The East Hampton Town Board has appointed an advisory committee to review potential affordable housing initiatives and make recommendations to the town board, following the town’s recently adopted Community Housing Opportunity Fund Project Plan.
The move follows passage of a community housing fund proposition in November, of which East Hampton voters were decisively in favor and which authorizes a one-half of 1 percent tax on some real estate transfers. The tax is in addition to the 2 percent transfer tax on real estate transactions for the community preservation fund.
The committee comprises town residents with backgrounds including housing advocacy, construction, banking, law, and real estate. They are Alice Houseknecht, a volunteer director of Montauk’s food pantry; Adam Miller, a real estate attorney; Ray Harden, an owner of Ben Krupinski Builder; Emma Barrientos, a longtime banking official, and Sarah Brooks Minardi, a real estate broker and East Hampton Village’s representative on the committee. A town board liaison and representative of the town’s Planning, Housing and Community Development, and Land Acquisition and Management Departments will serve as ex-officio members.
The Peconic Bay Region Community Housing Act, signed into law in 2021, authorized the five East End towns to establish community housing funds to be supported by that transfer tax.
The Community Housing Opportunity Fund Project Plan outlines strategies and fund expenditures that are allowed under New York State law and have been identified as potential initiatives to create affordable housing for residents of the town. They include the purchase of land or buildings to create affordable housing, rehabilitation of existing buildings for use as affordable housing, down payment or other financial assistance to buyers, housing counseling, the provision of loans to construct accessory dwelling units, and public-private partnerships for the creation of affordable housing and employee housing.
The committee’s initial meeting will happen “shortly,” according to a statement issued from Town Hall last Thursday.
