Gov. Kathy Hochul pushes affordable housing plan in Patchogue visit

Gov. Kathy Hochul touted her housing plan Thursday in Patchogue to bolster affordable housing in Long Island downtowns and centered around train stations.

Hochul spoke to a crowd of stakeholders and community leaders at the Patchogue YMCA after she said she toured the revitalized downtown with Mayor Paul Pontieri and Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone.

She noted Patchogue's turnaround from 50% vacant storefronts. The village has also added 750 transit-oriented units in the past 15 years, according to the mayor. 

"Having the Long Island Rail Road here is just a jewel," Hochul said. "And it's going to make more dynamic businesses and having walkable communities like all this. And it's no wonder that because it is such an up-and-coming community, young people are flocking here ... It's so alive, and that's why we want to continue making this part of our space, more affordable, more livable and certainly more safe. And this is a shining example of the kind of things that people are looking for thirsting for."

Hochul’s housing plan, which is included in the state budget, would require communities to rezone property within one-half mile of LIRR and Metro-North stations for the next three years unless it meets density requirements.

The plan was added to the state budget, which must be approved by state legislators by April 1, to address a statewide shortage in housing, particularly felt on Long Island. Hochul said her plan would add 800,000 new homes statewide in the next decade.

The New York Housing Compact would require all cities, towns and villages to increase housing by 3% in the next three years. Hochul has suggested revamping office parks or strip malls that may have gone vacant during the pandemic. The state is incentivizing adding housing, by giving communities additional credit toward goals for affordable housing and apartment.

The state is also providing $250 million statewide to support new infrastructure like sewers and $20 million for community planning. The governor also said communities would not be penalized for offering tax incentives and PILOTs, or payment in lieu of taxes, which would not go against a municipality’s tax cap calculations.

Hochul cited a Newsday report that housing prices on Long Island have increased 66% in the past 10 years. She said Long Islanders can no longer afford to buy homes and are spending more than 30% of their incomes on mortgages or rent. 

"You won't be able to afford the house you're living in right now," Hochul said. "Your kids can't afford to live in the same neighborhood. Your own kids will never be able to grow up around you."

Several Republican Long Island community leaders have opposed Hochul’s tax plan, arguing it takes away zoning controls of towns and villages.

Nassau County legislators and town supervisors of Hempstead, North Hempstead, Oyster Bay and Huntington gathered with village mayors Thursday morning at the Port Washington train station to oppose Hochul’s plan. 

“Together we represent 1.5 million Long Islanders and we have a message for Albany: Stop Gov. Hochul’s attack on suburbia,” North Hempstead Supervisor Jennifer DeSena said. “I know Gov. Hochul’s plan would turn our suburban towns into the overcrowded urban centers most residents fled from. This proposal would effectively strip local government of our ability to control zoning and would create state mandated high density housing zones in the middle of our existing neighborhoods.” 

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.