Clarkstown Revises Deal to Obtain Affordable Housing for Volunteers

The Clarkstown Town Board has revised a deal with Normandy Village in Nanuet to revive a stalled effort to provide some affordable housing for emergency service volunteers in the town.

The new arrangement provides one unit at the housing complex on College Avenue to the town for free, altering the original deal that called for selling three units at below-market rates to a local housing agency that would in turn rent them to local volunteers.

A 2008 agreement between the town and Normandy Village, spearheaded by the late Councilman Ralph Mandia, called for providing three units at Normandy Village for local volunteers in exchange for a zoning change to allow construction of 12 new units at the complex. The deal called for Normandy Village to sell the three units to the Rockland Housing Action Coalition at about $150,000 below-market prices.

However, because of the downturn in the economy, the housing agency has told the town it cannot obtain the necessary financing to buy the units, according to Clarkstown Town Attorney Amy Mele. In response, Mele said Normandy Village has agreed to give directly to the town one unit at the existing complex, which the town can in turn lease to an emergency services volunteer.

Mele said the town plans on contracting with Rockland Housing Action Coalition to manage the leasing of the unit to a volunteer, like the coalition it does under a contract for volunteer housing in the Town of Orangetown.

The Clarkstown Town Board unanimously approved the revised deal Tuesday night after a public hearing on amending the April 15, 2008 zone change for Normandy Village. The proposal was also backed by the town Planning Board and the county's Planning Board.

Mele said the rent to be charged for the town-owned unit is still to be determined, and the process of selecting volunteers eligible to rent the unit is also to be determined. Mele said the rent for the apartment would be based on the costs associated with the unit, such as the monthly maintenance fees.

Clarkstown Councilman George Hoehmann proposed Tuesday that when the town takes possession of the Normandy Village unit, that the town dedicate it in honor of Mandia, who died June 2, 2009. Mandia was first elected to the Town Board in 1989 and was re-elected four times. He resigned from the board in February 2009 due to illness.

Mele said the acceptance of the unit from Normandy Village is contingent on requirements by the town including a home inspection of the unit.