\u201cSo when are you moving here?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve been asked that question nearly every day since taking this job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s no easy answer. I live in Nassau County. My commute is an hour and 15 minutes each way \u2014 that\u2019s two and a half hours a day in my car, flipping between radio stations that play both kinds of music: country and western (hat tip to \u201cThe Blues Brothers\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m not complaining. It\u2019s still less time than it took me taking the LIRR the other way into Manhattan for my previous job. Like the hospital worker commuting from Patchogue or the teacher driving in from Medford, I make it work \u2014 and make it to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My situation isn\u2019t unique. It\u2019s the same story for so many who labor out here but can\u2019t afford to live here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The median home price in Southold Town is nearing $1 million, according to Zillow. Even in relatively more affordable Riverhead, it\u2019s around $600,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anyone without a nest egg is up Goose Creek. That\u2019s why housing has dominated every conversation I\u2019ve had with Southold Town Board candidates who\u2019ve stopped by our Mattituck office ahead of next month\u2019s elections \u2014 every single one. Democrat or Republican, North Forker or Fishers Islander \u2014 they all get it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They talk about the \u201cmissing middle,\u201d that vanishing class of working people. They warn that we\u2019re selling ourselves out to the wealthiest voices, turning the North Fork into Disneyland. They see the pressure coming and know the town has to be ready.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Fishers Island, the numbers are stark: 550 year-round residents are down to 230. So much year-round housing has shifted to seasonal use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even those who emphasize property rights acknowledge the tension between wanting your dream home and preserving what makes this place special.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The proposed fixes vary \u2014 cottage-style developments, prohousing designations, stricter short-term rental laws, streamlined zoning processes. They talk about using a \u201cmixed box of tools.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But for all the ideas, there are few immediate solutions. Zoning changes take time. Infrastructure costs money. Meanwhile, every season that passes, more houses flip from year-round to seasonal \u2014 and more workers join me on the LIE parking lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Talk is cheap. Houses aren\u2019t. Nearly 75% of workers here are employed by small businesses. When those workers can\u2019t afford to live here, what happens to those businesses? To our schools? To this place?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So when someone asks, \u201cWhen are you moving here?\u201d I usually bite my tongue and say, \u201cWorking on it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But what I\u2019m really thinking is: Will there be a North Fork left to move to \u2014 or should I buy some Mickey Mouse ears?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cSo when are you moving here?\u201d I\u2019ve been asked that question nearly every day since taking this job. There\u2019s no easy answer. I live in Nassau County. My commute is an hour and 15 minutes each way \u2014 that\u2019s two and a half hours a day in my car, flipping between radio stations that play…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":238,"featured_media":92630,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,1743,36],"tags":[1084,17617],"coauthors":[16597],"class_list":["post-129276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorials","category-featured-story","category-opinion","tag-editorial","tag-our-view"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n