Readiness for floods and road repair:4 points of the Westchester budget.

On Tuesday, the head of the Westchester County administration, George Latimer, announced his proposal for the capital budget for2024 in the amount of $474 million, which will be directed towards the maintenance of sewage and water supply, housing, airport, and other infrastructure funded by the county. "This is my sixth budget, and it includes investments in affordable housing, electric vehicles, and infrastructure for their charging," he said at a press conference. "It provides for the restoration of the Bronx River Parkway, repair and covering of bridges and roads, improvement of the Westchester County Center, as well as flood control measures. We are addressing a wide range of different issues."

Here are four main ideas from Latimer's proposal:

Latimer suggests investing100 million dollars in affordable housing projects throughout the county..50 million dollars were provided by the federal government as part of the American Recovery Plan, one of the stimulus laws of the COVID-19 era. The remaining $100 million will be used to develop no less than750 affordable housing units as part of the county's agreement with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development on allegations of repeated violations of fair housing laws.

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Funds allocated for improving living conditions will be used for creating new residential complexes, property acquisition, and other related expenses.

The proposed budget for2024 includes allocation of $49 million for projects to combat flooding throughout the district..Latimer acknowledged that the actual costs of fully funding flood mitigation measures could be ten times higher than the proposed amount, adding that "we urgently need resources from the state and federal government, which are much greater than ours, so that we can make the necessary improvements."

18 million dollars of these funds will be allocated to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project in the watersheds of the Mamaroneck and Sheldrake rivers. Latimer estimated the total cost of this project at 100 million dollars.

The proposed budget allocates 25 million dollars for electric vehicle charging infrastructure.20 million will be used for the installation of charging stations, and an additional 5 million dollars will be allocated to municipalities to strengthen local charging infrastructure.

Residents of Westchester own a disproportionately large share of electric vehicles on the roads. While 6% of registered gasoline-powered cars have an address in New York City, this figure is 10% for electric vehicles, according to state data.

A significant portion of the budget for roads and bridges will be spent on the restoration of the Bronx River Parkway, which is owned by the county.The proposed budget for 2024 allocates 19 million dollars for this work, which is expected to extend the lifespan of the parkway asphalt by 15-20 years.

The list of roads designated for investment or improvement includes Murray Avenue in Mamaroneck, Westchester Avenue in White Plains/Harrison, Old Mamaroneck Road in White Plains, Columbus Avenue in Mount Pleasant, and Seven Bridge Road in New Castle.

Further funding is also planned for the Takaho Road Bridge in Yonkers and the bridge on Route 22 over Armonk Road in North Castle.

Translation: Petrov Peter