Photo credit: Andy Hill
Long Island’s lack of affordable housing is hindering employers’ ability to attract and retain workers, according to a poll released on Thursday.
Nearly 8 in 10 CEOs said the dearth of affordable single-family houses and apartments is the biggest “detriment to doing business” here in a survey conducted last fall by PKF O’Connor Davies accountants and the Siena College Research Institute.
A panel of experts who discussed the poll results after their release at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury agreed.
“Housing is key to attracting and retaining our labor force,” said state Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, adding that his office is examining shelter costs statewide.
Kevin Law, a partner in the real estate development firm Tritec in East Setauket, said 82% of the housing stock in Nassau and Suffolk counties is single-family homes, a far higher amount than in the rest of downstate, and in New Jersey and Connecticut.
“We have a significant supply imbalance here,” he told the audience. “We need to increase the supply of rental housing because that’s usually the place where younger employees will start out.”
Read the full article in Newsday.
