Round Swamp Farms Helped Kill a Hamptons Affordable Housing Project

"The Hamptons has had an affordable housing crisis for decades, but in recent years, not only have restaurant workers, landscapers, and firefighters been priced out of the towns where they work, even doctors making $350,000 a year say they can't find anything in their budget. (The pandemic didn't help, either.) Even the North Fork, once a more affordable alternative, now has median home prices in the $1 million range."

"Despite a growing number of town initiatives and widespread support for affordable housing in theory, individual projects often face opposition. Still, it was surprising that mere days after a 79-unit affordable housing project was proposed on a 6.5-acre plot of undeveloped East Hampton land, public uproar led to the project being canceled."

"The affordable housing proposal for 152 Three Mile Harbor Road and 33 West Drive was introduced by Kirby Marcantonio, one of the four partners in contract to buy the land for the development, at a town meeting last week, the East Hampton Star reported. (Marcantonio is also the publisher of Hampton Life and Montauk Life magazines.) The discussion grew tense, and in the hallway after the meeting, the Star reported that residents raised their voices at a councilman who'd refused to give the project a hard no. Less than a week later, Marcantonio announced that he was backing out of the deal due to strong local opposition."

The Hamptons has long faced an affordable housing crisis that has accelerated in recent years. Workers across industries and even high-earning professionals report being priced out, and North Fork median home prices have reached about $1 million. Towns have initiated affordable housing measures and public support for affordability exists, but individual developments frequently meet local resistance. A proposed 79-unit project on a 6.5-acre East Hampton site was introduced and then canceled within days after intense public uproar, petitions, and concerns about sewage management and traffic incompatible with nearby agricultural uses.

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