If you’ve worked hard to afford a suburban house with a patch of lawn where your kids can play, you’re under attack.
The Biden administration and Democrats in New York, Connecticut and other states are fighting local zoning laws in order to build high-rise apartment buildings with “affordable” units in tree-lined, single-family neighborhoods. All in the name of equity, meaning everyone can live in a tranquil suburb, whether they’ve earned the money to pay for it or not.
The Biden administration announced Jan. 19 that it will require all towns across the U.S. to submit “Equity Plans” showing how they will make it possible for low-income people to live there by providing affordable housing, transportation and other resources.
Towns that don’t meet the cookie-cutter requirement for economic diversity will lose federal funding.
No one’s denying there’s a housing shortage. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is pushing some reasonable proposals such as allowing mother-in-law apartments and relaxing environmental restrictions on residential building.
But Hochul’s biggest proposal, the Housing Compact, is another misguided attack on local control and single-family zoning.
It will compel each town and village in the New York metro area to increase its housing stock to meet a uniform, state-imposed target and rezone for high-density housing — apartment buildings — within a half-mile of every MTA train stop.
Say goodbye to quaint downtowns lined with two-story buildings and older houses.
If a town fails to meet state targets, the Compact will allow developers to build big in defiance of local zoning boards in almost all cases.
Hochul is seeking legislative approval for her plan by April. Suburban homeowners are battling a powerful alliance of real estate developers in it for the money and social justice warriors determined to end single-family zoning.
Local control will be obliterated. Albany will call the shots on what your town looks like, how much traffic there is and ultimately what your home is worth.
Slate Magazine’s Henry Grabar bashed Hochul’s critics as “a band of recalcitrant, remorseless ne’er-do-wells.” He’s wrong. Their concerns are legitimate. For most people, their home is their biggest asset.
Opponents of single-family zoning are also playing the race card. ERASE Racism President Laura Harding says she’s fighting for a Long Island “free of structural racism and de facto segregation.” The same phony pretext is being trotted out everywhere.
Racial discrimination is abhorrent and should be prosecuted. But as a Brookings Institution analysis of the 2020 census shows, race isn’t a barrier to suburban living. Blacks are moving to the suburbs at a faster pace than whites. Anybody can be suburban. It just takes money — especially in Connecticut. In 2017, developer Arnold Karp purchased a colonial house on tree-lined Weed St. in small, ultra-wealthy New Canaan. There are no commercial or multi-family buildings on the street. He now wants to build a five-story, 102-unit apartment complex with 30% set aside for affordable housing.
Weed Street is only a 10-minute drive, or a 17-minute local train ride, to Stamford, a midsize city where the quantity of affordable housing (nearly 16%) exceeds state guidelines.
Ensuring a supply of affordable housing within a region is more reasonable than demanding every town alter its character.
Local officials explain that New Canaan’s six-person fire department doesn’t even have hoses or trucks to fight a fire in a building as big as Karp’s design.
Weed St. neighbor Chris DeMuth Jr. warns Karp’s plan “is to cram over 300 people into a lot currently occupied by a single-family home.”
“If they destroy Weed Street, they could come for your neighborhood next,” says a flier DeMuth circulated to his neighbors.
In fact, Connecticut’s Senate Democrats announced they’re making housing equity “in every community in the state” a top priority.
Democrats seem to believe everyone has a right to the same lifestyle, whether they’ve earned enough to pay the tab or not. So why stop with housing equity? Government could also compel fine restaurants to set aside a certain number of tables for “affordable” dining. All for the sake of — you got it — dining equity.
Betsy McCaughey is a former lieutenant governor of New York and chairman of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths. Follow her on Twitter @Betsy_McCaughey. To find out more about Betsy McCaughey and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website.
COPYRIGHT 2023 CREATORS.COM
The democratic party is destroying this country! The bulk of the population are not paying attention or are stupid. When the collapse starts, they will sorry they voted for a fool who dances at the request of the socialists who are really in charge and it will be too late!!
Equity works hand in hand with socialism and open borders to redistribute what many have worked long and hard to earn to those who haven’t.
Where do all these radical Equity elites live? Certainly not next to an equity apartment bldg.
With their plan, American cities and suburbs will look like cities in China. The equity Democrats need to be eradicated like rats.
Democrats are the disease. Eradication is the cure.
Our one hope is that Biden and his democrabic cronies will be defeated in the next election. He is definitely the worst thing to happen to the United States since we beat the British in the 1770’s
Let’s make sure they also build affordable apt. housing at Martha’s Vineyard and other elite enclaves.
