United States Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy (4th C.D.) called on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to correct its Fair Market Rent figures, which wrongly indicate that rents have decreased on Long Island since 2000. Fair Market Rent (FMR) values are used to determine the value of subsidies and vouchers low-income Long Islanders receive for rent. The lower the FMR, the fewer benefits Nassau County's low-income renters receive.

"Anybody living on Long Island can tell you cost of living has increased dramatically in recent years," said McCarthy. "It is incredibly irresponsible of HUD to let a flawed survey cause a cut in the benefits our community's renters depend upon."

According to HUD's survey, the fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Nassau County decreased from $1,324 in 2000 to $1,225 in 2004.

However, according to an independent study by the Policy Lab Consulting Group LLC of Ithaca, the going rate on a two-bedroom apartment in Nassau will average $1,410 in 2005. The majority of HUD's survey responses were from renters of one-bedroom apartments, thus diminishing the overall value of the area's rent costs.

"That HUD could use the rents of one-bedroom apartments to estimate the cost of a two-bedroom unit completely invalidates the survey," said McCarthy.

The congresswoman warned that unless HUD re-evaluates and changes its data, some of Nassau County's low-income renters could become homeless. "Despite HUD's erroneous survey, I will continue to fight to significantly increase its rental subsidies on Long Island," McCarthy said.