Adirondack homeowners face triple threat: high cost of repairs, contractor shortage, risk of flood damage

Advocates look for ways to help low-income residents with needed home improvements, especially after extreme storms

By Tim Rowland 

Lack of housing is a much-discussed problem in the Adirondacks, but the condition of existing housing, while attracting far less attention, is also a worry for housing advocates. who fear increasing pressure on existing housing stock in the face of more severe, damaging storms and an inability of homeowners to afford routine maintenance and repairs.

“I would say the biggest challenges are A, (finding) contractors and B, the income limits of so many of our homeowners,” said Rachel Child, community development specialist for the Franklin County Economic Development Commission. “These incomes are so low that our housing stock is deteriorating, and (homeowners) are not at all prepared for any emergency like flooding.”

Speaking during a video symposium sponsored by the Northern Forest Center and the Adirondack Climate Outreach and Resilience Network (ACORN), Child said she’s been administering a state grant to fix damage caused in August by Hurricane Debby. While the grant is a blessing, it’s exposed the “dire straits” of household finances, where annual incomes can be as low as $10,000 annually.

Low-income residents face challenges

Other state programs, such as Resilient Retrofit, are available to help beef up homes in flood-prone areas, but because it’s half grant, half loan, Child said, it’s a nonstarter for families that can’t afford the loan component.

These financial strains also leave people underinsured and vulnerable to storms that are hitting with greater ferocity. “Business and homeowner insurance is not covering flooding or natural disasters,” said Christine Pouch, economic development manager for Indian Lake. “It ends up leaving owners cash-strapped and unable to make the necessary repairs.” 

Advocates noted a tension between quantity and quality of Adirondack housing. Houses built to more rigorous standards are more expensive, which tend to be unaffordable for average residents.

And houses with structural problems or lead and asbestos issues are ineligible for weatherization programs or other state help unless these often cost-prohibitive repairs are made. “it really feels like a disservice to those homes, because they’re the ones that need the most assistance,” said Sunita Halasz, ACORN’s project coordinator.

Communities struggle with infrastructure costs

Local governments can be short on resources as well, said Stuart Baker, senior planner for Queensbury, making it difficult to protect their residents through construction and maintenance of adequate stormwater projects. And when disasters hit, the sparse population in the Adirondacks makes it harder for homeowners to band together to get their due from insurance companies.

Addressing top 3 concerns

Asked to identify the three most pressing challenges to sustainable housing, advocates picked contractor availability, income-restricted homeowners and flooding.

To address the contractor shortage, advocates suggested greater emphasis on vocational training, more prefabricated housing and contractor recruitment and incentives for working in poor communities.

Finding someone to do the work

Maggie Bartley of New Russia noted a greater presence of Amish carpenters in the region who economically perform privately funded (being uninsured they are ineligible for state-funded initiatives) housing-related projects. “There are limits they have — you can’t call them on the phone, you can’t text them, (but) I think if that’s a resource you want … a lot of people just don’t know how to reach them and how to interact with them.”

Connecting with financial assistance

For cash-strapped homeowners, advocates urged more funding programs, but also outlets that provide building materials or lend tools to handy people who, with the right resources, have the skill to do the work themselves.

Kevin Stack, founder and CEO at Building in Nature’s Image, a sustainable housing-design company in Syracuse, said that big developers are plugged into available state and national grants, but that low-income homeowners are generally unaware of what assistance might be available to them, and suggested an algorithm that would sort out potential help.

“There are many, many programs that are available, and it’s very confusing to anyone to navigate, even for people who do it all the time for a living,” Stack said. “So we just need to make that pathway easier.”

Erin Griffin, clean-energy hub director for the Adirondack North Country Association, said similar help is available for low- and moderate income households.

Protection from flooding

Flooding is a critical issue, because many older homes were built in flood zones. And with climate change, said Adam Bailey, Adirondack program manager for the Northern Forest Center, flood zones are expanding to inundate areas that were previously regarded as safe.

Advocates suggested hamlet expansion so, in time, housing can be transitioned to higher ground. 

“Today you would never build a new house in the location of most of the homes that are along bodies of water — the zoning wouldn’t even allow it,” Bartley said. “But sometimes you can do some changes around your house to at least protect it to some degree.” 

Photo at top: A house hit by a 2022 ice jam in Au Sable Forks. Advocates are working on ideas to make existing housing more durable in light of more severe storms. Photo by Tim Rowland