In Woodstock, Values Collide Over Housing (affordable housing project, NY)

[alp227]

WOODSTOCK, N.Y. — If they had decided to pave paradise and put up a parking lot, the issues might have seemed simpler.

Instead, a protracted battle over a 53-unit affordable housing project is dividing this still-crunchy town where mellow ’60s vibes and liberal politics coexist uneasily with real estate prices increasingly out of the reach of the humbler classes.

When workers finally began clearing land for the Woodstock Commons project in July, it looked as if the uncomfortable dispute might finally be ending. Instead, new issues kept popping up: the plight of black bears and nesting, endangered Indiana bats threatened by the construction; a botched permitting process; uncertainty about water service.

In some ways what is playing out in this Ulster County town is a more colorful microcosm of affordable housing controversies elsewhere. Still, the collision of environmental, neighborhood and social justice issues is making people squirm in a place where the only thing more important than making the world better can be keeping Woodstock the same.

full: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/14/nyregion/affordable-housing-project-divides-woodstock.html?pagewanted=all

[RoccoR5955]

1. What the Times doesn't say...

is that there are still plenty of rednecks living all around, and in Woodstock. Take it from an Ulster County resident for the past 30 years. Though I live in Rosendale, the poor man's Woodstock, it's quite nearby, and I keep up with local issues. This issue is just RUPCO looking for a project to mismanage. Heck, they are always trying to get in on some project that is too big, and in the wrong place. Yes, they do want to make more green buildings, but the places that they want to build are just wacky.

As was said in the article, the "grocery store" that is within walking distance is a high priced health food store. The nearest actual grocery is about 3 miles away on a winding road. The closest place to get most other sundries and such, is about a half hour away, in Kingston. Saugerties or Kingston would be a better place for such a project.

Kingston is the County seat, and already has its problems. Many of the housing in these lower income areas are in very poor shape, and some have been condemned. There is a real need for a large housing project in Kingston, but there would have to be some demolition of either the sub-standard buildings in the poor neighborhoods, or refurbish some of the old industrial buildings in the other part of town, further away from shopping and such.

Saugerties is much smaller than Kingston, but also could use some affordable housing. Since there are fewer people there, there are more locations that would be suitable for such a project. Though there is not the amount of shopping that there is in Kingston, there are a few stores there where people could purchase the necessities of life.

In either of these alternate areas, there would be less environmental impacts, not to mention, they are not in the Catskill Park, a large preserve set aside by NY State. It's one of the reasons why land prices are so high in Woodstock and vicinity. There are also more sensitive environmental areas within the Catskill Park than in a relatively old city like Kingston. Even though Kingston is a historical city, the outlying areas of town became industrial areas, and have been essentially abandoned. One of these buildings has become an artist's loft, another a woodworker's shop. Surely one or more of these buildings could be acquired, and either demolished, or refurbished to provide Ulster County with much needed affordable housing. Kingston is a better location, because all of the County offices are there, where people would have to go to apply for social services and such. There is also a fairly decent bus system in Kingston.

I don't know why Woodstock was chosen by RUPCO, but it was not a good decision that they made on this one.