Affordable housing is not easy to find in Tompkins County. In 2006 the County’s Affordable Housing Needs Assessment determined about 2,500 affordable units – those that could be owned or rented by those with less than 80% of Area Median Income without breaking the bank – were needed by 2014.
The NY-Penn Blood Service, the blood collection headquarters for Tompkins County, reports an acute blood shortage in our region.
When I moved to Ithaca several years ago, I thought the climate might be too “gray” and wet for “green” building options like solar power and straw bale construction to be practical. But I soon learned that these — and many other renewable energy and natural building practices — are both possible and popular here.