East Rockaway, Lynbrook officials pleased by Gov. Hochul rescinding ADU proposal

Local officials have expressed relief in the wake of Gov. Kathy Hochul pulling the proposal in her 2022-23 New York state budget that would have required local goverments to allow an expansion of apartments in single-family neighborhoods. Many of them rejoiced outside of an East Meadow home on Feb. 18.

East Rockaway Mayor Bruno Romano said he was “very excited” to hear the news, and called Hochul’s initial proposal “ridiculous.”

“Our village board and myself were extremely concerned that we would lose control of many of our housing and street legislations, which we have enacted and enforced for many years,” Romano wrote in an email to the Herald. “I would like to thank all of our legislators, who reacted to my letter, which I sent them in opposition to this proposal. The citizens of East Rockaway pay enough taxes, and we certainly want to keep our little suburbia village the way it is.”

Requests for comment from Lynbrook Mayor Alan Beach were not returned at press time.

Nassau County Legislator Bill Gaylor, a Republican from Lynbrook, wrote an editorial to the Herald earlier this month about the issue, lambasting Hochul’s proposal, and said he was glad the governor listened to the overwhelming negative response to it, but noted that the issue may not be dead.

“Residents from across the state and from all political parties spoke out and demanded that the governor stop trying to destroy suburbia with her one-size-fits-all zoning proposal,” he said in a statement. “While this proposal has been pulled from her budget at the moment, there is always a chance it will get added back in, and we will continue to remain united in our opposition.”

Hochul put the proposal into her January budget proposal before the Legislature. It was widely criticized by local elected officials, who said Accessory Dwelling Units would put a strain on Long Island resources and that it would be an end to suburbia. Hochul, however, saw it as a way to potentially fix the affordable housing crisis that plagues the state.

Town of Hempstead Supervisor Don Clavin said at the Feb. 18 news conference that thousands of residents signed online petitions against the budget proposal after its rollout. He added that the town received cards from residents stating their opposition to the proposal.

“The biggest investment in someone’s life is buying a house in the suburbs,” Clavin said. “The governor’s attempt by throwing this in the budget to eliminate single housing is wrong.”

The legislation essentially removed the “home rule,” meaning local governments would not have been able to determine zoning rules based on the character of the community and the wishes of those in their jurisdiction.

According to officials, the Town of Hempstead already has zoning provisions in place that provide for senior citizen accessory apartments as well as parent/child property owner setups. The main denouncement of Hochul’s plan, officials stated, was that the local governments wouldn’t have a say.

Brendan Carpenter contributed to this article.