Community prioritizes ‘affordable housing’ for future

On Wednesday, Jan. 8, BFJ Planning held a community meeting on behalf of the Town of Islip at Town Hall West on the “TOI 360” comprehensive plan, which would set the tone and parameters for future projects and initiatives in housing, sustainability, parks, recreation, culture, neighborhood centers, economic development, transportation and mobility, public services, and hamlets.

Approximately 100 people attended the meeting.

As of 2022, the Town of Islip had a population of 339,123, approximately 22 percent of Suffolk County’s total residents.

The median age is 38.9 years, with an average household size of 3.3.

BFJ said in their presentation that “housing affordability is a concern [with] 52.4 percent of renters spending above affordable levels [and] 36.8 percent of homeowners with similarly burdened mortgages.”

The average household income for the town is $122,000, with a majority of the population making under $110,000 in household income in Bay Shore, Brentwood, and Central Islip.

The water-hugging portion of the town averaged close to the $160,000 mark.

The top three employment sectors for the town’s residents were: education and health services (27 percent), retail trade (12 percent), and professional, scientific, management and administration (11 percent).

The last comprehensive plan enacted by the town was in 1979, which coincides with the time period of when the majority of homes in the area were built (i.e., 1960 to 1979).

BFJ cited Shore Gate in Bay Shore, The Belmont at East View, Bay Shore Senior Residences, Housing Our Heroes, and Mercy Gardens as recent efforts to address the “limited land for growth” with a “shift [in] focus to revitalizing established areas.”

These new housing initiatives have utilized mixed-use and transit-oriented development, adaptive reuse of properties, and were characterized as “affordable housing [for] young families, seniors, and vulnerable populations.”

Chris Kaiser from Brightwaters, Bay Shore, was the first community member to speak and focused on road issues with Union Boulevard, but cited that Main Street was kept up well.

Throughout the 90-minute presentation, live polls were taken at each section discussed and the final audience-interactive exercise asked attendees to type in one word that characterized their biggest concern for the comprehensive plan. “Affordable” and “housing” appeared to be the words most used by attendees.

BFJ opened the floor to comments and questions from the attendees.

Kathy Cutrone, from Sayville, and a member of the Greater Sayville Civic Association, was critical of the MacArthur airport expansion, i.e., “the train to the plane.”

“My kids wanna stay in Sayville, and there are no homes on the market and we need regular, just Levittown-style homes, and if anyone wants to make it bigger and you know, upsize it, they can do that. And the arena? That’s absurd; we have no need for an arena out here in the Town of Islip. What are you going to do? Bring a baseball team in, football team, build it and hope they come?” said Cutrone.

Sal Napolitano, president of the Greater Ronkonkoma Civic Association, said his taxes went from $495 in 1978 to $7,200 in 2024.

“We need to slow down the tax growth. Island Hills—we should stick them to their agreement of 87 homes, single-family homes, people who want to have a home themselves. My granddaughter and her husband got married, had a child, found a home in Holbrook—$615,000, not a starter house. They were fortunate and got help from parents, but we really need [to] look at getting some of these houses in as starter houses and a little bigger and a little bigger. You can always move up, but you gotta get in that first house. The rents are crazy. The hub in Ronkonkoma [is] $2500, $2800 for a working family one-bedroom. How are you ever going to save any money to get out of that apartment? You’re stuck in that apartment for a long time,” said Napolitano.

Cathy McConnell from West Islip spoke about the effect of climate change on the Town of Islip, citing that the last two years have been the warmest on record.