The affluent U.S. island beloved by the Obamas – and favored in summer by hordes of the rich and famous – is facing a housing shortage that has gotten so severe it is ‘threatening public safety’ for its residents.
Staggering seasonal rents – averaging nearly $1,000 a night – are forcing regular workers, including restaurant, store employees, doctors, correctional officers and 911 dispatchers, to flee their jobs on Martha’s Vineyard, amid the lack of affordable housing, officials said.
Sheriff Robert Ogden of Dukes County said the cost of housing has gotten so bad, he now considers it a public safety issue on the island.
Ogden said his department, which oversees 11 islands including Martha’s Vineyard, has a staffing need of 11 emergency operators who provide lifesaving 911 instructions and relay to responders by phone – including CPR instructions.
A home in the quaint New England colony just south of Cape Cod can run upwards of $6,500 for a week stay, particularly during the peak summer months. And the mounting problem is that many landlords are more interested in cashing-in on these short-term visitors in place of their year-round working residents.
The number, he said, has been challenging to maintain, as the operators are often working long hours, and burned out from working too much overtime, he said.
For the last six years, Ogden said he has been working towards imposing a local tax on home sales to help pay for affordable housing on the island, but said that still requires new state legislation.
He called it ‘a vicious cycle.’
‘Every year, we’re losing two to three dispatchers because of not only the high cost of living here, but the insecurity of housing,’ he said.
He shared that one correctional officer, who is trained, had to take cleaning jobs so she didn’t earn too much and lose her access to low-income housing.
‘Can you imagine, in any society, where you would say that I pay someone too much to stay on the job?’ Ogden said. ‘How insane is that?’
Former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama purchased the sprawling 28-acre vacation home on Martha’s Vineyard for $11.75 million in 2020, Homes & Gardens reported.
Celebrities that have visited the island over the years include, Reese Witherspoon, Bill Murray, Meg Ryan, and the late Princess Diana, and enjoy the low-key vibe. Actor Michael J Fox, has been known to call the Vineyard his home, Galavante reported. THEY ARE CREATING YOUR PROBLEM
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