Yonkers council approves sale of surplus city lots to IDA for affordable homeownership via housing authority

The Yonkers City Council approved a local law authorizing the sale of six surplus city-owned parcels to the Yonkers Industrial Development Agency for development of affordable homeownership units through the municipal housing authority. The items discussed included properties on Rockland Avenue, Ridgeview Avenue, Ash Street, Lawton Lane, Byron Avenue and Harriet Street.

Council leaders said the parcels were determined to be surplus and not required for municipal use. The administration and council described the sale as intended to support affordable homeownership and workforce housing, noting this as a departure from the city’s more common pattern of producing rental units.

A council member identified as having employment with the Municipal Housing Authority said she supported the program but abstained from the vote because of that employment conflict. The council adopted the local law by recorded vote: the motion carried with five votes in favor and one abstention; one member was absent.

Council members indicated the program will prioritize homeownership for residents on Section 8 or those grandfathered into housing authority programs and that final development details will be worked out by the housing authority and IDA.

The council recorded the adoption of the related environmental determination and the sale authorization; staff said the clerk’s office would correct address naming inconsistencies in the record (Lawton Lane vs. Lawton Place) before filing the adopted documents.