Town, Water & Fire Officials Denounce State Housing Plan They Say Threatens Long Island
Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino joined with his partners in Nassau County government, Supervisor Jen DeSena of North Hempstead and Supervisor Don Clavin of Hempstead, as well as Oyster Bay Town Clerk Rich LaMarca and Receiver of Taxes Jeff Pravato, to demand that State lawmakers eliminate the State Housing Plan to flood suburbs and single-family home neighbors with thousands of new apartments. This latest proposal by Governor Hochul – seemingly a repeat of last year’s plan to turn suburban neighborhoods into overcrowded urban centers – would result in high density housing flooding every community, as well as spot zoning in which large scale apartment buildings could pop up next to single-family homes.
“We must save our suburbs from this ill-conceived plan as it would overcrowd classrooms, greatly increase traffic and cars parked on our streets, strain emergency services and threaten the environment. We join together to protect our most precious resource – our water supply, which is under attack by this latest plan of overdevelopment,” said Supervisor Saladino. “When it comes to the environment, the largest plume in any sole-source aquifer in the United States sits under our land in the Town of Oyster Bay. Over a billion dollars are already needed to clean up the plume, and even more is needed for our water districts to keep ensuring that our drinking water is safe at the tap. Over a billion dollars are also needed to upgrade our sewage and septic systems which are already near capacity, with many seeping into the ground. Our only landfill in Brookhaven is on the verge of permanent closure, and a garbage crisis looms for the current population as waste will need to be trucked off Long Island and no solution exists. For these reasons and a host of others, we demand that State lawmakers eliminate the Governor’s Housing Mandate.”
The three Town Supervisors joined local district officials to voice their concerns of how the Governor’s urbanization plan would negatively impact the environment, traffic, parking, emergency services, police protection, local utilities and schools. They also asked the public to join them in contacting state officials to demand that this proposal not move forward.
To help have their voices heard against this proposal, residents can visit www.oysterbaytown.com/sos and sign the petition telling state representatives their opposition to the plan.
Credit: Town of Oyster Bay