In bid to boost new housing, NYS approves law to shorten environmental reviews

Long Island housing developers will face shorter timelines to receive environmental approvals after Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday signed a change to state law that will expedite the review process for certain buildings.

The change, part of the state’s fiscal year 2027 budget, alters the 50-year-old State Environmental Quality Review Act to speed up approvals for housing and critical infrastructure projects where there are “no significant environmental impacts,” according to the governor’s office.

The law will shorten reviews by as much as two years, according to the governor's office, and aims to lower the cost of construction to encourage builders to create new housing. The reform effort comes as homebuyers and renters on Long Island are facing near-record home prices and rising rents.

“By removing these barriers and empowering communities across the state, we are working to drive down costs of critical housing and infrastructure and sending a simple message: now is the time to build,” Hochul said in a statement on Wednesday.

The faster review process will help boost the supply of housing on Long Island, supporters said, but some environmental advocates told Newsday they believe the changes go too far. 

Whether a project qualifies for expedited review varies by its location. In New York City, apartment buildings with up to 250 units qualify citywide, while developments with 500 or more units qualify in medium-to-high density areas.

Long Island municipalities fall into two buckets. For areas considered “urbanized,” as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, housing complexes with up to 300 units may qualify for speedier review. In non-urbanized areas, that limit is 100 units. The Census Bureau defines an urban area as a place with at least 2,000 housing units or at least 5,000 people.

It was not immediately clear which standard would apply to each of Long Island’s more than 100 municipalities. A map of such places on the New York State Department of Environmental Protection’s website shows the majority of Long Island, with the exception of some villages and parts of the East End, meets the definition of an urban area.

But only a smaller subset of sites within those municipalities will qualify for expedited review. The new law requires projects must be built on land that has been "previously disturbed" by development or clearing, excludes sites within the 100-year flood plain, and does not supersede local laws regulating environmental protections and zoning.

Proposed projects must also be connected to public water and sewer systems and cannot include more than 50,000 square feet of commercial or retail space.

The law will make Long Island a more attractive place to build housing and could cut potential construction timelines by 18 months to two years, said Kyle Strober, president of the developers’ group Association for a Better Long Island. It would also reduce builders’ preconstruction costs and expenses on legal and engineering fees related to the environmental reviews, he said. 

Lowering those costs will help address Long Island's critical need for new housing, Strober said. “Cutting off two years or more to getting shovels in the ground for future housing projects will certainly help," he said. 

Adrienne Esposito, executive director of the Farmingdale-based Citizens Campaign for the Environment, said the state's action weakens key protections of Long Island's groundwater resources and will fail to boost affordability because developers can continue to charge high rents. She said she’s skeptical local governments, which have discretion to determine a project's potential environmental impact, will use their authority to trigger more extensive environmental reviews.

“To make the claim that we don’t have affordable housing because we’re protecting the environment is ludicrous,” she said.

Hunter Gross, president of the Huntington Township Housing Coalition, said he appreciates the governor is taking steps that address housing affordability on Long Island and hopes the state looks at additional issues, such as expanding access to accessory apartments.

“I think it will make a difference,” Gross said of the state’s change. “If developers have a much lower cost to actually build housing, I think that will translate to lower prices for renters.” 

By Jonathan LaMantia

jonathan.lamantia@newsday.com@jonlamantia

Jonathan LaMantia covers residential real estate and other business news on Long Island. He previously covered the business of health care for Crain's New York Business.