SUFFFOLK CLOSEUP: "Priced Out...Unable To Buy Homes"

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP

By Karl Grossman

Suffolk County isn’t alone in facing an affordable housing crisis.

Last month, The New York Times ran an article that included in its headline: “Ireland’s Housing Crisis.” It began by relating how a teacher in Dublin needs to live with family an hour-and-a-half from work because, she says, “There’s very little housing available, and what is available is way out of my reach. I’m never going to afford a house or an apartment on my own up in Dublin.”

The article reported how so many are “priced out…unable to buy homes.”

Sound familiar?

“While a major issue across Ireland, the housing shortage is felt most acutely in the Dublin region, home to around a quarter of the country’s population of just over five million,” The Times piece said. “Two-thirds of Irish people 18 to 34 still live with their parents…” 

It said “recent…riots in Dublin capitalized on the grievances of people struggling to cover their housing costs and exposed to the world the deep fractures that the crisis has created. But the issue is decades in the making, experts say, and has become the driving force in Irish politics.” 

There have been no riots in Suffolk County involving housing costs. But here—and elsewhere in the U.S.—the affordable housing crisis is terribly severe. 

That’s why New York Governor Kathy Hochul has put a focus on expanding affordable housing. In 2023, in her “State of the State” address, she announced a “New York Housing Compact” requiring cities, towns and villages in the state to add housing every three years by 3% downstate and 1% upstate with the state able to override local zoning decisions if localities didn’t meet targets. However, the program, supported by housing advocates, faced strong opposition from some local government officials and state representatives—including from Suffolk—as an infringement on “home rule” and was shelved by the governor.

At the start of 2024 in her “State of the State” address, Hochul was focusing on incentives and a variety of other strategies to increase affordable housing in the state.

A key Hochul strategy involves “Accessory Dwelling Units” or ADUs. She is earmarking $85 million for the initiative. In her “Plus One ADU Program” state grants would be offered local governments and non-profit organizations to develop community-specific programs in which single-family homeowners would be able to construct “a new ADU on their property or upgrading existing units to comply with local and state code requirements,” said the governor. ADUs could range from basement apartments and garage conversions to standalone units like cottages. Participating homeowners could receive up to $125,000 in a “forgivable” loan.  

The incoming Brookhaven Town supervisor, Dan Panico, in his inaugural address, announced he wants to streamline ADUs in the town by eliminating its Accessory Apartment Review Board in favor of the town Building Department making decisions.

New programs also proposed by Hochul would be a tax incentive on conversion of commercial buildings or offices for affordable housing and use of state-owned land for housing. And the governor also wants to set aside $650 million from “discretionary” state funds to go to “pro-housing communities” developing affordable housing programs.  

The obstacle for affordable housing in Ireland as described in The Times piece has been a lack of government action. An obstacle to government action notably here and in much of the U.S. has been the single-family house as the standard dwelling unit and zoning which enforces that. 

Michael Daly, founder of the group East End YIMBY (Yes In My Backyard) points to the Community Housing Fund, passed by referendum in Southold, Shelter Island, East Hampton and Southampton towns in 2022—adding a half-percent to the existing real estate transfer fee to go for affordable housing—and how in those towns “the advisory boards and town boards are searching for effective ways to use the funds to preserve and create more community housing. But the stubborn issue of restrictive, single-family-only zoning continues to be a blockade to many of the best solutions.”

 “Now that we have figured out how to create sustainable, environmentally sound, and attractive multi-family properties…it’s restrictive zoning and the minority of loud and vocal opponents who are the only ones standing in the way,” said Daly last week.

“The good news is that village, town, county, and state officials all throughout the nation are figuring out that the loud and vocal minority is just that—a minority in our communities,” said Daly of Sag Harbor. “Studies on Long Island and across the nation consistently show that 60-75% of community members see the need for more community housing and support zoning changes to accomplish that. The Housing Compact, put forth by New York State last year, would have done the ‘hard part’ for local officials, but they rejected it. Now they’re going to have to do that ‘hard part’ themselves.”

A motto of those crusading for affordable housing is: “Housing Is A Human Right.” 

That’s right. 

Karl Grossman is a veteran investigative reporter and columnist, the winner of numerous awards for his work and a member of the L.I. Journalism Hall of Fame. He is a professor of journalism at SUNY/College at Old Westbury and the author of six books.