Bait and Switch

When what is now referred to as Liberty Gardens was first introduced in 2019, it was hailed as a well-timed workforce housing project that would begin to make a dent in the lack of affordable housing in Southampton, providing a large number of dwellings to area workers who were struggling to make ends meet — and often choosing to move west, or away. It was exciting to see a private developer come forward with an affordable housing plan, one that would help augment a handful of municipal plans that Southampton Town had started to draw up on its own.

What seemed, then, like good fortune now looks like something else. In another context, the facility proposed by Concern Housing may be a great project that would help scores of veterans and provide housing for some people in dire need. But it is decidedly not what was originally pitched — and that seems like intentional misrepresentation, which is reason to give pause. Combined with very real concerns about the site where it is proposed, it’s just unsupportable.

The plan originally called for a 60-unit workforce housing complex behind the Southampton Full Gospel Church on County Road 39, right on the Southampton Village boundary. The affordably priced rental units would be split between several buildings on 5 acres of a 9.4-acre parcel owned by the church. As first pitched, 15 of the units would have been set aside for veterans.

In order to get that kind of density on the 5 acres, Concern Housing needs a zone change, with more units being included because they’d be affordable. Both the community and town officials reacted favorably to that plan in January 2020.

But at some point after that — and it’s not exactly clear when — details began to change. It was no longer being promoted as workforce housing, but as affordable housing, a subtle but significant difference. The 15 units originally being set aside for veterans morphed into 30 units, or half the development. And they were no longer simply earmarked for veterans but for Vietnam-era veterans with mental health diagnoses, who would require extensive support services — provided by the developer.

Put bluntly, instead of workforce housing, what was being described was primarily a residential program for veterans with mental health issues. While that’s a noble cause, and perhaps there is a genuine need for more of it, it’s a far cry from a rental development for local workers.

When asked about the changes last month, Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman admitted that he “struggled with that a little bit.” He noted that the developer was seeking subsidies coming from the New York State Office of Mental Health to fund the development and couldn’t change the distribution at this point. He added, “It would have been nice if he never modified the proposal. But it’s very hard for me to turn my back on homeless veterans.”

Which is exactly why the Town Board needs to reject the project. It feels manipulative — if town leaders are wracked with guilt and are tempted to set aside real concerns about a flawed proposal, one notably different from what was originally pitched, it’s a bait-and-switch based on emotional blackmail.

Certainly, nobody wants to see veterans cast aside. Had the applicants pitched the project that way from the start, it’s a conversation worth having. But would this be the site best suited for such a project? Along the busiest stretch of roadway on the East End?

There have been other changes as well. When first introduced, the project called for one entrance from County Road 39, with two additional roads leading in or out, one toward the Hillcrest neighborhood and another to Seasons Lane to the west. Residents of those neighborhoods quickly objected, and the entrances were dropped from the plan. That left the only egress on County Road 39. It’s far from optimal.

Schneiderman, in January 2020, said he was in favor of allowing the application — but only if there were alternative ways in and out of the development that did not include directing traffic into Hillcrest or onto Seasons Lane. A recent environmental study submitted as part of the application, however, lists no alternatives. The supervisor apparently did not hold the developer to this requirement.

The affordable housing crisis on the East End has been a focus for at least a decade, maybe two, with not enough done to address it. It’s only natural, then, when a developer comes along and dangles the promise of much needed housing for local workers, that local officials could be lured by the promise of affordable housing, at whatever cost.

But the cost for Liberty Gardens is simply too high. Concerns about traffic impact and the danger of entering and exiting the property must be considered. Any new housing would strain police, ambulance and fire services, but those demands clearly would be higher for the proposed facility.

Officials and residents who originally found themselves in favor of the proposal should feel duped. The developer made promises of 60 workforce housing units; when the smoke cleared, an entirely different project is in its place.

The Town Board must reject the zone change application and either tell Concern Housing to go back to the drawing board or find somewhere else for the project. It’s a proposal built on a shaky foundation — which makes it a bad risk.