Pulaski, N.Y. (NCC News) — Homes are hard to come by in central New York. A new report by Apartment Advisor ranks Syracuse as the most competitive rental market in the country.
“You very seldom see a for rent sign,” Tighe, mayor of Pulaski said. “If you see a for sale sign, if it’s anywhere affordable, it’s snatched right up.”
Tighe recognizes the need for housing at all levels and the village is already working to address the shortage. They built a 64-unit housing complex on Bella Road and have already started identifying spots for future development.
“We have people who want to upsize, people who want to downsize, people who just want a roof over their heads,” Tighe said.
People of all income levels are looking for homes, but Tighe said one focus will be first time home buyers. She said less than 50% of residences in Pulaski are owner occupied. Additionally, Micron’s soon-coming chip factory in Clay has Pulaski planning for a future with many more people. Pulaski is right off I-81 and makes for an easy commute to Syracuse, Clay, Watertown or Fort Drum.
One of the growing concerns in central New York, and in villages like Pulaski, is people who are unhoused.
“For more than 50% of the population of Oswego County, that are not earning the area median income, affordable hosing allows them to be in safe, decent, housing that they can afford,” Diane Cooper-Currier, executive director of Oswego County Opportunities said.
Cooper-Currier said housing had to fit in people’s budgets and added that no matter where you are, the stigma surrounding unhoused people creates barriers.
“When you’re out on the streets, whether it is San Francisco or Pulaski, the sense that you’re not good enough, that you are nothing, because here you are,” Cooper-Currier said. “No body wants to talk to you, they look the other way. That’s gonna be the same.”
Rural communities face another set of challenges.
“Accessing resources in rural areas is more of a challenge because the resources may not be in the town where you are located, they may be in a town 20 miles away,” Cooper-Currier said. “If you don’t have a car, 20 miles feels like 2,000 miles.”
Recently, the village of Pulaski was named a pro-housing community. A designation giving the village better access to state money for housing projects.
“It is kind of a prime the pump grant,” Tighe said. “The grant isn’t meant to pay for the whole project, but it is meant to get things started to work with the developers.”
Pulaski has already started discussing future projects as they apply for New York state grants.
