist in the legal saga. A special magistrate upheld Astorino's veto decision in a March 16 ruling, but HUD appealed the decision. Last Thursday's ruling overturned the magistrate's edict.

Astorino, a Republican, argues that the county is fulfilling the terms of the settlement -- with 196 of the required housing units already financed -- but argues that HUD is overreaching its authority by requiring that property owners take Section 8 vouchers for housing and that the county dismantle exclusionary zoning laws in its towns and villages.

HUD officials have withheld about $12 million since last year in affordable housing funding in response to his stance.

Astorino said the county conducted a "thorough review" of zoning laws and found no evidence of exclusionary practices. He said he believes the federal government is trying to "make an example" of the county.