Community leaders from across Long Island gathered in Lynbrook today to call on Gov. Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers to take immediate action to confront New York’s deepening affordability crisis.
Faith leaders, advocates, business owners, and residents joined together to stress how steep increases in the cost of housing, food, utilities, and car insurance are pushing working families in Nassau and Suffolk counties to the breaking point.
“Families on Long Island are being squeezed from every direction,” said Terri Arnold-McKenzie of the Urban League of Long Island. “Rising insurance premiums force households to cut back on basic necessities. Uninsured driving is increasing, leading to more hit-and-run accidents that put everyone at risk. Governor Hochul and Albany lawmakers must deliver bold action to bring relief and restore hope to communities like ours.”
Kevin Livingston, executive director of 100 Suits, said the crisis is worsening daily. “Neighbors are being crushed under the affordability crisis and it is getting heavier every single day,” he said. “First it was food, then it was rent, then it was childcare, and now car insurance rates. Organizations like 100 Suits will always step in, we will always fill in the gaps but we cannot do this work alone. Today we are calling on our state leaders, step up, reform these systems and put working families first.”
Auto insurance premiums across New York have climbed nearly 40 percent above the national average, forcing many Long Island families to choose between maintaining essential coverage and meeting basic household needs. Fraudulent and exaggerated claims — including staged crashes, fake medical bills, and phony lawsuits — remain major drivers of rising costs.
Speakers explained that while affordability is a statewide emergency, the burden is particularly heavy for suburban drivers. They urged Hochul and the state legislature to make affordability a top priority in the 2026 session, with concrete reforms to reduce costs and stabilize the financial outlook for working- and middle-class New Yorkers.
“As a small business owner in Nassau County, I see firsthand how rising costs are suffocating our local economy,” said Sagine Pierre Charles, small business owner of Sage & Angie. “From rent to supplies to employee expenses, everything is going up – and skyrocketing auto and other insurance rates make it even harder to operate. It’s time for less political talk and more real action.”
Long Island leaders are joining a growing statewide coalition of community and business groups pushing for anti-fraud reforms, stronger enforcement, and fairer insurance rates to bring auto premiums down.
