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Old 01-16-2014, 06:26 PM
 
Location: Suffolk County, NY
12 posts, read 25,661 times
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curious about thoughts on the Ronkonkoma HUB project...are you for or against it?
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Old 01-16-2014, 08:46 PM
 
Location: TOB
47 posts, read 98,144 times
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I'm still unsure about it. On the one hand, any new construction there will look much better than what's there now, and that counts for a lot. An update/revitalization is long overdue. That, and now that the airport is considered a metro airport, I imagine (hope) they'll upgrade transportation between the airport and the station. I just worry about parking for commuters and I haven't seen any concrete solutions to the parking issue. I do think there needs to be more housing options on LI. I was forced to move to Queens (which I hated) in my early 20s while I rented.

On the other hand, there are also population/congestion issues, the possibility of allowing subpar tenants to rent, demand on resources, etc. It seems there needs to be more study on the long-term impacts. Even so, they seem to be moving right along in the process anyway, without fully understanding (or at least fully informing local residents) the actual impact the influx of residents will have on our community.

I'm still torn. I wish I could have attended the hearings to actually witness the public discussion. I'm hoping someone who attended will post here... I also wonder who is for/against it or undecided. I also think that it's only a matter of time before they do what they want. They've done this in Nassau and Western Suffolk, it seems inevitable that they will keep moving east with this sort of development.
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Old 01-17-2014, 12:15 AM
 
1,082 posts, read 2,755,469 times
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First, notice almost all of the development on LI is focused on these high-density, city-on-the-island style developments. Whether it's Heartland, Ronkonkoma, or Avalon, lots and lots of units, not so much infrastructure. And yes, a lot of these units are for 'affordable' housing.

When you develop every last parcel of land but don't improve infrastructure (a topic beat to death on this forum), the quality of life plummets. Enjoy the beaches!
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Old 01-17-2014, 06:06 AM
 
7,296 posts, read 11,811,742 times
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Prior to the post-WW2 sprawling out of American households, the suburbs were organized into high density developments. This hub and similar proposals is simply going back to how things were done in the past. It might work for households who need to commute many miles to the west for jobs and would alleviate the use of highways and arterial roads.
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Old 01-17-2014, 07:11 AM
 
Location: Long Island
715 posts, read 1,229,371 times
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This is going to be a little tl;dr

I was at the hearing on January 9th. It was a packed house that day. There was a group of people there who were there in regards to eminent domain, but Romaine said it was not being discussed that evening and is not being considered an option at the time.

At the meeting, there were residents and businesses owners, empty nesters or soon to be empty nesters, who were concerned about their children leaving Long Island because there is no diversity in housing here or staying where they went away to college because there is more housing there. There were also some empty nesters who weren't looking to own a home anymore and wanted to live in a place like Ronkonkoma Hub.

There was one younger man, probably in the Millenial age bracket, who said that he is often 'forced to look in certain places' for housing. (I'm guessing he meant in basement apartments and apartments in houses).

There were a few business organizations there that support it (Sustainable Long Island, Long Island Business Institute, Long Island Housing Partnership) and many of the local unions were there supporting it. In regards to the person who is part of the LIHP, he said that when Canon was moving here, one of their biggest problems was finding housing for their young upper mobility workers.

There was concern about the density of the project, height of the buildings (a couple of buildings were going to be 5 stories high), not enough parking and addition to population. There was one guy there who was saying that most of the apartments should be for 55+; way to miss the point of all this

This past week, a group I belong to was able to meet with the mayor of Patchogue, since the group I belong to is trying to revitalize LI with transit oriented development like the Ronkonkoma Hub, and the New Village at Patchogue is being developed as one and the rest of the village of Patchogue has seen new businesses come in. And he said in regards to density, "Density is a product of design".

As for addition to population, I think people are mostly concern with the addition to the schools. At the same Patchogue meeting, they did a study on the 291 apartments that are part of the development and they said that it would likely add 17 children to the district. There was also a study done by LIHP that in Suffolk, single family households add 0.57 school children per dwelling, while multi-family apartments add 0.17 children per dwelling.

