Nothing Screams ‘New York’ Like Near Homelessness
Why Long Island Represents the Worst of America’s Destroyed Real Estate Market
“Please help me… my two kids and I have been in a hotel since February.” — Sarah from Levittown
Long Island, New York has been considered the “crown jewel” of the North East coast since the early 20th century. With its lush brushlands, expansive beaches, and close proximity to New York City, Long Island is the perfect place to plant roots and vacation. It was, anyway.
To live on Long Island in the 21st century means having to face homelessness at one point or another, prioritize affordability over security, sift through unavailable seasonal rentals, and (if you are a person of color) battle with government assistance programs due to gentrification. Long Island at this point is, by no means, an realistic place to plant roots or just simply find affordable housing.
There are four major contributing factors to the plunge in Long Island’s real estate market.
I. Real estate & land development
II. High property taxes
III. Hoarding of vacation and summer homes
IV. Covert gentrification fueled by classism
Real estate & land development
Real estate & land development is the foundation in which Long Island rests on. Levittown is the perfect example of the impacts, both positive and negative, of real estate development.
In the late 1940s, William Levitt created a building firm known as Levitt & Sons, which bought the entirety of the land that is now Levittown, and mass-produced homes post-World War II. Levitt’s son insisted that homes could be built quickly and efficiently using the utilitarian style construction taught in the Navy and manufactured materials like pre-cut lumber, concrete slabs, and standard home electronics. At the peak of construction, 30 homes a day were erected. Remnants of these original homes are scarce, but the construction strategy remains at its peak.
Obviously influenced by the utilitarian mass-production of homes, Long Island neighborhoods exist in clusters of identical homes, built by a handful of developers and architects. While the aesthetic approach to the mass-productions of homes does not pose a problem for Long Islanders, the ethics of profit maximization leave many Long Islands unable to afford apartments of homes mass-produced by developers.
Long Island is insanely popular place for families looking to relocate. Unfortunately, real estate developers have reveled in the opportunity to dive into free market capitalist principals that have ultimately acted as a means of gate-keeping anyone below upper-middle class status. Mass-produced apartment buildings and homes promise “luxury” by providing top of the line appliances and fixtures, which allows landlords to demand increased rent for these features. The construction of luxury homes directly opposes the construction of affordable housing. These luxury homes are, thus, unaffordable to anyone who does not have upper-middle class status.
High property taxes
Long Island homeowners pay some of the highest property taxes in the nation. In some pockets of Nassau county, home owners pay the highest property taxes in the nation.
High property taxes are a direct reflection of budget balancing. On Long Island, much of property taxes fund education, causing an uneven burden on homeowners. Politicians surmise that creating more commercial properties will even the playing field for educational funding, which would lower homeowners’ taxes. Regardless of this assertion, there is not a single politician on Long Island that has been able to successfully implement a property tax cut plan, likely due to conflicts in party alignment.
The enormous weight of high property taxes has forced landlords with otherwise affordable housing to charge increased rent in order to off-set their yearly taxes. Again, making housing less affordable.
Hoarding of vacation and summer homes
Hampton homes are not included in this exposé.
Vacation homes appear on the market in Spring. Landlords will submit their listings to a broker offering a fully furnished home from the summer months. Summer rentals, as Long Island natives call them, often cost double to triple the amount for a 3 month lease, in order to collect, essentially, the amount that would be brought in by a 12 month lease rental. Similarly, landlords opt to rent out their homes for shorter lengths of time with online marketplaces like Airbnb and Vrbo. Both sites ensure that a landlord is paid a set rate and fees by a renter prior to arriving, which for some, is a efficient way at receiving rent for generally unoccupied homes.
Landlords are free to do as they wish with their properties, however, there is an unethical element to this practice. By renting out only during the summer months, landlords actively participate in hoarding potentially available homes from the market.
Covert gentrification fueled by classism
Going back to William Levitt & Sons, it is important to note that their enterprise has been considered controversial by local historians, along with other Long Island developers like Robert Moses. There are clear geographic distinctions between the classes on Long Island, whether those distinctions are historic or have been established in recent years.
Long Island is known to be one of the most segregated places in America. For those who live on the island, segregation is apparent in schools and neighborhoods. Areas like Uniondale and Garden City, Hempstead and West Hempstead, Mastic Beach and Smith Point, Bellport and Brookhaven, all have drastically different socioeconomic backgrounds split by one road. In some towns, upper and lower socioeconomic groups live in respective neighborhoods. The appearance of commercial and private properties, unfortunately, reflect the funding that exists for these opposing groups.
One city in particular has fallen to gentrification over the last five years. Many families residing in Long Beach have reported abnormal increases in rent, forcing them to look for affordable housing elsewhere. After a year or two, the homes previously occupied by these families appear to have been “cleaned up”. Their listings show a rent increase of hundreds of dollars, that are only affordable by those with upper-middle socioeconomic status. Williamsburg, a popular neighborhood in Brooklyn, is known for its gentrification “cleansing” over the last twenty years, however, no focus is ever placed on the cleansing that appears all over the island, pushing families out to bring in more desirable occupants.
Breaking down Long Island’s complex history of real estate development strategies, high property taxes, hoarding of available affordable homes from the real estate market, and classism might take the examination of seasoned historians and experts. Long Island residents feel the impacts of these toxic practices but often feel change is futile. So for now, take this understanding of Long Island from a disgruntled native who is near homelessness.
