The Southampton Town Board will hear a formal presentation today, Thursday, July 28, on a requested zoning change that would allow for the construction of a 50-unit affordable housing apartment complex in Speonk.
At the 11 a.m. work session at Town Hall, representatives of Jericho-based Georgica Green Ventures LLC are expected to present their plans to the board for the 4.4-acre property at 41 North Phillips Avenue, which now features six separate buildings—five one-story houses and a two-story apartment building that houses 10 units—and is zoned both residential and village business, according to town records. The company is requesting to change the zoning of the land to multi-family, which would permit the additional density—an issue that has raised the ire of some local residents who oppose the project.
At a late November public forum on their proposal, which has the support of the Southampton Town Housing Authority, Georgica Green officials said they want to build multiple buildings for the 50 apartments that would be marketed to working middle-class families. The company is the same developer behind the Sandy Hollow Cove apartment complex in Tuckahoe that was ultimately approved by the town over the objections of some residents.
This week, Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said the plan is to create affordable housing in a town that has lacked it for years. He also noted that those who would ultimately rent the apartments would be screened by the town and prove that they earn at least $30,000 a year, while a family must take in at least $120,000.
“We want to provide respectable housing within our communities for people who work in our community,” Mr. Schneiderman said. “In the last 20 years, there have been zero affordable housing rental units created. We have zoning that doesn’t let the free market create them, so I think we have some level of responsibility.”
He added that he has received positive feedback on the housing project, but expects some opposition at today’s work session, and the subsequent public hearings, due to density concerns as well as the stigma that is often attached to government-backed housing initiatives.
“It’s schoolteachers, nurses, firemen,” he said, referring to those who would be living in the apartments, if they are built. “They can’t actually live in the town. There’s no choices that are affordable.
“With this,” he continued, “a teacher can go to a school play at night. A nurse can respond to an emergency. It adds to the soul of your community. When you just have housing for seasonal residents, it loses its vibrancy.”
The Georgica Green proposal is one of two apartment complexes proposed for the North Phillips Avenue corridor. The other is a 44-unit complex proposed by Centereach-based All Island Purchase Corp. for 7.7 acres at 85 North Phillips Avenue.
on Jul 27, 2016