The Westchester Brief | 06.04.26: The Sanctuary County Fight

The Westchester Brief | 06.17.26: Yonkers' 4.75% Tax Hike

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2468485/fan_mail/new] Yonkers calls itself "Hollywood on the Hudson," but the city's new $1.64 billion budget still raised the combined property tax rate 4.75%. On May 29 the City Council unanimously adopted the largest budget in Yonkers history, trimming Mayor Mike Spano's proposed 5.25% increase but preserving all services and its workforce with help from $55 million in state aid. We explain why a development boom hasn't eased the homeowner's bill — and why the timing, days before the June 23 primary, matters. In This Episode: (0:00) "Hollywood on the Hudson," and a tax bill that went up anyway (0:25) The data: a $1.64B budget, a 4.75% rate increase, $55M in state aid, and the growth-versus-tax-base question (4:15) Quick hit: the World Cup arrives at MetLife (5:00) Close Sources: Yonkers Times ("City of Yonkers Adopts 2026-27 Budget; Tax Increase Reduced to 4.75%"); Westfair (Spano FY2026–27 executive budget); News 12 Westchester (state aid and council vote). Subscribe to our newsletter at iliveherewestchester.com. Tags: Westchester County, I Live Here Westchester, local news, Yonkers, property taxes, city budget, Mike Spano Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2468485/support] I Live Here Westchester is a production of I Live Here Media. We spotlight the voices, visionaries, and stories that make Westchester County more than just a place to live—it’s a place to belong. Have a guest suggestion or want to partner with us? Email: jimjockle@iliveheremedia.com Website: www.iliveheremedia.com [https://www.iliveheremedia.com/] Follow us on Instagram: @iliveheremedia [https://www.instagram.com/iliveheremedia/] Subscribe, rate, and share to support local storytelling.

I Live Here Westchester | Linh Hoang: Flowers, Vietnamese Coffee, and a 135-Year-Old Bank in Tarrytown

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2468485/fan_mail/new] Linh Hoang is opening Dahlia's Song in Tarrytown — a flower shop, Vietnamese café, and workshop space inside a 135-year-old former bank building on North Broadway. She grows over 400 dahlia varieties herself, including breeds that exist nowhere else, and she's building something Westchester has never quite seen before. In This Episode: (0:00) How a lifelong passion for flowers turned into a business (2:30) Finding and falling in love with the historic bank building (5:25) Growing 4,000+ dahlias across 400 varieties — and breeding originals (7:30) What Vietnamese coffee culture looks like at a table in Tarrytown (9:30) Thursday workshops: florals, watercolor, community, and kids (12:00) Competing against 1-800-Flowers with freshly cut, homegrown stems (13:20) Running seven businesses as a single mom — and why she's doing it (15:50) Opening end of June — how to follow the journey Follow Dahlia's Song on Instagram @dahliasong and visit dahliasong.com. Subscribe to The Westchester Brief at iliveherewestchester.com.1 Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2468485/support] I Live Here Westchester is a production of I Live Here Media. We spotlight the voices, visionaries, and stories that make Westchester County more than just a place to live—it’s a place to belong. Have a guest suggestion or want to partner with us? Email: jimjockle@iliveheremedia.com Website: www.iliveheremedia.com [https://www.iliveheremedia.com/] Follow us on Instagram: @iliveheremedia [https://www.instagram.com/iliveheremedia/] Subscribe, rate, and share to support local storytelling.

