ESSAY: Publisher’s forum Alpha-gal and on World Press Freedom Day A4 Island restaurants B6
Thursday, May 7, 2026
THE MARTHA’S VINEYARD TIMES
Volume 43, Issue No.18
2 Sections
Empty Tisbury storefronts raise eminent domain question for voters
Price $1.00
The inquiry was spurred by the recent Island Theatre decision in Oak Bluffs. BY EUNKI SEONWOO
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NICHOLAS VUKOTA
acant stores and darkened windows on Main Street in Vineyard Haven have become not only an eyesore for all and a lost business opportunity for the Island, they have also raised a persistent question that voters put to the candidates in a forum last week as Tisbury goes to the polls on Tuesday, May 12. The question is: What is the town going to do about this? As the year-round gateway of Martha’s Vineyard, Tisbury, which includes the village of Vineyard Haven, is where Islanders come and go, where workers commute to job sites, and where visitors first see the Island after sailing aboard a Steamship Authority ferry. Just past the ferry line’s facilities is downtown Vineyard Haven, where on Main Street there are a few once-grand commercial properties that sit vacant and interrupt a line of vibrant shops. Some of these properties are a part of the real estate portfolio of the Hall family, which owns multiple properties across down-Island towns and has been the target of criticism for leaving hallmark theaters and formerly bustling storefronts vacant. Revitalizing the town has been on the mind of local officials and business owners for a while, but some voters have made their calls for action public. At a recent meeting, the question of eminent domain was put Continued on A7
A moment captured at Allen Farm in Chilmark: An ewe stands watch over her lamb on a sunny May morning. As Mother’s Day approaches, moments like these offer us a symbol of the quiet strength, nurturing care, and unconditional love that mothers everywhere offer so freely. On the cover of our Community and Caledar section, we also showcase the artistry and bond of mother-daughter duo Taylor and Lori Stone. SEE B1.
Largest housing project on the Island greenlit
Housing crisis threatens vital summer economy Is a lack of housing creating an urgent threat to seasonal sustainability? BY SARAH SHAW DAWSON
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he seasonal ebb and flow of Island life moves like the tides, a motion that is necessary to keep the local community afloat. But these days, the summer economy and the need for affordable housing feel more like an unpredictable crosscurrent that threatens the sustainability of the Island. Twenty thousand year-round Islanders live and work here in the winter, waiting for the waves of 100,000 people to wash up on local shores every summer. There’s a complex and symbiotic relationship between year-round residents on Martha’s Vineyard and the summer boom. Seasonal workers and Islanders alike rely on the tourism-fueled summer economy, and yet the hordes that come increasingly threaten their very ability to stay here. Now and historically, safe and affordable housing has been the biggest challenge in keeping the mutually beneficial relationship alive. While summer visitors and the workers Continued on A8
The project will now move forward to Oak Bluffs officials for review. BY EUNKI SEONWOO
T
he two-year saga of a controversial project has come to an end through the Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC), after a narrowly split approval greenlit the largest housing development in the Island’s history. Green Villa is the largest project that’s been approved so far by the regulatory body, and Island officials, current and former, are recognizing that the project will have long-lasting impact on the Vineyard, from the availability of developable land to wastewater flow. Some details are still pending as the developer and Island regulators await decisions from the Massachusetts Housing Appeals Committee and in Massachusetts Land Court. In the broader context of housing on the Vineyard, Green Villa, with its size and infrastructure needs, is consequential. The Island is short on affordable housing, but also on land. Environmental considerations like wetlands and wastewater are issues the commission takes on when looking at proposals, but the Island has yet to see the long-term
A rendering of Green Villa, the largest development proposal in Island history. COURTESY MARTHA’S VINEYARD COMMISSION
impacts of housing projects of this size. Large developments introduce more people and units, but pull resources like power, water, and light. Since Green Villa is proposed near other sprawling buildings, such as Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School, Martha’s Vineyard Community Services, the YMCA, and other housing projects, the impact will be even more heightened.
“Infrastructure investments that the towns need to make to keep up with projects like this are willfully behind,” former Oak Bluffs planning board chair Ewell Continued on A6 © 2026
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