Support for affordable housing dominates forum

By JEFF MORRIS 

A Bedford Housing Forum hosted by Blue Mountain Housing Development Corp. on Nov. 13 was billed as a “Community Conversation on Affordable Housing.” 

In advance publicity, the town Housing Committee said they expected “voices in support and in opposition to continued affordable development in Bedford, Bedford Hills and Katonah.” In actuality, the voices in opposition to affordable housing never materialized. 

The topic that generated the most comments from attendees at the Bedford Hills Community House was the desire and need for accessory dwelling units, and roadblocks that exist in town code toward that goal.

Instead, the forum served as more of an information session delivered by a panel of experts on the subject, recounting the history of both Blue Mountain and existing affordable housing in Bedford, and how the various levels of funding and support for its development actually function.

Leading the discussion were Julie Stern, the current chair of Blue Mountain, and Thomas McGrath, the former chair of both Blue Mountain and the Bedford Town Housing Agency. Also on the panel were Blanca Lopez, commissioner of planning for Westchester County, and Danny Wheeler, an assistant vice president and mortgage officer with Community Preservation Corp.

There was considerable input from Lopez on the many ways the county promotes, facilitates and helps fund affordable housing.

A key takeaway provided at the forum was an explanation of where Bedford fits into the income/affordability equation, and what “affordable” actually means. According to statistics provided, sourced to U.S. Census Bureau and HUD data, Bedford’s median home sales price in the last year was $1.2 million, with a $1.8 million average. The median rent was $2,000; the median rent in Katonah was $4,500. Housing is considered to be affordable when rent and utilities cost no more than 30% of household income. Some 57% of renters in Bedford are considered “cost burdened,” meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent. With roughly 1,000 to 1,200 renter households in town, that means between 570 and 680 households struggle to afford current rents.

HUD bases affordability on Area Median Income, the midpoint of all household incomes in Westchester County. For 2025, the AMI for a family of four in Westchester is about $170,000. At 60% AMI, or $102,000, an affordable rent is about $2,550 a month. At 30% AMI, $1,275 is considered affordable. That means with a conservative estimate of $2,000 as the median rent, Bedford leaves few options for lower-income households.

Rosemary Vorel, the town’s senior advocate, was among the attendees and spoke about the housing crisis among seniors. She said in the county, the senior population is the population going homeless the fastest, and she works with many of them in Bedford, though many want to remain hidden because they are embarrassed. 

“I applaud what you’re doing,” she said, “we need affordable housing. But even the amounts that you’re quoting are not affordable to many seniors who are on fixed incomes, and their income is not going to go up. In fact, if they’re couples, their income goes down at the loss of one of them, and that’s when they get into really big trouble. Or if they have health issues, their expenses go way up.”

Vorel said it is not just a problem in the lower part of Westchester: “It is here, and it is growing.” 

She talked about a woman she spoke to that day, who just turned 65 and is fighting being evicted; she was unable to work for a year because of illness, and is trying to get back on her feet and back to work. She spoke about a man who has been couch surfing. 

“All of these people lived in Bedford for over two decades,” she said. “I feel like there’s not much out there that’s helping them.” 

A question was asked about how many affordable units there are in Bedford. McGrath said there are about 150 units in town, all at varying levels of affordability. Asked if there are any limitations on preferences for Bedford residents, seniors or town employees, McGrath said at one point they had tried giving preferences to EMS workers, police, firemen and others, but it had proved to be unlawful. Now, he said, they follow the market plan originally created by the county. They recently did a lottery for affordable units on Valley Road, he said, and got 675 responses. But, he said, they often go through 100 applicants to get three who qualify.

Stern said they’ve found that many people who enter or even win a lottery, who are from the southern part of Westchester, wind up turning the opportunity down when they realize what is involved in moving to this part of the county. “People come to visit and say, ‘How do you live way up here?’” added McGrath.

Another comment was made about families from diverse backgrounds having understandable concerns about moving to Bedford, being uncertain about introducing their children to “an environment that may not be entirely welcoming to them.” McGrath said he didn’t think it was necessarily a racial issue, but there needed to be better marketing of the town. Lopez and Stern agreed that the marketing plans needed to be updated.

Vorel brought up the issue of seniors who were interested in ADUs but had been turned down. Stern pointed out that under the new comprehensive plan, a top goal is “Removing restrictive provisions regarding ADUs and cottages.” Planning Board chair Deirdre Courtney-Batson, who was also in the audience, said a fair number of applicants for ADUs get turned down for technical reasons, but then go before the ZBA for variances. She said very few who come back to them actually get turned down, though there are building code issues that are not under the Planning Board’s control. Stern noted one of the bigger barriers in northern Westchester involved septic issues, and Vorel confirmed she had spoken with a family that wanted to convert a barn to an ADU but found the cost of upgrading the septic to be prohibitive. All agreed that more funding was needed to provide support for that type of work.