TWIW 25: June 15, 2026

In this episode:

• Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins discussed the New York Knicks bringing a championship back to New York and marked Thursday, June 18, as Wear Your Blue and Orange Day across Westchester County.
• Jenkins congratulated Westchester County Commissioner of the Department of Community Mental Health Michael Orth for being named Chair of the New York State Conference of Mental Hygiene Directors.
• Westchester County Commissioner of Planning Blanca Lopez discussed the Planning Department’s annual report, the first of its kind, which highlights the work and accomplishments of the Department’s multiple divisions and showcases the programs, partnerships and investments that are helping build stronger and more resilient communities across Westchester County. 
• Commissioner Lopez also highlighted the launch of the County’s Housing Flex Fund II Program, a new $25 million affordable housing initiative designed to accelerate the development and creation of affordable homes throughout Westchester.
• Update on Westchester County Parks events and activities.

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Transcript

Intro 0:06

Welcome to This Week in Westchester, the podcast, your weekly audio briefing from Westchester County Government. Each week, County Executive Ken Jenkins breaks down the decisions, investments, and initiatives shaping life across Westchester. Clear information, real progress. One place to stay informed. Now, here's this week in Westchester.

Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins 0:29

I'm Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins. Today is Monday, June 15th. This is this week in Westchester, the briefing. I'm pretty sure I don't have to tell anyone. We know that it was Knicks in five, as we predicted last week. The reality is that the first place to after the championship to greet the newly crowned NBA championship for the New York Knicks was Westchester County Airport. And we were so proud to be the first place that New Yorkers got a chance to celebrate and recognize their champions and the heroes for New York Knicks. And congratulations to them. Now, after bringing that championship back to New York, our beloved Knicks are taking a victory lap on Thursday down in this New York City. During the Heroes Canyon of Heroes, and we know many county employees will want to be part of that celebration. To mark the occasion, Thursday will be aware your blue and orange day across Westchester County. This is certainly for county employees, but we're asking everyone to join in on the fund and certainly encourage show your blue and orange and all your Knicks gear. And I know that there were people standing on the very long lines to pick up championship level gear, but you know, break out your jerseys, your hats, your lucky playoff gear as we celebrate a team that reminds all of us what Perseverance, heart, and New York pride looks like. Nick's Fever has united fans across Westchester and quite frankly, across the world. Many of the players live here in the county, so this is their home too. Now it's time for us to celebrate together. Enjoy the parade, wear your colors proudly, and remember, everything's alright. New York's shining bright. Make sure that you're talking with your supervisors if you would like to go, and you can. Sometimes you can't. You know, we got to do the rest of the work. I'm not going personally. I know that many people would like to do that, but again, it is hard to get rid of Nick Itis that way. Make sure you're doing the right thing for all of your colleagues and fellow workers. I know we all want to celebrate. We're going to try to figure out some other things that we can do to make sure that people that want to look at it can see it, etc. But again, um it is a really, really enjoyable, fun, happy times. Um, I was here in White Plains on Sunday as we kicked off officially the World Cup, White Plains World Cup celebrations and recognitions. Um it was cooperation in um conjunction with White Plains Hospital, a couple of other colleagues that are out there, certainly with our Westchester County Department of Community Mental Health, um, with Commissioner Michael Orth and trying to talk about all those things. It was great seeing the young folks for the White Plains Youth Soccer League with the flags. I was wearing my Knicks jersey. I said that's my flag for this year. So we're gonna continue to rock that as much as we can. Um and again, it was a really great opportunity to do that. And speaking of Commissioner Michael Orth, and again, that the opportunity for World Cup watch parties, which was happening right on Amerinek Avenue after the Knicks watch party the night before. The two watch parties we had in the county center, we want to continue to say thank you to all the people that helped pull it together. It was a wonderful time. Just in case you were wondering, there were 1,500 people that went on Monday's game for Monday's um game three, and for game four, there were 3,500 people inside the county center, and that was before Comic Con, which brought another couple of thousand people to do that again. So we want to say thank you again to our nationally accredited and award-winning park system, all the folks that helped pull this thing together for the watch parties. Everyone in Westchester around our county did so many great things. So, again, we had a great time. But Michael Orth was recognized re recently. Um, our community uh commissioner of the Department of Community Mental Health, Michael Orth, was named the chair of the New York State Conference of Mental Hygiene Directors, taking the leadership position in this statewide organization that represents all of New York's mental and behavioral health commissioners and community service directors. Um, Commissioner Orth has been our DCMH Commissioner for more than eight years, having served previously as deputy commissioner and working in various units of the department during more his more than 30 years with the county. He's been involved with several statewide organizations over the years and has risen through the ranks as both second and first vice chair prior to becoming chair. The Conference of Local Mental Health Hygiene Directors is a statewide organization under the umbrella of the New York State Association of Counties, which serves all 62 of New York's counties and governments. It's an organization of a high-level of high-level county government officials in mental health, addiction, intellectual, and developmental disability service system. And the chair's role involves directly working with New York State government partners as well as representing all county mental health commissioners at various events and forums. We're so proud of Michael and that he's continued to lead this very important initiative for this statewide group. We love all the work that he does here in the county. He just has done a tremendous, tremendous job. Him and all of his colleagues in DCMH. Um we know he is the right person to move us forward, and it gives great credit for this organization and to our county. So again, congratulations, Michael, um, Michael Lorth, our Commissioner Community Mental Health, and all the work he continues to do. With that, we're going to ask Deputy County Executive Joe McDonald to come up and present the next guest.

