To The Editor:
Let’s get right to the point.
We need to entertain the notion that there is something unusual about Greenport Mayor Kevin Stuessi’s stated support for affordable housing and zoning changes for Greenport West; and the slow walking of the (free to the Village) sewer line extension contract signed by the Hubbard administration and CJC I Corporation in April 2018.
Held up by Covid and Suffolk County Health Department changes and recommendations, the proposal has required a Village resolution since May 2, 2024 that has not been forthcoming.
The Mayor in multiple face to face meetings has been slow to move off the mark.
This is confusing, because the environmentally friendly and code compliant project is proposed for the only vacant parcel in the “Corridor” and has the potential to bring more affordable housing units to Greenport than the 55 units framed as a housing crisis “solution” by the Mayor.
The Beacon reported that the Mayor made the following statement at an Aug 13, 2024 NFEC-sponsored forum on zoning changes and affordable housing. When speaking about Greenport West, he said “you can have a gas station, a deli, lumberyard, a bus yard, what you can’t build there is a community center with a swimming pool and 55 units.”
So what is he really proposing for the village? Affordable housing or a swimming pool?
The CJC 1 proposal, on hold awaiting village finalization of a May 2025 resolution, involves a mix of uses, including affordable housing, and is expandable to the adjacent properties. So you get affordable housing units without the removal of valuable commercial real estate from the tax rolls. You don’t get high maintenance costly government infrastructure.
Economics favors the CJC1 approach.
Where in the USA has high density workforce housing ever countered the widening gap between workers’ wages and the American Dream?
In summary, several of us would like to better understand why this worthwhile project hasn’t gained more support with the current Village administration. We struggle to understand how our code compliant retail showrooms existent for decades are now labeled as a threat to newer enterprises in the hamlet. We ask you to join your neighbors in opposition to meaningless code changes. Write or email the Mayor and Village Trustees in support of the current code and recommend a Village resolution to move the sewer line project towards completion.
Sincerely,
Michael Domino,
Greenport
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