I think the development is a much needed shot in the arm. I have had way too many friends leave LI because they couldn't find housing that was decently priced. I have relatives who rent apartments for obscene prices. Everyone of them has a job and is a hard worker. I think the probably is what people see affordable housing as. Those who make between 30-45k a year need a decent place to live as well.
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Old 01-17-2014, 07:39 AM
 
7,296 posts, read 11,811,742 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by okellies View Post
And he said in regards to density, "Density is a product of design".
Basicaly the message is that these communities have to address other issues besides housing and commute to work (to NYC presumably).

We know LI is going to be challenged to attract new high paying employers so might as well try to find ways to make these developments better bedroom communities for the many who have to work in NYC.

If these communities can help their households minimize time driving on the road - like taking kids to school, going to houses of worship, libraries, theaters, basic groceries and nonperishable items - then they will be successful. They also need to offer public open spaces within their boundaries and some recreational destinations at least within a short drive (LI should not have problem with this given close proximity to beaches).

Ironically these same challenges were addressed generations ago by the older prewar suburbs.
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Old 01-17-2014, 07:46 AM
 
Location: Ronkonkoma, NY
19 posts, read 42,585 times
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I saw the following mentioned in regards to housing pricing: "Studio is $1300, 1BR $1850, 2 BR is $2450. 3BR rent was not mentioned". If anyone can update us here regarding the pricing and verify if this is correct please let me know.

If the goal is to keep the younger crowd here with more affordable housing I don't believe that you will do so with that type of pricing. If you use the 40x rule (salary / 40 = affordable rent) then you will see that for a 1 bedroom you would be looking at someone having to make $74k to live comfortably.

The other issue that hasn't been brought up yet is that no real estate taxes will be paid for 10 years. That is a lot of lost money right there.
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Old 01-17-2014, 07:51 AM
 
7,296 posts, read 11,811,742 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by djmadfx View Post
If you use the 40x rule (salary / 40 = affordable rent) then you will see that for a 1 bedroom you would be looking at someone having to make $74k to live comfortably.
Believe though if this is targeting NYC commuters then $74K/year is not far fetched. Also they get to save on other expenses like not having to pay NYC income taxes, public schools and libraries, and not having to frequently drive to the strip malls. At those rates, you are looking at either Queens or an isolated area in Manhattan and those are not very convenient areas to live in or commute from.

There could be a market at those prices mentioned.
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Old 01-17-2014, 07:55 AM
 
Location: Florida
1,748 posts, read 2,072,849 times
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The problem is, regardless of the prices set for the apartments, a certain percentage will be set aside for Section 8 housing, thus reducing the desirability of the community.
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Old 01-17-2014, 08:54 AM
 
Location: Long Island
715 posts, read 1,229,371 times
Reputation: 614
Quote:
Originally Posted by djmadfx View Post
I saw the following mentioned in regards to housing pricing: "Studio is $1300, 1BR $1850, 2 BR is $2450. 3BR rent was not mentioned". If anyone can update us here regarding the pricing and verify if this is correct please let me know.

If the goal is to keep the younger crowd here with more affordable housing I don't believe that you will do so with that type of pricing. If you use the 40x rule (salary / 40 = affordable rent) then you will see that for a 1 bedroom you would be looking at someone having to make $74k to live comfortably.

The other issue that hasn't been brought up yet is that no real estate taxes will be paid for 10 years. That is a lot of lost money right there.
The term of housing was also discussed at the Patchogue meeting I attended. Tritec, the same company that is doing Ronkonkoma Hub, actually lowered their prices on the apartments when they started offering them recently. Its $1,400 for a one bedroom now instead, I believe $1,800 was a starting point. It's not bad, but it could be better, I think. I can assume the same will happen with the Ronkonkoma Hub.

Some of the apartments will be given to lower income workers who make 40k or less a year. If I was looking for an apartment, I would be eligible for something like this (full time working employee, not section 8 btw).

Source for the information (good ol Newsdays): New mixed-use complex opens in Patchogue
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