Seniors at Dogwood Terrace are frustrated with Hempstead Town

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As renovation plans have stalled, residents of Franklin Square’s Dogwood Terrace — an affordable senior housing complex at 1178 Martha Place — have been living in limbo since the plans were announced in February 2023.

The project was not awarded tax credits by the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal in March because the application submitted by the Town of Hempstead for the credits did not demonstrate that the displacement, relocation and acquisition plan would be in accordance with the federal Uniform Relocation Act.

Now the Town of Hempstead is waiting to hear back from the state about its Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program’s request for proposal for Dogwood Terrace. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will also have to approve the project before it can move forward.

Seniors at the complex have expressed their frustrations to the town over the relocation process that the looming renovations will necessitate. Once the project has been approved, residents of the complex will be able to move to another affordable housing complex run by the town, and return when the project is complete — but they say they are unhappy with the conditions they are currently living in.

Christine Sarner, a resident of Dogwood Terrace since 2020, expressed concerns about public safety, heat and the water quality at the complex. Several times a week, she says, her water is brown.

“Every neighbor I speak to has the rusting water,” Sarner said. “I’ve ruined my clothes washing them in the laundry here in the machines, because they stain all of your clothes. It’s horrible.”

Safety is another concern at the property, because residents walk to the Stop & Shop on Franklin Avenue, behind the complex, late at night. Last December, resident Karyn Sullivan said she was robbed of her purse and groceries on her way back to the complex. Sarner and John Heaphy, a member of the complex’s Residents’ Advisory Board, say they are worried about their neighbors as winter approaches and daylight wanes.

“There’s not a lot of light out there — it’s terrible,” Sarner said.

Last winter, Heaphy said, apartments in the complex were sweltering because the buildings’ heating was malfunctioning. “I was sick, I would say six times (last winter) because of the heat,” he said. “You’ve got to put your air on, open your windows. That isn’t the way you’re supposed to live.”

The building is owned and operated by the Town of Hempstead Housing Authority. The Housing Authority did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Beyond the conditions of the building, Heaphy said he was frustrated with the lack of communication from the town about the renovation plans and the relocation process.

“They want to keep a gun over our head and make us pay to go and you can’t come back,” Heaphy said of the relocation process, which provides for residents who leave when renovations start, but does not provide for residents who leave before renovations begin to return to the property “I don’t think that’s fair or legal what they’re doing to us.”

The proposed redevelopment would involve the demolition of seven residential buildings on the 3-acre property, the renovation of the community building and the construction of a new three- and four-story L-shaped residential building with an undisclosed number of one-bedroom apartments.

There would be two elevators, three stairwells and four laundry rooms, one on each floor. The building would be fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Its construction is anticipated to take two years.

According to town Housing Authority officials, the rent for current residents would not change during the relocation, and all moving costs and related expenses would be covered by project developer Georgica Green Ventures, of Jericho. Current residents would be given priority over prospective new residents to move into the new building.

“The Housing Authority cannot comment on a specific timeline until we receive a response regarding our application for tax credits with the state,” Edward Cumming, executive director of the town Housing Authority, said of the relocation process.