Six days before she was elected to a second term as mayor of the Village of Tuckahoe, Omayra Andino paid $999,000 for a well-appointed single-family home in Ossining.
It is a house that she indicated on mortgage documents as her primary residence.
It’s a nice place – 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, with 3,840 square feet of living space. It is located in a private community of townhomes and single-family homes on the site of the historic Vanderlip Mansion in the historic Scarborough neighborhood. Residents there enjoy the gardens and extensive lawns on the 33-hectare site designed in the 1919s.ecentury by renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted.
It’s also a great location for Andino, just five miles up Route 9 from her workplace at the Institutes of Applied Human Development, a residential and day program for children with developmental disabilities where she is director.
On mortgage documents filed with the Westchester County Clerk, Andino stated on Nov. 1, 2023, that the Ossining home would be her primary residence for the first year of ownership. Andino’s two-year term runs until December 31, 2025.
That’s a concern for Tuckahoe residents, who prefer their mayor to have her primary residence in the municipality where they live.
Scott: ‘It’s a breach of trust’
Revelations that Andino has purchased a $1 million home in Ossining that she considers her primary residence stunned Joe “Scooter” Scott, the Tuckahoe Republican who ran against her in 2023. Scott, who lost by 203 votes, said it was news to him that the incumbent had started moving out of the village during the campaign.
“If this is true, it is disheartening,” he said. “It’s a breach of trust. We have multi-million dollar homes in our community that she speaks so highly of.”
Andino, who lives in the Gentry high-rise co-op apartment complex, said she too should be able to enjoy life in the suburbs, just like many of her constituents in Tuckahoe.
“My commitment to being mayor of Tuckahoe is unquestionable,” Andino said in a text message. “I put all my energy into this role. I have the right to ensure that my family can enjoy a home in the suburbs, just as many Tuckahoe residents do.”
According to the village law, a village mayor must be a resident of the municipality.
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Andino isn’t the only Westchester politician with residency issues. Former Westchester County lawmaker Chris Johnson, D-Yonkers, resigned in 2023 after a Tax Watch investigation found Johnson and his wife had purchased a new home outside his legislative district.
The home of independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at a friend’s house on Croton Lake Road in Bedford has become an issue in his effort to gain voting rights in all fifty states, according to a New York Post report.
Save on mortgage costs
Andino maintained her primary residence at 14 Westview in Tuckahoe, a co-op apartment complex where sales prices for 1- and 2-bedroom units on the market range from $189,000 to $275,000.
Andino said she stays at her home in Ossining occasionally and plans to move there permanently, but not yet.
She said the declaration that her Ossining home was her primary residence impacted the interest on her $749,999 mortgage.
“It will be my primary residence one day,” she says. “They ask you to choose which one will be your primary residence. Interest rates would have been affected.”
Irene Amato, owner of ASAP Mortgage in Peekskill, said second homes typically have higher interest rates because lenders view these loans as higher risk. Someone with two homes who experiences a financial setback will often make sure to stay current on the mortgage for their primary residence, she said.
“You are more likely to foreclose on a property that is not your home,” she said.
Exactly how much Andino saved on loandepot.com is uncertain. Emails to the mortgage company were not returned.
Andino: Ossining house her ‘second home’
Andino told Tax Watch that her home purchase, which was made as early voting was underway in the 2023 campaign, was for her “second home,” 20 miles from Tuckahoe. She insisted that her co-op apartment at 14 Westview Ave. remain her primary residence.
“I live in Tuckahoe and will continue to live in Tuckahoe,” she said. “All of my activities, the substantial community work that I do, takes place in Tuckahoe. It is the place where I eat, live and play.”
Scott said he was concerned about Andino’s decision to call the Ossining home her “primary residence.” The situation is said to call into question the mayor’s character.
More: Discover Tuckahoe: sip a pint at Broken Bow Brewery, enjoy fresh mozzarella at Pasquale’s Deli
“I was concerned about her character,” said Scott, who ran for Westchester County clerk in 2021. “It’s not fun to be proven right.”
Scott said Andino’s documented statement that Ossining was her primary residence was grounds for her dismissal.
“She should give back her salary and resign,” he said. “It is not right. It is difficult to put into words how violated I feel because as a resident of the village I felt that I had lost the election fair. Now I find out that it was done in a duplicitous manner.
Andino said she has worked hard to earn the trust of voters in Tuckahoe.
“Those with political agendas seeking to damage my reputation should remember that my consistent record of integrity and service speaks for itself.”
Scott’s running mate, Danny Lang, said he found “shocking” Andino’s statement on the mortgage documents that the Ossining home was her primary residence while she ran for re-election as mayor of Tuckahoe.
When Lang heard Andino later claim the Ossining mansion was her “second home,” he said the mayor seemed to have flipped the usual definition of “second home.”
“For most people, their second home is a fraction of the size of their main residence,” he says. “This seems like an inverse equation.”
He was also surprised that Andino, who oversees a $50 million nonprofit under regulatory supervision, would take this liberty with a legal document to obtain a mortgage.
“As CEO, she is accountable,” he said.
But John Filiberti, Eastchester’s Democratic chairman and real estate broker, said banks are more concerned about homebuyers who promise to make a house their primary residence and then turn it into an investment property.
“If you say it’s going to be your primary residence and then rent it out, it’s a different story,” he said. “If banks give you a mortgage, they won’t disqualify you if you don’t move in right after closing.”
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David McKay Wilson writes about tax issues and government responsibility. Follow him on Twitter @davidmckay415 or email him at dwilson3@lohud.com.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Mayor Andino of Tuckahoe, New York, bought Ossining house as ‘primary residence’
