NEW DIRECTIONS
Community-Based Research Institute, Inc.
353 Hempstead Avenue
Malverne, New York 11565
(516) 599-6420
Re: Strategy to Introduce CLTs into Village of Hempstead and trigger CLT of Scale on Long Island
Background:
(1) New Directions has been working with Warren Tackenberg, the Executive Director of Nassau County Village Officials Association (NCVOA), since last March. He was interested in CLTs as a proactive response for Villages to be able to take care of their affordable housing needs.
(2) Recently, a new executive director has taken over the Long Island Regional Planning Board, which has called for legislature setting specific housing goals for Towns and Villages on Long Island. Mayor Troiano of Stewart Manor will represent NCVOA in these deliberations.
(3) Through New Directions' affiliation as of counsel with Kruman and Kruman, P.C., we had an opportunity to introduce the Homes and Hands video on CLTs to the Mayor and Community Development Director of the Village of Hempstead, who were invited to a meeting by long-time Village Judge Larry Goldstein. They sat through the meeting and agreed to welcome a CLT to two of the ten neighborhoods in the Village of 70,000 people. This idea has been pursued by New Directions' Director of Community Organizing, Biff Moorer, who has worked with leaders in the neighborhood and further presented the CLT video. We are ready to introduce Burlington's introductory training in mid September.
(4) Meanwhile, the opportunity to do a specific permanently affordable housing project in the Village of Hempstead has grown due to several factors:
a) The Mayor and Community Development Director have been working on a larger $2B multi-use restoration project, which is exciting but has gathered local resistance from ACORN and others;
b) The Mayor is active in the NCVOA board and is being actively promoted by Warren Tackenberg to see the virtue in this approach;
c) Nassau County has invested in traditional affordable housing in the Village of Hempstead, one of the few communities that has welcomed this type of investment;
d) The Long Island Regional Planning Board has been advised of the Village's plan to do permanently affordable housing.
(5) New Directions has let it be known that George McCarthy of the Ford Foundation will meet with local jurisdictions willing to do a scale investment in CLT housing (250+ units, in several projects, done in fast track development).
Strategy:
(1) Do an initial training program with the local group in the Village of Hempstead;
(2) Include the Long Island Regional Planning Board, Nassau County, NCVOA and other interested people in the training meeting;
(3) Be prepared to use the training to start a local CLT;
(4) Be careful to explain the 250 dwelling unit objective;
(5) Using the New York Institute of Technology architects, get a preliminary picture of County and Village of Hempstead land that may be available;
(6) Using Community Insight, design the project that will target the needed housing to the income groups;
(7) Using Tom Sullivan and developers, get a rough picture of the project numbers;
(8) Explain to Nassau County and Village of Hempstead the various methods that Burlington Associates could use to help shape this prototype.