Long Islanders frequently oppose new multifamily projects in their towns, claiming new families will “overwhelm” local school districts, but a recent report suggests that hasn’t been true.
The Long Island Regional Planning Council commissioned the report. It studied seven 150-unit or larger multifamily projects built in six towns since 2012, Newsday reported.
The report found that real estate taxes and direct payments generated by those new projects generated more revenue for the school districts than it cost them by adding new students.
New residential projects accounted for less than 20 percent of the overall increase in enrollment in Mineola, Longwood, and Uniondale school districts.
Despite the addition of multifamily projects in their districts, the Farmingdale, Huntington, and Patchogue-Medford school districts saw net declines in enrollment from 2010 through 2019.
Multifamily projects have long been opposed in many parts of Long Island — and, for that matter, much of suburbia. Civil rights groups and pro-growth activists often call the school overcrowding argument a cover for keeping out people of color. [Newsday] — Dennis Lynch