Letters

Affordable housing on the East End has become “the topic” for our town and village officials. The premise is that families cannot find housing that is priced at a level they can afford, so they have to find housing outside of the East End; therefore, ways have to be contrived to make housing available. (Hmm, what about the cost of food, gas, etc.?)

Is the problem housing or transportation? What advantage would you have in living on the East End if, particularly during the peak business season, it still takes you two hours to get to or from employment?

The Village of Sag Harbor has analyzed this issue for the many years I can remember — those garage and co-op conversions, second-floor units, etc. To the best of my knowledge, no real dent in the problem has developed. The issues are constant: neighborhood density, congestion, sewage, parking, access and neighbor acceptance, for a few.

We now have a proposal to address the problem on a grand scale [“Sag Harbor Village Board Takes A First Look At Affordable Housing Proposal,” 27east.com, July 4], which will have very high density, increase congestion in an already congested area, require a massive increase in sewage treatment capacity, suggests 30 parking spaces to meet the needs of 79 housing units and the needs of a new 30,000 square feet of retail space, in an area that has very poor vehicle access for service vehicles, much less residents and shoppers.

Where is the recreational space for children in these units? How will these residents fare in the event of another major fire incident in the business district? The only immediately apparent advantage in this project is to the developer, through the suggested access to New York State funding.

What could be a better way to address affordable housing? We need our East End officials to collectively analyze the complete issue — transportation, housing, cost of living — and then offer developers the opportunity to invest in the defined solution(s).

I, for one, do not think that solutions are found by turning Sag Harbor into an airport with high-rise housing.

Pierce W. Hance

Sag Harbor

Hance is a former mayor of Sag Harbor — Ed.