Dear Village Residents,
A simple walk down Main Street, it is impossible to overlook the apparent number of vacancies that plague our commercial buildings and storefronts; especially, on the Four Corners. It is glaringly obvious that development of the Four Corners is necessary for the benefit of the Village, however "stack and pack" housing is not a solution for our community. Such a high-density housing project, with two hundred ninety-one apartments, will unequivocally place a tremendous burden on our local infrastructure including sewers, traffic and parking.
Furthermore, these apartment units are said to be slated to attract middle income families with rent prices set to range from $1,200 to $2,700 monthly. Regardless of the desired income level of potential renters however, only the free market will determine who the eventual tenants and what the actual rental prices will be. As soon as these apartments face difficulty of meeting full occupancy, the leasing strategy will undoubtedly change just as quickly as the layout of the project itself changed. In fact, the Village has seen this already happen in the past with other apartment complexes. The bottom line is it was a bait-and-switch. They can label it, present it, or sell it any which way; but it was simply a bait-and-switch.
Patchogue needs the Four Corners not to be a housing unit of any type. It needs to be the cornerstone of our business district. With such a great opportunity to change the dynamic and economic future of our community, we need to take full advantage of it now. The Four Corners needs to stand as a pillar, as a strong commercial/retail institution, that will create local job opportunities, tax revenue, and an influx of foot traffic to help drive more business to other surrounding local merchants.
With that said, the Four Corners is NOT the only concern, although a very important one, facing the people of Patchogue today. Mrs. McGuire and Mayor Pontieri want to keep it as the center of discussion in this election, despite a whole Village of issues at hand. Mrs. McGuire and Mayor Pontieri are simply carbon copies of one another. They are one party split down the middle on a single issue. What the Village of Patchogue needs is a fully accountable and transparent government that has our prosperity in mind and ours alone. If elected Mayor, stimulating our local economy and creating jobs that will offer upward income mobility for the residents of Patchogue will be my priority.
Thank you for your support,
Richard Evans
Independent candidate for Mayor
