ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Rochester City Council voted Tuesday night to approve the construction of 11 affordable townhomes in the city’s East End, sparking pushback from neighbors who want to preserve their green space.
News10NBC’s Tom Kowalski spoke with residents near 125 Charlotte St., where the townhomes are planned. Many neighbors live in apartments and don’t have access to backyards, making the green space an important community gathering spot.
“It’s a nice spot to have to just, like, hang out and, like, relax and sit on the benches,” said Dean Osten, a neighbor.
Osten and his family live near the site. His daughter, Willow Lenhart, shared memories of playing badminton there.
“I have some pretty good memories of badminton with it… Next they’re going to take away our backyard,” Lenhart said.
Osten questioned the decision to replace the park with housing that many residents won’t be able to afford. “Why put a park there and then just bulldoze over with affordable housing that isn’t really going to be that affordable,” Osten said.
Angelina Sergeant, the mother of Osten’s children, said the townhomes starting at $160,000 are out of reach for families like hers who rely on affordable housing. “I think that as if we were going to put affordable housing here, like, it would be really helpful to people that actually need the space immediately…I’m just worried that, it’s our home, set up might eventually become more exclusive than and limiting rather than affordable,” Sergeant said.
“Probably going to miss it quite a bit. It will be sad to see the spot go,” Osten said.
The townhomes are expected to be constructed within the next three years.
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