Community Housing Board gets troubling news on housing needs 

The Community Housing Board got a lesson last week in numbers that point to a startling extent of housing needs on Shelter Island. The picture is not promising, Town Social Worker Alexandra Hakim said.

“I do wonder what’s going to happen with Shelter Island,” Ms. Hakim said. She revealed no identities of the clients she serves, explaining that much of her job is to refer those who seek her help, serving as an intermediary, directing people to organizations.

Of the individuals and families she has served:

• Four have taken reverse mortgages.

• Three applied for accessory dwelling units and two were approved, but withdrew applications because the cost of creating them, even with a $125,000 grant, was beyond their financial means.

• Seven are adult children living with their parents.

• Four have life estates but when they die, their properties will go to others.

• Nine are renters.

• Two are living with unrelated people who care for them in exchange for housing.

• Two rent out their houses during summer months to earn money to provide for themselves through the rest of the year.

• Two inherited their houses and otherwise would not be able to afford them.

• One owns a house but has a roommate to help pay the mortgage.

• Two are selling their Island houses. 

• Four others have left the Island because of the cost of living here.

• One had to go to a homeless shelter.

• Three families were evicted.

• One family lives in corporate housing provided by a restaurant or business.

The lack of affordable housing on the Island is exacerbated for some elderly residents who have lived on the Island all or most of their lives but have been forced to leave because of cost. At a time in their lives when community is so important to them, they are forced to leave because the cost of staying is beyond their means, Ms. Hakim said.

There are families with children in the school who are having difficulty staying, she said. Some were housed in situations where the owners have decided to renovate and provide the rental to those who can pay market level costs.

“It’s good to quantify it,” Committee Chairman Bran Dougherty-Johnson said about the numbers Ms. Hakim provided. “This is eye-opening for us,” he said.

Ms. Hakim also advised that more research on reverse mortgages be available to educate the public. She’s aware of many Island seniors who are being encouraged to take a reverse mortgage without information on their pros and cons. While she didn’t have specifics, she said there is pressure on people to take reverse mortgages that can leave heirs in a bind to pay back the loan and interest or lose the house.

Several sites on the internet report that the financial agreements generate immediate income for a homeowner who can stop making mortgage payments. However, the money is essentially a loan that must be paid back with interest when the person and that person’s spouse die. Heirs have a year to repay the loan and interest or lose the property.

Mr. Dougherty-Johnson noted he had invited Ms. Hakim to speak to the committee after hearing about some of the issues from Deputy Supervisor Meg Larsen.