Rye Brook Public Hearing on Affordable Housing Is Tonight

Rye Brook will host a public hearing on its affordable housing plans tonight at village hall.

Rye Brook is one of more than two dozen Westchester communities directly impacted by an . Deemed insufficiently diverse, those communities are required to build a combined 750 units under the terms of the settlement.

Port Chester isn't one of those communities. But trustees and residents because early plans indicate Rye Brook leaders are looking at several sites that fall within District 4, an area of Rye Brook where children are sent to Port Chester schools.

Because Port Chester schools are and village taxpayers are struggling to keep up with the costs of funding the district, many within Port Chester have been vocal in opposing any effort to build affordable housing in District 4.

Port Chester residents also questioned whether building in District 4 would satisfy the terms of the settlement.

"Publicly question how a housing plan, which would add to the rosters of a neighboring school district whose student body is predominantly minority and disadvantaged, complies with the desegration settlement," one reader wrote on Patch last week.

Mayor Dennis Pilla said he spoke by phone with Joan Feinstein, his counterpart in Rye Brook, after last week's trustee meeting, which involved a lengthy discussion on Rye Brook's plans.

"This is a tough situation for everybody, and really I think this clearly emphasizes that the housing lawsuit settlement is imperfect," Pilla said. "It's imperfect because it doesn't take into consideration school districts, which really is the essential boundary where integration starts and stops, more so than any ZIP code."

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that the Board of Trustee's of the Village of Rye Brook shall hold a public hearing on October 25, 2011 at 7:30 p.m., at Village Hall, 938 King Street, Rye Brook, New York to consider proposed amendments to Chapter 250, 219 and 209 of the Village Code regarding Affordable Housing.

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