It would seem that conservationists are snapping up land like crazy.

The victories reveal a green lining of sorts in a credit crisis that has depressed real estate prices, spawned foreclosures and derailed development projects across the nation.

The purchases by conservationists and state and local governments assure that thousands of acres will be put aside in perpetuity for parks, watershed protection or simply preservation of open space.

To protect neighboring property values and prevent health hazards that surround an unkempt, foreclosed home, the bill S66007 would require lending institutions to maintain the property so that it remains in a safe and habitable condition. To protect the tenant, the lending institution that acquires the foreclosed property must notify the tenant at least 90 days before taking legal action. The bill also mandates lending institutions allow tenants to stay in their homes for the remainder of the lease or 90 days after notification, depending on which amount of time is greater.

via SENATE AND ASSEMBLY PASS LANDMARK FORECLOSURE BILL | New York State Senate.

At the federal level they focus on bailing out financial institutions and not homeowners. The result is more despair across the nation. At least in New York State constituents can say that two state senators (Jeff Klein & Liz Kruger) and all those that voted for this bill are looking out for them and not just the banks. It’s fine to help enterprise when needed but you cannot leave the people hanging out to dry.

The race matter reached its peak of controversy late last month when Spano, at a League of Women Voters of Westchester debate, said he thought much of the opposition to the housing settlement — what he dubbed as code words like economics, zoning and home rule — were really covers for racism.

Astorino jumped all over that and demanded an apology; none was forthcoming.

via Astorino ousts Spano in Westchester County Executive race | LoHud.com | The Journal News.

So what is the reason for the opposition to affordable housing initiatives in general? I’ve seen this opposition in Westchester for the longest but I’ve also been aware of it in places like Montgomery County, MD. I don’t think the outgoing County Executive is that far off the mark. I think a lot of it has to do with class more than race however. People are scared of what they don’t know about which is sad but the reality.

The second night, she stayed with a friend, and so it continued for more than a year: Ms. West — mother of three grown children, grandmother to six and great-grandmother to one — passed months on the couches of friends and relatives, and in the front seat of her car.

via Victims of Foreclosure Check In to Shelters – NYTimes.com.

How great is America? We’re so great that we’ll foreclose on great grandmothers, let them live out of their car and sleep on friend’s couches.

For your own sake and for the sake of that city I implore you to take this information to heart.

New York City’s neighborhoods are pockmarked with stalled residential developments. But the pause in construction will most likely be a temporary one. People are still moving to New York–despite the recession–and hundreds of thousands of new housing units will need to be built before supply catches up with demand. The city estimates that we need 265,000 new units by 2030 just to keep up with population growth.

But neighborhood opposition to new development could stall future development in New York City more than the credit crisis. Community members have seen the effects of new luxury development in their neighborhoods: rising rents, gentrification, and displacement. Based on their experience, residents understandably resist rezonings and new condo towers. City Hall must understand that without concrete community benefits, an attempts to increase the pace or scale of new development will be blocked.

This could go for development anywhere in the world actually. Developers are obsessed with building luxury housing above all else. Any new building I see in Northern Virginia & DC is not just your regular apartment buildings they are “luxury apartments.” This simply will not do and if you don’t change your ways then you will most certainly get more push back and obstacles thrown in your way.

This was written by my town supervisor back in Greenburgh, NY. I agree with him 100%. I just read a book about Jane Jacobs and Robert Moses and while I see the good in what Jacobs did in organizing against Moses and protecting Greenwich Village. I also see how at the extreme it can turn into NIMBYism. In the end there is a way to build and develop which should involve the community but at the same time address societal issues that cannot be ignored any longer.

Incentives would make it easier to create affordable housing

September 11, 2009

Paul Feiner

Westchester County officials should consider providing financial incentives to neighborhoods that agree to implement the settlement in the false-claims lawsuit brought by the Anti-Discrimination Center of Metro New York against the county government. The pending agreement calls for the county to build 750 affordable homes or apartments over several years, 630 of which must be provided in towns and villages where black and Hispanic residents make up a small portion of the community. I suggest that County Executive Andrew Spano and the members of the county Board of Legislators schedule a meeting with all the mayors and town supervisors to discuss the implementation of any affordable housing plan.

As a former member of the Housing Committee of the county Board of Legislators and as town supervisor of Greenburgh, I have been very interested in affordable-housing initiatives. In recent decades, most elected officials have supported affordable housing until it’s proposed in their communities. Voters usually support the election of candidates who stand for affordable housing, until the proposed units are recommended in their back ards. The aggressive NIMBY reactions from residents in most communities in Westchester against any affordable housing has resulted in few affordable housing units being built in the county in recent decades.

Recently, the Greenburgh Town Board approved a zoning change to allow for workforce housing in the Fulton Park neighborhood. Although the housing is going to be situated across the street from a deli, a Verizon office building and office-supply store, many residents came out against the proposal. They also motivated other civic associations within the town to oppose the project. The location of this complex is ideal for affordable housing – within walking distance from downtown White Plains, the train station and Central Avenue. The site was previously used for homeless housing and, before that, it was a sleazy hotel. If an affordable-housing proposal for working people at this location is controversial, it is not unreasonable to assume that there will be significant opposition to all the units of housing that are proposed by the county – no matter where they are located.

