A major renovation of the Kiley Youth Center youth activities building on Main Street, under discussion for more than five years, could be moving one slow step closer to happening.
The project has commitments of $4 million in Westchester County money and $1.5 million from Peekskill’s New York state Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) fund. The plans call for a new entrance on Main Street, a new teen center, new bathrooms, a kitchen, mechanical systems, roofing and landscaping.
But the wheels of government turn slowly, and in this case the United States federal government, Westchester County and the city of Peekskill all have rules and procedures that must be followed.
Adding to the picture is the still-open question as to whether the Boys & Girls Club of Northern Westchester will come to Peekskill and take over the programming at a newly-renovated Kiley Center.
State and county money in the pipeline
Westchester County’s funding share is in the 2025 county capital budget, according to a county spokesperson. Issuing the bond still has to come before the full Board for approval.
However, the Peekskill Housing Authority (PHA) needs signoff from the federal Housing and Urban Development Department (HUD) in order to lease the site to the county and secure the county funding.
Janneyn Phalen, Executive Director of the Peekskill Housing Authority, the owner of the Kiley Center, said HUD has a procedure that must be completed.
“Section 18 Disposition refers to the process of removing the Kiley Center from the annual contributions contract under Section 18 of the U.S. Housing Act,” Phalen said. “This means the property will no longer receive federal operating subsidies. It is a necessary step to meet the terms of the county ground lease and secure bond funding for renovations.”
The Housing Authority passed a resolution at its June board meeting to submit the Section 18 disposition application to HUD. This past January a consultant was hired to help submit the application. The June resolution named Nathan Bondar as the consultant.
Westchester County originally authorized its $4 million in funding in 2020. Since the county does not own the property it has no role in the HUD application process. Given the state of flux in Washington, D.C. agencies, there is no way to predict how long PHA will wait to get approval from HUD.
In June of 2021, Peekskill announced commitment of $1.5 million in DRI money for “a new renovated location for the Boys and Girls Club of Northern Westchester at the Kiley Youth Center. The upgrades will include repairs and improvements and will provide offices, an art room, computer labs and a cafeteria at a total cost of $1.5 million.”
Last week, Peekskill Planning Director Carol Samol told Peekskill Herald that DRI money remains committed to the Kiley Center project.
The total estimated cost in June 2021 was $6.5 million, with developer Bill Balter of Wilder Balter Partners committing $1 million in private funds. (Wilder Balter developed the 82-apartment affordable housing building at 645 Main Street, next door to the Kiley Youth Center.)
Given the high rate of inflation in the past four years, cost estimates calculated in 2021 will have to be revised upward, creating a need for additional funding or revisions to the renovations.
The original Kiley Center was built in 1959, containing approximately 9,060 square feet of space on three levels. An 8,160-square-foot pre-engineered metal structure building was added in 1996. The two buildings are connected. The renovation plan would enlarge the facility’s interior space to 23,327 square feet. The city sold the building to the Housing Authority in 1999.
Whither the Boys & Girls Club?
The possibility that Balter has withdrawn his offer of $1 million has been raised by several people familiar with the Boys & Girls Club proposal. Balter did not return a phone call from the Herald.
In April 2025, Mark Kamensky, the attorney for PHA, told the PHA Board that a condition of Westchester County financing is that programs be run at the center. If the Boys & Girls Club were to decide at some point after an operating agreement with the Housing Authority was signed that they could not run the programs, the Housing Authority would then be responsible.
Kamensky said at that time he was optimistic that an operating agreement with the Boys & Girls Club would be signed, but that no deal has been arranged yet. He said he would urge that talks conclude soon with the Boys & Girls Club.
Four years ago, Alyzza Ozer, the CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Northern Westchester, told members of the Peekskill Common Council that her organization would transform the Kiley Youth Center on Main Street into a Boys & Girls Club.
“We’re extraordinarily excited about the opportunity to work with all the partners in Peekskill,” Ozer said at the June 2021 Council work session. “We work very hard and love what we do. We look forward to the opportunity to serve more kids.”
Several months later, at a Nov. 8, 2021, Common Council meeting, then-Mayor Andre Rainey introduced a resolution that formalized the proposal to bring that Boys & Girls Club to Peekskill, with an anticipated opening in late 2022: “…and the last resolution of the evening and the one I’m most excited about,” Rainey said. “Congratulations to the City of Peekskill, congratulations to the youth, congratulations to the Boys & Girls Club and congratulations to the Peekskill Housing Authority for working out this agreement and coming this far.”
Ozer did not return an email requesting comment whether the Boys & Girls Club still plans to come to Peekskill. The Herald has been unable to determine who on the Peekskill Common Council serves as the Council’s liaison to the PHA.
