Dobbs Ferry Enters Partnership to Create Affordable Housing

The Dobbs Ferry Board of Trustees took a major step last week to try to turn three village-owned lots into affordable housing.

At its April 22 meeting, trustees voted to enter into a partnership with Kearney Realty & Development Group to create affordable homes at two vacant properties on Cedar Street and in the parking lot at 99 Cedar Street.

During the next three months, the Kearney Group will review records and perform site investigations, while trustees will discuss specifics concerning possibly signing a formal contract, such as valuation of the parcels; specifics of the project plan, including development type, number of units, size, energy efficiency standards, and availability of public parking; determining extent of zoning amendments; setting the term of affordability for the residential units; establishing mix of affordability for the residential units; scheduling the public outreach process; and compliance with State Environmental Quality Review and other applicable legal obligations.

“It’s not a secret that Dobbs Ferry is facing an affordable housing crisis. Many people struggle to both live and work here or stay in the community they’ve called home for generations,” Mayor Vincent Rossillo and trustees stated in a message to the community. “’Affordable” housing,’ where rent, taxes, and utilities stay under 30% of income, is simply out of reach for too many.””

Trustees have addressed the issue in the past by creating an Affordable Housing Task Force, updating zoning to allow Accessory Dwelling Units, and increasing affordable unit requirements in new developments. Those efforts played a role in the village earning a Pro-Housing Community designation from New York State and a $4.5 million NY Forward grant for the downtown.

“The goal is to create homes for folks like teachers, nurses, municipal workers, seniors, and young professionals, who want to move to or stay in Dobbs Ferry but for whom there isn’t currently enough housing within that 30% threshold, while maintaining ample public parking,” trustees stated.

“Affordable housing is often misunderstood as being solely for very low-income individuals, but in reality, it is typically structured as mixed-income housing because it serves a range of households across different income levels,” they added.

To identify new opportunities for housing in Dobbs Ferry, the Affordable Housing Task Force and Pace University’s Land Use Law Center studied potential sites, landing on the three transit-friendly, village-owned properties on Cedar Street. After issuing a request for qualifications last February and conducting a thorough review process, trustees chose the Kearney Group from among seven applicants.

“The upsides to this initiative are clear: it can bring more housing options that people can afford,” trustees sated. “Because this housing is downtown and close to public transit, it should be attractive to those who don’t rely on cars. It can add to foot traffic, which is good for our businesses and our community’s vitality. It can produce recurring revenue on land that does not currently generate property taxes for the village or schools, on top of the revenue from the land sale, which is good news for taxpayers.”