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By Michael Campbell
The MTA is just weeks away from completing a study that could pave the way for an apartment complex at the Babylon railroad station parking lot.
No matter what the study calls for, any action at the site will come over objections from the village.
And elsewhere in the town and Suffolk County.
“It’s about local control, not Hochul control,” New York State Assemblyman Mike Durso said at a press event that attracted hundreds to the Babylon LIRR station on Sunday.
His rejoinder against the state and MTA drew huge cheers and applause.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul has made attempts to pass bills that would permanently allow New York State to circumvent local zoning restrictions in order to build apartment housing on state-controlled land and church-owned properties.
She and advocates have said such a move would help make housing more affordable in places like NYC, Westchester and Long Island especially. Outcry had killed legislative plans in 2023.
But this April, Albany players agreed on other measures that were baked into the state budget to increase the state’s housing supply, which includes “incentives” for local zoning changes.
In the meantime, studies such as this one for Babylon Village are underway.
“I promised New Yorkers that we’d tackle the housing affordability – and in this budget, we got it done,” Hochul said after the budget was enacted. “As the first governor in half a century to put housing front and center, I will keep fighting to make our state more affordable and more livable and help every family achieve their New York dream.”
It seems she’ll have a fight on her hands in Babylon Village.
While the north-side parking lot of the Babylon station is owned by the village, the south-side is owned by the Long Island Rail Road, and therefore potential powers could be invoked for this location.
That is, if the study says that an apartment complex is even feasible for the current parking lot property.
The MTA has provided no information about the type of housing being considered, whether it be low-income, luxury, or something in between.
But the possibility of low-income or what might be deemed affordable housing is of chief concern in the village.
Judith Barkan, a Babylon homeowner for 26 years, said she felt compelled to attend, despite not being especially active in the community’s civic life.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to build affordable housing,” she said. “We need the parking spaces.”
“It’ll just be too crowded,” said Maura Longenecker, a village resident for over 30 years who is collecting signatures on a petition against the housing plans. “We wanted a small community with decent size [parcels] and now we’re being crowded out.
“If we wanted to live in Queens, I hate to say it, I would’ve bought in Queens.”
Babylon Village Mayor Mary Adams has also started an online petition.
“Babylon Village already is transit oriented and with new developments moving forward on Deer Park Avenue and E. Main Street, there is absolutely no need to pursue development on this parking lot location. Not now. Not ever,” ” she wrote online.
Another top concern among locals on Sunday was the safety of the students at Babylon Junior-Senior High School across from the station.
“We have our children right across the street,” said Linda Slack, another village resident. “Bringing in low-income can bring in a certain element sometimes as well.”
Several state and local lawmakers joined Adams at the press event, including Babylon Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer, state Senator Alexis Weik, county Legislator Kevin McCaffrey and others.
Housing prices on Long Island have increased 37 percent since 2020, and Babylon Village properties, on average, have been selling for some $100,000 over the Long Island median price, according to Zillow.
But Adams pointed out that the village is already doing its part to achieve the state’s goal in building 800,000 more housing units in the next 10 years, as she also mentions in her online petition.
“We are proud to live in this bubble of Babylon Village,” she said. “I can assure you that myself and our board of trustees work very hard to make sure our bubble stays as it is. We keep pushing that pin from bursting the bubble away everyday.”
The study is expected to be finished by November or early December, the local officials said.
Voices of support for the study Sunday were slim, but Paul Golkowski, a village resident of 52 years, spoke to Greater Long Island about the need for more affordable housing on Long Island.
He emphasized that the MTA is only conducting a feasibility study, and nothing is set in stone.
“To whip everybody up, I think it’s a bit premature,’ he said.
