County Provides Affordable Housing Plan to HUD
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Westchester County has sent its implementation plan to HUD and the federal monitor in response to the fair and affordable housing lawsuit.
The County received several extensions on filing the plan, which was originally due in October 2009 citing the “enormity” of the task of defining a methodology and process for development of 750 units and extensive community outreach.
The plan that was issued does not indicate where the affordable housing will be built, but outlines a process for decision-making and discusses financing, criteria for site selection, income requirements for residents of the units and advertising and outreach to ensure that the units are marketed to a racially and ethnically diverse population.
How will the County work with local municipalities who all have zoning codes in place? According to the plan, “The materials produced by the County are not intended to operate as a fully-integrated zoning code or to otherwise act as a substitute for those long-standing codes. Rather, what has been produced are a series of zoning provisions which are intended, collectively, to serve as a supplement to existing municipal zoning codes in Westchester County municipalities for the purpose of ensure the provision and promotion and affordable housing development.”
Local governments will be asked to adopt policies promoting fair and affordable housing in exchange for future county funds for Legacy/Open space and Community Development Block Grants (CDBG). Specifically, the plan requires the County to establish a policy where they set aside funds and resources for municipalities that consent to 1) ban housing that does not create affordable units, 2) provide the County with a right of first refusal to retain or purchase land and 3) provide assistance to the implementation of the settlement through land use regulations and other affirmative measures.
Within the plan are the criteria the County will consider in identifying potential sites for affordable housing construction. The plan in its entirety can be viewed here but here are a few of the Country priorities for site selection:
-Properties in default or subject to foreclosure that have been stalled or abandoned
-Private and public properties currently proposed for development that meet the program objectives
-Vacant properties, especially those in town centers in the “Eligible Municipalities”
-Improved properties that appear to be suitable
-Publicly owned sites
-County-owned property
-Sites suitable for Transit Oriented Development
-Accessory apartments – whereby homeowners would receive incentives for creating affordable units in communities that have accessory apartment regulations or are willing to adopt regulations
-Improved properties currently for sale with market prices at or near the “affordability standard.”
Other provisions in the plan provide maximum occupancy for the units, depending on the size as well as the income requirements for residents at both rental and purchased units. The maximum occupancy for a two-bedroom unit is five people, and a three-bedroom unit can be occupied by up to seven residents.
The plan also outlines benchmarks for completion of the housing to guarantee that the County does not wait until the end of the seven-year period to comply. Here are the deadlines for securing financing and building permits for the 750 units from 2011 – 2016:
End of Year Sites with Financing Units with Building Permits
2011 100 50
2012 200 125
2013 300 225
2014 450 350
2015 600 525
2016 750 750
In order to comply with the statistical and analytical work required by HUD, the County determined that they would need to hire a consultant. None of the consultants recommended by HUD could complete the required work by the January 31, 2010 deadline so HUD issued an extension for the work to June 30, 2010. The County has selected W. Frank Newton, Inc. to produce the work required by HUD in the settlement plan for which he will be paid $97,000.
According to the Westchester County website, the next step is for a plan review by the federal monitor in consultation with HUD to determine it’s adequacy.
Review the entire plan here: http://www.westchestergov.com/housingsettlement
A Burglary, An Arrest and A Protest: The Police Report
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Burglary: Old Lyme Road residents returned home around 6 PM on 1/18 and heard noises in the house. They quickly realized those sounds were footsteps from intruders in their house. When they heard someone coming downstairs the residents ran out through the garage and then heard a car drive off. A visiting uncle saw at least one white man drive off in a tan car towards Weaver Street. The vandals had entered through a door that leads to the garage and rummaged through most of the bedrooms. They kicked in a locked bedroom door to gain access and also went up to the attic. Though the victims have not put together a complete list of stolen items, jewelry was missing. The incident is being investigated by the Scarsdale Police.
