Rockland County will build 36 units of affordable rental units over the next five years to settle a longstanding federal fair housing suit over accusations a developer misused U.S. Housing and Urban Development funds.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton of the Southern District of New York announced the deal on May 21, which was approved May 20 by U.S. District Judge Cathy Seibel.
The county also is to pay a $10,000 civil penalty, according to the U.S. Attorney.
The federal legal action taken against the county and village of Spring Valley stems from a condominium project built with HUD funds and then marketed almost exclusively to Hasidic Jewish buyers, officials said.
The village of Spring Valley in March reached a settlement over the housing case. The village agreed to provide 22 units of affordable rental housing over the next five years.
Private developer misused HUD funds, feds say
The settlements stem from a 2018 claim that the municipalities breached a Voluntary Compliance Agreement and Conciliation Agreement.
In that case, a private developer used HUD funding to build 62 condominiums that were supposed to be affordable units.
The developer subsequently marketed units almost exclusively to white Hasidic Jewish prospective homebuyers, according to complaints.
Singling out a sector of people for HUD housing is a violation of federal law.
The Spring Valley NAACP launched a Fair Housing Act complaint in 2013; in 2017, a financial settlement was reached with then-owners Park View Condominiums.
The federal lawsuit had alleged that Rockland County and Spring Valley officials had become aware of allegations that the developer was excluding interested homebuyers but failed to ensure that appropriate remedial steps were taken before the project was completed and the units were sold.
‘Rockland fully supports the creation of fair and affordable housing’
Rockland County spokesperson Beth Cefalu said the county had not done anything discriminatory, but was satisfied with the settlement deal.
County leaders helped file the original fair housing complaint over the Spring Valley project and recovered HUD funding, Cefalu said.
“Rockland fully supports the creation of fair and affordable housing,” Cefalu said.
Earlier this month, county officials announced that a developer has been chosen for a long-planned project to revamp the 3.69‑acre Sain Building site in New City into mixed‑use commercial and residential workforce housing.
While the Sain Building plan is still in flux, county officials had estimated around 48 affordable housing units would be provided, which would more than meet the settlement provisions.
To recoup the 62 units of HUD housing lost in the Spring Valley HUD project, the feds said four qualifying units were built before 2025, and Spring Valley will provide the 22 units, with the remainder 36 units coming from the May 20 Rockland County agreement.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the Rockland agreement fully resolves the HUD case.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Rockland, feds settle housing discrimination suit over condo project
Reporting by Nancy Cutler, Rockland/Westchester Journal News / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
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