Flooding prep, highway fixes: 4 things to know about Westchester County's budget

Asher Stockler, New York State Team
·3 min read
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On Tuesday, Westchester County Executive George Latimer announced his proposed $474 million capital budget for 2024, covering sewer and water maintenance, housing, the airport and other county-funded infrastructure.

"This budget is my sixth budget, and it includes investments in affordable housing, electric vehicles [and] charging infrastructure," he said at a press conference. "It has Bronx River Parkway rehabilitation, it has bridges and roads that are going to be repaved and fixed, and the Westchester County Center improvements and also flood mitigation. It's a wide range of different issues that we're dealing with."

Westchester County Executive George Latimer announced his proposed 2024 Capital Budget at the Westchester County Office Building Oct. 17, 2023. With Latimer was Larry Soule, Budget Director, left; Joan McDonald, Director of Operations; and Ken Jenkins, Deputy County Executive.
Westchester County Executive George Latimer announced his proposed 2024 Capital Budget at the Westchester County Office Building Oct. 17, 2023. With Latimer was Larry Soule, Budget Director, left; Joan McDonald, Director of Operations; and Ken Jenkins, Deputy County Executive.

Here are four takeaways from Latimer's proposal:

Affordable housing

Latimer is proposing the investment of $100 million for affordable housing projects across the county. $50 million of those dollars were provided by the federal government through the American Rescue Plan Act, one of the COVID-19-era stimulus bills.

The remaining share of the $100 million will be used towards the development of at least 750 affordable units, per the county's legal settlement with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development over allegations that the county repeatedly violated fair housing laws.

The fair housing funds will be used for the development of new units, acquisition of real estate and other related costs.

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Flood mitigation

The proposed 2024 budget would allocate $49 million for flood mitigation projects across the county. Latimer acknowledged that the actual cost needed to fully fund flood mitigation efforts could be ten times greater than the proposed amount, adding that "we desperately need the state and the federal government's resources, which are far superior to ours, if we're going to make the improvements that we need."

A pedestrian slashed across White Plains Road in the Village of Mamaroneck Sept. 29, 2023. Heavy rains caused flooding throughout the region.
A pedestrian slashed across White Plains Road in the Village of Mamaroneck Sept. 29, 2023. Heavy rains caused flooding throughout the region.

$18 million of those dollars will be applied to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' project at the Mamaroneck and Sheldrake River basins. Latimer pegged the total cost of that project at $100 million.

"Our continued commitment to the environment and mitigation of climate change is evidenced in this budget," said Peter McCartt, the county's director of energy conservation and sustainability. "At the same time, due to the rising waters and unprecedented storms, building resiliency for our wastewater treatment plants and other facilities is another cornerstone to this budget."

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Electric vehicle charging

Included in the proposed budget is $25 million for electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Twenty million will be used to install charging stations and an additional $5 million will be given to municipalities to bolster local charging infrastructure.

Westchester residents own a disproportionate share of the electric vehicles currently on the road. While 6% of registered gas-powered vehicles in New York have a Westchester County address, that number climbs to 10% for electric vehicles, according to state data.

Roads and bridges

A substantial portion of the roads and bridges budget will be spent on the rehabilitation of the Bronx River Parkway, which is owned by the county. The proposed 2024 budget allocates $19 million towards these rehab efforts, which are expected to give the parkway's asphalt a lifespan of 15 to 20 years.

Cars get stuck in rising flood waters on the southbound Bronx River Parkway on the Yonkers/Bronxvllle border, Sept. 29, 2023.
Cars get stuck in rising flood waters on the southbound Bronx River Parkway on the Yonkers/Bronxvllle border, Sept. 29, 2023.

Roads slated for investment or improvement include Murray Avenue in Mamaroneck, Westchester Avenue in White Plains/Harrison, Old Mamaroneck Road in White Plains, Columbus Avenue in Mount Pleasant and Seven Bridges Road in New Castle.

The Tuckahoe Road Bridge in Yonkers and Route 22 over Armonk Road in North Castle were also slated for further investment.

Asher Stockler is a reporter for The Journal News and the USA Today Network New York. You can find him on Twitter at @quasiasher or send him an email at astockler@lohud.com. Reach him securely: asher.stockler@protonmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Westchester County NY budget: 4 things to know