(November 5, 2026) Ahead of the fiscal year 2027 Westchester County budget announcement, Welcome Home Westchester‘s partner organizations submitted the following advocacy letter to the Board of Legislators:
November 5, 2026
Westchester County Board of Legislators
148 Martine Avenue
White Plains, NY 10601
Dear Westchester County Legislators,
On behalf of the Welcome Home Westchester campaign, we are writing with gratitude for your continued commitment to addressing our County’s urgent need for more homes of all different shapes and sizes for all of our residents’ needs, including affordable housing.
During this difficult economic time, we commend your continued prioritization of addressing our residents’ housing challenges, through the inclusion and expansion of pro-housing initiatives and programs in the proposed FY 2027 Westchester County budget. In particular, tried and true programs – such as the innovative New Lands Acquisition Fund, the Housing Implementation Fund, and the Housing Flex Fund – prove Westchester intends to be a leader in our region when it comes to addressing the housing shortage.
Welcome Home Westchester and our partners appreciate your interest and ongoing dialogue with regard to the mission and scope of our work. As Welcome Home Westchester continues to advocate for more housing with Westchester County’s municipalities, we recognize that there may be new opportunities to collaborate with you on topics related to the housing shortage, specifically leveraging badly needed capital and/or infrastructure funding as a “carrot” to encourage cities, towns and villages to examine the inadvertent barriers they create to the creation of new housing, and to consider steps they can take to improve their local zoning, internal practices and material support to be part of the solution to our ongoing housing shortage. Accordingly, Welcome Home Westchester’s partners welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss the impact of WHW’s efforts and to explore methods for closer collaboration in advancing countywide housing objectives.
Thank you for your leadership and dedication on making housing more accessible and abundant to all who wish to live and work in Westchester County. We look forward to an opportunity to meet with you soon.
Respectfully yours,
On Behalf of the Welcome Home Westchester Campaign:
The Building & Realty Institute of the Hudson Valley (BRI)
Construction Industry Council of Westchester & Hudson Valley, Inc. (CIC)
Housing Action Council
Nonprofit Westchester (NPW)
Pace University Land Use Law Center (LULC)
Regional Plan Association (RPA)
Westchester County Association (WCA)
Westhab, Inc.