RSS Purchase of 27 Market St.: Opposing Views—Letter to RSS Executive Director DeVita Against

‘Withdraw Your Offer To Buy’

February 27, 2025

Dear William DeVita,

This letter reflects the collective views of numerous Oneonta residents and key downtown stakeholders.

We are actively engaged in local government affairs and have been closely following RSS’s activities in Oneonta and have significant concerns regarding your organization’s efforts to purchase 27 Market St.

According to Mayor Drnek, RSS staff will be presenting on this matter at the April 1st Common Council Meeting. Given the complexities and concerns surrounding this project, we ask you to take a more hands-on approach. Unfortunately, your public relations employee, Christine Nealon, has lost credibility within our community due to inconsistencies in her public and private communications. As a result, many residents now question the accuracy and reliability of the information she presents.

Emails obtained through a FOIL (Freedom of Information Law) request between RSS and Mayor Drnek reveal that you, and others, have been directly involved in behind-the-scenes discussions. Over the past two to three years, you have privately met with Mayor Drnek multiple times to lay the groundwork for the proposed RSS project at 27 Market Street. It is clear that the plans the City of Oneonta and your organization conceived together have not proceeded as intended. As your organization and Mayor Drnek continued to push for RSS to gain site control over 27 Market Street, public opposition has repeatedly derailed your efforts. The initial vote to sell the property to RSS was scheduled a year ago, then postponed to October 2024, then to January 2025, and now to May 2025. Throughout this period, Mayor Drnek has worked persistently to appoint new Council members who align with his unpopular agenda, despite significant public disapproval.

Since December 2023, the City of Oneonta Common Council, city staff, and the public have devoted countless hours to addressing your controversial proposed development at 27 Market Street. RSS has been at the forefront of extensive discussions in local news, social media, and community forums.

We suspect that you now recognize that entering into private agreements with Mayor Drnek while keeping the Common Council and the public uninformed was a mistake. Your alignment with Mayor Drnek indicates a determined effort to push this project forward at all costs, despite widespread community skepticism and opposition. Many residents feel that both RSS and the Mayor have misrepresented key aspects of this initiative. Our goal is to hold RSS and Mayor Drnek accountable, ensuring transparency and honesty in your dealings with the community—whether regarding 27 Market Street or any future projects.

To uphold these principles, we request written responses to the questions listed below. They are grouped into six categories, and we ask that responses be sent via email by the close of business on March 21, 2025.

1.) Comparable Properties:

• Please provide the documentation on the comparable properties referenced in the December 19, 2023 Council meeting. (see property addresses below)

• What would the income range be for both supportive and non-supportive housing units if these properties were located in Oneonta?

• The three comparable RSS properties include:

a) 140-150 Hudson Ave Ext, Poughkeepsie City

b) 104 Clinton Avenue, Albany

c) 116 N Meadow Street, Ithaca (under construction, estimated completion Fall 2026).

RSS has provided conflicting information regarding income requirements. At the December 19, 2023, and January 2, 2024, Council meetings, Christine Nealon stated that the income range for renting an apartment in the proposed 27 Market Street development would be $18,000 to $60,000. These confusing figures were subsequently reported by the news media and reiterated by Mayor Drnek. However, further investigation by community members revealed that the actual income requirement for a one-person household in a non-supportive unit would likely be under $30,700—nearly half of the $60,000 figure initially presented by RSS. This $30,700 figure is based on the 50% AMI threshold for 2024. This discrepancy has caused significant confusion within the community.

2.) Supportive Housing Component:

• How is ‘supportive housing’ defined, and what are the qualification criteria and eligible target populations?
• What percentage of units at the comparable properties are designated as supportive housing?
• RSS has stated that 30% of the proposed units at 27 Market Street will be supportive housing. However, the three comparable properties mentioned earlier designate at least 50% of their units for supportive housing. Additionally, New York State funding agencies such as HCR provide additional financial incentives for projects with 50% or more supportive housing units. Can you clarify where the 30% figure originates and whether this number may change?

