The-Leader_2004-10-14

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69th Year, No. 42 Freeport, N.Y. 11520
The Community Newspaper
Thursday, October 14, 2004
THE FORMER Meadowbrook Bank building fs a part of the village's plan to redevelop down­town Freeport.
photo from the Freeport Historical Society
Long Island, a fine place to grow up - and leave
By Laura Schofer
Want a piece of the American dream?
Unless you have lots of cash and a six-figure income owning a one-family home in Nassau County or along the South Shore will remain but a dream.
The League of Women Voters, armed with sobering statistics, told residents at a conmiunity forum at the North Bellmore Library that housing is not affordable for many middle-class families.
"We are rapidly losing our young peo­ple [ to a high cost of living]. They are the lost generation. Young people between the ages of 18 and 34 cannot afford to live here," said Sandy Mintz, a league mem­ber "This ultimately will threaten the long-term growth of our area according to a study done by the Long Island Association."
"Affordable housing is a major issue that we have been studying for the past two years," said Carol Goldfarb, presi­dent of the East Nassau chapter of the League of Women Voters. Nassau County, in general, and the Town of Hempstead in particular, is suffering from a shortage of affordable housing.
"We have a very high percentage of owner occupied dwellings," said Mrs. Mintz. "Here, 80 percent of housing is occupied by owners compared to 60 per­cent for the rest of the nation." The fig­ures were supplied by the 2000 census.
Since the year 2000 housing prices have soared. Recent figures show that the median house price is close to $450,000.
Rental costs have also increased dra­matically. The average rental for a one bedroom apartment was $1,129 per month. "We rank number eight for medi­an gross rent in the country," said Mrs. Mintz.
Although construction of apartment complexes has increased, the amount of available land for future development is limited, especially in the Town of Hempstead.
"Apartments are unevenly distributed. Most rental homes and apartments are in Hempstead Village, Freeport, and the cities of Long Beach and Glen Cove," said Mrs. Mintz.
Unaffordable Homes
The largest number of unaffordable homes and rentals ar*. in the Town of •Hempstead. In a recent study conducted by the Long Island Housing Partnership, housing was defined as. unaffordable when costs exceeded 38 percent of an individual's monthly income.
In the Town, of Hempstead there are 79,000 homes, in which the owners paid more than 38 percent of their monthly income towards housing costs; 32 percent of renters also paid more than 38 percent of their monthly income on housing.
"This breeds a number of societal prob­lems," Mrs. Mintz continued. "Many families need more than one wage earner, thus leaving children home alone; we have fewer volunteers and it impedes our workforce. Long Island becomes a less attractive place to live."
Who Controls Housing Development?
In many areas housing development and restrictions fall under the auspices of the Town of Hempstead. But in Freeport, housing development and zoning restric­tions are under the control of the village government.
"It's very chopped up," said Mrs. Thelma Rosenthal. "But we beUeve there is both a diversity of needs and a diversi­ty of solutions."
Mrs. Rosenthal ticked off a Ust of pos­sible solutions. "We need more senior and golden-age housing, workforce hous­ing and young-family housing; studio apartments for young people and we need low-income housing. We can have single and multiple dwellings. Look at • how Levittown offered a solution [after World War II] to young families. It was a dream. Now we need new dreams."
While senior housing is available to anyone over 55 years of age, golden age housing is for elderly people on a limited incomes.
"Workforce housing is just that," explained Mrs. Rosenthal. In the Di-Napoli-Balboni Long Island Workforce Housing Bill before the New York State Legislature, workforce housing would, for example, be available to a family of four who earn at or below the median Nassau County income of $67,000. The bill would also require developers to put aside 10 percent of the units for work­force housing or place money in a. fund for workforce housing at another site.
The bill is still stuck in the state Senate. One audience member said he thought "the bill is dead."
Mrs. Rosenthal further believes that we need to continue revitalizing downtowns, "as they have done in Bellmore," and place apartments above stores near the Long Island Rail Road, as Freeport plans to do. She suggested that the Town of Hempstead look to renew older areas "just like they do in the cities," as well as increase density.
In Freeport, the village has used inno­vative concepts in the* redevelopment of business areas in town and was given the Smart Growth Award by Visions Long Island.
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