Opinion

Welcome to Westchester, Mr. Prez

Today, Gov. Cuomo welcomes President Obama to Tarrytown, where they will discuss support for the Tappan Zee Bridge.

And Rob Astorino — the GOP candidate for governor — hopes they will make a side visit to Westchester “to witness first-hand the rich diversity of our county and understand how policies by the Department of Housing and Urban Development are sadly and ironically hurting some of our neediest residents.”

The policy he’s referring to is the HUD accusation that Westchester is guilty of housing discrimination. But under the dubious legal theory the feds are using — “disparate impact” — they don’t need to prove actual discrimination. All they need to do is show that a neighborhood is not what some HUD bureaucrat thinks it should be.

Obama, Cuomo and Astorino all have leading roles in this clash.

Obama’s administration continues to pursue the charge against Westchester. Meanwhile, Gov. Cuomo’s state Democratic Party has used the dispute to run ads suggesting Astorino is a bigot.

As for Astorino, he’s fighting the hostile federal takeover of local zoning laws, noting that Westchester has higher percentages of African-Americans and Latinos than Manhattan.

No doubt he’d like to show Obama and Cuomo the realities on the ground. As well as introduce the president and the governor to his African-American running mate: Chris Moss, sheriff of Chemung County and vocal critic of the gun laws Cuomo rammed through Albany last year.

Sounds like a detour well worth making.