Group of local developers lobby to change state-issued IDA criteria for affordable housing

Developers want the state to re-examine how it reviews housing projects that get tax breaks from Industrial Development Agencies, which they feel undermine the construction of affordable units, Newsday reported. A coalition of developers called the Association for a Better Long Island have asked the Authorities Budget Office that, going forward, IDA-supported projects be based on the number of units created, not the number of jobs created. The developers argue that demand for these units has surged recently and by focusing on jobs, the rules ignore this demand and could the hamper local economies they aim to help. [Newsday]