Wake up America, these anti American, traitorous democrats and their immoral so called leaders, hate You and America, they ALL need to be removed from office.
Who do they think they are??
That are merely the Citizens employees and nothing more!
ALL Our freedoms are God given and Our Constitution protects them.
WE the People are in charge!
So what about these Dem Politicians, like Hochul or builders, investors and whatever? Are their single family homes and Mansions going to be taken away also, or just the Americans who worked hard all their life to have a home with nice lawns and backyards and raise their families.
Close the borders and send the illegals back. I’m sure there is plenty of housing where they came from. It’s one thing to help people, but not when you are destroying peoples lives taking there homes away. This whole thing is absurd and total BS.
DEPORT ALL liberals AND ALL illegals AND THE ONCE HONORABLE, fbi, TO MAGA
BUILD SOME NEXT 2 obama’s FORTIFIED CASTLE AND pelosi’s HOUSE AND schumer’s TO. liberals ARE PURE CANCER AND ARE THE ENEMY OF OUR NATION
WHO THE HELL WANTS 2 LIVE NEAR CHIMPS WITH THEIR DRUGS, MURDERS, RAPES, MAIMING, PROSTITUTION, THIEVERY, CAR JACKINGS, CRAPPY MUSIC AND ZERO PRIDE FOR THEIR HOUSES, ETC., ETC., ETC. ?
The democrat and liberal cities are the worse. Only Dems should live in those cities!
Are they building any of these at Marth’s Vineyard? They didn’t want the illegals there they bussed them out the very next day. People we need to band together and fight back against all this equity bull crap.
All I see this doing is reverse discrimination. Racism against anyone who works hard to achieve what they want in life. Nice home and a good job. You have to earn what you want not take from people who work hard for what they have which usually is the middle class. Anyone who votes for these horrible crazy Democrats in charge is crazy themself.
The ultra liberal,ultra socialists are taking AMERICA away from AMERICANS and the democ rats are to blame.
this is the BIGGEST B.S. ever and was implemented in the NObama era.
i wonder if Belaire Calfi will enjoy havin it in their neighborhood
it’s bull – people worked hard to get away from ccrime and of course biden the a. hole wants it to follow you. i wonder will they build next to the a. holes house in delaware
I am so happy that Illinois is not mentioned here, but I know it will be. Soon eastern US will look like eastern Ukraine before the war.
Likely part of the NWO agenda.
Robert Moses must be spinning in his crypt.
This move to lower the standards started w Obama. If anyone would like to aspire, and move to the suburbs then work hard, save some money and play by the rules. Do that..and you’ll appreciate your prize place. Everyone wins!
I hope y’all know why they want to build these little housings because they have nowhere to put the illegal aliens and that’s exactly what they’re talking about without saying it. I know people need a place to live, but you know what there’s a lot of open land that they can live in they don’t have to be moving in on top of people.
It would be nice to be able to read the article but all I see is the stupid ad for the AMAC News app. And you can’t even click the X to clear it. It just opens the App Store for me to download the app. Come on, AMAC!
And when all these underprivileged get their free ride to the suburbs who will they vote for? The democrats of course. The crappy policies follow. The suburbs become just like the city. Equity.
Lee Harvey……….where are you when we really need you?
I can certainly see the benefit of living in a multi-family unit after the collapse of the condominium in Florida and the deaths of 23,000 (at this count) people in Turkey, living in apartment buildings.
As they do with every thing else, DIMMs want to make housing “equal” by moving their slums to the suburbs. They won’t improve the slums (or their schools) to meet good standards; they’ll LOWER the good places to mediocracy or downright crap!
All the bleeding hearts and those who welcome invaders are very well to do with probably more then one house All the very rich liberals live in the houses big enough for three families When they take “refugees” into their own homes then they can preach to the rest of us They can take them on a little junkets in their private jets as well Pukes
Oh, and you, dear government officials who don’t want the illegals in YOUR neighborhoods, what makes you think we want our neighborhoods changed?!?!?!? You speak out of both sides of your mouths. You want everyone else to do what you say, but won’t do it yourselves. You’re power mongers, greedy and mindless. You cannot see past the nose on your faces and when other can, you call them names and try to destroy them, their careers and want them to stop thinking clearly and sensibly.
