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Politics & Government

NAACP Meeting Focuses on Affordable Housing

Units for seniors and help for struggling homeowners on the agenda.

Dr. William Spencer, chairman of the board of commissioners of the Huntington Housing Authority and an otolaryngologist in Huntington, spoke about the proposed housing construction in Huntington Station at Thursday night’s NAACP meeting. The construction would involve significant changes to Gateway Gardens, a residential housing unit located on Lowndes Avenue.

Gateway Gardens currently consists of 40 housing units: 30 designed for families and 10 for senior citizens. The apartments were initially built in 1967, but due to wear and tear, the infrastructure of the building has started to significantly deteriorate. The proposed plan would be to not only renovate the existing family apartments, but to also demolish the 10 current senior units and build an additional 46 one-bedroom senior units in two three-story buildings, one building housing 20 units and the other containing the remaining 26 units.

Spencer discussed the numerous benefits the senior citizen housing would bring to Huntington Station. The new residential units would provide increased revenue to the district, create jobs and support existing businesses, he said. The units would also not add any additional children to the school district, a concern that many Huntington Station residents shared due to the struggling school budget.

“The preliminary estimate is that [Gateway Gardens] would provide over $100,000 in revenue,” Spencer said. “At least $100,000 would be going directly to the school district.”

“Senior units also have one-third the impact of a family unit,” he added, since senior units produce significantly less car traffic.

Also speaking at the meeting was Susan Lagville, executive director of Housing Help, Inc. Housing Help is a non-profit agency, located in Greenlawn, that has been serving low and moderate income households in the Huntington area for the past 45 years.

Lagville discussed the numerous services Housing Help offers to Huntington residents in need. Whether residents desire home buyer counseling, mortgage default counseling or information about foreclosure and eviction, Housing Help strives to provide residents with the financial skills necessary to either maintain their housing or pursue their housing goals.

“In this economy, everyone is now scrambling, trying to save their home,” Lagville said.

Housing Help has also been working on an affordable housing development on the corner of Elwood and Pulaski Road in Greenlawn. Known as Matinecock Court, the development is set to provide 155 units of affordable housing. The construction of the development is currently being funded by the New York State Division of Housing, federal tax credits, the Town of Huntington and private financing. Housing Help has partnered with a private developer to construct the development.

The NAACP meets monthly, on the third Thursday of each month, at the South Huntington Public Library. Next month’s NAACP meeting will celebrate Black History Month and feature Kevin Bailey, a Whitman High School graduate, motivational speaker and published author.

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