A warning sign for Greenport’s future

The tide has turned the wrong way for Greenport.

In his recent presentation of the proposed 2026-27 village budget, village treasurer Adam Brautigam highlighted an alarming erosion of the tax base on which the village depends to fund municipal services. Credit to Mr. Brautigam for shining a light on this critical long-term threat to the health and well-being of the village.

Just as a fever reveals an underlying health threat in a person, a declining tax base is a warning of trouble ahead for the village.

The tax base reflects the aggregate value of all properties in the village. Put simply, when the tax base is growing, the village is gaining economic value that helps spread the burden of future taxation across a wider base.

Conversely, when the base is eroding, as it is now, it is a clear signal that the village is in trouble.

What happened?
In 2023, following many years of strong investment and tax base growth, this board imposed a commercial development moratorium, followed by a massive and poorly planned rezoning of the commercial district. These changes imposed uncertainty and prohibitive new costs on development and have brought investment in downtown Greenport to a virtual standstill.

In a prime illustration of the impact these policies have had, a multimillion-dollar proposal to expand the Greenporter Hotel was canceled after the village failed to advance the application process in a timely manner. This investment alone would have boosted the tax base enough to recover much of what has been lost in just the last three years.

Given continued demand and rising residential property values, the lack of new commercial investment and the high incidence of store vacancies, it is reasonable to assume the erosion of the tax base has occurred primarily in the commercial district. This has the inevitable effect of shifting more of the tax burden to homeowners.

Higher residential taxes aggravate what is already a severe housing affordability crisis and drive another nail in the coffin of opportunity for attracting and retaining the young working families needed to sustain Greenport’s economic diversity and culture.

What could be more important to the future of the village than creating opportunity for the next generation of Greenporters, starting with an affordable place to call home?

What to do?
At this late stage, public confidence that Greenport is a safe and supportive place to invest can only be restored through dramatic, deliberate and focused action by the Village Board. Small incremental steps will not be effective.

Fortunately, opportunity for bold action does exist.

Two large, prominently located commercial properties on Front Street have sat vacant for years, blighting the heart of the village — much as the Mitchell property did before the village acquired it and turned it into a park 30 years ago.

The Arcade has sat vacant for well over 10 years. At 110 Front Street, two of five stores have been vacant for at least six years, with the remaining three becoming vacant in recent months.

In both cases, the owners appear content to allow these sites to continue deteriorating while the village bears the consequences.

Neither building has architectural merit warranting protection. They should be actively pursued for demolition and redevelopment to restore ground-floor retail, with two stories of regulated affordable rental housing above.

There is strong statewide momentum and a range of federal and state funding sources available to support affordable housing development and downtown revitalization.

How to do it?
Ideally, the village could work with the property owners to promote redevelopment. Given the history of these sites, that may not be realistic.

Alternatively, the village should consider using eminent domain to acquire one or both properties, followed by a robust request-for-proposals process to identify developers and funding sources aligned with community priorities.

In Kelo v. City of New London (2005), the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the use of eminent domain for economic development as a valid public use.

Closer to home, the Little Red School House site was acquired through eminent domain to complete Mitchell Park. The tool has also been used in Brookhaven and Islip and is currently being used by the Town of Riverhead for its Town Square project.

Back to the future
This plan reflects Greenport’s past, when many downtown buildings had apartments above stores, often occupied by shop owners. That mix created a vibrant, year-round community that supported local businesses.

There is opportunity in crisis. But realizing it will require the Village Board to confront reality and make difficult decisions to protect Greenport’s future.

Anything less risks continued decline.

Dave Kapell is a former mayor of the Village of Greenport.

The post Guest Spot: Dave Kapell appeared first on The Suffolk Times.

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