Have you ever noticed, “the name of equity, meaning everyone” NEVER includes the elites that are forcing all this crap on the rest of us? That includes the MAN MADE GLOBAL WARMING/CLIMATE CHANGE HOAX!!!
This is outrageous! When I was younger, we lived in a small town; a melting pot, if you please. We all attended school, church and played together. There was no need to bring in “low-income” housing into our town. But then, the state knew better! We went from a lovely, cohesive, united community of all “colors” and creeds when the “low-income” was built. The neighborhood went downhill quickly. People had to sell their homes and move away. The schools began to have problems; the lovely, small, mom-and-pop were forced to close, people were ‘hanging’ out in groups at night and we could no longer just visit on our neighbors doorstep or walk the neighborhood at night. Over the next few years, the so-called “low-income families”, who were mostly singles living with anyone and were not families, took over the entire town. It is now a ghetto with boarded up stores, graffiti all over the place, no more stable families or friends, etc.
Low-income does not necessarily mean bad people with bad habits as some “low-income people/families” do need help in that area, but when some so-called “low-income” people (and I’m not talking race here; we were a town of mixed races) don’t live by societal norms with stable families and upbringings, the plight spreads, sadly.
I lived it, so I’m speaking from experience. It was not just our little town, but a few adjoining towns that also had the same thing happen.
So: Dear government,
You need to rethink what you’re doing to this country. Just look at what has been happening the past several years. People out of control, anti-social, full of hatred and anger, no boundaries, each doing whatever they please and calling their rites; they don’t want to conform and have no absolutes, no right or wrong, etc.
No, I don’t want to see “low income” housing in my area and I don’t live in a gated community, or wealthy area. We’re just everyday, family people with the sense of right and wrong, church-going, law-abiding people looking out for and respecting each other and we like our police force!
Thank you
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul says there needs to be more housing! THIS IS A COMPLETE LIE. Everybody is moving out of NY. They have housing galore and the prices are dropping because nobody wants to live there. Hochul must realize this because their tax revenue is dropping and businesses are leaving. I guess she figures if she keeps lying like this she will be able to replace Biden?
I’ve seen this happen in my old hometown. Nothing but multi dwelling apartments built in certain sections of town. It looks horrible and there has been a huge upsurge in crime. A shame. It was an ideal town forty years ago, now it’s like a city.
There is no true equity in any of these progressive plans. It’s just redistribution of wealth, your wealth to others. They will never make you equal with them, they will only make the middle class equal with the poor.
The FED should not be sending money BACK to the local communities, ‘Federal Funding’ is a misnomer, the money sent to the cities has been taken from ALL the tax payers in the country.
No one is addressing infrastructure it seems. Current property owners will be taxed out of existence. At that point the state will likely pick up the pieces with state taxes to get this corruption off the ground. No escape!
Will these commies be authorizing, and actively seeking to build, low income housing units in their own subdivisions and neighborhoods?
“Heil” Dur Furher Biden….no doubt another directive from a previous “president” who now owns three multi-million dollar mansions…oh, Der Furher recently had a $500,000 security fence built around one of his Arizona mansions…oh why oh why ever would that be?
This previous “president” also opined in one of his harangues that “there comes a time in a man’s (we’ll dispute that particular description) life when he’s made enough money”…indeed comrade, indeed.
Equity is unconstitutional!
Now I’m onboard with impeachment along with tarring and feathering! If this passes into law then we do need absolute revolution with all politicians being fired.
First one should be built next door to Hochul!
Communists!!! And they are the racists because they deem Blacks incapable of advancing up the economic ladder. Obviously, the statistics make them liars. Thus I double down. They are all nothing but communists who push this equity crapola
Sleepy Joe has a bunch of acres at his homes. I’m seeing “affordable ” housing.
I’m betting Laura harding is a white liberal piece of trash. I haven’t seen her picture, but it is almost always the left wing race charlatans doing this evil crap.
By the way worthless federal government, please we don’t want or need the money you stole from us. Kiss my rear end.
One question. What does this all mean if they just build multi-family units and yet there are no jobs in the area?
It only seems fair that these buildings should be built in the neighborhoods that the politicians live in. After all, they are the ones suggesting it and who think it is “fair”.
Typical for flatulent, demented, demonic, Marxists.
They are building big apartments in the little northeast Georgia cities. On top of that, they are getting people from New York and California to move here. I believe they are trying to flip the state to blue. The demoncrats will do anything to win.
So why can’t they live in the suburbs or just maybe it because they don’t want to…