Affordable apartments in East Hampton available through lottery

An affordable housing development in East Hampton is accepting applications through July 20 from renters who meet certain income requirements.

The Green at Gardiner’s Point, a 50-unit complex on Three Mile Harbor Road, offers rents at $1,500 for a one-bedroom apartment, $1,784 for two-bedroom apartments and $2,045 for a three-bedroom apartment.

Affordable housing developer Georgica Green Ventures and the East Hampton Housing Authority partnered on the $34 million complex made up of five two-story buildings.

Providing affordable housing opportunities is important to the economy of East Hampton and will help in recruitment of employees, municipal workers and volunteer firefighters, said Catherine Casey, executive director of the East Hampton Housing Authority.

“We have to provide housing that helps keep a healthy community with people of different income levels so the local economy is year-round and provides basic services,” Casey said. “ … You don’t want to wait three hours for a plumber when there’s leaking.”

Applicants must earn a minimum of $60,000 a year to rent the one-bedroom units, with income capped at $65,640 for individuals and $75,000 for couples. 

Household incomes are also capped at $75,000 for a couple renting a two-bedroom unit and $93,730 for a family of four leasing a three-bedroom apartment. The criteria varies by unit size and household size.

Rents are designed to take up no more than 30% of tenants’ income in accordance with federal guidelines. Earlier this year, a report from the state comptroller’s office showed more than half of Long Island renters pay more than that portion of their incomes toward rent.

Applications can be mailed to East Hampton Housing Authority, P.O. Box 2106, East Hampton, NY 11937 or delivered in person to 316 Accabonac Rd., East Hampton. All adults who plan to live in the household must sign the application. The application is available at easthamptoha.org.

The Green at Gardiner’s Point is Georgica’s second development in East Hampton following the 37-unit Gansett Meadow on Montauk Highway, which was completed in 2021. The developer has recently opened communities in Roslyn Heights and Glen Cove and broke ground on another in East Patchogue in May.

The development includes a community room, laundry room and playground. Upper-floor units have balconies while ground floor units have private patios.

“We try and make the best case we can that if we improve the quality of affordable housing, more towns and communities will be more receptive to it,” said David Gallo, co-founder and president of Jericho-based Georgica Green Ventures.

“More people can see themselves, their families or friends living in it," Gallo said. "Georgica has worked hard to change the optics and perception of affordable housing through its design and management, so communities want to see more of it.”

Five of the units at The Green will give priority to people with disabilities, with three adapted for people with a mobility disability and two for someone with a hearing or vision disability.

The developers will award 41 units through the lottery, while eight units are separately set aside for people earning 30% of area median income or less, which is $32,800 for an individual or $37,500 for a two-person household. Those units will be designated for Section 8 voucher recipients through a separate process administered by Community Development Long Island.

Thus far, the Green has received 310 applications, Casey said. Affordable developments on Long Island often receive hundreds more applications than there are units available.

With the 50 units, East Hampton Housing Authority has built 180 units since 1993.

More funding could soon be available to build on the East End. East Hampton opened applications last month to request funding from the its Community Housing Fund, which voters approved in 2022. The fund collects money through a 0.5% tax on most real estate transactions.

It had raised $4.7 million through May 1. Casey said East Hampton Housing Authority plans to apply for funding. 

By Jonathan LaMantia

jonathan.lamantia@newsday.com@jonlamantia

Jonathan LaMantia covers residential real estate and other business news on Long Island. He previously covered the business of health care for Crain's New York Business.