Dan's Papers - June 6, 2008 - They Work Here, Maybe They Can Live Here

After months of proposals and discussions about finding homes for the working class in Southampton, it appears that a site on Sandy Hollow Road that was once mined for topsoil could finally be a location for the first development in Southampton Town devoted entirely to workforce housing.

Manhattan-based real estate broker Jon Sirkin of the Vesta Development Group recently discussed plans with members of the Southampton/Tuckahoe/Shinnecock Citizens Advisory Committee, a group designed to represent the three communities and provide recommendations to the Southampton Town Board. Sirkin's proposal for the site, currently zoned for 2-acre residential use, would include a 16-unit development separated into four individual farm-style houses approximately 1,150 square feet each, all containing four two-bedroom, two-bath units. There would be an on-site sewage plant, served by public water and natural gas, and the property would be accessible from Sandy Hollow Road.

Sirkin told the committee that each unit would be owner-occupied and priced between $281,400 and $337,650, but that could drop (with county and state funding) to $231,000 and $287,650. The houses would feature separate entrances, private outdoor space, washers and dryers, central air, gas heat and updated cable/phone/Internet wiring. The intended occupants would include nurses, teachers and other young professionals.

This isn't the first attempt to find a place for workers in Southampton. As recently as March 13, Village Trustee Bonnie Cannon, whose track record includes efforts in helping immigrants gain work visas (and have them placed in jobs in Southampton) and arranging for Certified Nurse Assistant training at Westhampton BOCES (to fulfill the need for local CNAs), had already made a related proposal to the Town Board. She explained that the need for a housing trust, which would either help create affordable housing or help possible future tenants and owners with the cost of housing, could be accumulated from donations and other funding. Cannon did stress the need to move forward quickly, lest the plan get tied up in the planning stages, but Southampton Mayor Mark Epley - no stranger in making efforts to help struggling workers - said he would wait to establish such a fund until the Village had auditor and attorney project approval. Cannon has since replied publicly that she expects two or three more board meetings will be required before the trustees put this matter to a vote.

Meanwhile, the Sandy Hollow Road plans have garnered immediate positive feedback. Frank Zappone, the chairman of the CAC, has stated that he feels this proposal is of merit and deserves full support, and since Sirkin's presentation, the CAC has decided to petition the Town Board to move quickly on the application. Dan's Papers spoke with Zappone on the subject:

What was the main inspiration to bring this together in Southampton?

Southampton has almost no affordable housing and the little that it does have is age restrictive. The Town has provided considerably less, for example, than the Town of East Hampton. Working class men and women cannot afford to live in the town. Not only are the policemen/hospital workers/teachers/municipal workers unable to afford to live in the town in which they work, but also the plumbers, carpenters, retail store employees, etc. are priced out of the community they serve.

Are there members of the community who have suggested this was necessary, and have there been any efforts to either aid or impede progress?

The current Town Board has spoken often of the need to support workforce housing projects. The project in question has received enthusiastic support from the Board. The only negative I've heard relates to disbursing such housing throughout the community. It would be mistake to focus such housing in hamlets such as East Quogue or Hampton Bays while not including Sag Harbor or Bridgehampton in any long-range plan for affordable workforce housing.

What are your thoughts on this project in general? And do you feel this is the first of more to come?

I would hope that this project is the first of several more to come. Such housing can only benefit the community. It will reduce traffic. It will help sustain the local economy throughout the year. It will [provide] evidence of the value of private sector/government partnerships [and] address community needs. It will provide [intelligent] land use. It will provide for a larger labor pool for local businesses struggling to hire and retain employees.