The astronomical cost of housing on Long Island, and economic crisis that will eventually result from this fact, was the subject of a meeting of the League of Women Voters of Port Washington/Manhasset . The meeting was held at the Port Washington Public Library on Tuesday, Sept. 23. Rita Tanski of the League of Women Voters (LWV) introduced Richard F. Koubek, PhD, coordinator of public policy in the education network for Catholic Charities, in an effort to inform the public of the negative impact that will arise if the lack of affordable housing continues to be ignored. Dr. Richard Koubek, who also works with the Long Island Campaign for Affordable Rental Housing gave an informative presentation on the subject and has devoted himself to educating the public in an attempt to prevent the serious consequences that will affect all of us in the future if action is not taken. He explained the mission of The Long Island Campaign for Affordable Rental Housing (LICARH), which was established in 2001 to respond to the growing and critical need for affordable work force rental housing on Long Island.

In addition, his presentation addressed the following issues and made several interesting points:

o How would more affordable housing affect life on Long Island?

o Based on polls, housing is the 1-2-3rd most important issue on Long Island.

o Long Island is the 7th least affordable place to live in the U.S.

o The AFL-CIO study on L.I. housing shows 348,000 young people, between ages of 20 - 34, are still living with parents; unable to afford housing of their own.

o People could not afford to move into their current towns if they were now starting over as new property owners.

o Homelessness has increased and, for the first time; and there are homeless families with incomes of $50,000.

* Most new housing developments start at top prices and are not affordable for first time home owners.

o Which issue are business leaders identifying as a major threat to Long Island's economic health? The lack of workforce housing!

Affordable housing is for the workforce with annual gross income of less than $66,000.

An article on affordable housing in LI in the March 26th issue of Newsday reads, "Advocates seek to educate people that affordable housing is not about some horde of unruly poor folks, but about many middle class, wage earners, who can't afford to live on Long Island anymore"

Dr. Koubek cited Suffolk County Executive Bob Gaffney who has said, "If we don't fix this problem within 10 years, the economy of Long Island will collapse. We will lose the economy and this is not just about the poor; it's about you and me."

How is this possible and why is there a crisis? If our workforce, i.e. teachers, health care professionals, postal workers, and employees of service industries, etc. cannot find affordable housing and leave, what will sustain the value of our homes? Figures on the cost of homes were given. Salaries are not in proportion with the 1/3 formula for housing; 30 percent of one's income is considered affordable. As mentioned by Dr. Koubek, there is a US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) website that he used to compute what the affordable price is for purchasing a home. For example, if the annual income is $62,000 for a family with four in the household, and $450 per month is allocated for the car and $700. for credit card purchases, what should be paid for a home based on a $10,000 down payment? $191,000 was the HUD price for an affordable home. Hardly any housing is still available at that price here on Long Island. The median price of a home in Nassau County is $400,000.

The situation for renters is even worse. A study by economist Pearl Kamer found that 26 percent of Long Islanders are paying more than 35 percent of their household income for housing. The real burden is enormous on renters - where the market rate for a two-bedroom rental is now $1,324 per month. In Port Washington, Kamer's study found that 37 percent of renters pay more than 35 percent of their monthly income for rent. Even worse, 28 percent are spending 50 percent or more of their income on rent. Increasing numbers of people visit parish outreach centers and food pantries because they must choose between feeding their children and paying the rent.

Now what can be done? Dr. Koubek said to look into how to stimulate the creation of affordable equitable rental housing for individual and families of varied income levels, ages and backgrounds, through development of new rental units and mixed-use properties and redevelopment of existing structures in safe, sustainable, environmentally sound, mixed-income neighborhoods. Inherent in this initiative is the need to overcome NIMBYism (the "not in my backyard" syndrome) to protect the vitality and future of Long Island.

How can this be done? Confer with officials and planners of Long Island's municipalities. Get on the town level. For each town this subject must be investigated individually to develop a program. Voice your concern to your elected officials. The Long Island Campaign for Affordable Rental Housing (LICARH) has developed a model town ordinance, which requires a percent of every new complex to be set aside for affordable housing. LICARH can provide information on forming a town housing coalition. For further information, their website is www.licampaign.org.