The United States Department of Housing And Urban Development (HUD) has just filed a massive lawsuit in federal court against Rockland County and the Village of Spring Valley.
The matter stems from a complaint filed with HUD a number of years ago alleging a private developer used HUD grant funding to build 62 condominium units, but - contrary to legal requirements applicable to subrecipients of federal funding - designed and marketed those units specifically for use by White Hasidic Jewish homebuyers, and excluded prospective Black homebuyers from the process.
In response to those complaints, HUD investigated and determined that Rockland County and Spring Valley - which were involved as recipients of the HUD grant funding in question - were on notice of the discriminatory practices of the private developer, which was their grant subrecipient, but failed to ensure that appropriate remedial steps were taken before the project was completed and the units were sold.
As part of HUD’s investigation, it estimated that 44 deed holders at the condominium development, more than 91 percent, were likely to be White and non-Hispanic, in a census tract where only 14.4 percent of the population is White and non-Hispanic.
Following this investigation, in 2018, the fed's got Rockland County and Spring Valley to enter into a Voluntary Compliance Agreement (VCA) which required them to develop or rehabilitate affordable housing units.
The consent agreement aimed to ensure that a separate group of 62 affordable housing units would be developed or rehabilitated during a seven-year period. The terms required approximately 25 of the affordable units be built within the first three years of the Agreement.
In actuality, only four affordable units meeting the requirements of the Agreement have since been completed.
In September 2020, Rockland County requested that the deadlines for the remaining units be extended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, Rockland County and Spring Valley were granted additional time to provide the other 58 units – 18 of which were required to be completed by March of 2023.
Under the amended VCA, 15 additional units were to be completed by March of 2025; 13 more by 2027, and 12 more by 2029. 31 of the 58 units were to be home ownership, not rental units.
At this point the fed's have run out of patience and have filed a lawsuit to enforce the terms of the VCA.
The complaint charges Rockland County and Spring Valley breached the agreement, missed the deadlines and otherwise failed to complete a “a single additional affordable housing unit meeting the terms and criteria set forth in the VCA since the completion of the four units in the Nyack Point project in 2018.”
After being notified of the breach on November 26, 2024, neither Rockland County nor Spring Valley identified specific steps they are taking or intend to take to come into compliance with the VCA, according to the court filing.
The lawsuit asks for a Court order compelling Defendants to comply with the VCA and ensure completion of the remaining affordable housing units within an appropriate period of time. The court also has the authority to impose civil penalties to vindicate the public interest in an amount “not to exceed $127,983 for a first violation, and $255,964 for any subsequent violation, for violations occurring after November 2, 2015,” according to the complaint.
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1 comment:
This is Biden's DOJ in their final act of pandering to the tunkelach in less than 72 hours before the Trump inauguration. The Republican County Executive responded to explain how the filing is based on lies
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