Huntington bans agency workers from housing lotteries

The Huntington Town Board on Tuesday has approved legislation that bars staff in the Community Development Agency from participating in affordable housing lotteries administered by the town.

This comes after two of the four employees of the town agency were near the top of an affordable housing lottery list, with one of those workers — who has since left town employment — eventually purchasing a house last year.

Three members of the same employee’s family also made their way onto the list that was created in 2019. The second employee, who helped administer the list, remains on the job but will no longer be on the list, town officials have said.

"We had what essentially was a scandal when it comes to our Community Development Agency," said town board member Mark Cuthbertson, who sponsored the resolution.

At the time CDA director Leah Jefferson defended the handling of the employee’s participation in the program saying everyone had the same opportunity to sign up and have a good number. The town's ethics board had also issued an opinion that there was no impropriety.

The CDA's mission is to serve the needs of low- to moderate-income residents through various programs and services funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and other sources. The agency's duties include managing the town’s affordable housing, both rental and ownership, and the lotteries related to such housing. Its board is made up of all town council members.

In October, Town Supervisor Chad Lupinacci, a Republican, attempted to offer a resolution barring all town employees from participating in the affordable housing lotteries. No vote was taken on the measure, and it was tabled for further discussion.

The board approved Tuesday's resolution 5-0.

"The measure passed ensures that those involved with the administration of affordable housing lotteries cannot enter the lottery, which is a step in the right direction, as this rule was never proposed when the affordable housing policies were first enacted by a prior town board," Lupinacci said. "We can always strengthen this policy at a later date, as we do with various policies and the town code itself, however my immediate staff and employees are aware this practice is frowned upon by this administration."

Cuthbertson, a Democrat, said barring all employees was going too far.

"He proposes to go way too far with a rule that would ban all 900 town employees from being eligible to participate, which is ridiculous," Cuthbertson said. "The person mowing ballfields in the parks doesn’t know anything about the logistics of affordable housing."

By Deborah S. Morris

deborah.morris@newsday.comdsvmorris

Deborah Morris is a native Long Islander and covers the town of Huntington.