Arrest: While on burglary patrol in Edgemont on Friday night 1/22, Greenburgh Police noted a suspicious car near Sheridan and Clayton Roads. The dark colored car had Connecticut plates and two men were sitting inside. Police watched the car and subsequently stopped it. One of the men in the car was found to have marijuana. The man, a twenty year-old Scarsdale resident, was arrested and charged with criminal possession of marijuana in the 4th degree. He was booked and given a court date to appear at the Town of Greenburgh Court on February 2nd.
Another Theft at LF: Three women came into LF, brought items into the dressing room to try on and left without buying anything at 4 pm on 1/23. When the store manager went into the dressing room, she noticed that a black tank top, valued at $78 was missing. Police did see the three ladies drive away in their car and will follow-up.
Protestors: A small group of anti-war protestors were holding a sign in front of Shaarei Tikvah Synagogue on the morning of 1/23. Police received a complaint and when they arrived, the protestors had already left.
Threatening Calls: A Wayside Road woman received three phone calls last week from a man who identified himself as “Mr. James.” He called her by her first name and told her that he had a package of $2.5 million dollars to deliver to her. When she replied that she was going to call the police the caller said, “I’m going to swipe your bank card and wipe you out, f*&@% you!”
Missing Computer: A Southwoods Lane woman reported that her MacBook laptop was taken out of her car on or about January 7, 2010.
Quiet Please: Residents from Brookby Road, Mohican Trail and Secor Road all called the police to complain about loud music coming from the direction of the Fenway Golf Club on Saturday night 1/23. Police went to the club where the manager explained that they were hosting a party with outdoor music and agreed to keep the music at an acceptable noise level. At midnight, the club ended the party.
Loud Customer: On Sunday morning1/24 an employee of Lulu’s called police to ask them to help her get a very loud customer to leave the bakery. The customer left without further ado.
Dog Hit: A White Plains man driving north on the Post Road on January 18th was unable to avoid a dog who ran into the road in front of 1183 Post Road. The dog’s owner was at home and ran out to get the dog and took him to the animal hospital. Since the dog was not on a leash the owner was issued a summons for a “Dog at Large.”
Cars Collide: A car driving south on Brite Avenue collided with a car going east on Olmstead Road at 8 am on 1/22. The driver on Olmstead Road failed to stop at the stop sign. John Cotter of Brite Avenue, was taken to White Plains Hospital.
Stuck: Early Monday morning 1/25 an 18-wheel tractor trailer got stuck on the median of Ardsley Road near Depot Place. Greenburgh Police arrived to direct traffic and help to move the trailer.
Identity Thefts:
An unknown man opened a Nordstrom account in the name of a Sheldrake Road resident and charged $1,800 of merchandise in Townsend, Maryland and another $1,800 at Nordstrom’s in McLean, Virginia. In addition, the Barney’s fraud department called the man to let him know that someone had attempted to open a Barney’s account using his personal information.
A similar complaint came in from a Franklin Road resident, also on 1/23. She received a call from Barclay’s bank to verify an application for instant credit that had been completed at an Apple store. Luckily the culprit provided the wrong birth date and the application was turned down. Next a loss prevention supervisor from Bloomingdales in Wayne, N.J. got in touch with her to say that a heavy-set black woman in her mid-twenties was attempting to purchase $3,000 in merchandise using a copy of the Scarsdale residents driver’s license, but no Bloomingdales charge. The imposter was detained at Bloomingdales until the Wayne, NJ police arrived to deal with her.
AT&T notified a Horseguard Road resident that she had an unpaid balance of $708 on an account that was opened in her name in September, 2006 and remained open for 2 and a half weeks. A Philadelphia address was given for the account. The victim had no idea who opened the account and accrued the charges.
Disputes:
An unhappy worker came to a Park Road house on 1/21 to complain that she was owed two days pay from the family. Police went to the home and were able to resolve the dispute.
An unknown caller reported a fight at the high school in the Brewster Road parking lot on the afternoon of 1/22. When police arrived they did find a group of students but all claimed that they had not seen a fight.
