This Is Why You Can’t Buy a Home in Yonkers Anymore
- Dan D'Amico
- 6 days ago
- 5 min read
Your tax dollars should help families become homeowners, not keep them renting forever.
Across Yonkers and Westchester County, working families are doing everything right. They are working hard, paying taxes, raising families, saving what they can, and trying to build a future. But for too many residents, the dream of homeownership keeps getting pushed further and further away.
One of the biggest reasons is simple: government housing policy is not focused enough on helping everyday people buy homes and build equity.
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For years, taxpayers have watched government hand out property tax exemptions, subsidies, incentives, and public dollars to developers. In return, too often, we get luxury rental towers that many Yonkers residents cannot afford and will never own.
That is not a housing solution. That is a system that keeps working families renting forever.
This is part of a much larger affordability crisis in Yonkers and Westchester County. I have written before about why homeownership is how families build wealth and why Westchester County should be focused on helping residents own homes, not just creating more expensive rental units.
Yonkers Needs More Paths to Homeownership
Yonkers does not just need more buildings. Yonkers needs more opportunities for people to own.
When government gives developers tax breaks or financial support, taxpayers have a right to ask an important question:
What are we getting in return?
If public dollars are being used, the public should benefit. That means housing policy should prioritize affordability, ownership, long-term stability, and wealth-building for the families who already live here.
Instead, too many projects produce luxury rentals while the average family is left asking the same question: How am I ever supposed to buy a home here?
That is the problem.
I have also discussed this issue in my article, The Housing Crisis in Yonkers Isn’t an Accident, where I explain why county government has a major role to play in creating real housing solutions for District 16.
Luxury Rentals Are Not the Same as Homeownership
There is nothing wrong with development. Yonkers needs investment, growth, and new housing. But when the government uses taxpayer money or gives special tax treatment to developers, those projects should serve the people of Yonkers, not just the bottom line of large developers.
Luxury rental towers may increase the number of units, but they do not solve the homeownership crisis.
A renter pays every month and builds no equity.
A homeowner pays every month and builds wealth, stability, and a future.
That difference matters.
Homeownership has long been one of the most important tools for building generational wealth in America. When government policy makes it harder to buy and easier to keep people renting, working families lose.
That is why I believe Westchester County should be looking at policies like down payment assistance, more ownership-based housing, and smarter use of public dollars. I made that case in my article, Your Tax Dollars Built EV Chargers. They Could Have Bought 1,800 Families a Home, where I explained how government spending priorities could be redirected toward helping families buy homes.
Taxpayers Should Not Be Funding a System That Prices Them Out
Yonkers residents already face high property taxes, rising costs, expensive utilities, inflation, and a housing market that feels out of reach. The last thing taxpayers should be doing is subsidizing projects that do not create realistic ownership opportunities for the people paying the bills.
If public money is involved, there should be public accountability.
If developers receive tax exemptions, there should be real community benefit.
If county government supports housing projects, those projects should help families stay in Yonkers, buy in Yonkers, and build a future in Yonkers.
We need to stop rewarding a system where taxpayers help fund luxury development and then get priced out of the very community they helped build.
I have also raised concerns about how taxpayer money is being spent in Westchester County, including in my article, Westchester County Spent $45 Million on EV Chargers While Cutting Schools, Police, and Fire. That article shows exactly why we need to rethink our priorities and focus on the issues residents actually talk about at the doors: affordability, taxes, public safety, housing, and quality of life.
My Plan: Put Homeownership First
As a real estate broker, small business owner, former FDNY firefighter, husband, and father, I understand how important homeownership is to families across Yonkers and Westchester County.
I have sat across the table from families trying to buy their first home. I have seen how hard it has become. I have watched buyers compete in a market with limited inventory, rising prices, and fewer affordable ownership options.
That is why I believe county housing policy must change.
As your County Legislator, I will fight for policies that:
Prioritize homeownership, not just rental development.
Demand transparency on taxpayer-funded housing incentives.
Push for more condos, co-ops, starter homes, and ownership opportunities.
Hold developers accountable when they receive tax breaks or public support.
Make sure Yonkers families benefit from Yonkers development.
Support housing that allows residents to build equity and stay in their community.
Push to redirect money allocated for green energy projects like EV charging stations toward homeownership grants.
We need housing policy that works for taxpayers, families, seniors, young professionals, and first-time homebuyers.
This is also part of my larger plan for District 16. You can read more about that in My 3-Point Plan for District 16: Taxes, Infrastructure, and Housing.
Yonkers Deserves Better Housing Policy
The people of Yonkers are not asking for special treatment. They are asking for a fair shot.
A fair shot to buy a home.
A fair shot to build equity.
A fair shot to raise a family and stay in the community they love.
A fair shot to benefit from the tax dollars they are already paying.
That is what this campaign is about.
For too long, the same failed policies have made it harder for working families to get ahead. We need leaders who will ask tough questions, challenge the status quo, and put taxpayers first.
Yonkers deserves housing policy that creates ownership, not just more luxury rentals.
Westchester County deserves leadership that understands the difference.
Read More on This Issue
If you care about affordability, taxes, housing, and the future of Yonkers, I encourage you to read more about where I stand:
It Is Time to Change Direction
If we want Yonkers to remain affordable, strong, and livable for the next generation, we need to stop treating homeownership like an afterthought.
Government should not be using taxpayer dollars to create a future where fewer families can own and more families are forced to rent forever.
We can do better.
We must do better.
And when I am elected to the Westchester County Board of Legislators, I will fight to make homeownership attainable again for the people of District 16.
Learn more about my campaign at ElectDanDamico.com.
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