Westhab Partners with MHACY to Preserve Affordable Housing in Yonkers

Municipal Housing Authority is using Section 8 Vouchers to Expand and Preserve Affordable Housing

Thanks to a partnership between Westhab and The Municipal Housing Authority for the City of Yonkers (MHACY), Westhab has received 124 Section 8 vouchers that it will use to subsidize rents at several of its multifamily residential buildings in Yonkers. The vouchers will help ensure that tenants who qualify will pay no more than 30% of their income towards rent. At the same time, the anticipated increased income at the properties will allow for necessary building improvements as well as additional staffing.

“The goal is to preserve affordable housing for people who may be at risk of losing their homes because their incomes are too low to afford housing in our area,’’ said Wilson Kimball, President and CEO of MHACY. “Our partnership with Westhab makes sense on so many levels: It helps support low-income residents as well as a nonprofit organization that does such valuable work in our community.”

Andrew Germansky, Westhab’s Senior Vice President of Real Estate, commented, “We appreciate this opportunity to grow our partnership with MHACY and advance our shared goal of providing quality housing that is affordable to all members of our community. These vouchers will support our tenants and stabilize Westhab’s older housing portfolio in Yonkers for the long-term.” 

The partnership with Westhab is part of a larger effort by MHACY and Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano to expand affordable housing opportunities in the city.  

“Housing is key to the vitality of any city. In addition to all the new market-rate housing that is going up, we have renovated our public housing stock and are now making more affordable housing available through the use of Section 8 vouchers in partnership with building owners,’’ said Kimball. “This three-prong approach ensures that we provide a full spectrum of housing, and renew our commitment to provide safe, affordable housing for working families.’’

For more information on Section 8 vouchers visit MHACY’s website at www.mhacy.org