From the Police - Child Pornography Found and More
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Disturbing photos of child pornography were found scattered on the lawn of a Heathcote Road home on January 6th. The property owner found one image as well as a list of contact names from a local school when he was picking up trash that had blown onto his lawn. When police arrived they searched the property and found five more photographs in the bushes and along the road. As the material was found on top of the snow, police suspect they were scattered there sometime after the last significant snow storm on January 1st. Police spoke with neighbors who were not able to supply any additional information. The materials were taken to the Westchester County Crime Lab for DNA testing.
A customer at CVS on Popham Road on the evening of 1/10 saw three men enter the store, and put merchandise in their pockets. They left the store quickly, without paying. The manager replayed the video surveillance tape that showed three black men enter the store carrying nothing, and two minutes later, leaving with a duffel bag. The store reported that almost $300 of merchandise was stolen.
Another CVS customer was parked in the underground lot beneath the store and misplaced her parking ticket on January 7th. She was unable to get the car out of the garage without the ticket and called the police for assistance.
Beer cans were found on the lawn of a Rodney Road home on January 7th and the residents heard noises during the previous night. There was no damage but police agreed to drive by and monitor the house.
A Cambridge Road woman reported that her platinum wedding ring, valued at $7,100 was missing from her home and had been taken sometime between December 19th and December 23rd. There was no sign of forced entry to the house and nothing else was missing.
Raymond Christopher Brown of Sayre, PA turned himself in at Village Hall on 1/6. There was an outstanding warrant for his arrest for driving without a license and he had missed his court appearance on 12/30. At Village Hall he was searched and placed in custody. Police arrived and transported him to Police Headquarters where he was processed and released on $250.00 bail. A new court date was set for 1/13.
A Brite Avenue resident was issued a summons for leaving the scene of an accident. The man was backing out of his driveway on January 6th when he struck a parked car, but he did not stop to investigate or report the accident. He claims he thought he hit a utility pole but in fact he hit another car.
A woman who lives on Reimer Road locked herself out of her home on January 5th. She called a locksmith to help her get back in, but the locksmith refused to open the door without seeing proper identification from the homeowner. Police vouched for the woman’s identity and the locksmith let her back in.
Police were summoned when a Greenburgh man told a Brite Avenue woman “he was going to kill himself tonight.” The Scarsdale police notified Greenburgh police.
Just after midnight on 1/10, a Kingston Road man was dropped off at home by a cab he had taken from the White Plains Station. When the man paid the driver, the driver did not give him back his change. When the passenger asked for the change, the driver got angry, grabbed the man by his jacket and told him "to get out of his “f***ing cab.” The driver was described as black male with an accent, possibly Jamaican, about 5’9”, dressed in black with short-cropped hair. The passenger provided a license plate number but a check by police found no plate on file with that number. The passenger does not wish to press charges.
A Hillview Road resident got stuck in an elevator in her own home on January 11th. Police arrived on the scene and were able to get her out.
Thefts, Fights and Inappropriate Behavior
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Incident at the Chateaux: RJT Tow Service was in the process of putting a boot on an illegally parked car at 11:15 on the night of 1/15 when an angry man emerged from building 4 or 5. The man yelled, “You’re not booting my car; take it off or I’ll run you over.” The man, who was described as a white man, in his 
mid-fifties wearing a trench coat, then got into his 2008 Toyota 4-Runner and attempted to leave the scene. In the process he did about $1,000 worth of damage to the boot that was already partially mounted on the tire. The owner of the 4-Runner was accompanied by another man who got into a Mercedes Benz that was parked in front of the 4-Runner and moved the Mercedes to allow the subject to flee. Though police searched the area, they were unable to find the two cars that fled the scene. However they took statements from witnesses and are continuing to look for the subject who could be charged with criminal mischief for damaging the boot and menacing the RJT Tow Service operator.
Theft at LF: The manager of the LF Store on Boniface Circle called police when a witness told her that she saw a customer stuffing black leather shorts into her jacket. The suspect then left the store with her two companions without paying for the shorts. Police arrived and found the woman crouched next to her white Audi that was parked in front of Weber Art on Boniface Circle. She was emptying the merchandise from her coat and putting it into the front seat of her car. She then walked around the car and put another piece of merchandise next to the tire of a Toyota Suburban that was parked to the left of the Audi. When the three women noticed the police they broke into a run toward Spencer Place. Additional police units were summoned and the women were stopped on Harwood Court at Spencer Place.
