There has been a lot of drama over a 50 unit homeless housing project proposed on Johnston Street in the City of Newburgh. It is being “sold” as affordable housing for Newburgh’s homeless and requires five variances from the Newburgh’s Zoning Board in order to finalize the approvals needed to build it. Based on the legal requirements for a variance, it should not receive a single one. This is why a crowd has shown up creating the drama seen in the papers and media. At issue is the crowd has been led to believe this project is about providing “affordable housing to Newburgh’s’ homeless.” Sadly, they have been misled by the developers because the project funding source (NY State “SHOP” program) does NOT ALLOW for a geographic limitation of residents in the facility. This means anyone from anywhere can apply for this “homeless housing.” In other words, the project will import surrounding communities’ homeless into Newburgh. Worse, the NY State “SHOP” program funding specifically targets the homeless population to include … “Adults, young adults and youth re-entering society from incarceration”... This means convicted criminals from the NY State prison system will be dumped onto the streets of Newburgh, the City with the highest crime rate in Orange County. Also worth noting, the project site is in a Newburgh neighborhood with one of the highest concentrations of poverty and citizens of color living in Orange County.

Of course, the real reason this project has gone this far is money, lots of money. The developers are not misleading the crowd to provide “housing for the homeless;” it’s about the fees and money the project will generate for the developers. For reference, the NY State ”SHOP” program funding provides for a 15% developer fee built into the project budget. Based on the developers’ stated project construction budget of $15,000,000, that works out to a developer fee of $2,250,000.

But there is other money on this deal to consider. The developers’ budget to build out the 50 “micro units” in the project is $15,000,000. Using simple math, that works out to a $300,000 cost per “mico unit” apartment. For reference, a building with two apartments on Courtney Avenue in Newburgh recently sold for $283,000; that’s two apartments for $17,000 less than one single room occupancy micro unit in this project. With a development budget like that, someone is going to make a lot of money building this project out.

As to the reason for the crowds: this project needs five variances from the Newburgh Zoning Board and, based on the Zoning code, does not deserve a single one. To be granted a variance a project needs to PROVE specific items, including a requirement the variances are to be “minor.” The developers are seeking to build a five story building which is two stories (67%) higher than the three stories allowed; they are also seeking to build a footprint over 250% of the lot coverage footprint allowed. Put another way, if the developers are granted the variances requested, they will build a homeless housing project 400% of the size of the building allowed in the neighborhood under Newburgh’s Zoning Law. None of this qualifies as a “minor variance” under any definition I know of.

The purpose of the crowd is to pressure the Zoning Board of Appeals into granting the excessive variances the project does not deserve in order for the developers to get to the money. The crowd, I note, includes prior and current homeless clients, current staff of the Ministry and various supporters of their work. Noticeably absent are the people from the neighborhood who are opposed to the project. These neighborhood residents, for the most part, were unaware the project was being proposed, seldom speak in public and, to some degree, are fearful of the crowd.

This project does not serve any interest of the people of Newburgh, and the only reason it is being pushed is the money the developer will make if they get the approvals. The developers need five variances to pull this horrible project off. The Zoning Board of Appeals, based on the City of Newburgh Zoning Law requirements, should reject every one of the developer’s variance requests; they don’t deserve a single one.