Finding ‘a sense of fairness’ in affordable housing
“It’s like a labor of love,” Elizabeth Hanley said, speaking about her role as chairwoman of the Community Housing Fund Advisory Board and member of the Community Housing Board.
What prompted Ms. Hanley’s concern about a lack of affordable housing on Shelter Island was the realization that when she and her family returned to the Island — the place her family has called home for three generations — most of the friends she grew up with had left, primarily because they couldn’t afford to stay.
“It kind of violates my sense of fairness,” she said, realizing the number of people who had long called the Island home being forced to leave.
Her grandparents bought a house on the Island years ago and her parents followed suit. She and husband David Austin both have successful careers — she operating her own accounting and financial services practice for 15 years, and Mr. Austin working with technology and entrepreneurial companies on corporate strategies. It enabled them to afford to move back from the West Coast and purchase a house here.
They welcomed the opportunity to move to the Island just before the COVID-19 pandemic gained full force. Like many others who relocated, they wanted to give their three daughters the opportunities Ms. Hanley had growing up here.
Her efforts toward housing are dedicated to trying to reclaim what her grandparents found on Shelter Island, Ms. Hanley said, adding, “I don’t want it to become a closed community. I’m going to do my darnedest to maintain the integrity of the community.”
What frees Ms. Hanley to give the time she’s devoting to the housing groups are two factors. She credits “an amazing management team” that allowswork her to step back from some of her responsibilities, and the fact that her children are at ages where they are mostly independent.
Daughter Indigo is 19 and a freshmen at UCLA in a pre-med program. She worked at Stars Cafe before heading off to college. Kat is 16 and a sophomore at Shelter Island High School, with a part-time job is at the IGA. Rosie, 13, is a 7th grader who plays basketball and is a musician, playing drums with a school jazz group.
Having just completed her most demanding time of year with her job now that the tax season is past, Ms. Hanley took a break last week to indulge her love of gardening, traveling to Colonial Williamsburg to explore heirloom tulips.
She knows her work with the Community Housing Fund Advisory Board and Community Housing Board will pick up in earnest and become demanding. It won’t be easy, she said, and she doesn’t want to “sound like a Pollyanna,” but she’s optimistic about the outcome.
What’s important to all of those working on the initiative is to see a plan drafted by a soon-to-be named consultant that reflects local voices and sensitivities. It means outreach to the wider community and education about the resolution that will be on the November ballot.
“It’s such a great place for us,” Ms. Hanley said. “I’m so grateful to have grown up here and to live here now,” describing her current civic involvement as “a love letter to Shelter Island.”
