Just before Thanksgiving, the Southampton Town Board voted to send a letter of intent to become a Pro-Housing Community to Albany, after months of contentious debate.
The New York State Pro-Housing Community program gives communities that take the Pro-Housing pledge access to apply for numerous state-administered grant programs, in exchange for pledging to take numerous steps to create more housing opportunities and report those steps to the state.
Pictured Above: The Speonk Commons workforce housing development, developed by the Southampton Housing Authority and Georgica Green Ventures.
The Southampton Town Board voted 4-1 in favor of sending the letter at its Nov. 26 meeting, with Councilwoman Cyndi McNamara voting against it. Southampton now joins the neighboring towns of East Hampton, Riverhead, Shelter Island, Brookhaven and the Village of Greenport in taking the pledge.
Ms. McNamara, who has been a vocal opponent of the proposal from its inception, said she’s concerned about the state overreaching into local affairs, and said she’s concerned that the town “must make a pledge to incorporate regional housing needs into our planning, which is bringing people from outside this town into our town.”
She then pointed out several lawsuits brought against states other than New York in their attempts to mandate housing, including New Jersey and Massachusetts.
She added that she doesn’t believe there are grants the town is currently seeking that require taking the pledge.
Other board members disagreed.
Councilman Tommy John Schiavoni said a proposed affordable housing development at the town’s Bridgehampton Senior Center and a new Housing Authority project in Water Mill are going to need funding, as well as nine new units in North Sea.
He added that 70 percent of the people who live in two affordable housing complexes in Speonk and at Sandy Hollow were from Southampton Town, and most of the others were from neighboring towns and worked in Southampton.
“These are people from here, who will be staying here,” he said, adding that the passage of the 2022 public referendum creating the Community Housing Fund is a clear indicator that voters “would like this Town Board to address housing in our community.”
“Our population is growing, but our schools are decreasing,” he said. “I would like to see a range of people, of different ages, raising families here. We’re not going to build our way out of this.”
Town Supervisor Maria Moore added that a new town-owned Westhampton Community Center in the works could be eligible for grants if the town takes the pledge.
Councilman Michael Iasilli added that up to $3 million in capital improvement grants from the state could be used for the Westhampton Community Center, which is slated to cost nearly $10 million, and the New York Main Street program also requires the town to take the Pro-Housing pledge.
Several members of the public spoke up about the resolution before the vote, and most were supportive.
Southampton Village Volunteer Ambulance Corps board member and 20-year veteran EMT Jimmy Mack said that he’s seen “dozens of young, qualified EMTs, people we have trained, leave this community and go west. It’s devastating our volunteer ambulance corps.”
He added that he is 67 years old and has three years left on his license, and he’s not sure he will recertify.
“I’m thinking of calling it quits, ’cause I should be the one calling for help,” he said. “Currently, the majority of our board is senior citizens.”
Gail Lombardi of Hampton Bays is skeptical.
“This is probably going to adversely affect Hampton Bays, because everything adversely affects Hampton Bays,” she said, adding that she doesn’t trust New York State after dealing with its regulations regarding Battery Energy Storage Systems and legal cannabis.
“I was shocked to find out that all the surrounding areas had already signed on to this,” said Mackie Finnerty of Southampton. “What happened to us? We should be leaders, not followers…. Young doctors at the hospital, even they can’t afford to live out here…. We need to get on this, and we can’t keep talking about it.”
“It’s 7:30 at night, two days before Thanksgiving. What are we doing here?” asked Julie Keyes of Sag Harbor. “I know everyone sitting here is here because we love this town, we love this community too much… We’re here because we want to take care of our grandparents and our neighbors and our children.”
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