The Westchester Brief | 06.16.26: No Rate Cut, and What It Costs You

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2468485/fan_mail/new] The Federal Reserve meets June 16–17, and markets put the odds of holding rates steady at roughly 99% — no cut since December. For Westchester County, where the median single-family home now runs about $940,000, that means mortgages stay near 6.5% and the "wait for a cut" strategy gets more expensive. We translate the Fed's decision into the real monthly cost of buying a home here, and explain why the oil-price spike is part of why the cut isn't coming. In This Episode: (0:00) Why a Washington rate decision lands on your Westchester mortgage (0:25) The data: a ~99% chance of a hold, 6.5% mortgages, and a $500-a-month gap on the county's median home (4:20) Quick hit: Playland opens for its 98th season (5:00) Close Sources: CME FedWatch / CBS News / NerdWallet (June 2026 Fed outlook); Freddie Mac PMMS (30-year mortgage rate); Q1 2026 Westchester residential sales data (median price). Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or share the show with a neighbor. Tags: Westchester County, I Live Here Westchester, local news, mortgage rates, Federal Reserve, housing market, home buying Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2468485/support] I Live Here Westchester is a production of I Live Here Media. We spotlight the voices, visionaries, and stories that make Westchester County more than just a place to live—it’s a place to belong. Have a guest suggestion or want to partner with us? Email: jimjockle@iliveheremedia.com Website: www.iliveheremedia.com [https://www.iliveheremedia.com/] Follow us on Instagram: @iliveheremedia [https://www.instagram.com/iliveheremedia/] Subscribe, rate, and share to support local storytelling.

The Westchester Brief | 06.15.26: 85,000 Homes and the Summer Oil Bet

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2468485/fan_mail/new] About one in four Westchester County homes heats with oil — roughly 85,000 households — and this is the week they face a quiet but costly decision. Heating-oil pre-buy and cap-price contracts are sold in summer, and this year those households are pricing winter against the largest oil-supply disruption on record. We break down the numbers, why oil-heated homes get no state affordability backstop, and what to do before you lock a contract. In This Episode: (0:00) The summer oil decision facing 85,000 Westchester homes (0:20) The data: one in four homes on oil, NY heating oil at $4.10–$4.80, the Strait of Hormuz shock, and the NY HEAT delivered-fuels gap (4:30) Quick hit: early voting in the June 23 county primary begins June 13 (5:10) Close Sources: U.S. Census ACS (Westchester home-heating-fuel share); Win Climate / NY Renews, "NY HEAT and Energy Affordability in Westchester" (energy burden, delivered-fuel exclusion); NYSERDA Home Heating Oil prices; Westchester County Office of Consumer Protection (local gas/oil prices). Subscribe to our newsletter at iliveherewestchester.com. Tags: Westchester County, I Live Here Westchester, local news, heating oil, energy costs, NY HEAT, Hudson Valley Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2468485/support] I Live Here Westchester is a production of I Live Here Media. We spotlight the voices, visionaries, and stories that make Westchester County more than just a place to live—it’s a place to belong. Have a guest suggestion or want to partner with us? Email: jimjockle@iliveheremedia.com Website: www.iliveheremedia.com [https://www.iliveheremedia.com/] Follow us on Instagram: @iliveheremedia [https://www.instagram.com/iliveheremedia/] Subscribe, rate, and share to support local storytelling.

The Friday Intel | 06.12.26: Westchester at One Million — Who's Coming and Where the Pressure Lands

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2468485/fan_mail/new] Westchester County just crossed one million residents — the highest population ever recorded, with the largest single-year gain of any county in New York State, at a moment when 38 of the state's 62 counties are losing population. Today's Friday Intel breaks down the data underneath that milestone: where the growth is concentrated, what it is doing to housing prices, why the cities absorbing the most new residents are also the ones under the most fiscal stress, and what the population trajectory means for anyone buying, renting, or commuting in Westchester County right now. In This Episode: (0:00) Cold Open: 38 counties shrinking, Westchester growing (0:30) Intro and Context: The milestone and why the distribution matters (1:30) The Data: Where the growth is concentrated, what housing prices are doing (3:30) The Surprise: Growth is landing hardest in cities least equipped to absorb it (5:00) What This Means for You: Buyers, renters, and commuters (6:00) Close Sources: Census Bureau county-level population estimates; Westfair Communications Q1 2026 housing data; World Population Review 2026 projections. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or share with a neighbor. Westchester County, I Live Here Westchester, Friday Intel, local news, Westchester population, housing market, New Rochelle, Yonkers, White Plains, demographic data Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2468485/support] I Live Here Westchester is a production of I Live Here Media. We spotlight the voices, visionaries, and stories that make Westchester County more than just a place to live—it’s a place to belong. Have a guest suggestion or want to partner with us? Email: jimjockle@iliveheremedia.com Website: www.iliveheremedia.com [https://www.iliveheremedia.com/] Follow us on Instagram: @iliveheremedia [https://www.instagram.com/iliveheremedia/] Subscribe, rate, and share to support local storytelling.