The Great Challenge

How is affordable housing on the South Fork like bad weather? Because everyone complains about it but nobody ever does anything about it.

That’s unfair: The problem persists, but, clearly, there are many people working feverishly to try to improve the options for working families who want to avoid an hour-long commute, and young people who grew up here and have the audacity to want to stay here as adults.

In fact, many of those people in both Southampton and East Hampton towns gathered last week, along with representatives of the local real estate community, for an Express News Group “Virtual Session” on the topic. It came at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated an already existing crisis: An influx of buyers and year-round renters fleeing the city has further limited the housing supply and forced up values and rents. That’s good news for property owners, but more than just an inconvenience for people simply seeking a roof over their heads while they provide for their families.

The issue isn’t new — it’s been an ongoing concern for two decades or more — but there’s a new urgency. The stresses on local life are as obvious as the traffic jams, even on back roads, as more and more people are forced into an east-west commute to work at local businesses. Finding workers, not to mention schoolteachers or other professionals, is getting harder and harder. And volunteer fire departments and ambulance companies are struggling to survive and overtaxing the existing members who cannot accept an unanswered call for help.

A key point that came out of the conversation: The demand for affordable housing comes from both buyers and renters. It must be addressed on both fronts, since many young people and earners lower on the scale are not nearly ready to take on a mortgage, but they still need a comfortable, safe and affordable place to live.

Both towns have made some progress in both directions. Perhaps the best idea, used liberally throughout the region, is the owner-occupied rental: One family benefits from purchasing a house, and benefits again by getting rental income on an attached apartment, which fills the need of a separate family. An added benefit: This type of dwelling fits nicely into every neighborhood — most recently, even in Sagaponack — in a way a larger complex of affordable apartments might not.

The two towns have experimented, too, with giving existing residents an opportunity to create rental spaces on existing properties. But it must be noted: Those efforts have largely been ineffectual, since very few property owners see the bottom line benefit of investing so much money in creating an opportunity for rental income.

There are very dedicated men and women whose jobs are focused, daily, on creating new affordable opportunities in the midst of a real estate climate that was diametrically opposed to their efforts even before a pandemic sent both prices and rents soaring. But, beyond them, it’s remarkable how quiet the conversation has been lately — at a time when every village and town panel should be talking about it. It’s about the health of a community, if not it’s survival.

Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr.’s legislation to create a new transfer tax to provide an essential flow of money to support the local efforts is stalled in Albany for the moment, though he said last week he’s optimistic he has addressed the concerns that led Governor Andrew Cuomo to veto the legislation creating the fund, opposed to creating any new tax.

The real estate industry professionals on the panel voiced concerns about the potential impact of yet another transfer tax, on top of the Community Preservation Fund, worried that it could kill the golden goose by hanging more and more added fees around its neck. It should be noted, however, that the same was said about the original CPF — and not only did those fears fail to come to pass, the region experienced a land rush like no other. It makes sense: Even at the highest end, buyers want to live in a community that works, that functions well, that isn’t choked by traffic and struggling to provide services.

Ultimately, the challenges haven’t changed. There is NIMBYism. There is the need for both land and money. There is a need for innovative thinking. Curtis Highsmith of the Southampton Town Housing Authority offered a glimmer of hope: The recent projects completed in the community offer an example of how a project can fit into a neighborhood seamlessly. It might begin to take the edge off the knee-jerk reaction to new proposals. And if Mr. Thiele’s legislation gets a green light, it could be a new era that begins.

It’s another way affordable housing is like the weather: Maybe it’s changing.