Clarkstown Supervisor Alex Gromack said town board members decided to rescind the public hearing on the proposed accessory apartments law after hearing from senior citizens they preferred other options. The original intent of the accessory apartment proposal was to provide affordable rental housing for emergency services volunteers. A Tuesday night public hearing was scheduled on amending the zoning law to allow accessory apartments however the board voted unanimously to rescind the hearing.
Residents had criticized the proposal and described it as downsizing and a measure that could potentially change the character of Clarkstown. After meeting with senior citizens, Gromack said they expressed more interest in housing similar to the Middlewood Housing Development on North Middletown Road in Nanuet.
“Moreover while we believe that much of the opposition to this initiative is based on misinformation it does not appear that our residents as a whole do embrace this concept at this time and that our efforts would be better spent focusing on some of the other priority needs being studied by our town planning board and our housing committee,” said Gromack.
He then asked the board for a motion to rescind the public hearing. His statement is attached to this article.
Councilmember Stephanie Hausner, who served on the housing committee, noted senior citizens, New City Ambulance Corps members and New City firefighters were at the meeting.
“I just want to assure everyone that this does not mean that we are not going to be looking at other opportunities for volunteer housing for our volunteers, “ she said. We want to keep our volunteers in the community and we will continue to look at ways to do that. “
Gromack said the town had been proactive in meeting the housing needs of residents through its housing survey, hamlet center senior housing zone development and other initiatives.