The suspect was identified as Georgia Farquharson and she was placed under arrest and taken to the police station. The stolen items were recovered and included two pair of black leather shorts, valued at $312 each and a black leather vest with a price tag of $348.00. The two companions were released and the defendant was arraigned before Judge Galloway who set a court date for 1/20 and let her go.
Risque Business: A woman who worked for two years as a caregiver on Richbell Road, came to police headquarters on January 15th accompanied by a representative from the Westchester Victims Assistance Service. Joy Forbis-Speth, the caregiver, told police that she was the recipient of inappropriate comments from a man who also works at the home and has been employed there for eleven years. She stated that in November, 2009 he said, “With a body like that I bet other women are jealous of you.” He also said “You are too skinny, I like women with more meat on their bones,” and “Why don’t you bring your swimsuit and I will rub oil on you and give you a massage?” He also sent her emails, where he addressed her as “Joy Skinny Butt” and tried to show her pornographic emails. A few weeks later he began exposing himself to her and walked into the hallway naked from the waist down.
Police went to the home, spoke to the man and advised him of the harassment complaint. The man claimed that he accidentally dropped the towel around his waist when he exposed himself, recognized that his behavior was inappropriate and apologized to Ms. Forbis. The complainant decided not to file charges but wants the incidents documented.
Car Accidents: On the afternoon of 1/14, a 79 year-old Greenacres man was backing out of his driveway on Brite Avenue when he claims that his foot got stuck on the accelerator. His 1994 Toyota backed up into two cars. In a panic, the man put the car into drive, and drove over the lawn and bushes of his neighbor’s property, finally stopping when he hit the neighbor’s home at 123 Brite Avenue. Damage was sustained to the two parked cars, the lawn, the garden and the brick façade of the house.
A two car collision took place at the intersection of Boulevard and Nelson Road on 1/14 around 6 pm. The driver of a car travelling down Boulevard hit a car turning onto Boulevard from Nelson Road. Miyava Chapman from Yonkers had to be removed from her car by the Scarsdale Volunteer Ambulance Corps and was taken to the hospital in an ambulance.
Drive to prayer? A NYC cab was reported parked outside of Hitchcock Church on the afternoon of 1/13 and the driver was praying on a mat on the sidewalk!
Stray foot: The Scardale Fire Department got a call from an unknown witness on the afternoon of 1/16 to reported that a foot was "sticking out of the pond" across from Hitchcock Church. When firemen arrived they found a plastic foot sitting about 20 feet into the pond on thin ice.
Missing Daughters: There were two reports of missing daughters this week. A Murray Hill Road woman called police at 11 PM on 1/13 to report that her sixteen year-old daughter had not returned home from school. Though the girl had attended school that day she had left her cell phone and wallet at home. The woman told police that her daughter had run away on two previous occasions but had later been found with her boyfriend in the Bronx. The girl subsequently returned home on her own.
In another incident, a grown daughter had returned to Scarsdale to stay with her family. The 41 year-old woman went into the city on the evening of 1/16 and when she had not returned by 2 am on 1/17, her parents got worried and notified the police. The woman was later located by the MTA police when she took the train back from the city.
Identity Theft: A Chateaux Circle resident was notified by the Woori Bank that fraudulent charges had been made to his credit card last May in Sudan. A Jefferson Road man got a call from AT&T on 1/13 to say that two additional phone lines were added to his AT&T wireless account, one added on 1/7 and the other on 1/11. Since these were not his accounts he was advised to contact the police. And last, a Fenimore Road man got a call from Saks Fifth Avenue on 1/13 to let him know that someone had charged $481 in merchandise at Saks Fifth Avenue on his Amex Card. Since he hadn’t been to Saks, he was also instructed to file a report with the police.
