New Affordable Housing in the Hamptons Will Be for Those Earning Less Than $106,200

June 3, 2016

A new plan to bring affordable housing to one of the Hampton’s priciest stretches has residents up in arms, reports The Post. The town of Amagansett is planning to erect a below-market rate complex that would add 12 two-bedroom and 12 three-bedroom homes to the area, with rents ranging from just $1,100 up to $2,300 a month. The development would mingle with the estates and New York City escapes of the rich and famous, including that of Naomi Watts, Jerry Seinfeld, Gwenyth Paltrow and Scarlett Johansson—just to hame a few. Incredibly, a family of four could be earning as much as $106,200 annually (120 percent of the AMI) to qualify.

531 montauk highway
Drawing via the EHHA

The development would rise atop a 4.67 acre property at 531 Montauk Highway, which has been zoned for affordable housing for 20 years. The site has potential for a 15-building development, part of which would be dedicated to affordable residences. According to the East Hampton Housing Authority, the “plan is for a transit oriented, walk-able community of clustered cottages and one 2,000 sq. ft.commercial building, in a pocket neighborhood built to Passive House standards.” The new complex would support 97 residents, and in addition to housing, there would also be room for four retailers and communal amenities like garden space and a playground.

Surprisingly (or maybe not), more six- and five-figure residents in a land where properties on average sell for $2.8 million (and a trailer home would dare ask $1.2 million) is cause to wield pitchforks and torches. As the Post relays, a petition via move.org has been started by the project’s opponents and so far 200 residents have signed it. “We believe that this project will have a negative impact on our water quality, traffic, emergency services, property taxes, the Amagansett School, our public utilities and natural resources,” it states.

One notable, scathing comment on the petition has been left local Doug Schumacher who writes, “I’m tired of watching government try to do everything for everyone. Let the the free market run its course. I’d like an oceanfront house in Furter Lane are they going to make that happen for me?”

In response, Housing Authority executive director Catherine Casey has countered with her own Supporters for the Amagansett 531 Community Development Plan petition, which has generated 184 signatures so far. On it she writes, “A small, vocal, well connected minority in Amagansett is waging a campaign against this proposal for 531 Montauk Highway. Please express your support for the project by signing this petition. Let the decision makers in East Hampton know the small group of vocal opponents do not accurately represent community opinion.”

A 2019 completion date has been pinned to the project.

[Via NYP]

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