Seven Republican state senators say Gov. Kathy Hochul has imperial-like ambitions to transform Long Island through a state budget proposal to expand housing statewide to ease ongoing shortages in the New York City area.
“She seeks to solve New York City’s housing crisis by turning Long Island into the sixth borough of New York City,” state Sen. Steven Rhoads (R-Massapequa) said at a Friday press conference in Mineola alongside six GOP colleagues.
“The proposals in the Governor’s Executive Budget are a reckless and irresponsible attempt to defy both local government’s right to control local zoning and the right of each and every Long Islander to preserve their safety and suburban quality of life,” said Rhoads, who unseated Democratic incumbent John Brooks last year.
GOP legislators are throwing down the gauntlet following the release of Hochul’s proposed budget earlier this week detailing her vision to spur the construction of 800,000 housing units over the next decade.
Her housing plans include new mandates on communities surrounding New York City to increase their housing supply by 3% each year while requiring suburbs within 15 miles of the city to allow at least 50 housing units per acre within a half-mile from any transit stations, with lesser requirements for communities further from the city.
State Sen. Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick (R-Rockville Centre), who flipped a longtime Democratic seat last fall, said she has nothing against the five boroughs – but hardly wants Nassau to look like them.
“If we wanted to live in different conditions, people would live in Queens versus Nassau County, but now we’re changing the character of the communities that are on Long Island,” she told The Post.
Hochul’s plan gives localities leeway to meet their housing targets though failure will mean loosened rules for developers who want to build.
She is also proposing $250 million in funding to help local governments expand infrastructure like sewers to accommodate new housing and the associated population increase.
“The water systems for those areas, the sewer systems for those areas were designed to accommodate single-family homes, the entire systems would have to be upgraded to take on additional, the kind of additional density that the governor is proposing,” state Sen. Jack Martins (R-Great Neck) said while arguing how villages like Mineola, where he previously served as mayor, might need “tens of millions of dollars” alone.
Hochul spokesman Justin Henry defended her “bold” plan to create 800,000 new homes over the next decade while pushing back against the GOP criticism Friday.
“Gov. Hochul is eager to work on solving the housing crisis and making New York more affordable with any elected leader who wants to be part of the solution,” he said.
Some Long Islanders also say that Republicans are attacking the plan without honestly evaluating its merits at a time when Nassau and Suffolk counties face housing shortages and growing challenges with homelessness.
“We find the local officials seeking to continue the promotion of divisive tropes on the housing crisis extremely troubling. Governor Kathy Hochul’s housing plan is a multifaceted approach to address the most crucial housing issues in New York,” Sidney Joyner, Board Chair at Urban League of Long Island, said.
Her housing effort proposal is just part of a proposed $227 billion spending plan that has attracted withering criticism from the GOP just months after their surprisingly strong performance in the November elections that cost Democrats three state Senate seats on Long Island.
“The last thing businesses need are more taxes, and that is exactly what they could be facing,” Assembly Minority Leader William Barclay (R-Fulton) said of Hochul proposing an increase in the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Mobility Tax.
Members of the GOP congressional delegation from New York have also claimed that her housing plans would create “chaos” in the suburbs.
And Republican legislators appeared eager Friday to exploit the issue as elected leaders in Democrat-dominated Albany get ready for state budget negotiations ahead of an April 1 deadline.
“Our partners in local government play a vital role in the type of planning and development that affects our quality of life on a daily basis. To take a heavy-handed approach that bypasses our local elected officials is a big mistake that will end up causing more problems than it solves,” state Sen. Dean Murray (R-Shirley), who won an open seat last year, said.
Hochul ditched a proposal last year to promote the expansion of so-called Accessory Dwelling Units like basement apartments and granny flats after facing pushback from suburbanites who complained about state overreach.
“We successfully joined together last year to protect the voice of those we serve and we remain committed to protecting the rights of every Long Islander,” state Sen. Mario Mattera (R-Smithtown) said.
Republican state senators from Long Island are hoping something similar happens this time around with her controversial push to increase housing density in the suburbs.
“The governor’s proposal is nothing less than an existential threat to our way of life that cannot be overstated or ignored,” Martins – who unseated Democrat Anna Kaplan last year – said. “I urge the governor to turn away from this foolish and clumsy proposal, to work with our communities and local leaders to incentivize not just growth, but smart growth.”
