The Westchester Brief | 06.24.26: Can the County Run Playland?

The Westchester Brief | 07.01.26: 47,000 Lose Coverage Today

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2468485/fan_mail/new] The Essential Plan cliff lands today. As of July 1, New York lowered the income line for its no-premium health plan, and roughly 47,000 Hudson Valley residents, many in Westchester County, lose coverage. We trace the change from a 2025 federal law to a Westchester kitchen table, and explain where the costs go next. In This Episode (0:00) A rule changes today, and 47,000 neighbors wake up uninsured (0:25) How the income line dropped from 250% to 200% of poverty (1:15) The federal law that cut $7.5 billion from a $14 billion program (2:15) Marketplace plans, premiums, and the $2.5 billion left unspent (3:00) Why uninsured residents become a hospital and county cost (3:40) What else is happening: the Katonah Museum's founding-families exhibit (4:10) Close Sources Fiscal Policy Institute: regional impacts of the July 2026 Essential Plan cliff NY State of Health and NY Health Access: the income-eligibility change Subscribe to the newsletter for the full story delivered to your inbox at iliveherewestchester.com. 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 | Nick Khamsopa: The Real Housing Bottleneck Isn't Land

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2468485/fan_mail/new] Westchester is short roughly 21,000 homes and rental vacancy sits under two percent. The usual explanation is land, money, and demand. This week's guest, developer Nick Khamsopa, makes a different case: the real bottleneck is people, specifically the shortage of developers who can hold a municipality, a pension fund, an environmental attorney, a lender, and an architect together long enough to break ground. Nick started with a hammer, spending five years in a union carpentry apprenticeship before moving up through contracting into financing and community development. Today he runs Hudson Housing Lifestyle in Warwick, building on brownfield sites with union labor and long-term financing designed to keep working families where they already live. We get into the unglamorous, deal-by-deal work of actually assembling a project, and why that, not land, is where Westchester's housing math breaks down. In This Episode  (0:00) The headline housing story, and what it misses  (1:30) Why the bottleneck is developers, not land or money  (4:00) From union carpenter to community developer  (8:00) Brownfields, union labor, and financing that keeps families in place  (15:00) What it actually takes to break ground Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, or share this episode with a neighbor. 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 | 06.30.26: Your SALT Cap Just Hit $40,400

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2468485/fan_mail/new] For seven years, Westchester County homeowners could deduct only $10,000 of their state and local taxes. For 2026 that cap jumps to $40,400, a swing worth thousands of dollars a year for most households below the income phase-out. We explain how the new SALT cap works, why it expires in 2029, and how the Conley versus Lawler race in New York's 17th district will help decide its future. In This Episode (0:00) The deduction you lost in 2018, and the news most people missed (0:20) How the $10,000 cap became $40,400, and the $505,000 phase-out (1:45) What the change is worth at a Westchester kitchen table (2:45) Cait Conley, Mike Lawler, and the 2029 clock (3:30) What else is happening: the New York Blood Center's new Rye campus (4:00) Close Sources SmartAsset and Anchin: the 2026 SALT cap and phase-out News 12 Westchester: the NY-17 Democratic primary result Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, or share this episode with a neighbor who owns a home here. 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 | 06.29.26: Indian Point's $25M School Hole

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2468485/fan_mail/new] The Hendrick Hudson school district in the Town of Cortlandt, Westchester County faces a shortfall of more than $25 million for the coming year as the last of its Indian Point nuclear-plant revenue runs out. We break down how the district got here, and why an 8% tax hike or a savings raid are the only exits left. In This Episode (0:00) The promise of closing Indian Point, and the bill that came due (0:20) How $25 million a year in plant payments fell to $3.3 million (2:00) The 8% override vote, the $6.6 million reserve draw, and 52 lost positions (3:00) Why every community with one giant taxpayer should watch this (3:45) What else is happening: the county's new Affordability and Economic Development Task Force (4:15) Close Sources Peekskill Herald and River Journal Online: Hendrick Hudson and the Indian Point revenue loss Spectrum Local News: the district's budget shortfall Subscribe to the newsletter for the full story delivered to your inbox at iliveherewestchester.com. 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 | 06.26.26: Westchester's $10,000 Tax Bill, Decoded

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2468485/fan_mail/new] Westchester County has the highest property taxes of any county in America — a typical bill near $10,000 a year. But the government everyone blames takes the smallest slice. This week on The Friday Intel, we break your property tax bill apart: how Westchester compares to the wealthiest suburbs in the country, how wildly the bill swings from Scarsdale to the rest of the county, and the one finding that should change who you pay attention to — schools take about 63 cents of every property tax dollar, while county government takes only about 16. In This Episode: - (0:00) Cold Open — the highest tax bill in the country - (0:30) Intro and Context — decoding one lump number - (1:30) The Data — the ranking, the peer comparison, the town-by-town spread - (4:00) The Surprise — where your tax dollar actually goes - (5:15) What This Means for You — your bill, home-shopping, and the new SALT cap - (6:15) Close Sources: Tax-Rates.org (Census-based county rankings); New York State Comptroller (property tax distribution); Ownwell (Scarsdale); Wiss (2026 SALT cap). Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or share with a neighbor. 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.