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Tax-break debate pressures Long Island housing development agencies
Long Island permitted 7 housing units per 1,000 residents between 2012 and 2021, while opposition is growing as zoning restricts apartments on 96% of Nassau and Suffolk land.
Developers on Long Island are facing increased scrutiny over the tax breaks used to spur housing, as local industrial development agencies across New York expand financial incentives amid the ongoing housing crisis, according to Bisnow.
Bisnow reports that from 2012 through 2021, Long Island permitted 7 housing units per 1,000 residents, compared with 13 in the Lower Hudson Valley and 16 in Connecticut’s suburbs, and with 23 in Boston and 27 in the San Francisco suburbs. The outlet also notes the multifamily gap is wider, with only 2.3 units per 1,000 residents, linked to zoning that prohibits apartments on 96% of land in Nassau and Suffolk counties.
The housing shortage has contributed to a workforce challenge, Bisnow says, citing a report that Long Island lost 98,000 residents ages 35 to 54 between 2012 and 2021. Job growth was 2% on Long Island, versus 12% across the U.S., and Empire State Development Long Island Regional Director Cara Longworth said at the event that the shortage affects the working class that cannot find housing.
Bisnow adds that state economic agencies are increasing investment in housing, and points to a 2023 executive order signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul directing authorities to prioritize allocating funds to localities that promote housing construction.