South Bay Village's promise of housing seems lost on Sayville
It was standing room only at last week's Islip Town Planning Board meeting. Credit: Michael A. Rupolo Sr.
At the start of a 5½-hour Islip Town planning board hearing last week, developer Gregg Rechler tried to anticipate the hostile arguments residents might make, saying he "wanted to clear the record."
He then ticked off key facts about his plans for a development known as South Bay Village, correcting misinformation on everything from whether he'd seek tax breaks (he won't) to whether the proposed buildings would be high-rises of four stories or more (they won't).
But what became truly clear in the hours that followed was that residents refused to believe him. Their entrenched opposition to Rechler's proposal for Sayville's defunct Island Hills golf course property was too deeply rooted in their own facts and assumptions. Rechler could have said the sky was blue and the golf course's grass was green, and many of the 100-plus commenters in the crowded meeting room wouldn't have believed him.
Rechler Equity Partners has owned the 114-acre Island Hills property for more than a decade. Its proposal, changed twice before, now involves 890 units, 55% of which will be earmarked for those 55 and older. The plan includes 576 rentals and 314 for sale, with a maximum height of three stories.
Perhaps there's room to revise those numbers downward. But for many, negotiating isn't an option.
"How many versions of the word 'no' do all of you need to hear before you start to listen to us?" one resident asked. "I would respectfully ask that you vacate this plot and let it remain what it always was meant to be since the Teddy Roosevelt administration — green space in perpetuity."
Green space in perpetuity. That's sure to help young Long Islanders seeking a way to stay here.
Six years ago, prospective homebuying households on Long Island had to earn about $132,282 to afford a median-priced home here. Now, according to a recent Newsday analysis, that same household would have to earn $242,261 to afford a median-priced home.
That's nearly double Suffolk County's median income.
That doesn't seem to matter to those focused on protecting the "character," "integrity" and "stature" of their community and stopping this "monstrosity" that will bring "unwanted trouble."
Some opponents tried a more palatable tack, emphasizing concerns over traffic and the refuted tax breaks assumption. Others, however, voiced all-too-familiar refrains, ones I've heard often in nearly three decades of covering such meetings. Some things don't change.
"Every community I've ever seen that had subsidized housing always fails … The houses turn into little dumps inside our communities," said one.
"There is no benefit to these high-rise apartments and Queens," said another.
"You're talking about changing the entire character of a neighborhood," said a third.
Then there's the picture they painted of Sayville's bleak future.
"Homeowners have a vested interest in their neighborhood. They contribute to a community," one said. "And tenants are transients and they take from the community."
"Now they want to change Sayville," another resident said. "It almost reminds me of 'It's a Wonderful Life' … It reminds me of Pottersville and Mr. Potter. You want to change the character of the town."
Pottersville. The dark, dilapidated, dystopian version of the bucolic Bedford Falls.
Many spoke of their children as they lauded the safe, charming community they claimed South Bay Village would destroy.
But if Island Hills remains "green space in perpetuity," what happens when those children are grown and looking for an apartment or home of their own?
They won't find it in Sayville.
Columnist Randi F. Marshall's opinions are her own.
Randi Marshall is a member of the Newsday editorial board.