If the county enters into a stipulation with the federal government and promises to build affordable housing within the county, it is important that a plan be implemented to reduce neighborhood opposition. If neighborhoods receive benefits should housing be placed in their community, members of the community might reluctantly support the housing instead of fighting it.

The county should consider offering to acquire and pay for additional open space in the immediate neighborhoods impacted by the housing units. Another financial incentive that should be considered: The county should pay for the costs of educating the additional children who will be attending the public schools. Perhaps, additional grants could be made by the county to the affected school district to provide enhancements for other students (such as free SAT preparation courses). Other financial incentives to neighborhoods that are affected by any stipulation should be considered.

Some people might suggest that it’s unfair for the county to reward neighborhoods that accept affordable housing. I disagree. Neighborhoods are accepting a social responsibility that other neighborhoods don’t want. The bottom line: The county should make affordable housing so appealing to neighborhoods that residents feel that their property values will go up because they will receive amenities not available to others if the housing is placed near them. Maybe we can make affordable housing so appealing that communities will compete for the privilege of having affordable housing within their boundaries.

Obviously, if this kind of agreement is implemented, a legal agreement will have to be approved. The state attorney general’s office and the state comptroller’s office should be asked to sign off on the plan.

Two other suggestions: The county should encourage school districts with surplus property to consider building affordable housing for teachers and staff on their campuses. Some prestigious private schools in Westchester already do this. This could be a win-win for everyone – the school is able to attract better teachers, because it can offer teachers affordable housing on campus, and students benefit because teachers can help students excel with their studies after hours.

And the county should consider promoting affordable housing near train stations. Most communities have parking shortages. The lack of commuter parking in Westchester is a problem that can be partially addressed if combined with affordable housing.

When I was still living in Westchester County, NY two years ago (I’m now in DC) one of the major concerns of the Westchester/Putnam Working Families Party chapter was affordable housing in the county. It would now appear thanks to a lawsuit filed by the Anti-Discrimination Center and with help from the Obama administration, affordable housing may now become a reality in Westchester.

Westchester County entered into a landmark desegregation agreement on Monday that would compel it to create hundreds of houses and apartments for moderate-income people in overwhelmingly white communities and aggressively market them to nonwhites in Westchester and New York City.

The agreement, if ratified by the county’s Board of Legislators, would settle a lawsuit filed by an antidiscrimination group and could become a template for increased scrutiny of local governments’ housing policies by the Obama administration.

“This is consistent with the president’s desire to see a fully integrated society,” said Ron Sims, the deputy secretary of housing and urban development, which helped broker the settlement along with the Justice Department. “Until now, we tended to lay dormant. This is historic, because we are going to hold people’s feet to the fire.”

This was always a major problem and it never had to be this way. People deserve an opportunity to move up in the world and on to better things. Westchester County is full of opportunity that everyone should have the chance to partake in. At least now there will be some progress towards a more equal county for everyone. I hope that the County Board of Legislators will ratify the agreement. The board is a progressive one so the future does look bright.

When I was a teenager in the Bronx after my father died when I was fourteen. My mother saved up our Social Security survivor’s benefits and worked at the US Post Office to pay the bills. She was eventually able to put a down payment on a co-op apartment in Hartsdale, NY–where she still lives today– and get a 30-yr mortgage. The co-op board of our building accepted us and approved of us as owners. Because of that opportunity I was exposed to a much better environment from the one I was surrounded by in the Bronx. It was in the school system of the Town of Greenburgh that I discovered my love of civic issues and public policy.

So you see I’m quite adamant about opportunity for everyone. I want people to have that same chance for their families. Hopefully we’ll see tons of new families move into the county and reinvigorate it while at the same time diversifying it and bringing a fresh perspective to all things Westchester.

This has got to the most depressing thing I’ve seen today anywhere. I happened to see this on The Nation website and got to learn more about the American News Project as well. It’s good to see something like the ANP happening and they are in the area on 17th Street NW DC .

This is really amazing to say the least. Hat tip to Mother Jones and the MoJoBlog for pointing this out.

publish.nyc.indymedia.org | Images from Tenants Rally for Affordable Housing

Tenants and allies from across New York City gathered in Harlem on a rainy Wednesday, October 1 to demand “Real Rent Reform” amid the housing crisis. October 1 was Day 1 of new rent hikes for over 1 million rent stabilized apartments, at a time when New Yorkers face rising prices, falling wages, cutbacks and layoffs. Tenant activists came with 4 demands: Reinstate Home Rule over Rent & Eviction Rules. Repeal Vacancy Decontrol. Reform the Rent Guidelines Board. Save Affordable Housing in the Mitchell-Lama and Section 8 Projects.

I really don’t know what’s going to happen to working-poor and middle class people all over this country. Where are they all going to go once they can’t afford to live where they are now?