3.) Commercial Space Requirement:

• The first floor of the proposed RSS structure must include commercial space in accordance with downtown zoning regulations. Clinton Plaza borders 27 Market Street on two sides. Robert Semaya, who speaks for the owner of Clinton Plaza, expressed his concerns in a three-page letter to the Common Council on January 7, 2025. In addition to parking-related issues, he also raised concerns that the proposed RSS commercial space could negatively impact not only his own commercial property but also other retail locations along Main Street. What are your thoughts on these concerns? The letter in question is attached.

4.) Property Tax or PILOT Agreement:

• Will RSS pay property taxes or enter into a PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) agreement?
• Christine Nealon has stated that RSS would voluntarily agree to a PILOT as a goodwill gesture toward the community. However:

a) As a non-profit organization, RSS cannot be legally compelled to pay property taxes or a PILOT.

b) RSS pays nothing at its other properties. RSS’s comparable properties in Poughkeepsie and Albany do not pay taxes or PILOTs (as confirmed by the tax assessors in those cities).

c) The Dietz Street Lofts PILOT was discussed at a Council meeting as a potential comparison. However, even if RSS agrees to a PILOT, it would likely be much lower than what Dietz Street Lofts pays, given that RSS’s proposed project is predominantly “very low-income” housing (50% AMI). This lower rental revenue would result in a smaller PILOT payment. According to a 2025 budget document, Dietz Street Lofts pays a $70,000 PILOT, with the city’s share being $23,000. The Dietz Street Lofts, which consists of 64 units of middle-income and low-income housing, generates significantly higher rental revenue than the development RSS is proposing at 27 Market Street.

• A March 2024 document (Cover Letter for P&SA) from Christine Nealon cites NY Tax Law RPTL 581-A as governing all affordable projects. Can you clarify what the expected tax contributions from RSS’s proposed development will be?

5.) Funding the $25 Million Project:

• How does RSS plan to fund the proposed $25 million cost of this project? Please list all applicable State, Federal and Local programs.
• How will your proposed acquisition of 27 Market Street be financed?
• We understand that RSS is unwilling to secure funding before attempting to acquire the property. Does this mean RSS intends to hold the property while applying for competitive funding with minimal or no financial commitment for as long as it may take?

6.) The RSS web site – www.27MarketStreet.com

This website promotes a “shared vision.” However, given everything that has transpired over the past year, the Oneonta community does not believe that RSS is genuinely open to the public’s vision. Additionally, emails obtained through a FOIL request reveal that in December 2023, Mayor Drnek encouraged Christine Nealon to include a “Maker Space” on the first floor, stating that it would provide him with “talking points” to help promote RSS to the public. Furthermore, the 27MarketStreet.com website selectively links only to news sources that support the RSS project at 27 Market Street. Notably absent are recent articles discussing parking concerns and those advocating for the continued use of 27 Market Street as parking. Can you comment on this?

In Summary

It is our hope that RSS will eventually recognize that the best course of action is to withdraw from attempting to acquire 27 Market Street. Doing so would allow the Oneonta community and RSS to collaborate in a more constructive and transparent manner. Other potential locations exist within the Town of Oneonta that may better suit this project’s needs. However, if RSS and Mayor Drnek remain closely aligned and focused on this site, productive discussions on alternative solutions will be stifled, and divisiveness within our community will persist.

Thank you,

Bryan Shaughnessy, City of Oneonta 1st Ward Resident

Luisa Montanti, City of Oneonta 4th Ward Resident

Marge O’Mara, City of Oneonta 7th Ward Resident

Carolyn Marks, City of Oneonta 7th Ward Resident

Paul Conway, City of Oneonta 2nd Ward Resident

Bob Brzozowski, City of Oneonta 7th Ward Resident

Kathy Varadi, City of Oneonta 8th Ward Resident

Chip and Stephanie Holmes, City of Oneonta 8th Ward Residents

Dean Roberts, Owner of Green Earth, 6th Ward

Charles Hartley, City of Oneonta 7th Ward Resident

Jacki Hunt, Manager of Clinton Plaza, 8th Ward