Letters

It is undeniable that we have a housing crisis in the Town of Southampton. Our limited housing inventory continually increases in value. Construction has not kept pace with demand for affordable housing by any stretch of the imagination.

Case in point, Tommy John Schiavoni, in a debate with Stephen Kiley before the League of Women Voters, vying for the seat to be vacated by Fred Thiele from the 1st Assembly District, cited the construction of only 59 affordable units in the last 10 years. While laudable, that is, by anyone’s account, a woeful number in comparison to the need.

It is also staggering in comparison to the town’s conservation of hundreds of acres of property during the same time period through the Community Preservation Fund. The numbers themselves demonstrate what we value — and therein lies the rub.

While Schiavoni is accused of never having met a developer or development that he didn’t like — a head-scratcher, given the dearth of affordable housing built in the town at all — at least he is trying to find a solution.

During the debate, Schiavoni discussed the use of a variety of tools to tackle the housing crisis we face: mixed-use zoning, disability and affordability easements, creative uses of the recently established Community Housing Fund to help first-time home buyers and provide no-interest loans for accessory dwelling units, along with participation in the Pro-Housing Community Program, which will provide the town preference for a variety of discretionary grants that can help us build affordable housing.

Schiavoni recognizes that the creation of affordable housing is a good thing for our town, as it will provide needed workforce housing, allow people to age in place, provide housing for our vulnerable populations, give first-time home buyers a fighting chance, increase our tax base, and, with all the other tools we have in our toolbox, start to mitigate traffic congestion.

In contrast, Kiley was less than convincing. He quibbled with terminology — “affordable housing crisis” versus “housing crisis,” which is truly a distinction without a difference — decried “overdevelopment” without defining it or providing evidence for it, and committed to currently available but limited building norms, which, to date, have not yielded the quantity of affordable housing necessary to alleviate the crisis in which we find ourselves. Such a narrow approach is unworkable.

Schiavoni is who we need in the State Assembly. Endorsed by Fred Thiele and having many years of experience grappling with these issues, Schiavoni is primed to continue Thiele’s legacy, work with the town at the state level to address the issues we face, and find real-world solutions. That is the mindset we need working for us in Albany.

John J. Leonard

Hampton Bays