Affordable housing must be spread throughout communities

Long Island faces a profound shortage of housing opportunities. This scarcity has many residents struggling to find suitable living arrangements, exacerbating economic disparities and leaving many residents — especially middle and low-income families — unable to afford to live on Long Island.

Southampton Town’s plan for 2,300 apartments in Riverside exemplifies this dilemma. It exposes worrisome power relations and resource inequities between affluent Southampton and middle-class Riverhead, and threatens to overwhelm the Riverhead school district and local resources, putting unfair pressure on a community already struggling to satisfy its residents’ needs. For housing development to be successful, communities like Southampton need to take into consideration the impact on residents of communities like Riverhead.

Housing Help Inc. has fought hard for affordable housing but we see the negative consequences of concentrating affordable homes in underserved neighborhoods. Southampton’s projected redevelopment might strain Riverhead, prompting issues about equality and fairness in regional growth.

One significant problem: the anticipated enrollment increase in the already-stressed Riverhead school district. Adding hundreds more students might result in overcrowded classrooms, inadequate resources, and lower educational quality. Ensuring that the school system is prepared and supported for these changes is critical to sustaining educational standards and community stability.

Riverhead’s enrollment of 5,480 is 63% Hispanic/Latino, 26% white, and 8% Black/African American — a demographic reality with unique cultural, educational, and economic considerations.

Over a third identify as English Language Learners and 62% face economic disadvantages. An influx of new residents and students would exacerbate these challenges, stretching district resources even thinner.

When low-income students are overrepresented in larger, low-performing schools, they miss out on the benefits of a smaller classroom environment. Since 2008, high-poverty schools on Long Island have increased in size — but they receive insufficient funding. Higher property values in wealthier districts allow for more resources via property taxes. Districts like Riverhead facing increasing enrollments require more investment to sustain the quality of education and support for their diverse student bodies.

In Southampton, a family of four earning up to $124,950 — which includes critical workers like town employees, police officers, and fire marshals — is eligible for affordable housing. Their children need the same quality education as those in more affluent neighborhoods. Integrating affordable housing throughout Southampton, instead of segregating it in places like Riverside, enables access to well-funded schools with diversified programming, which benefits workers while also fostering social equity, community cohesiveness, and equitable resource allocation.

Concentrating affordable housing in low-income neighborhoods focuses poverty in one location, overburdens local resources, and reinforces low-income families’ isolation by limiting their access to opportunities and services accessible in wealthier areas. While we commend Southampton’s commitment to expanding housing, we must evaluate how new units will be distributed to prevent economic segregation.

Affordable housing must be integrated throughout Southampton.

Doing so would allow Southampton to comply with the Fair Housing Act’s mandate to affirmatively further fair housing.

By integrating affordable housing throughout Southampton, we can promote equality, improve opportunities for all children, and develop stronger, more cohesive communities. It is our moral obligation to ensure everyone, regardless of economic status, has the opportunity to thrive.

This guest essay reflects the views of Pilar Moya-Mancera, executive director of Housing Help Inc.