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Long Island NIMBY (Not in my backyard) [1]

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Date: 2023-08-13

A poll conducted by nextLI/Newsday discovered a not so puzzling contradiction. A majority of Long Island residents want more local housing options, probably because their own children, just starting families, can’t afford to buy homes in the communities where they grew up and their parents live. On the other hand, a majority also opposes "dense housing options" like those proposed by New York State Governor Kathy Hochul. Opposition to "dense housing options," a euphemism for low-cost apartments near transportation hubs, comes from both Republicans and Democrats because support could be the kiss of death in local elections. There is deep-seated fear in New York suburbs that less expensive housing will bring ethnic and racial minorities into previously predominately white communities.

So far, low-cost housing options on Long Island are targeted for communities that are already primarily Black and Latino. A four-story building with 42 units and a 228-unit development are going up in Hempstead, an 81-unit project is planned for Wyandanch, and a 55-unit building is being built in a blighted area of East Patchogue. Hempstead is 46% Black and 45% Latino. Wyandanch is 60% Black and 18% Latino. Patchogue is a majority white, but the area where the housing will be built is increasingly Latino.

The New York State legislature, controlled by Democrats, adjourned for the year in June without passing legislation to address the state’s chronic housing shortage as lawmakers failed to even introduce any housing legislation. Democrats in the legislature wanted to boost the housing supply by handing developers tax credits that are supposed to promote construction of affordable housing and turn unused office space into apartments. They also wanted to include protection against evictions and spiking rents. Governor Hochul, also a Democrat, was unhappy about pairing new construction with rent controls. She also proposed a broader housing plan that would add over 800,000 units of new housing by requiring that suburban communities meet construction mandates including expanding its housing stock by 3% every three years and building 50 homes per acre within a half-mile of Long Island Railroad stations. Democratic legislators are leery of Hochul’s housing plan because in 2022, Republican candidates on Long Island won three Assembly seats and three Senate seats previously held by Democrats.

While Democrats shied away from Hochul’s proposal to mandate affordable housing in the suburbs, Republicans were in virulent opposition accusing her of imperial ambitions and trying to transform Long Island communities in a plan to alleviate New York City’s housing crisis. Hempstead Town Supervisor Donald Clavin, a Republican, denounced the Hochul plan as “ill-conceived.” State Senator Steven Rhoads, a Republican from Massapequa called the Governor’s proposals “a reckless and irresponsible attempt to defy both local government’s right to control local zoning and the right of each and every Long Islander to preserve their safety and suburban quality of life.” Massapequa is 94% white and less than 1% Black. Over the last ten years, less new housing has been built in metropolitan New York suburban communities than in most major metropolitan areas in the United States.

Racism remains such a potent political force in New York suburbs that Democratic Party leaders in the state legislature, both African American, were unwilling to support affordable housing mandates, fearing white opposition would cause Democrats to lose majority control of both houses. Look for opposition to “dense housing options” to join attacks on Critical Race Theory as Republican rally points in the 2024 election cycle to stir up white voting support.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/8/13/2187019/-Long-Island-NIMBY-Not-in-my-backyard

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