Westchester County has won a round in its fight with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development over fair and affordable housing.
A federal magistrate ruled in favor of the county, saying that the HUD monitor overseeing the court settlement erred by withholding federal grants to local communities as a means of pushing the county on certain controversial issues.
Today, County Executive Rob Astorino called on the feds to immediately release the $7 million they've been withholding. Read the full story here.
The money belongs to local communities; it's a part of the Community Development Block Grant program.
HUD and the county have been sparring over HUD's decision to demand the county take to push rich, white communities to permit or even assist affordable housing in neighborhoods where expensive homes are the norm.
Specifically, the magistrate ruled that "Courts must abide by the express terms of a consent decree and may not impose supplementary obligations on the parties even to fulfill the purposes of the decree more effectively."
See Astorino's presentation here.
