First Long Island LGBT Senior Housing To Be Built In Bay Shore

The first ever LGBT Senior Affordable Housing on Long Island will be built in Bay Shore next year.

The project will consist of 75 rental apartments for residents aged 55 or older, on Park Avenue and Mechanicsville Road.

In addition, the site will include a brand new state-of-the-art 8,000 square foot LGBT Center, replacing the old 4,000 square foot center, which will adjoin the housing complex and provide services to its residents and to seniors throughout the region.

"The need for affordable LGBT friendly senior housing is considerable, especially on Long Island and particularly for LGBT older adults who have faced a lifetime of stigma and discrimination from their peers," LGBT Network President and CEO David Kilmnick said during a press conference on Thursday.

The developer of the project D&F Development, based in Levittown, will work with the Long Island LGBT Network as well as the Long Island Housing Partnership during construction of the building, according to a report in Long Island Business News.

“We were contacted by the Long Island Housing Partnership when the former developer was unable to continue,” Florey told LIBN. “We are very grateful that LIHP came to us and that the LGBT Network considered us. We’re happy to be working with them.”

The project is heading for final approvals and construction is expected to begin in the late spring. The project is expected to be completed in May 2020.

"This is really going to help continue improving downtown Bay Shore and also expand the footprint of where we're at right now," Kilmnick said. "We have been in Bay Shore for 24 years and at this particular facility in Bay Shore for 15 years."

According to Kilmnick there are a total of about 20 LGBT senior housing in the U.S. and none so far in the tri-state area.

The project will begin pending a vote from the Islip Town Board to change the zoning for the area. The vote will take place on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. during the planning board meeting at Town Hall on 655 Main Street in Islip.

Watch the full video from the press conference below:

Photo: Facebook.com/LGBT Network