Long Island housing advocates to discuss affordability and segregation at Hofstra event

Long Island housing advocates will gather Thursday night at Hofstra University to discuss strategies to improve affordable options and address segregation in housing.

The event will also include a conversation with housing policy expert Leah Rothstein, co-author of the book, “Just Action: How to Challenge Segregation Enacted Under the Color of Law.”

The free event, organized by Syosset-based ERASE Racism and statewide pro-housing group Open New York, will be held at 7 p.m. at the Mack Student Center Theater on Hofstra’s North Campus.

The panelists plan to discuss the path forward following the defeat last year of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s plan to build 800,000 housing units statewide over the next decade.

This year, the governor has shifted her focus to incentives for local governments to build housing, rather than mandates. Communities would be required to demonstrate their past or future commitment to housing growth to qualify for a piece of $650 million in state funding.

“New York will not solve our dire housing shortage without all parts of the state working to be part of the solution to build more homes,” said Annemarie Gray, executive director of Open New York.

In addition to Gray, panelists at the event will include Laura Harding, president of ERASE Racism; Elizabeth Grossman, executive director and general counsel of the Fair Housing Justice Center in Queens; Pilar Moya, executive director of Housing Help in Greenlawn; and Hunter Gross, executive director of the Huntington Township Housing Coalition.

Interested attendees can register for free online at bit.ly/3w3oDEJ.

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.