Questions raised about Pine Plains’ affordable housing survey

PINE PLAINS — The Town Board had questions of its own after concerns were raised regarding the recent Affordable Housing Survey that was sent out to all Pine Plains residents. The subject was raised at the Thursday, March 17, Town Board meeting by Carvel Project Development attorney Jennifer Van Tuyl of Cuddy & Feder, LLP. She said her client, Carvel developer Alexander Durst, had expressed doubts the survey was conducted and distributed in an even-handed manner.“It appears some of the surveys were mailed out and others not, or they were mailed out at different times,” she said. “That in itself could be a taint on the survey that can’t be fixed.”The attorney submitted a letter penned by Durst to the Town Board to enter into the records. He referred to the 400 units of affordable housing in New York that The Durst Organization has developed and presently manages and stated the company “stands ready to work with the town in developing the affordable housing program.” He then went on to point to inconsistencies made by the recently formed Affordable Housing Task Force when creating and mailing the 1,500 surveys to Pine Plains residents just this past month.“We understand … that the surveys will arrive with varying types of labeling and postage. These disparities have irrevocably tainted the survey,” Durst wrote, although there were no accusations of intent. “The only remedy at this point is to decline to distribute the remainder of the surveys and wait for an appropriate time interval to allow for a proper survey to be taken.”Durst said he was basing his appeal on advice from pollster Kieran Mahoney of the public affairs firm Mercury. In a letter to Durst, which was also submitted to the Town Board, Mahoney wrote, “It is my professional opinion that the results of this survey will be misleading and unreliable.”Even details like using stamps versus sending letters bulk mail could reportedly elicit different outcomes from respondants. Town Supervisor Gregg Pulver acknowledged the town sent out the surveys with both stamped envelopes and using bulk mail postage. It was also acknowledged that surveys were sent out on different dates, and that as of March 17, residents had received surveys on different days; some said they had yet to receive the survey at all.The Mercury letter, meanwhile, continued to state that all surveys should be based on random sampling. Mahoney criticized the task force’s methodology and its failure to stick to that scientifically established principle. Her key objections to the task force’s survey follow below:“The present survey completely lacks the objectivity of a random survey. The survey is designed to obtain only the opinions of those who choose to respond. Such ‘opt-in’ surveys have been proven to be scientifically unreliable.“There are serious concerns about the questions asked in the survey.… From a survey research standpoint, there is no way to use or analyze data based on the opinions of people who are only identified as someone the anonymous respondent may know. Beyond that, opinions heard second- or third-hand should not be used to formulate public policy.“The survey provides no assurance of authenticity. There is no way to be certain that the person who fills the survey out and sends it back is a resident of Pine Plains, or that a completed survey was sent out at all. The fact that surveys can be mailed back anonymously compounds this problem.”Councilwoman Sandra David, who also serves as liaison between the Town Board and the task force, said the group’s goal was to reach as many people as possible: property owners, renters, voters, non-voters, etc. — more people than those who might merely make up a mailing list or the voters’ registration.Attorney to the Town Warren Replansky weighed in on the matter at the Town Board meeting.“It’s very difficult to produce a flawless survey,” he said before zoning in on one specific complaint — the fact that some residents from neighboring towns received surveys. “The [survey] by the Affordable Housing Task Force may have been sent to some nonresidents of Pine Plains, but it doesn’t hurt to get their input. I think the task force is going to have to understand … it’s going to get some responses from those who may not be residents of Pine Plains.”Pulver said he now appreciates there is more to conducting a survey than he previously realized.“My only concern with the whole thing is this turned into more of a process, and there could have been more checks than there were,” he said. “I thought we were going to talk about it more before the surveys were sent out. I want to make sure the process is a little clearer before the next time.”“The survey was to get a general idea [of where people stand on affordable housing],” David said. “It’s just to give us an idea of what the needs are. This survey was just sort of the beginning of reaching out to the community. We may reach out in other ways. This is to put it on the radar. In other towns people have been very negative [about affordable housing]; we want to get an initial feel of how people are feeling. It’s not an absolute. From there we’re just making a recommendation to the Town Board.”And from there, Replansky said, the town is going to need to implement how the affordable housing requirements are going to be met. He also spoke of the financial reality of the situation.“I don’t think the town is in a position to spend thousands on another survey,” the attorney said.The discussion wrapped up with no clear solutions or recommendations, but there was a parting comment from Councilman Bob Couse.“As far as I’m concerned,” he said about the survey, “something is better than nothing.”