Vandalism: The door handle to the new Christie Place garage was damaged and the door was scratched. It appeared that the vandal used a tool to pry the door handle off of the mounting. The incident occurred sometime between the afternoon of 1/13 and the morning of 1/14.
Car Trouble: Just before midnight on 1/16 Claremont Road residents found a man sitting in the passenger seat of their car, which was parked unlocked in their driveway. The homeowner confronted the man who said, “I’m hungry, I’m hungry” and got out of the car and fled. Police canvassed the area to look for the intruder who was described as a black male, possibly in his early thirties. No damage was done to the car and nothing was stolen.
The next day, a neighbor on Claremont Road found that his car had also been entered on the previous night. His 2009 BMW X5 was parked in the driveway and someone entered it and took his iPhone, phone adaptor and Blackberry charger valued at $320.00. Police suspect the two incidents are related and are investigating.
A Chesterfield Road teen left his 1999 Subaru in the parking lot of the Fox Meadow School at 11 PM on 1/17. When police checked the lot just after midnight on 1/18 they found the car with the back doors open. They noticed that both rear view mirrors had been broken off and taken. Police notified the boy’s father who confirmed that the car was in good condition when his son parked it and he had no knowledge of who might have damaged the car.
Gas Leak: Con Edison found a gas leak on Cushman Road on 1/17 and needed to get into the house at 50 Cushman to shut off the service to the house. The fire department got in through an unlocked window and the homeowner returned home and was advised of the situation.
News From the Scarsdale Police
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A joy ride for three 17 year-old White Plains boys turned into serious trouble in the early hours of Monday January 4th. At 2 am a Scarsdale officer doing speed enforcement clocked a gray BMW going 73 m.p.h. down the Post Road, which has a speed limit of 30 m.p.h. Moreover, the headlights were off and the car had no license plates.
The officer stopped the car at the intersection of Burgess Road and the Post Road and three boys jumped out of the car. They all ran but police were able to stop two nearby. The boys were brought in for questioning and later that day the third suspect was tracked down by White Plains police.
The 2004 BMW 330 had been stolen from the Pepe Infiniti car dealership in White Plains and the boys were charged with criminal possession of stolen property and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.
In other news from the Scarsdale Police:
A Garth Road resident returned home to his apartment on January 2nd to find that the locks had been changed. The man was subletting the apartment at 30 Garth Road from a Greenacres resident. The tenant got in touch with the landlord of the building who had no knowledge of the change in locks but was able to give the tenant access to the apartment. When the tenant went inside the apartment he found that all of his possessions, including his clothing and cell phone were gone. Apparently, the man who held the lease on the apartment wanted him out!
The Greenacres resident who changed the locks and removed the tenant's possessions was changed with criminal tampering, burglary, criminal trespassing and grand larceny.
A Greenacres resident turned in her deceased husband's gun to Scarsdale Police. The Colt 42 firearm was given to the police for safekeeping on December 28, 2009.
Another Greenacres resident returned home from vacation on 12/28 to find that someone had driven her BMW without her permission. The gas level was lower than it was when she left and she wanted to make a report to the police.
Police received a report of a loud group of teens congregating on Cartesan Road around 10 pm on the night of 12/28. They found nine boys on the street, one who was holding a can of beer. Since the boy was only 16 he was issued an appearance ticket for a violation and charged with possession of an alcoholic beverage with the intent to consume by a person under the age of 21.
Police received a report that a woman lost control of her car when she was putting on her gloves while driving on December 29. According to her report, she hit a parked car at Putnam and Huntington Roads, and flipped over in her 4-door Chevrolet sedan. Miraculously she was not injured.
The daughter of a Sherbrooke Park resident reports that jewelry is missing from the home of her now-deceased mother. The elderly woman was under the care of hospice workers and the matter is now under investigation.
A Foxhall Road homeowner found some interesting items in his driveway on the morning of January 3rd. He called police when he noticed four pumpkins, three Christmas trees and three traffic cones at his home. Luckily no damage had been done.
