RYAN’S SENIOR CITIZEN HOUSING PLAN FOR WHITE PLAINS APPROVED
--- County Legislature’s action “a true victory for moderate-income senior citizens” ---

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 11, 2006

Contact: Betsy DeSoye,
Director of Communications
(914) 995-3277; (914) 275-6031 (cell)

Determined efforts by County Legislator Chair Bill Ryan (D-I-WF, White Plains) produced a big payoff for moderate-income White Plains Senior Citizens tonight -- 200 units of state-of-the-art affordable housing for them in the heart of the City’s revitalized downtown.

By a vote of 12-5, the Westchester Board of Legislators, chaired by Ryan, authorized the leasing of County property on the corner of Quarropas and Court Streets for at least 65 years to the HANAC-Bluestone Company, which will build and manage the housing.

“Finally!” Ryan exclaimed after the vote. “It’s taken far longer than it should have, but at last this critical housing will be a reality. I want to thank my colleagues who looked beyond partisan politics and stood up for Senior Citizens by addressing a critical need in White Plains.”

The project, which will be constructed utilizing environmentally-friendly “green technology,” has been praised by a majority of the White Plains Common Council, the Business Council of Westchester and advocates for Senior Citizens and for Affordable Housing. It’s designed to be a model for other municipalities.

“White Plains has seven Senior Citizen housing complexes, each of which has lower income eligibility limits and a long waiting list,” Ryan said. “The needs of moderate income Senior Citizens have been neglected, not only in White Plains but throughout the County. This new housing will begin to change all that and will allow more Senior Citizens to continue to live in communities where they’ve put down their roots.”

Barring any delays in the local approval process, the housing will be ready for occupancy sometime in 2008.

“This is a true victory for moderate-income senior citizens of White Plains,” Ryan said. “It was worth waiting for and worth fighting for. This is the most significant housing project to be proposed in White Plains in recent history. Getting this accomplished is one of our most important achievements as a County Legislature."