Demand to make the Middletown Town Center affordable
Many of you may not be aware that the Town Administrator and Town Council are currently negotiating the future of the Middletown Town Center on West Main Road behind closed doors, with a private developer.Not in public, but behind closed doors.
At a recent Town Affordable Housing Committee meeting on June 6 I asked the Town Administrator and Town Council president the status of those negotiations, and if they included affordable housing. We were told, “they cannot discuss those negotiations in public, nor can we discuss the percentage of affordable housing included.” They would not even discuss the number of residential units included in current plans and negotiations.
Think about that for a second. We have town land, that your taxes paid for, for arguably the largest development this town has seen in 40-plus years, and the negotiations are happening behind closed doors? Really? With a developer with close ties to current Town Administration and Town Council members, whose major goal with the project is to add another hotel to their portfolio.
I recently was appointed to the Middletown Affordable Housing Committee where I am happy to serve with four other dedicated community members.I asked to join this committee because I saw the town racing to add as many affordable housing units in this town, just to make the state happy. Racing, without care for current residents, the neighbors of proposed developments, and in some cases, ignoring the protective zoning ordinances that the rest of us have to comply with.
I got involved, because I see a real need to make Middletown more affordable, especially for our seniors, but not at the expense of the hard-working, current residents of our town. I am happy to report that my fellow committee members and I all unanimously voted on June 6 for the following: “The Affordable Housing Committee formally recommends to the Town Council that 25% of Middletown Town Center development on West Main Rd must be reserved for affordable housing.”
This is where I humbly ask for your help. Please reach out to the Town Administrator and the Town Council, and let them know that the Town Center development needs to include public input, and must include 25% affordable housing.We cannot pass on this opportunity to make Middletown more affordable.It is our Town Center.
Charlie Roberts, Middletown
Middletown homeowner tax break is shortsighted
Thank you so much for the tax break you are proposing. As one of the fortunate few Middletown residents who had the foresight (or was it just sheer dumb luck?) to purchase our homes years ago when real estate prices were reasonable and mortgage rates were at historic lows, I must say, my housing expenses are relatively stable. Unlike those unfortunate souls who can’t afford to buy a home and are condemned to the purgatory of renting, I can bask in the glory of predictable, manageable monthly mortgage payments.
Your proposal to tax rental properties 30% more than resident-owned homes might strike some as draconian and unfair, but not me. No, I see the genius in it. I wholeheartedly welcome the resulting reduction in our taxes. After all, it’s high time that we, the true Islanders, reap more benefits from our prudent investments while those "non-resident" non-Islanders (aka: anyone that rents) shoulder a bit more of the burden. It is more than fair.
When you say you truly care about housing affordability and the crisis that people in Middletown and across the country are facing, we believe you. We really do. We believe you even as you propose measures that will undoubtedly increase the cost of housing. Coststhat landlords will most certainly pass on to their tenants in the form of higher rents. It’s a brilliant move, really, shifting $2 million in taxes from those that can afford it to those who can't. By making housing more expensive, you’re bound to solve the affordability crisis in some roundabout, 4D-chess kind of way that most individuals including myself can't quite comprehend. But we trust you.
So, thank you. Thank you for your unwavering dedication to our (homeowners) financial well-being instead of the unlucky renters of Middletown, otherwise known as "Non-Residents." They should continue to pay more than their fair share. Your vision for a more affordable future – where only those of us who had the foresight to buy early benefit – is truly inspiring.
Leon Amarant, Middletown
