Hamptons’ Community Housing Fund Crosses Major Milestone
The Peconic Bay Community Housing Fund surpassed $100 million in collections from its launch. The next question is what to do with that money.
The participating towns in the East End crossed that threshold a few months ago, Behind the Hedges reported, citing figures recently released by New York State Assembly member Tommy John Schiavoni. That includes more than $21 million this year through the month of July.
Participating towns brought in $79.12 million during the program’s first three years.
“These monies are a critical lifeline for our region, and they ought to be utilized to the greatest extent to make life here more affordable, and to prevent further outmigration of our nurses, firefighters, teachers, and the next generations,” Schiavoni said.
Enacted in 2022, the CHF instituted an 0.5 percent tax added onto home sales in Southampton, East Hampton, Southold and Shelter Island, pivotally shifting revenue from land conservation toward housing; Riverhead chose not to participate.
The fund can be used for a variety of purposes, including efforts around community and affordable housing and assistance for first-time buyers.
East Hampton has used part of its $32 million in funds since the program’s inception to help first-time buyers. This year, the town earmarked $600,000 for down payments and closing costs, allowing eligible buyers to obtain interest-free loans for up to $30,000 apiece.
In Southampton, meanwhile, funds are being directed towards first-time homebuyer assistance, lending to homeowners for the creation of accessory dwelling units and the creation of at least 170 affordable housing units.
Still, even with the funds, towns need to deal with a myriad of zoning restrictions and the ability of environmentalists to use state reviews to block projects they deem undesirable.
“The pain of not having community housing is starting to get bigger than the perceived pain of allowing affordable housing,” Douglas Elliman real estate broker Mike Daly recently told The Real Deal.
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