Steamrolling our communities is flat-out wrong

“I’m a steamroller, and I’ll roll over you and anybody else.” 
Eliot Spitzer famously uttered those words to an Assembly member during Spitzer’s brief term as governor. He left the governor’s office in disgrace in 2008, but 15 years later, our current governor, Kathy Hochul, has unfortunately embraced that sentiment as it relates to our local governments. 
Inexplicably, Hochul continues to push policies to strip local control from our communities, replaced by a one-size-fits-all approach determined by her and the radical New York City politicians who control the State Senate and Assembly. 
Take the need for more housing — an issue that Democrats and Republicans agree needs to be addressed. But housing shouldn’t be the same in every community. High-density, multi-story apartment buildings fit nicely in New York City, but not as neatly in suburban communities, which predominantly comprise single-family homes. No homeowners want multi-story apartment buildings as their next-door neighbors. 
Apartment buildings can fit on Long Island, but they have to be located smartly — and that’s where local control is essential. The zoning process and public input — not an Albany mandate — enabled Farmingdale, Mineola and Patchogue to build consensus to increase their housing density and enhance their downtowns, while also maintaining their suburban quality of life. That’s truly smart growth. 

But rather than embrace this approach, Hochul tries to steamroll our communities. The governor, who lives hundreds of miles away, proposes overriding local zoning laws and forcing the construction of high-density housing within a half-mile of Long Island Rail Road stations — a proposal that could double Nassau County’s population in just the next 10 years, overwhelming schools, emergency services and road, sewer and water infrastructure. Communities would be unable to determine for themselves how they grow, residents would have no say in what happens to their neighborhoods, and the suburban character of our neighborhoods — the reason many of us decided to live here in the first place — would be destroyed. 
Bipartisan opposition stopped this destructive proposal from being included in this year’s state budget, but Hochul remains committed to trying again, and we must again stand together in opposing her. 
It isn’t our job to solve New York City’s housing crisis. We have one of our own, with seniors and young people leaving Long Island because they simply can’t afford to stay. Long Island’s housing plan should focus on sustaining our existing population, not expanding it, and those decisions must be made locally, with our input, not dictated to us by Albany and New York City politicians. 
Public safety is another area where Hochul ignores our communities’ concerns. Albany’s disastrous cashless-bail policies, passed at the behest of the New York City politicians controlling the State Legislature’s leadership, have put people at risk, made it harder for police to do their jobs, and prioritized criminals over community safety. If politicians and judges in the city want to go easy on criminals there, that’s their choice — but that’s not what residents here want. 
Finally, the city politicians who helped create the current migrant crisis by declaring us a sanctuary state, mirroring New York City’s sanctuary city status, now expect Nassau County, which isn’t a sanctuary community, to shoulder part of the burden. After — unbelievably — not considering the possibility that offering illegal immigrants numerous free, taxpayer-funded benefits would be a highly attractive incentive for them to come here, Albany still has no plan to handle the unsustainable influx of more than 120,000 undocumented migrants. 
Yet again, Hochul and her New York City colleagues are ignoring Nassau’s voice, and trying to force our already overtaxed residents to pay even more for something they expressly oppose. It’s time for the governor to demand that the Biden administration take control of our border. When you’re on a boat that’s taking on water, you plug the leak — you don’t try to build a bigger boat. 
The steamroller approach didn’t work for Spitzer, and it ultimately won’t work for Hochul. Time and again, we have seen that one-party rule in Albany is failing our hardworking residents, and we need change. Our communities don’t want to be dictated to from Albany, or forced to become the sixth borough of New York City, as Albany continues to export the results of its failed policies to our suburbs. We expect and deserve to have a voice, and to be able to decide our own future. Hochul and her colleagues need to start listening.

Steve Rhoads represents New York state’s 5th Senate District.