Three new affordable housing units coming to Bay Shore

Officials from the Islip Town Board and the Islip Housing Authority grabbed their shovels Thursday to ceremoniously break ground on what will be the home of three new affordable housing units in Bay Shore.

The property at 42 Lakeview Ave. used to be blighted and dilapidated, town officials said. It is set to be transformed into attractive new housing using money provided to the Town of Islip Housing Development Corporation by the Islip Housing Authority from what officials described as “surplus administrative fees earned over a period of 30 years that can be used for other housing purposes.”

According to a news release, the town housing authority acquired the property a year ago. The new, suburban-style home that is slated to go up on the lot will house two two-bedroom units and one three-bedroom unit, which will be handicap accessible.

“Everybody knows that affordable housing is an ever-present issue on Long Island and that we always have to work to create additional opportunities,” said Richard Wankel, executive director of the Islip Housing Authority and president of the Housing Development Corporation. “The trick for all of us is not only to create opportunities that positively impact the families .?.?. but also to positively impact the community in which these opportunities are built and developed.”