“We lose three to four people a year, but some years we don’t have any turnover,” said Gerry Mooney, a project development coordinator with the Windmill Housing development on Accabonac Road. “But for Windmill I alone, we have 130 people on a waiting list. For Windmill II, it’s over 450 people.”
If you didn’t know, the Windmill facilities comprise three developments that were built with federal funds (the third is the St. Michael’s apartments in Amagansett) and house Suffolk County residents over age 62 (disabled people over age 18 are also welcomed). Windmill I is 37 years old and has 40 units. Windmill II was built in 2002 and has 47 units. St. Michael’s was built in 2012 and has 40 apartments.
While there is a lot of discussion about building affordable housing on the East End, the Windmill units are an example of existing affordable housing. Because of the swelling waitlist, its board of directors wants to expand, and is once again seeking federal grants. In East Hampton, the population has grown from 19,719 in 2000, to 28,385 in 2020; the number of residents 60 and above went from 4,298 in 2000 to 7,394 in 2020. Despite the population expansion, “The town has not built affordable housing for senior citizens ever,” said Mr. Mooney.
But the federal government is only interested in dispersing grant money for larger projects, and the minimum was 32 units, which would give Windmill 72 units. That created a conflict with town code.
“If they’re going to build a senior center in such an elaborate fashion, we should at least get some apartments,” said Penny Dauch, a resident of Windmill I. “So many people don’t even know we’re here, and those that do think it’s just for poor people, but that’s not true. It’s housing for seniors. The market has gone crazy out here and we’re getting priced out.”
Because of the federal grants used for construction, Windmill does follow Section 8 housing rules, which means there are income limits for those who live there. Residents pay up to 30 percent of their incomes toward the rent, and the federal government pays the remainder. “The average income is $15,000 a year at Windmill Village,” said Mr. Mooney.
“A lot of people think we’re run by the town, but we’re run by a volunteer board of directors,” said Kathy Byrnes, executive director of Windmill Housing. “There’s no pay, it’s just local people who care. Three retired chiefs of police are on our board.”
But the town does want to help, even if it will take some time for the expansion to occur, as a potential plan hinges on the completion of a new senior citizens center in Amagansett, which would free up the acreage where the current center is located.
“I’m absolutely for any project that maximizes numbers,” Eric Schantz, the director of housing for the town, said in a phone call. “But there are two problems here. One is purely numbers and the code. The other is that the project would need two special permits — density of units can’t exceed eight per acre, and the other is that you can’t have more than 60 units in any one development. The idea is that we don’t want super large housing complexes.”
“Like everyone else, they’d have to go through site plan review, and they were going to need variances for the 12 extra units over code. It’s up to the zoning board of appeals,” he said. “We tell everybody, whether it’s Windmill or anything else, make your project as code-compliant as possible, because you could go through a six-month process and if your project gets denied, waste time and money.”
Windmill I is 5.9 acres, which means it could only add seven more units to remain under the town’s density threshold. However, Mr. Schantz and Jeremy Samuelson, the director of planning, floated the idea (assuming the town board agrees) that the town could bequeath the adjacent land where the senior center now sits. As of now there are no plans for it once it is demolished after the new center is built at 403 Abraham’s Path. With the added acreage, Windmill could add 20 new units. Mr. Schantz said the town plans on keeping an existing park on the land, but an acre and a half could go to Windmill.
Further, Mr. Schantz said the town would work with the group to find another lot to add a fourth development where it could add perhaps 40 more units.
“We think that’s a win-win,” said Ms. Byrnes. “We go from adding 32 units to 60. The property they mentioned is in Wainscott, right behind where the Child Development Center of the Hamptons used to be. It’s still at the idea stage though. It has to go through all sorts of steps, mainly political steps.”
“The majority of our waiting list is women who are widows,” said Mr. Mooney. “These are people who raised families here. Many spent years caring for ailing husbands, and in so doing, ran through their savings. It’s almost a universal story. Then they end up moving in with their kids or somebody else and it’s not a comfortable situation. Seniors are on a fixed income, and it’s not easy for them to move out of an area.”
