Harrison REVIEW THE
June 10, 2016 | Vol. 4, Number 24 | www.harrisonreview.com
HUD administrator talks life after settlement the settlement. Leicht said she hopes her department can help Westchester communities set As Westchester County nears ordinances to require developthe end of its seven-year com- ers to build specific numbers of mitment to identify and con- affordable units per overall unit struct affordable housing, two built. She added that, moving representatives from the U.S. forward, much of the departDepartment of Housing and ment’s aim would be education Urban Development’s region- and outreach, with the goal of al office are already working informing the public about the toward building a relationship benefits of affordable housing. Leicht’s strategy would keep a for the future. The county is amid the final dialogue open between county six months of a controversial communities and HUD, even legal settlement with HUD, if Westchester decides to sever in which the county agreed to ties with the department afcreate 750 units of affordable ter the terms of the settlement housing in 31 of its more af- have been fulfilled. But several of the legislators fluent and Caucasian communities and meet specific guide- were fixed on HUD’s requirelines that restrict how many of ment for an analysis of impedithose buildings can be rental ments, AI, a report submitted or senior-living, and where they by the county and its municipalities determining the laws, can be built. But in a meeting with some zonings and restrictions that members of the Board of Legis- deter the fair building of affordlators on Monday, June 6, HUD able housing units. Legislator David Gelfarb, Regional Administrator Holly Leicht focused on building a a Rye Brook Republican, said relationship between HUD and what troubled him most about the county after the settlement the county’s settlement with HUD was the reading of the requirements are completed. “If we get to the end of the analysis of impediments, which settlement and 750 units have he called “Kafkaesque.” As part been built but everybody’s say- of the settlement, the county ing ‘I never want to deal with must submit an AI that HUD the federal government or the finds acceptable before the end federal government’s money of this year. The administration or affordable housing again,’ of County Executive Rob Aswe have not really met our torino, a Republican, has filed goal here,” Leicht told county at least eight separate AIs since 2010, but HUD has disagreed lawmakers. Leicht and Valerie Daniele, with each submission’s finding special assistant to the regional that zoning laws in the county administrator, said their focus were not exclusionary. is on building a future with the HUD continued on page 8 individual municipalities after
By COReY STOCKTON Staff Writer
Superman lives on West Harrison resident Tech. Sgt. Joseph Lemm of the U.S. Air Force was honored with a plaque near the 9/11 Rising memorial at Kensico Dam in Valhalla on June 6. Lemm was killed in action in Afghanistan in December 2015. For more, see page 6. Photo/Bobby Begun
Various factions move to ‘Raise the Age’ on convictions By JaMeS PeRO Staff Writer Statewide pleas to raise New York’s adult conviction age have begun to ruminate in Westchester County, attracting the voices of faith leaders, government officials and advocacy groups alike. And while the campaign— dubbed “Raise the Age,” which aims to increase the adult conviction age of New York state from 16 to 18 years old—has raised eyebrows, New York state
still remains one of only two states in the U.S. with a 16-yearold threshold; the other being North Carolina. Though talks of reforming the age limitation may be somewhat new, the 16-year-old age threshold is anything but. As a part of the Family Court Act, authorized in 1962 along with the creation of a New York state Family Court, children as young as 16 years old have been viewed as adults in the eyes of the state’s criminal justice system.
But now, according to Allison Lake, the deputy director of the nonprofit Westchester Children’s Association, which joined the campaign to raise New York’s conviction age four years ago, that 54-year statute is closer than ever to being overturned, and for youths statewide, the implications, she explained, could be significant. “The research shows us that young people who are involved in the adult criminal justice system are likely to reoffend,” Lake
said. “They are also likely to commit another crime, and at a higher level.” In fact, data from the National Juvenile Justice Network— which consists of juvenile justice reform organizations in 41 states nationwide—suggests that a young offender admitted into an adult correctional facility is 34 percent more likely to be arrested for a violent crime following their initial incident, age continued on page 9