Westchester County Legislature Joint Infrastructure & Housing and Intergovernmental Affairs Meeting on ETPA Concerns - May 5, 2026
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Westchester County Legislature Joint Infrastructure & Housing and Intergovernmental Affairs Meeting on ETPA Concerns - May 5, 2026
The Infrastructure & Housing Committee, jointly with Intergovernmental Affairs, met at 1:05 PM on May 5, 2026, to discuss Emergency Tenant Protection Act (ETPA) concerns and ideas for improving housing conditions for both residents and owners. The committee heard from representatives of the Building and Realty Institute of the Hudson Valley and the Fiscal Policy Institute, followed by a wide-ranging discussion on rent stabilization, data collection, and potential policy solutions.
Minutes Approval
- Approval of the April 27, 2026 minutes was continued to a future meeting.
Discussion Items
- Building and Realty Institute (BRI) representatives Tim Foley, Alana Ciuffetelli, and Valentina Gojcaj described the impact of the 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act (HSTPA) on rent-stabilized owners. They noted that rent stabilization applies to approximately 28,000 of Westchester County's 131,000 rental units (about 20%), located in roughly 420 buildings. BRI also stated that the rent-stabilized stock declined from 29,638 units in 2020 to 28,755 in 2024, attributing the change mostly to normal vacancy churn rather than wholesale loss.
- BRI reported that Major Capital Improvement (MCI) filings fell from about 50 per year to just 4 last year, citing the 2% cap and 15-year recovery period as making projects infeasible. They also said the Individual Apartment Improvement (IAI) cap, raised from $15,000 to $30,000 per unit, is insufficient to cover typical renovation costs, which can exceed $50,000–$80,000 with lead remediation or electrical work.
- BRI expressed concerns about rising operating costs, including a 62% increase in real estate taxes over five years, 50% increases in insurance, and higher debt costs. Alana Ciuffetelli stated that some units are being taken offline because owners cannot afford to renovate them, and called for tax breaks, insurance relief, and inclusion in county assistance programs.
- Legislators acknowledged the need for a balanced approach, with several expressing strong support for protecting tenants and preserving affordable housing. Legislator Nancy Barr objected to any proposal that would reduce property tax revenue for schools. Legislator Erica Pierce noted that affordable housing stock, including HCR-subsidized buildings, is deteriorating and needs investment.
- Emily Eisner, Ph.D., Acting Executive Director of the Fiscal Policy Institute, contrasted the New York City Rent Guidelines Board's robust data (including net operating income and expense projections) with the limited six-page report Westchester receives. She suggested that policy solutions such as insurance captives and capital remediation programs could help struggling landlords while preserving affordability.
Key Outcomes
- Legislators and BRI agreed to compile a detailed list of requested data, which will be sent to the Westchester County Rent Guidelines Board, with input from Emily Eisner. Legislator Jewel Williams Johnson and Chair Williams will lead a letter asking for that data.
- The committee committed to following up with the Planning Department regarding the rollout of $10 million in infrastructure capital funding and to advocate for the inclusion of rent-stabilized properties.
- Legislators agreed to engage state leaders to discuss potential legislative changes and support for property owners.
- The meeting was adjourned at 2:21 PM.
Meeting Transcript
Oh, this is for me. This meeting is being recorded and summarized. Oh, hello, I'm sorry. I I know I heard that. Okay, so hi everyone. Uh, my name is Shane Williams. I'm the chair of infrastructure and housing committee, and I would like to call this meeting to order. I'm here. Vice Chair Pierce. I'm present. Legislator Holstein. Present. Present. Thank you. Legislator Nambiar. Here. Legislator Woodson Samuels, Chairman Gashi. We are open at 1.05 p.m. Um good afternoon. Here, Chairing Intergovernmental Affairs. We'll start with the tenant. I am here. Vice Chair MMORI. Legislator Erica Pierce. Legislator Terry Woodson Samuels. Not here. Legislator Shine War. Here. And Chair Magashi. All right, we're called to order at 1.05 p.m. Okay, so we're here today um with our uh some guests from the Building Realty Institute. Uh because a few weeks ago um I met with uh some of your members, uh, particularly the owners of Rent Stabilized uh buildings in Western, and um they brought some concerns to me. And so we're having the same meeting pretty much, just uh uh publicly, and I think it's really important for myself and for all of my colleagues to understand what the concerns are from the owner's uh perspective. Oftentimes, myself and legislator Uli, we we we like to champion the um the issues of our tenants, um, but we know that for in order for us to move forward and work together as one Westchester, we need to have everyone at the table. And so we're happy to give you guys this opportunity to um raise your concerns and hopefully we can work towards solutions that benefit everybody. So um with that, I'd like to um uh ask uh the chair of intergovernmental affairs to um say a few words if you'd like, and then we can jump right in. Sure. Um obviously housing is one of the most critical issues that we're facing with in Westchester. Affordability is the number one talking point nowadays. Um and the number one expenditure for folks is housing, right? People are struggling, and we also know um that the vacancy rates contribute to this, the vacancy rates keep driving up the cost of housing. And we are definitely partners in some areas when we it comes to building. Um I feel like we're very closely aligned there and wanting to build more housing. Uh and then there are areas where we disagree on regulations, right? We have uh responsibility to protect tenants. Um you have your own interests, and we have to make sure that we are um taking a balanced approach to the regulations that we are looking at in order to make sure that people can afford to continue to live in Westchester. Okay. Uh so with that being said, uh the topic today is our ETPA um uh buildings and units throughout Westchester. I know that you know this is generally a state um regulated um uh buildings or or units. Um however, we at the county also have our rent guidelines uh board that meet uh yearly to set those um those standards of what the increases will be, and so we also have a responsibility to those tenants to make sure that we have these kinds of conversations, right?
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