Christine Nealon began working for Rehabilitation Support Services as director of strategic partnerships in September of 2023. Within days, she found herself in Oneonta following up on the city having invited RSS “to explore the possibility of an affordable housing development downtown.”
I first met Nealon in January, having been invited to attend a meeting of concerned citizens at The Green Earth on Market Street. She spoke of lessons learned by RSS from its previous experience attempting to build on property it has since purchased in our Sixth Ward neighborhood. She agreed that the agency had not spent enough time listening and engaging the neighbors in that development and this time she was here to listen and learn. She said there was no timeline and that nothing would be built unless it was something the community wanted RSS to build. I applauded her new approach.
Two months later, Nealon is now asking the city’s Common Council to approve a purchase agreement for 27 Market St. RSS hopes to apply in August to the state Low Income Housing Tax Credits program to construct what is now loosely described as a 50-unit building with 15 of the apartments set aside for persons in recovery from addiction.
Nealon graciously accepted my invitation to discuss the project and process over breakfast at Latte Lounge. She had tea; I had an everything bagel and coffee. My first question: “What’s changed — why the sudden rush for the council to approve a purchase agreement before the project is fully designed?” I pointed out that in Oneonta’s two most recent housing developments (Lofts on Dietz and Housing Visions), the developers worked with the city for as many as three years before even asking for a go-ahead. “I would love to work with the city that long,” Nealon said, “but we are on the city’s timeline. They have made it clear that they want the property to produce revenue soon and see construction completed within three years.” Who are they? “Everyone at the city I have spoken with including the council,” she replied.
To meet that deadline, RSS will need to submit its application for SLIHTC in August. Nealon explained the need for a purchase agreement right now as “We are not going to risk the high cost required” to go forward with fully defining the project and preparing the application before the council commits to turning over site control.
Much of the concern being heard from local residents revolves around a perceived lack of transparency and public input into the best use for the property. Nealon assured me that if the council does approve the purchase agreement, city officials and the public will have significant say in the final outcome. When I asked her for examples of areas that will be still open for discussion, “traffic flow, first floor retail space, and exterior appearance of the building” were cited.
What about the River Street property now owned by RSS? The question of why they are not proposing to build on the property which they already own comes up frequently. Nealon’s answer was straightforward: “The people in that neighborhood made it clear that they did not want what we were proposing.” As to the future of that property? “There may be a time when we can come back with a different approach.”
I asked about the apparent confusion over who would be eligible to live in the new project. Some claim to have been told that it would be restricted to local residents while others believed that doing so would be unlawful. Nealon did reply to this by talking about “shaping.” After a number of follow-up questions about the meaning of “shaping,” she attempted to clarify this for me by saying that after analyzing the data, RSS might consider asking New York state to authorize them to give local applicants a preference when applying.
As we closed our conversation, I found it interesting that Nealon shared that she believed the name Rehabilitation Support Services might be creating the misconception that the proposed facility would be providing 15 units to people in rehabilitation as opposed to recovery. I have to admit that I have often heard those words used interchangeably. A little research told me that rehab is just one component of recovery. Recovery refers to the entire process of healing and self-fulfillment.
I found Nealon to be passionate about affordable housing. Oneonta, like most communities, does need housing for those who are most vulnerable. I have always been a strong advocate for affordable housing. Is 27 Market St. the right location? Is this the best use for that property? Can we make a better-informed decision by slowing this process down, fleshing out the details, and learning from the required environmental and planning reviews before turning over site control? After all, that is how we have conducted ourselves in the past.
Right now, this train is being driven at warp speed and bypassing all the established safeguards. I hope we can apply the brakes, as we cannot afford a derailment.