The president of the White Plains/Greenburgh branch of the NAACP sent a letter this week to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, calling on his administration to preserve the former WestHELP shelter for the purpose of providing affordable housing.
Lena Anderson appealed to Cuomo to save the housing complex he helped establish with former County Executive Andy O’Rourke more than two decades ago.
Last Thursday, ten members of the Westchester Board of Legislators sent a letter to the governor, asking him to secure approval for Ferncliff Manor, a school for the mentally disabled, to move to the vacant site.
Several state agencies are currently reviewing an application from Ferncliff, which wants to raze the property’s 108 apartments and build a residential campus.
A 40-year deal approved in 1990 called for WestHELP to house the homeless there for 10 years, with the Town of Greenburgh renting the apartments to low- and moderate-income tenants for the next 30 years. The homeless shelter won a second 10-year lease, during which time Greenburgh was paid $12 million. The apartments were turned over to the town in October 2011 and have since deteriorated as Greenburgh collaborates with county officials on Ferncliff’s plan.
Lena Anderson WestHELP by gshillingl
