Peekskill Council Spars Over Affordable Housing Ordinance
The Peekskill Common Council is getting close to inviting public input on a proposed affordable housing ordinance, despite differences on what the law should address.
During a work session last week, councilmembers were presented with some revisions to the legislation, one of which would require developers to only set aside 10% of new housing units at so-called affordable housing levels.
The median income for households in Westchester County is $125,000, but in Peekskill, the median income is only $57,000.
Councilwoman Vanessa Agudelo, who is running for reelection on a slate called ‘Progress 4 Peekskill’ that has insisted the city is facing a housing affordability crisis that is creating financial hardships for residents and pricing out many others, raised the most objections to the draft ordinance.
“It’s a watered-down version of what could have been a very strong piece of legislation,” Agudelo argued. “We have a huge population that’s severely rent-burdened. We need to focus on the immediate urgency. We have to seriously look at something more than 10%. The disparity will continue to grow.”
Councilwoman Vivian McKenzie, who is the mayoral candidate for the Democratic-endorsed ticket, disagreed with Agudelo’s assessment of the ordinance, maintaining it would benefit households with incomes ranging from $35,000 to $136,000.
“We’re trying to put in a plan that will help as many people as possible in our city,” said McKenzie, who noted she also favored an option where developers would be mandated to pay $125,000 per unit instead of providing the required affordable dwellings.
Mayor Andre Rainey said he echoed McKenzie’s sentiments, while Councilman Dwight Douglas pushed to advance the legislation to the city’s Planning Commission for its review.
“We provide a lot of affordable housing. We just need to focus on specific housing,” Douglas said. “This has been on our plate for over a year. It’s time to get this out to the public.”
After the Planning Commission puts in its two cents, the ordinance will be referred back to the Common Council, which will then set a public hearing.
“There’s a lot of things I think we can find for Peekskill residents,” said Councilman Ramon Fernandez. “I would like to move forward on this thing.”
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
