Looking for Ways to Retain the Young

It’s certainly been a difficult time for some families trying to stay on Long Island, but it’s not easy for those whose job it is to keep people here.

Even in good times, there are issues connected to affordable housing, taxes, and mortgages and finding jobs on Long Island.

But in a shaky economy, keeping the residents that are the lifeblood of the area can be a trying task.

Massapequa Park Mayor James Altadonna is one of those wrestling with the problem.

"It's unsettling that we're losing our youth to other areas of the country because they feel that there's a better advantage in terms of housing costs and taxes,” he said.

“The real problem I see on Long Island are school taxes. We need to address the school tax issue, and lower taxes overall, because it's not just the youth- it's everyone.”

The tax burden has been heavier on residents in recent years because wages have been flat.

“Unfortunately, the private sector, in terms of raises, has not kept up with inflation and the economy. It's very difficult to continue to raise taxes and have the money to pay for it,” Altadonna said.

Younger people who are just breaking into the workforce and tend to have lower salaries have really been hit hard.

"It's heartbreaking to see our young people leave,” Altadonna said. “Parents are shouldering the burden more and more, helping their children to stay here...that's the only way many can stay. Whether they do it with a Mother-Daughter house, whether they do it with financing...it's sad. It's very sad.”

But simply lowering taxes for young people would lead to other problems according to Altadonna.

"It's a catch-22,” he said. “If you give certain classes of people a break on taxes, then the pie is still the same. So, unfortunately, the people who you don't give the break to end up having to take up the slack. So, you're just pushing the burden down on people who may or may not have the ability to pay."

Like Massapequa Park, the Town of Oyster Bay is also dealing with the problem of finding housing and jobs for economically vulnerable residents.

The town, along with the Long Island Housing Partnership, has created a special zoning classification for first time homebuyers, according to spokeswoman Marta Kane. 

It’s called Next Generation housing and there are several units located at the Seasons in Massapequa.

The Town also has a similar program for seniors called Golden Age Housing which includes more than 300 units in Massapequa.

There’s also a Town effort to help area residents find jobs, called The Workforce Partnership. The Partnership runs a career center at Town Hall South in Massapequa which helps train job seekers and provides resources for their search.

In Massapequa Park Altadonna thinks the way to fix things is to work on taxes and housing.

"So, how do we fix this?,” he said. “ One, we address the school tax. Two, we have to address the affordability issue with the housing.”

“Unfortunately, there's no buildable or extra land in Massapequa Park,” he said.

“A provision would be, as they have affordable housing for seniors, to have affordable housing for young people, where they can have a reduced rate of tax and a lower entry level into a modest condo, where that condo can be indexed as to the cost of inflation, and they can live there for a number of years and save money, put roots into the community, and hopefully, as they expand in their job prospects, they'll be able to move from the condo and purchase a house. 

“That's the way I could see young people staying in the Massapequas."