Habitat's 60th Long Island house to belong to special education teacher and her 2 children

An empty, formerly wooded lot in Bay Shore is set to become the future home of a single mother and her two children.

Community leaders, volunteers and supporters gathered on Friday morning for a wall-raising ceremony to celebrate the start of Habitat for Humanity of Long Island's 60th home. The house will belong to special education teacher Trevi Ann Cadogan and her two children.

Construction begins as Long Island continues to grapple with a shortage of affordable housing. 

"There is such a cry for housing on Long Island right now, especially affordable housing," Islip Town Supervisor Angie Carpenter said at the ceremony. "So when you have an organization like Habitat for Humanity that is dedicated to that mission, it makes all the difference in the world."

Cadogan, who lives in Mineola for now, applied to Habitat for Humanity's homeownership program in April of last year and learned she had been accepted in September. After years of raising her children in a two-bedroom apartment, Cadogan said she was looking forward to the stability and extra space the new home would provide.

"My kids and I can be comfortable," she said. "It means a lot. It means everything."

The home is being built with the support of a grant from the Islip Community Development Agency and sponsorship from Be the Example, an organization led by Nick Taormina that raised money for the project through a fundraiser benefiting Habitat Long Island.

Diane Manders, CEO of Habitat Long Island, said the property was returned to Suffolk County after property taxes went unpaid. Rather than allowing the land to be auctioned, local officials worked with Habitat to make the project possible.

"It takes a while, but we made it happen," Manders said.

The Town of Islip also provided Habitat with a $150,000 grant to support the project, she said.

As part of Habitat's homeownership program, Cadogan will complete 300 hours working alongside volunteers to build the house and learn construction skills in doing so.

"We say working with Habitat is a part-time job in itself," Manders said. "We are talking about 300 hours of hard work."

Cadogan spends much of her free time with her children, taking them to the pool, cooking and making scented candles. She is excited to become part of the Bay Shore community, where she and her children will begin a new chapter once construction is complete, she said.