White Plains / Greenburgh Branch NAACP

February 24, 2013 Email: michael.lostritto@chamber.state.ny.us, gov.cuomo@chambers.state.ny.us, The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo Governor of New York State NYS State Capitol Building Albany, NY 12224 Dear Governor Cuomo: I am writing on behalf of the White Plains/Greenburgh communities possibly affected by the demolition of the WestHELP apartments currently located on the campus of Westchester Community College. The Town of Greenburgh is in violation of the lease agreement made in 1990 with the County of Westchester, yet they are now requesting that the property be made available through a new lease to a school, Ferncliff Manor, which intends to tear down the apartments built at taxpayer expense. This is a tremendous disservice and violation of the community people who are in dire need of housing. The WestHELP facility was built in controversy as a single neighborhood threatened to secede from the Town of Greenburgh rather than accept diversity and contribute to the assistance of less fortunate citizens. Under the agreement struck in 1991, Greenburgh has control of the county-owned apartments until 2031 if they were rented to serve low and moderate-income tenants. Over the past eleven months, Paul Feiner, Town Supervisor, has been promoting a plan to demolish the apartments so Ferncliff Manor could build a school for the severely developmentally disabled. He has pitted the disabled against the poor and disenfranchised to please a small group. Meanwhile, the units are deteriorating as the Town abrogates its duty to its people and obligation under the lease to provide residential housing. During your years as a housing advocate, you helped forge the bipartisan agreement that brought about the construction of this WestHELP homeless complex. You had the benevolent leadership to see that providing the housing for those who needed it most, the homeless, was a moral duty balanced by the bargain that Westchester taxpayers would receive a complex of rental housing to serve low and moderate income tenants when the 10 years of the shelter ended. It was a good bargain then and it is a good bargain now but for the divisiveness of the same entities that would pit those interests against those of the disabled.

1 Prospect Avenue , White Plains, NY 10607

(914) 682-5998

White Plains / Greenburgh Branch NAACP

This branch of the NAACP stands firm now as it did then. When Rob Astorino, the current County Executive, declared WestHELP was no longer needed, the remainder of the agreement required making the rentals available for low and moderate income tenants for the next 20 years. This should be enforced. Why then, would the state use more taxpayer dollars and aid in the demolition of this $20 million property? It is fiscally foolish and morally wrong. We appeal to your spirit of advocacy as well as your ability to see through this cloud of inept management to prevent this saga of waste from continuing. We thank you for your consideration.

"A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history."
- Mohandas Gandhi Sincerely,

Lena Anderson
Lena Anderson, Branch President Cc: Andrea Stewart Cousins David Buchwald Amy Paulin

1 Prospect Avenue , White Plains, NY 10607

(914) 682-5998