(WHITE PLAINS, NY) Westchester County Board of Legislators Majority Leader Catherine Borgia released the following statement on the County Executive’s announcement on the Federal Housing Settlement:

“I congratulate the 31 Westchester communities named in the housing settlement for their hard work in improving and expanding housing options for residents in compliance with the 2008 Affordable Housing Settlement, now the real work needs to be done to ensure that Westchester County understands and plans for an adequate housing stock that can fill the current and future needs of all of our residents.

“I’m encouraged that the County Executive will no longer be able to use this housing settlement as a politically divisive way to further his personal ambitions and that taxpayer money will no longer be spent on lawyers fighting with the Federal Government, the end of the settlement is a perfect opportunity to conduct a true, fact-based Housing Needs Assessment to determine the types of housing needs to be built to meet the changing needs of our county.

“This is why the Democratic Caucus has added funds to conduct a comprehensive Housing Needs Assessment in the 2016 and 2017 budgets. Westchester County has an aging population and has become more economically diverse. We also seek solutions on how to attract and keep our young professionals in the county.  We need to utilize smart data to make sure we can meet housing for seniors, young professionals, and new families in order to increase our economic growth and viability.

“It is positive news that Westchester County is no longer found in violation of laws aimed to curb discrimination in housing, but it is now time to make sure that going forward we construct housing that has the best interests of all Westchester taxpayers in mind.”