Coast Guard Duplexes Eyed for Workforce Housing
With Suffolk’s acute shortage of affordable housing, especially for the working class, local officials are looking at the former Coast Guard duplexes in Westhampton, boarded-up eyesores owned by the federal government.
“These 24 duplexes would provide excellent housing for 58 families,” said County Executive Ed Romaine, who has discussed the project with Southampton Councilman Mike Iasilli. “The units can hook into the sewer plant at Gabrieski Airport and be back on the tax rolls.”
According to Iasilli, the 14-acre property was previously put up for sale by the General Services Administration with an estimated price of $5 million but was taken off the market in October. The town and county officials would like to form a partnership to acquire the homes, perhaps as a transfer from the federal government through a non-profit agency.
“We would like to see a diverse community—nurses, teachers, first responders, people in the trades—having the option of living close by,” Iasilli said. Because of the high property prices in the Hamptons, affordable homes are a rarity. The situation causes a “Trade Parade” that clogs up the Sunrise Highway and local roads as out-of-town workers head east. More affordable workforce housing would help alleviate the traffic tie-ups, officials say.
The GSA sale was postponed pending an Army Corps of Engineers study of nearby property, which had been used for military exercises and could still contain unexploded ordnances. The area was also the site of a BOMARC missile base, one of several facilities protecting the east coast from a potential Soviet air attack from 1959 until it was decommissioned in 1964. The Boeing Michigan Aeronautical Research Center, which had housed 56 nuclear-tipped missiles, has since been transferred to Suffolk County.
“I can tell you that the community would like to see the Coast Guard property go up for sale again because it's devaluing the surrounding properties,” Councilman Iasilli said, noting that the plywood over the doors and windows of the duplexes were not put up correctly and have become dilapidated. “These are working-class people who want to make sure the values of their homes are maintained. They’re tired of seeing it this way and are thinking that we should just make it a park.” Iasilli’s been in touch with Congressman Nick LaLota to see if the site can be better secured and perhaps speed up the Army Corps review.
“There is a critical need for workforce housing throughout Suffolk, especially out east where the property values are so high,” Romaine pointed out. “The government should explore all options to address the affordable housing crisis.”