A dire need for accessory apartments on Long Island

Much has been made of Long Island’s booming housing market during the pandemic. Bidding wars have become commonplace, with single-family homes going for tens of thousands of dollars over asking price to families escaping the confines of New York City apartments for greener pastures and bigger closets. But for every lucky family who "wins" their next home, there are dozens outbid, shut out and left wondering how they will ever afford to live on Long Island.

The affordable housing crisis on Long Island is not new, but it has been badly deepened by the pandemic. For decades, many of our communities have failed to create housing options within reach for working families. With local unemployment spiking to 16% and more than 100,000 jobs lost last year, even existing homeowners are struggling to make mortgage payments, and longtime tenants can’t make rent. Whether you’re a young family looking to plant roots or a senior on a fixed income, the cost of housing, especially with the Island’s sky-high property taxes, is increasingly unsustainable.

One solution is the New York Accessory Homes Enabling Act, now before the State Legislature. It would relax the rules that stop homeowners from building what are known as accessory dwelling units or "ADUs." Also known as "granny flats" and "in-law units," these are small homes located on the same lot as a primary residence, such as a modest apartment over a garage, or a basement unit.

While ADUs make only small changes to the look and feel of a neighborhood, they can deliver big benefits to homeowners, renters and local governments. Homeowners get extra income or a place for parents or children to stay. Renters get affordable housing options, helping to diversify neighborhoods and towns. Local governments get a growing tax base, jobs and economic activity.

Most of us know someone who has a small unit they would love to rent out. But a patchwork of complex and outdated local rules makes it difficult or impossible for a homeowner to build or rent an ADU. Many of these rules were expressly designed to keep housing expensive — part of an ugly history of exclusion Long Island is still reckoning with.

The accessory homes act would give homeowners relief by cutting through the red tape and setting up a streamlined process for creating the units. The bill would direct local governments to pass new local laws allowing ADUs, empowering those municipalities to shape laws to fit local needs. Additionally, the bill would make sure the local laws don’t impose onerous restrictions on homeowners, and would create a state financing program to help pay for construction to ensure that financially constrained families could take advantage of this opportunity.

Accessory units are a win for homeowners, renters, tenants, seniors, builders and local governments — which is why the bill already has support from such groups as the AARP of New York and Asian Americans for Equality. Our organizations are also strong supporters of the bill, because we understand how critical new housing opportunities are to the future of Long Island.

ADUs are one way Long Island can bounce back from the pandemic better than it was before. We urge Long Island’s representatives in Albany to make the Accessory Homes Enabling Act a reality.

Gwen O'Shea is chief executive of Community Development Corporation of Long Island.

Mitch Pally is chief executive of the Long Island Builders Institute.