SPEAKER_00 6:27

Thank you, County Executive. And we don't have to say go, Nick's anymore. We can just say yes, NYX. Right? Joining us now is Westchester County Department of Planning, Commissioner Blanca Lopez. Blanca oversees one of the county's most far-reaching departments, shaping growth, protecting the environment, supporting municipalities, and helping ensure that Westchester remains a vibrant and sustainable place to live, work, and raise a family. Commissioner Lopez will discuss the department's inaugural annual report, the first of its kind, which highlights the work and accomplishments of the department's seven divisions and showcases the programs, partnerships, and investments that are helping build stronger and more resilient communities across Westchester County. She will also talk about the launch of the county's Housing Flex Fund 2 program, a program near and dear to me, a new $25 million affordable housing initiative designed to accelerate the development and creation of affordable homes throughout Westchester. Building on the success of the original Housing Flex Fund, this program will provide critical financing to bring much needed housing projects to fruition and expand opportunities for residents across the county. Commissioner Lopez.

SPEAKER_03 7:54

Thank you, Deputy County Executive. County Executive, as always, it's a pleasure to be here to join you during your briefings. Good afternoon, everybody. As the Deputy County Executive mentioned, I'm here to announce two huge uh projects that we have been working on for quite some time now. And I will start off with talking a little bit about the first ever annual report for Westchester County Department of Planning. Our team, made up of 35 professionals, have accomplished a lot in 2025. So let's get started with housing, because this is what I hear about most from residents and municipal partners alike. In 2025, we committed $90 million through the creation of the Housing Flex Fund to create 1,250 affordable homes across the county. These aren't just units on paper, they're families who will have a stable, safe place to live at rents of up to 65% of AMI for at least the next 50 years. We also launched HomeSeeker, a new digital platform that makes it easier for households to find and apply for affordable housing opportunities. Before HomeSeeker, some people had to mail paper applications and hope for the best. Now it's online, it's accessible, and from the time that this platform was launched in May of last year up until December of 2025, we had over 8,600 households apply, excuse me, register for HomeSeeker, and more than 7,100 applications that were submitted. That's real demand, and we're meeting it. On the housing housing safety and preservation side, more than 80% of homes in Westchester County were built before 1978, which means lead paint is a real risk, especially for young children. Last year, our lead safe Westchester program completed repairs in 33 homes and spent over a million dollars protecting families from a hazard that causes lifelong harm. Let's talk a little bit about what went on in the transportation side. If you ride the Beeline bus, you may have already noticed you can now tap your credit card, your phone, even your watch to pay your fare. Our team led the implementation of Omni with a contactless payment fare payment system on the Beeline bus system, bringing the same modern fare technology that New York City riders have to Westchester commuters. We also launched a $15 million Complete Street program to help municipalities redesign roads to be safer for pedestrians, cyclists, and transit riders of all ages and abilities. Twenty-two municipalities applied, submitting a total of 27 applications. That tells you how ready our communities are for this investment. Our environmental division conducted over 1,500 environmental reviews last year, making sure county actions protect our water, air, and open spaces. And through programs like Waters for Inspiration, we're bringing residents to the Bronx River, connecting history, science, and community in ways that go far beyond a traditional planning exercise. Behind the scenes, we're also modernizing how we work. New data dashboards, a digital referral system to improve how information is collected and distributed, as well as JIS, GIS mapping tools that show transit-oriented developments throughout the county. These help our municipalities make smarter, faster decisions about growth and development. Everything in this report comes back to one question. Is Westchester a place where people can afford to live, move around safely, and breathe clean air? Our team works every day to make sure that the answer is yes. I am proud of what we've accomplished in 2025 and I'm excited about what's ahead. I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to Kevin Thomas, our executive secretary, whose contribution to the development of the first annual report were truly invaluable. Kevin coordinated information across divisions to helping shape the structure, the content, and production of the report. He was instrumental in bringing this vision to life. And last but certainly not least, I also want to extend thank you to John Estrow, the assistant to the commissioner, who ensured that this report is fully ADA accessible because information like this should be available to everybody. And of course, our graphics department for their assistance in putting the finishing touches to this great report. You can find the full report