The men and women of Coast Guard Station Menemsha, one of 34 boat stations in the First District, which encompasses an area that includes New England, New York, and New Jersey, face one of their biggest challenges not at sea, but on land in the ever-increasing shortage of affordable year-round rentals on Martha’s Vineyard.
The Coast Guard barracks and Coast Guard-owned housing stock is not sufficient to house the entire crew. As a result, Coast Guardsmen who rotate to the Island on a four-year assignment must seek housing.
In a recent conversation with The Times, Coast Guard Senior Chief Robert Riemer spoke about the widening gulf between Island rents and what Coast Guardsmen can afford, and how increasingly, the men and women entrusted to risk their their lives for others on the high seas are forced to live in substandard conditions.
“This absolutely has an affect on morale,” Chief Riemer said. “There’s a lot of stress not knowing where you’re going to live, or where you can afford to live. It’s depressing to live in a run-down basement apartment. The guys with families really feel it. They move from a 1,500-square-foot [off-Island] house to an 800-square-foot cottage, if they’re lucky. The Coast Guard families are constantly looking at the rental market to see if there’s something better.”
The Coast Guard housing allowance is roughly $1,600 per month for rent and utilities in this region of the country.
“Most places [off-Island] they could find a decent apartment for that, but obviously there are no apartment complexes here,” Chief Riemer said. “I know of seven people who live in places that exceed our housing allowance. Usually guys end up in a basement apartment or a room on somebody’s house, and there are often issues with those locations. We’ve had a couple of situations where there was a problem with the house, and personnel ended up sleeping on air mattresses in another house. That’s unacceptable.”
Those fortunate enough to find a year-round cottage face another complication.
“A lot of the places we find aren’t insulated properly,” he said. “So their heating bills can really chew up their housing allowance.”
Chief Riemer said the housing crunch is particularly acute at the moment because of the much-needed renovation work that is being done on the nine Coast Guard–owned houses on-Island. However, even if those houses were available, the problem would still exist.
“We have 23 people in our unit, and about half of them have dependents,” he said. “There are six beds in the barracks at Station Menemsha, which go to the junior, single officers. Even if the single-family houses owned by the Coast Guard were operational, that would leave about half the crew in need of housing.”
An added complication for Coasties posted to Station Menemsha is that they often report between June and August. “Looking for a year-round rental at that time of year is unreal,” Chief Riemer said.
Yet another complication is that Coast Guard housing standards and protocol also significantly reduce the options available to members of the military. Rental units that do not comply with town building codes are off-limits, and demand is so intense that many desperate renters offer a year’s rent in advance.
“The Coast Guard requires more than one entry and exit; each bedroom must have a closet; each unit must have fire detection and suppression systems,” Chief Riemer said. “Owners also must include all utilities in the cost of the lease, and be willing to accept payment in arrears. It is an extensive process, and it eliminates a lot of options here.”
Buying is out of the question for several reasons. “Current wisdom in real estate suggests that if buyers don’t live in a house for at least five years, they’re better off renting,” Chief Riemer said. “Since most postings are for four years, it wouldn’t make sense to buy. Not that it’s a viable option. Not in this market.”
MV outprices NYC
Chief Riemer cited an August 19 story on NBC news that ranked Nantucket and Dukes counties as the most expensive places to live in the country for a two-parent family with one child. According the survey, it takes $85,000 per year to “get by,” meaning no savings or discretionary spending for that family. New York City ranked fourth, and Boston ranked a distant ninth. “Most of our folks make less than 50 grand a year, even with the housing allowance, so they’re already behind the eight ball,” he said. “We have one guy who has four kids, and he has some real challenges. Nantucket has considerably more Coast Guard housing than we do. They don’t have the same problem.”
Housing for Station Menemsha is coordinated with the Coast Guard housing office in Cape Cod, which acts as a de facto rental agent, but with such limited inventory, there’s little the office can do. Coast Guard Housing Officer Terry Krout told The Times that Martha’s Vineyard is the most difficult place to put Coast Guardsmen in a home.
“We spend a considerate amount of time searching for rentals,” he wrote in an email to The Times. “We have a few great contacts, but locating an unfurnished year-round rental is very difficult, especially during June through August, which is when the Coast Guard normally transfers its members … I feel we are fortunate to have acquired the rentals that we currently have in place.”
“I’ve spent quite a bit of time with [Terry] to find houses, and affordable options are few and far between,” Chief Riemer said, adding that living close to the station in the pricier up-Island market of West Tisbury, Chilmark, and Aquinnah is not an option. “We find a 45-minute commute and under to be acceptable. Most everyone lives in Oak Bluffs or Vineyard Haven.”
Well over half of the personnel at Station Menemsha would qualify for affordable housing on the Island, according to Chief Riemer. The Coast Guardsmen are in the same boat as many working Islanders.
“We toured Morgan Woods,” he said, referring to the Island’s largest affordable rental complex, in Edgartown. “It’s nice housing. But the waiting lists are so long, their four years will be up before there’s an opening.”
To qualify for affordable housing — 80 percent of median income in Dukes County — a single person has to make $46,100 or less, and $65,800 or less for a family of four.
“I view my crew as extended family, and I want to make sure they’re taken care of,” Chief Riemer said. “It’s an Island problem. Obviously we have our piece of it. I think the Coast Guard is doing all that it can to address the problem. But we’ve got some ground to cover.”
Property owners interested in helping Coast Guard personnel at Station Menemsha can call the station at 508-645-2661 and ask for the officer in charge.