Lengthy Island is a poster youngster for New York’s housing downside. At its coronary heart is a nasty discount: The state has bestowed it with an in depth commuter rail community, but localities cling to single-family zoning.
A 2023 evaluation discovered an astonishing 89 percent of the buildable, residential land in Nassau and Suffolk counties was zoned for single-family. One other 8.5 p.c allowed two-family houses. Simply 3.6 p.c was zoned for multifamily, which means three or extra models.
Making issues worse, Lengthy Island has greater than 1,200 zoning districts, and multifamily tasks typically require a tax break from a politicized IDA to pencil out. It takes a Ph.D. to construct flats there.
Progress is occurring — incrementally, as a result of Lengthy Island politicians helped defeat statewide zoning reform in 2023. In April, as an example, Huntington’s city board accredited Bethpage developer Metal Equities’ plan for 110 condominium models and 290 flats on 17 acres of a light-industrial space, Newsday reported.
The undertaking, which incorporates retail, a clubhouse and a pool, was made attainable by the Melville City Heart Overlay District, which was created in December 2024. Melville’s aim: a walkable downtown.
City Supervisor Ed Smyth referred to as the undertaking “the mannequin of what growth must be in Melville,” in keeping with Newsday. Now he simply wants just a few extra prefer it, as do all Lengthy Island localities with LIRR stations.
Progressive politics by no means limits growth on Lengthy Island the best way it does in New York Metropolis, the place elected officers demand heavy doses of money-losing reasonably priced housing.
On Lengthy Island, it’s conventional conservatism that holds housing again: Folks cling to large-lot, single-family zoning, and resist even modest reforms, similar to making it straightforward so as to add an adjunct dwelling unit.
Take into account Islip, which has 5 Lengthy Island Rail Highway stations. To construct a single ADU, a home-owner should present four off-street parking spaces. The parking would take up extra space than the dwelling itself!
It will get worse: If you wish to stay in your ADU and lease out your own home to a household, you’ll be able to’t. An ADU proprietor in Islip should use the primary home as a main residence. A lot for property rights.
As if that weren’t sufficient, Islip has made it unlawful to place an ADU in a indifferent construction, like a storage, or to construct one bigger than 800 sq. ft.
Did I point out that ADU candidates should additionally endure a public listening to? Not simply to get a allow accredited, however each time they should renew it. “Sorry, Grandma, it’s important to transfer out — our allow expired!”
Islip put up a fig leaf a few years in the past, offering state grants of as much as $125,000 to create an ADU — with out altering the principles that make it just about inconceivable to take action.
Some cities are making efforts to offer reasonably priced housing. On the North Fork, Southold City simply scrapped a complete zoning reform after 5 years to start out from scratch.
Southold officers realized that no quantity of tweaking their preliminary proposal would make a dent of their affordability downside, which has made it tough for native companies to rent employees. Wage staff simply can’t afford to stay within the space, the place half of the residences are second houses.
However don’t maintain your breath for an answer. Southold planners say the rezoning’s public course of may have 10 phases and take three to 5 years.
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