Rockland County Hosts Third Annual Housing Forum to Address High Costs, Explore Future Opportunities

POMONA—Hundreds of major stakeholders including developers, state and county housing agency officials, along with planning and legal experts gathered on April 25 to learn about the complex issues facing the residential housing market in Rockland County and begin to develop strategies to overcome some of those obstacles in the years ahead.

The Third Annual Rockland County Housing Forum was held at the county’s Fire Training Center in Pomona. The nearly full-day program featured panel discussions and presentations that covered such topics as fair housing, lead hazard remediation and the New York State Rental Registry, the adaptive reuse of underutilized spaces, brownfields, federal and state housing initiatives and the update of Rockland County’s Comprehensive Plan.

“There is no doubt that Rockland County faces housing challenges that impact a wide range of residents—from teachers and first responders to seniors and working families—we also see tremendous opportunities,” said Rockland County Executive Ed Day in a statement on the housing forum. “By bringing together stakeholders, we can explore innovative, sustainable solutions that ensure everyone has access to safe, affordable housing and can build strong community connections, while preserving the character of neighborhoods our residents love.”

“Housing that is safe, stable, and affordable across a broad range of incomes is critical to the continued economic growth and stability of Rockland County. While this is a complex issue without a simple solution, I am grateful to County Executive Day, state HCR Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas, and all of our panelists for providing support for, and valuable perspective on, ways that the county can realize its housing potential,” said Director of the Rockland County Office of Community Development Alexandra Obremski.

John Lyon, Chief of Staff to County Executive Day, said at the opening of the forum: “For three years we have gathered here discussing housing and each year the conversations have become more urgent, more complex and even more essential. To say we face a crisis is a bit of an understatement.”

Earlier this year, Rockland County announced four winners of funding from its Housing Action Loan Opportunity (HALO) program involving up to $13.5 million in loans

The first award was a $3-million HALO Loan for predevelopment in support of Pennrose NY LLC to redevelop the former Haverstraw Chair Factory along the Hudson River to create 308 affordable units. The second award was an up to $3-million HALO Loan to Westhab, Inc. in support of developing a vacant lot located at 30 West St. in Haverstraw for an 81-unit affordable rental project for qualified low-income renters at 60% AMI or below. The third HALO Loan was for $2.5 million to Sisters of Charity Housing Development Corporation to acquire and preserve an existing 90-unit affordable rental development at 140 Route 9W in Haverstraw for qualified low-income senior renters. The final HALO loan was an up to $5-million loan to Regan Development Company’s special purpose entity Nannawit Commons LLC in support of the development of a 52-unit 100% affordable, senior, rental project for qualified low-income renters at or below 80% AMI in Clarkstown.

Lyon also reported that Rockland County will soon issue a Request for Proposals for the redevelopment of the Sain Building, which was used for county government operations, into a mixed-use property that will feature workforce housing. The Sain Building has been vacant since 2017.

This year’s forum featured a keynote speech from Commissioner/CEO Visnauskas of New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), who noted that her department has provided assistance for a total of about 350 units in Rockland County in recent times. However, state assistance has only helped build 14 new units in the county.

Visnauskas said the state hopes to dramatically improve on those numbers and says that there is currently a very good pipeline of new projects in Rockland that will receive some state funding, including 30 West in Haverstraw and the redevelopment of the former Chair Factory in Haverstraw.

The commissioner detailed a number of housing assistance programs being offered by HCR, including “Pro Housing Communities” funding. Thus far, nearly 300 communities in the state have been certified to receive funding from the $600-million program, that so far has provided $250 million in financing for eligible projects. At present, Haverstraw, Nyack and Ramapo are all certified as a Pro Housing Community.

The county also recently announced that it will host a series of five in-person public workshops to gather community input for “Envision Rockland,” the Countywide Comprehensive Plan update.

Each workshop session will cover the same content and will begin with a short presentation, followed by an interactive open house where participants will be able to browse among stations covering a variety of topics.

Workshop materials, including a presentation, will be posted on the project website, and interactive online activities will be available to provide additional feedback. This online feedback tool will be launched concurrently with the first public workshop and will remain open for the duration of the workshops.

The workshops will be held at the following locations:

Haverstraw Center
50 W. Broad Street
Haverstraw, NY 10927
Thursday, May 8, 6:30-8:30 pm

Palisades Mall
1000 Palisades Center Drive
4th Floor – Adler Community Room
West Nyack, NY 10994
Wednesday, May 21, 6:30-8:30 pm

Patriot Hills Senior & Community Center
19 Clubhouse Lane
Stony Point, NY 10980
Wednesday, May 28, 6:30-8:30 pm

Rockland County Fire Training Center
35 Firemen’s Memorial Drive
Pomona, NY 10970
Thursday, May 29, 6:30-8:30 pm

St. Thomas Aquinas College
Romano Student Alumni Center
125 Route 340
Sparkill, NY 10976
Thursday, June 5, 6:30-8:30 pm