Dan's Papers - August 1, 2008 - Southampton Takes Big Steps toward Workforce Housing

From misfortune comes opportunity and never was that more true than in Suffolk County's 72H Land Transfer Program, which in effect takes properties seized for non-payment of county taxes and turns them into affordable housing for families of four whose income is under $77,773.

In the Town of Southampton, 46 such sites have become available from the county, but only 21 are suitable for housing. Four of those are ready for immediate action concerning finding qualified owners or renters. With low income housing a priority for both the Town and Village of Southampton, actions are being taken in both arenas.

Much was made of the appearance of former Southampton Town Supervisor Patrick Heaney at a recent Town Board meeting, his first since being replaced by Supervisor Linda Kabot. Attending the meeting as commissioner of Suffolk County's Department of Economic Development and Workforce Housing, Heaney presented the town with his views on the immediacy with which the 21 properties should be acted upon. Supervisor Kabot concurred, acknowledging the town's need for affordable housing and calling the situation a housing crisis. She reportedly stated that "the onus is on us [the town] to get it done. We need to get shovels in the ground."

The town's Housing Authority Director John White is actively working on achieving this goal. If the Housing Authority is unable to do it all on its own, there are reports that White is open to cooperation from The Long Island Housing Partnership, The Community Development Corporation of Long Island, the Southampton Business Alliance Housing Initiative and Habitat for Humanity. The board is also looking into options to make home ownership possible with lower rates for mortgages.

In the Village of Southampton, Board member Bonnie Cannon's pursuit of a Village workforce housing trust is within sight. Cannon's plan would address the issue of affordable housing and assist qualified town residents in need. Cannon, who has been a champion for minorities and the poor for her entire career, stressed that this is not a handout, but a way to fulfill an important void in housing supply. Now, she has convinced the board to take action on creating the fund - one of its main goals is to provide "no interest or low interest loans to first time home buyers who live and/or work in the village."

On the Town level, there is a time limit for development of the county seized properties under the 72H Program. There are two deadlines: March 2009, and the fall of 2009 - with extensions possible and most likely. Heaney reportedly told town officials that grant money may be available to Southampton as it was for the towns of Huntington and Brookhaven. With the price of rentals high in Southampton, all of these developments are good news for the town and the village.