Name: Static Interactive
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America’s first suburb has gone from being one of the most affordable places to raise a family to one of the least. For half a century, Nassau and Suffolk rode a wave of national trends to lead the U.S. in suburban growth and prosperity. From the first Levittown houses in 1947 to the McMansions of today, Long Island built hundreds of thousands of single-family homes. These homes, growing ever bigger and farther apart, allowed Long Island to grow with the times.

First came GIs returning from World War II, looking to own a home in the suburbs. Federal housing and highway policies encouraged this migration, but also aided local zoning and private real estate practices that segregated communities by race. The huge “baby boom” population born between 1946 and 1964, pushed up demand for more and larger homes as families grew, as they entered middle age, and as their incomes rose. Homeownership was the bedrock of family security and community stability. Jobs followed people, and the Island’s economy soared.

Nassau and Suffolk now face a new reality. The trends that favored Long Island in the past have now turned against it. The first baby boomers turned 65 in 2011, and more of them will be looking to sell their homes and move into smaller houses, condominiums or rental apartments. Their children, mostly now in their 20s and early 30s, are marrying later, having smaller families and showing more interest in downtown living and renting. Long Island’s segregated housing pattern has resulted in severe disparities in access to opportunity for minority communities, and is also at odds with the needs of this increasingly diverse generation.

Jobs are going to where this new generation wants to live. The recent collapse of the housing market could swing the pendulum even more toward renting. Millions have seen the value of the home plummet, or have been unable to sell their home when they needed to move.

More than any other part of the New York region, Long Island is ill-prepared for this change. It has far fewer rental homes, and is building the fewest townhouses and apartments. Hurricane Sandy revealed how scarce rental apartments are as thousands of suddenly homeless residents had nowhere to go.

The shortage of affordable rental homes is already straining Long Island’s economy, and will make it much harder to compete for jobs in the years ahead.

Long Island’s 4.3% rental vacancy rate means that there are fewer available rental homes than in any other suburban area in the New York region. On average, the Hudson Valley, northern New Jersey and southwestern Connecticut have two-and-a-half times the number of available rental homes per household than Long Island, making it difficult for Nassau and Suffolk to attract skilled workers and young professionals.
56% of renters pay more than 30% of their income for housing as rents have increased much faster than incomes. Adjusted for inflation, rents increased by 17% since 2000 even as incomes declined by 2%.
64% of Long Island renters cannot afford a typical two-bedroom apartment. The average middle income worker, such as an electrician, computer support specialist or licensed practical nurse, doesn’t earn enough to afford these rentals comfortably. If these workers move elsewhere, many of the businesses that need them will follow.
55% of 20-to-34 year-olds live with their parents or other older relatives. 248,000 young adults live with parents or older relatives, as higher rents and fewer job opportunities have driven this share of 20-34 year-olds up from 44% in 2000 to 55% in 2010.
Over a quarter of all the rental homes on Long Island are concentrated in 10 communities. Rentals make up 21% of all homes on Long Island, but most Long Island communities have much less than that. That means that renters must often live far from their jobs or good schools, and that the burden of creating new rentals is falling on too few places.
Every 100 new units of rental housing generates 32 local jobs, $2.3 million in income amd $395,000 in tax revenue annually. Just as single-family home construction has created jobs and income in the past, building new rental homes can be an important pillar for Long Island’s economy in the future.
Actions should be taken at all levels of government to create new homes that both meet community needs and relieve the rental housing crisis. State and federal leaders should change incentives for municipalities. County leaders need to provide direction and assistance. Town and village leaders can apply lessons from a growing number of places that have successfully incorporated new rental homes into their communities.