December 16, 2016 by The Eastchester Review

Eastchester REVIEW THE

December 16, 2016 | Vol. 4, Number 51 | www.eastchesterreview.com

Rabin wins fire board election over Napolitano By COREY STOCKTON Staff Writer

A new way to pay

Drivers can now pay to park in Bronxville’s Garden Avenue lot using new machines that accept credit cards, but not all users were prepared for the change. For story, see page 7. Photo/Corey Stockton

Fair housing agency sues town over voucher program By COREY STOCKTON Staff Writer The Fair Housing Justice Center has filed a lawsuit against the town of Eastchester, alleging that the town’s Section 8 housing choice voucher program’s preference for town residents is discriminatory against African-American and Hispanic applicants. The housing choice voucher program allows low-income, elderly and disabled individuals or families to find rental housing in which the property owner is willing to accept subsidized rent payments from the town’s housing agency. The agency receives funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD.

The Fair Housing Justice Center, FHJC, a Long Island City-based nonprofit civil rights organization, filed a suit on Nov. 21 alleging that Eastchester’s preference to issue housing vouchers to its residents before issuing vouchers to those from out of town is inherently discriminatory because the town’s population is predominantly Caucasian. In the lawsuit, FHJC claims that Eastchester disregards the impact of its policy to give vouchers to residents before non-residents. Katie Garcia, a spokesperson for the FHJC, told the Review, “The town has failed to consider the discriminatory impact of its residency preferences, which result in the

suppression of minority participation, denial of housing opportunities to African-Americans and Hispanics, and perpetuation of residential segregation.” The FHJC also claims that it conducted an investigation concluding that residents on a voucher waitlist in Eastchester can wait for several months for a voucher, while non-residents wait for 10 to 15 years. “By applying residency preferences and warning applicants of the wait, the town discourages non-residents, who are more likely to be African-American and Hispanic, from applying to the program,” the FHJC said in a released statement. According to HUD’s Housing Choice Voucher Guidebook,

a municipal housing authority can establish preferences for its waitlist as long as those preferences don’t exclude applicants based on marital status, disability, receipt of public assistance, age, race, color, religion, gender or national origin. According to the town’s housing choice voucher administrative plan drafted in 2014, first preference is given to those who have been involuntarily displaced, are living in substandard housing or are homeless, or are paying more than 50 percent of their income in rent. Secondary preference is given to those who live and work in Eastchester or its villages of Bronxville and HOUSING continued on page 9

Starting Jan. 1, 2017, Stuart Rabin will join the Eastchester Board of Fire Commissioners as its newest elected official. On Tuesday, Dec. 13, Rabin won the fire district’s annual election against the incumbent commissioner, Jerry Napolitano, by a margin of 655 votes to 396, according to results compiled by the Board of Fire Commissioners. Rabin, a 35-year resident of Eastchester who has worked for the town for more than 10 years, including in his current role as an office administrator of the Parks and Recreation Department, had been critical of the board’s transparency, budgeting and frequency of legal battles in the month leading up to the election. But after the election, he lauded Napolitano’s efforts to increase transparency since 2011, when he was first elected. “My opponent did give his service for five years, and I’m very appreciative of that,” Rabin told the Review, adding that he would look to build on what Napolitano has brought to the district. During a Dec. 5 debate between the two candidates mediated by Bronxville Mayor Mary Marvin, a Republican, Rabin, 37, called for a more detailed budget and regularly scheduled meetings, among other transparency issues. According to the fire district’s bylaws, the district’s scheduled meetings are supposed to be held on the third Thursday of each month; but over the past year, the board has held at least five regular monthly meetings on different

calendar days. During the first regularly scheduled board meeting of each year, the board re-appoints each commissioner to two committees. Rabin said he would be best suited for the district’s facilities and apparatus committee, citing his experience as a facilities administrator with the town of Eastchester. “My hope is to be able to be utilized with my strengths,” he said. He added that he has experience working with unions, and therefore would also be interested in being placed on the district’s professional firefighters committee. Rabin said, overall, he hopes to work with the board to make the district, which has a $16.9 million budget for 2017, more affordable. “I look forward to working with everyone who’s on the board with a shared goal of making our district better,” he added. Rabin was elected to serve from Jan. 1, 2017 until Dec. 31, 2021. Fire district commissioners serve on a volunteer basis and do not receive compensation. The district holds elections annually, as terms are staggered so that one commissioner’s term expires each year. Next year, Commissioner Steven Baker’s seat will be up for election. The fire district has been adamant about increasing voter turnout over the last several years. This year, there were 1,051 voters, down from about 1,600 last year. Napolitano could not be reached for comment as of press time. CONTACT: corey@hometwn.com