Long Island towns, villages and school officials unite against state's faith-based affordable housing proposal
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. -- Nassau County town and village leaders are blasting Albany's latest affordable housing proposal, calling it an attack on suburbia.
It would allow religious institutions to bypass local zoning and build dense housing on their land, something advocates say is a needed solution to the housing crunch.
"Another one-size-fits-all proposal coming from Albany," said North Hempstead Supervisor Jennifer DeSena said.
Towns, villages, and school officials are united the state's latest affordable housing proposal, after last year's failed.
"It's an attack on local zoning, make no mistake. It changes the fabric of our communities," state Sen. Jack Martins said.
The latest iteration, faith-based affordable housing, is a pair of bills that allow houses of worship to circumvent local zoning laws and build high-density affordable housing on their tax exempt land.
Nassau's 1,100 churches, temples and mosques could be eligible to build up to 50 units per acre, five stories each.
"They want to turn suburbia into an urban disaster," Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino said.
"The right development should be left in the hands of localities," Hempstead Supervisor Don Clavin said.
Mayors say emergency services would be overburdened.
"The police are short and then you have volunteer firemen, so who is going to go there when the bell rings?" East Hills Mayor Michael Koblenz said.
School officials say already over-taxed homeowners will pay the price.
"We don't know how we would deal with the influx of students from up to five-story buildings," said Larry Ortolani, of the Coalition of New York State School Board Members.
"One new classroom is $1 million. Imagine how many new classrooms we would need. We can't just water the schools and make them grow," Roslyn School Board member Meryl Ben Levy said.
Supporters of the bill say, "Many faith-based organizations want to serve their communities by creating affordable housing."
The group Open New York calls the legislation, "A compassionate and common-sense bill that gets government out of the way of houses of worship. The bill's opponents are fighting to keep their neighborhoods exclusive and housing costs high on Long Island."
All agree New York has a housing crisis. Suburban leaders point to smart growth building already happening across Long Island, with local input, and say Albany should stop trying to turn Long Island into the city.
A spokesperson for Gov. Kathy Hochul said faith-based housing is not going in the state budget and was never proposed by her.
The bills are currently in committee in both the state Senate and Assembly in Albany.
