Islandia Village Mayor Allan M. Dorman joined local elected officials in celebrating the removal of a bill from the state’s 2022-23 budget that would allow accessory apartments in communities zoned for single-family use.
On February 17, 2022, Mayor Dorman sent a letter to Governor Kathy Hochul, calling for the apartment accessory bill to be taken out of the budget. “Attempting to include this as part of the budget was a cowardly attempt to shield a liberal housing agenda from the public at large,” he said. “This is the same technique that was used to impose cashless bail on our law-abiding citizens and, so far, it has produced disastrous results.”
After receiving pushback from local elected officials on this matter, Governor Hochul announced that she will not include this bill into next year’s budget. “The governor’s decision is a big win for local municipalities and Home Rule,” Mayor Dorman said. “Had this been included in the budget, our representatives in Albany would have been forced to choose between funding schools and imposing this dangerous housing mandate on local municipalities.”
Despite this decision, this legislation may still come up for a vote in the future. Mayor Dorman said municipal leaders and residents of our state will need to be on guard. “This bill, if enacted, would not only impact the Village’s quality of life, but its utilities, emergency services, school districts, sanitation collection, infrastructure and environment,” he said. “When it comes to making zoning decisions, it should belong to us, not Albany.”