Accessibility Apartments In The Five Towns

There has always been talk about the dearth of available apartments in the Five Towns and whether or not the apartment complexes have updated their amenities to cater to the growing senior population in our community, primarily those looking to downsize from their larger homes to an easier apartment lifestyle.

But since everyone’s budget when it comes to retirement is different, how realistic is it to actually achieve that comfortable, budget-friendly apartment-style living situation when it comes to shopping for an apartment in the Five Towns?

Unfortunately, our community suffers from a lack of inventory of apartments, whether rental, co-op, or condo, that are suited for senior living even for those who have no budget considerations and can buy anything that suits their fancy.

When the Regency started selling their apartments, the layouts of the building and apartments were great for those retiring or needing assistance. Those who could afford to pay the going rate for those units got luxury apartments with a lot of amenities and easy access.

Ironically, today that building is largely sold out, with a high price tag when a unit actually comes on the market. And even for those home-buyers who are flexible concerning price, they are often at a quandary when they want to stay in the neighborhood but can’t find an apartment with the amenities they desire.

The alternative condominium buildings in the Five Towns, are the Carlyle in Lawrence and Jonathan Hall in Hewlett, but both also experience similar issues of low inventory.

The cooperative market, which offers more options in the Five Towns, usually has more available inventory due to the large number of cooperative buildings, but even then, the options for senior buyers are limited and begs the question: If this is already a smaller category, and as the Five Towns community ages and more of its residents require senior-friendly apartments, will these residents be forced to move out of the Five Towns because of a lack of options or will there be a determined effort to upgrade the available inventory of apartments to become more senior-friendly?

Most of the cooperative apartment buildings and complexes in the Five Towns are garden apartment units in buildings featuring only two floors with no elevators or lifts, with the second floor accessible only by a full staircase.

For senior citizens, this is obviously a situation that automatically cancels out any buying consideration no matter how beautiful the apartments may be. Even young couples with a baby or two have difficulty reaching the second floor with babies, car seats, and carriages with no elevator.

Added to this situation is that most of these garden apartments do not have indoor or elevator access to their storage space or garages. This type of setup is an automatic “no” regardless of how enticing the asking price may be since for most seniors, going outdoors via a steep staircase to reach the garage, or to bring up groceries and packages, or even just to go outside is not going to work for their health needs.

We have simply reached a time when the elevator buildings we have are not offering more than a few apartments at a time. Garden apartments with big, beautiful layouts are sitting for long periods of time until they sell. They usually sell to young people starting out without children, or young singles. Second floor apartments are an automatic “no” for senior citizens looking for comfortable living conditions in their later years. If the complexes would offer some elevators or lifts for those on those second floors as well as to the garages, both the owners of those units as well as the buildings would benefit from the higher values that would result from the money invested in making the buildings more accessible.

There is a high demand today for accessible apartments for both senior citizens as well as young couples with children wanting these apartments in our community, yet our housing stock of mobility units is extremely low when it comes to accessibility options. Housing is more than a roof over our heads. Safe, healthy, and accessible housing is fundamental to health and well-being throughout life. Accessible housing protects people from health risks, promotes independence and quality of life in older age, and contributes to healthier, more equitable and stronger communities. n

Anessa Cohen lives in Cedarhurst and is a Licensed Real Estate Broker (Anessa V Cohen Realty) with over 20 years of experience offering full service real estate residential and commercial, management services. She can be reached at 516-569-5007. Readers are encouraged to send any questions or scenarios by email to [email protected].