With the turn of a lottery spinner, the 19 affordable housing units in the newly constructed apartment building in Great Neck Plaza came one step closer to occupancy on Friday.
Village of Great Neck Plaza Mayor Jean Celender presided over the random selection of housing applications, which will determine the order in which they are reviewed.
The village received 24 applications for the affordable apartments, which limit rent to 30 percent of income and are targeted at emergency services workers, combat veterans, village employees, young middle-income residents and senior citizens.
“The lack of affordable housing on Long Island has been well documented,” said Celender. “We’re excited that this can meet the needs of trying to help people keep residency here.”
During the selection, each application was given a numbered card to protect the privacy of would-be renters, which was then picked at random. The applications will be reviewed in the order of their selection and the village hopes to complete the process within the next few weeks, Celender said.
The apartments are located at 255 Great Neck Road, the site of a new 94-unit doorman building developed by Lalezarian Properties in concert with the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency and the village. The affordable rentals, which Celender said are comparable to the development’s market-price units and are spaced throughout the building, are the first implementation of a 2005 village law that mandated the placement of workforce housing in new developments in the village’s LIRR-adjacent C-2 zoning district.
Celender said the law was important to the Great Neck Vigilant and Manhasset-Lakeville volunteer fire departments. According to the mayor, the departments had said that the lack of nearby affordable housing was detrimental to retention and recruitment.
“This is the problem – having firefighters who are volunteers, so they can respond to [emergencies,]” said Celender.
The village was also motivated to create local housing opportunities for younger residents who are being priced out of the neighborhoods where they grew up, Celender said.
“We’re trying to bring that back down to a more normal, a more acceptable amount for housing,” she said.
But the village may have to solicit more applications to fill the program’s units.
Celender said the village would not know how many apartments would be filled until the review of would-be renters is complete. She indicated that there may be enough ineligible applicants to leave vacancies.
“My guess, sitting here now, is that we’re going to have another round of submissions,” she said.
The application process was not cost-free. The village charged a $125 application fee, a practice that Celender said is common among municipalities offering similar programs.
“People would rather not pay, but I can’t say that it’s been a significant issue to inhibit people from applying,” she said. “You encourage people that are serious for it.”
The program is targeted at middle income workers who earn between 50 and 100 percent of the median income in Nassau and Suffolk counties. In dollar terms, a family of four is eligible if household income is between $53,750 and $107,500. The program also imposes limits on the total assets of eligible renters.
The cutoff for applications was Oct. 1.
While village applicants have priority, remaining apartments are also open to first responders, veterans, municipal employees, young residents and senior citizens from the rest of the peninsula. If units are still available, the village will consider eligible applicants from all of Nassau County.
Reach reporter Dan Glaun by e-mail at dglaun@theislandnow.com or by phone at 516.307.1045 x203. Also follow us on Twitter @theislandnow1 and Facebook at facebook.com/theislandnow.
