Long Island is a poster child for New York’s housing problem. At its heart is a bad bargain: The state has bestowed it with an extensive commuter rail network, yet localities cling to single-family zoning. A 2023 analysis found an astonishing 89 percent of the buildable, residential land in Nassau and Suffolk counties was zoned for single-family. Another 8.5 percent allowed two-family homes. Just 3.6 percent was zoned for multifamily, meaning three or more units. Making matters worse, Long Island has more than 1,200 zoning districts, and multifamily projects often require a tax break from a politicized IDA to pencil […]

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