online by visiting our planning page at planning.westchestercountyny.gov. And to our second big announcement is the launch of our housing flex funds two. This is a $25 million affordable housing initiative that was added to the 2026 county capital budget by county executive conjuncans and approved by the Board of Legislators. Applications will be available on Wednesday, June 17th. So why does this matter? The county's housing need is urgent and well documented. The housing Flex Fund two is designed to cut through one of the most persistent barriers to production, funding gaps that stall projects that are that are otherwise ready to go. Flex fund two is a strategic complement to our existing toolkit of affordable housing funding and benefits, which includes the New Homes Land Acquisition Fund, the Housing Implementation Fund, our home fund, and our county IDA. The Housing Flex Fund 2 expands on the first Flex Fund with a focus on four development types: last stop financing for stalled Litech developments, gap financing for future rental developments of varying sizes, supportive housing, and new development in areas of opportunity with limited affordable supply. One meaningful update from the Housing Flex Fund One is that homeownership developments can now serve households up to 80% of area median income, while rental remains at 65% of AMI. Nonprofit and for-profit developers are both eligible to apply. We especially encourage joint ventures between experienced developers and MWBEs as we see this as an opportunity to build new partnerships. Funding will be structured as subordinate loans, up to $80,000 per unit for light and home ownership developments, and up to $200,000 per unit for non-Lig developments. And we are prioritizing six different types of projects. The first one being shovel-ready projects. Developers should come with site control, approvals in hand, and a clear timeline. Transit-oriented locations, proximity to rail, bus, or micro-mobility options is a competitive advantage in scoring. The depth and affordability of in the length of affordability. We want units serving our lowest income possible and a minimum 50-year affordability term. Supportive housing, we want development setting aside units for supportive housing aligned with ESHI, the state's supportive housing initiative, which will certainly be a priority. And high opportunity areas, places where affordable housing options are scarce and where residents can access jobs, schools, and amenities. The key dates to the program are the following. June 17th, as I mentioned before, is when the applications are open. August 21st is our founding round the time that it will close. During the last quarter of 2026, which is between October through December of this year, we will be reviewing the applications. And during the first quarter of 2027, disbursements will begin. Guidelines and application requirements will be posted on the county planning website beginning on June 17th. And applications may be requested, and questions should be directed to Housing Flex Fund 2026 at Westchestercountyn Y.gov. Again, the application submission deadline is August 21st. Lastly, we encourage all eligible developers, nonprofit and for-profit alike, to start preparing now as the application window opens in two days. This is Westchester investing in its own future. Every project funded through Housing Flex Fund 2 represents another family or household with a stable, affordable place to call home. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 17:48

Thank you, Commissioner Lopez, and thank you for your leadership with the planning department. We greatly appreciate it. I'm now going to give a rundown of some of our parks initiatives for this week. Playland is now open for the full season, not just weekends. Beginning this Wednesday, June 17th, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Playland Amusement Park will be open where you can enjoy the classic thrills, family fun, and the unmistakable magic of Playland Park. Admissions free for spectators. The Kittyland Rideband is $20 per person for Westchester residents and $25 per person for non-residents. The Big Park ride band is $27 per person for Westchester residents and $32 for non-residents. Parking is $15 per car. And the park will be open starting this Wednesday, June 17th through Sunday, every week through Labor Day. This Friday, June 19th, 11 a.m. to 6 30 p.m. Glen Island and Playland Beaches will be open June 19th, 20th, and 21st. Beginning Friday, June 26th, Glen Island and Playland Beaches will be open daily through from Friday, June 26th through Monday, September 7th. Croton Point Beach will be open on weekends and Labor Day through Monday, September 7th. All of these are weather permitting. No admittance after 6 p.m. There are parking and beach admission fees at each of the beaches. Westchester County residency is required for Glen Island Beach, but Westchester County residency is not required for Playland or Croton Point Park beaches. This Saturday, June 20th, from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. for free, there's Tai Chi class at Kensico Dam Plaza. Experience the calming power of this ancient moving meditation that blends slow, flowing movements with deep breathing. And then lastly, on Sunday, again, the 21st, from 8 a.m. till noon, bicycle Sunday on the Bronx River Parkway, the 13.1 mile loop from Westchester County Center south to Scarsdale Road in West in Yonkers. Enjoy bicycle Sundays. County Executive?

Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins 20:14

All right, thank you so much. I'm Deputy County Executive Joe McDonald, um, giving us a rundown of so many things, but starting first um with with the um introduction of of Commissioner Blanco Lopez and talking about um the first ever um annual report from the Department of Planning, which does so many things in so many different areas. So it's this is an exciting time, and we're looking forward to seeing that, whether it's ADA compatible, as as the Commissioner pointed out, um, but it has so much good information in it. And then um something that um Joe McDonald um personally started with the things with the work with her team when she was director of operations and creating the flux fund one, which was a $90 million dollar program to do this, and now this is another tool in the toolbox, flux fund two. And Commissioner Lopez, thank you for so much for breaking down the various timelines to get through that, and again, to make sure that again we have challenges in making sure that we have affordable, fair and affordable housing. But one of the things that I hope that people heard out there that this is for um for market for for market rate as well as affordable housing, and that's really important because affordable means different things to different people, and we need a um the whole range of affordable housing or housing for people in Westchester County to make sure everyone has the opportunity, whether it are young folks that are starting out, or whether they are seniors that want to retire and stay in place here in the great county of Westchester to be able to continue those things. So, again, thank you so much, Commissioner, and we're looking forward to see how those things continue to progress as far as Flex Fund 2 is concerned. Um, we we absolutely started off today and and John McDonald's hooked through our our plain land and and all. All of the things that are happening. We are in summer mode now, right? So we're having Playland Park open every day. Um we're having beaches that are open. We're getting ready to get to the place at the end of the month where the pools will open as well. Um, we'll have some more exciting announcements about that as we want to talk to people about water safety and making sure that you're designating folks to do that. Um, ending up, of course, with the uh 13.1 mile loop that is the Bronx River Parkway from the county center to Scarsdale Road to talk about bicycle Sunday and with the good asterisk that said it starts at 8 o'clock in the morning, so 8 to 12. That gives everyone an opportunity to get out there before it gets too hot. Um, this past Sunday uh was an example of that. At the middle of the day, it was 92, 93 degrees, feel like 100 degrees with the humidity. Um, but it was great. People got a chance to start early um on the Bronx River Parkway to do that um and continue to talk about that. Um we started off today and with talking about um our Commissioner of Community and Mental Health, Michael Orth, and um his appointment uh as that chair for the statewide organization, um which was a reflection and is a reflection of his more than three decades of service to Westchester County and his dedication every day to improving mental and behavioral health services throughout this county and obviously throughout the state as well in other roles that he's had. So we are incredibly, incredibly proud of his leadership and expertise. We'll now help guide counties across New York State to 62 counties under the National Association, um the National New York State Association of Counties, um compared to the National Association of Counties, they're a subset of that particular organization. Um some of those favorite traditions we know are coming back again, playland um in full swing. And we certainly started off um talking about the um New York Knicks. We know that Westchester Knicks um you know play in our county center. Um they practice in Westchester County, and we know now that they fly into Westchester County a lot of times, not every time, but most of the time they fly into Westchester County. Um, and we're really so proud of all of all of them. Um, and we are going to continue to have that party on for us here on Thursday to make sure across Westchester County wear your blue and orange and make sure um that you can continue to uh support and show your love and support for the for the team all over. Um and because of the park system, I know that we saw a social media posted there that um Josh Hart is looking for great places to play around in Westchester County. There's great golf clubs, but we know that we have the fan most fantastic facilities um in Westchester County. We'll reach out to Josh Hart and his family and see if you can get them in the nationally accredited and award-winning park system, whether it's at Hudson Hills or Spring Lake or anything that was Saxon Woods, we have so many great golf courses. We got you, Josh. Not a problem. Right. At the end of the day, we want to continue to say um with as much as we can say, um, Nixon 5. It's like saying hello to people now. You just say Nixon 5, and everyone knows that they're that we're in the right place to move forward. I'm Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins. Thank you so much for watching. We'll see everyone out there where we are various places throughout Westchester County. We want to say thank you to our high school interns who today is their last day as they graduate and continue to move forward. And um, some of them will be back in school next year, but some of them are moving on and rising seniors and going to the next level. Um, colleges because most of them sometimes they take a little time off before they get go to that next stage. But we are so proud of all of them and all their work that they continue to do, and we're looking forward to that. I'm Ken Jenkins. Have a wonderful day. Stay safe out there.