Do-over scheduled for botched Vineyard View affordable housing lottery
The first lottery for an affordable housing development in Southold Town in nearly 15 years has been voided after officials learned that an administrative error kept some of the applicants out of Monday’s drawing.
Conifer Realty, the developers for the 50-unit Greenport rental project, announced online Wednesday afternoon that a fair housing plan plan adopted for the property using state and federal regulations requires them to draw the names of every single applicant for a lottery to be valid. So next Thursday, August 6 at 11 a.m., they’ll host a second drawing to create a new list.
“We deeply regret this unfortunate mistake and any inconvenience it may have caused. Again, we sincerely apologize for this error,” Conifer Realty officials wrote in a post on the Vineyard View website. “We thank the community for your patience and understanding as we fully investigated and worked with appropriate stakeholders on a resolution plan.”
The company said it will notify each of the applicants of the resolution plan, which they said was approved by a state monitoring agency, over the next two days.
Monday’s drawing was the first affordable housing lottery in Southold Town since 150 people entered for the chance to purchase 22 affordable homes at The Cottages in Mattituck in August 2005. That lottery was overseen by the town.
Construction at Vineyard View, which was developed by Conifer Realty working with the Community Development Corporation of Long Island, is in the late stages along Route 48 in Greenport.
There are 14 one-bedroom apartments available, 22 two-bedroom units and 14 three-bedroom units. There are two income-based price points for the units and in order to qualify for the New York State of Opportunity project an applicant cannot make more than 60% of the area median income for Suffolk County. The rental prices and income limits also vary based on how many people would live in each unit. On the lowest end, a one-bedroom will cost $1,056 per month to rent, and three-bedroom units cap out at $1,784 a month, according to materials shared on the Conifer Realty website.
The community will feature a fitness center, clubhouse and playground for the residents of its 50 units.
In its statement, Conifer Realty said “if any applicant is not contacted within [two days], has any additional questions or wishes to further confirm application receipt and inclusion in the lottery process, please contact Kelly Shields directly at 631-315-9677 or via email at [email protected].”
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