On Tuesday night we made Westchester a better place by passing my bill to ban wild and exotic animals from performing anywhere in the County. The vote of the Board of Legislators was unanimous [https://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/westchester/2020/04/15/westchester-county-circus-ban-animals-elephants-tigers/5138486002/]. We can still have entertaining circuses with amazing human performers, while marking ourselves as a community that has evolved in our understanding of animals as sentient beings who can feel pain when they undergo inhumane training, transportation and breeding practices.
At that same meeting we showed our faith in a better future by committing $5,000,000 from County Housing Implementation Fund II to help build three structures, just south of Lincoln Park in New Rochelle: 11-story rental apartment building, with 179 units of various sizes, at the current location of the Remington Boys & Girls Club; parking garage with 376 spaces; and a new, state-of-the art facility to host the Boys & Girls Club.
This is an “all-affordable” building, geared toward households having incomes in the range of about $35,000 to $95,000. Affordability will be sustained by law for at least 50 years. The location is walking distance to much mass transit, the public library and other downtown attractions, as well as about a dozen houses of worship. The concept of this development arose from a collaboration of local clergy and other civic leaders, and construction will be executed by the NRP Group, a national real estate organization that has built over 35,000 units of housing and manages almost 20,000 units.