Letters

Although the cause célèbre in Southampton Town Hall is affordable housing, our supervisor fails to note a parallel issue. Is affordable housing the only reason for the exodus of local people?

I would suggest the lack of good-paying jobs is a major contributing factor. When our graduates complete their education, there are few opportunities for employment in their hometown. Therefore, they move away and generations of our residents never return. Instead, more and more houses are demolished to fulfill the insatiable appetite of the nouveau riche for their ostentatious houses.

Despite past attempts to attract employers to Southampton Town, there remains a lack of well-paying high-tech opportunities for employment. In reality, how many quality job openings resulted from the Hampton Business District at Gabreski Airport in Westhampton?

If an all-out effort were initiated to draw quality employers to our town, local educated residents would remain. As a consequence, houses would be occupied and not torn down to satisfy the demands of the ultra-wealthy. In place of building permits, we would have actual neighborhoods, and a sense of community.

We are not only losing traditional Southampton houses but the families that called them homes.

Greg Robins

North Sea