Westchester County has re-established the Westchester Urban County Consortium, freeing up millions in 2019 HUD grant money for the county. Westchester has been ineligible for these grants since 2010, due to the county’s fair housing battle with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The current County Executive, George Latimer, jump started the program making the county eligible to apply for the following federal housing programs:
• Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding, which provides funds to local municipalities and nonprofits for physical facilities and public services;
• The HOME Program, which provides funds to developers of affordable housing; and
• Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) funds that are earmarked to non-profits for homeless and eviction prevention programs.
The Westchester County Planning Department will administer consortium funds and provide member municipalities with technical assistance throughout the application and grant administration process. Cities with a population of more than 50,000 are eligible to apply directly to HUD for these funds—Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, White Plains and Yonkers.
Contact your municipality to see if your non-profit is eligible to participate. Or just…AskHollingsworth.