In New York City, the housing crisis has helped drive 80,000 people into homeless shelters.

Mayor Eric Adams has grown so frustrated by the record number of people experiencing homelessness that he is threatening to do away with the city’s mandate to give shelter to anyone who asks for it. In other words, just let them live in the streets.

Meanwhile, rents have been driven sky high for everyone – even by New York City standards.

In Nassau County, a shortage of housing in the state, estimated at 800,000 units, makes living here unaffordable for many first-time homeowners and difficult for older residents seeking to downsize.

The lack of housing also makes it harder for employers to fill job openings and attract talented young people and business districts to fill empty storefronts.

Think taxes are driving people out of New York? Guess again.

The leaders of New York’s Assembly and Senate recently refused to support Gov. Kathy Hochul’s plan for a 3% increase in housing units over three years.

The plan, which would allow the state to step in if local governments were not reaching her goal, was met by furious opposition in the suburbs led by Nassau County’s elected officials from both parties.

They argued that local officials, with their knowledge of the area’s history and residents, were in a better position to evaluate proposals for new housing.

The officials, including Mineola Mayor Paul Pereira, said the same thing Friday at the annual Smart Growth Awards hosted by Vision Long Island, an advocacy group for development.

But unlike many officials who opposed Hocuhul’s plan, Periera has had a hand in the actual construction of housing.

Village of Mineola officials have over the past 10 years approved projects that have produced more than 1,300 transit-oriented housing units as part of a downtown revitalization effort surrounding the LIRR station there.

The village followed that with zoning changes which allow multifamily residential, mixed-use buildings, assisted-living residences, hotels and event spaces  – something recognized by Vision Long Island.

Pereira and his fellow Mineola trustees agreed to loosen the village’s zoning by facing reality and acknowledging that there would be no return to the business districts of the past.

The village’s new zoning laws are a plan for the future.

The question is how many other towns and villages in Nassau County will follow them?

If history is a good guide, not many.

From 1950 to 1970, Nassau County’s population grew from 672,765 to 1.43 million people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. But since 1970, Nassau’s population has declined by 32,306.

This did not happen by accident. Nassau County has some of the most restrictive zoning laws in the country.

North Hempstead’s population has followed the same pattern as the county. It increased from 142,613 to 235,087 in 1970. Since then in the past 52 years, the population of the town has grown by less than 3,000 to 237,639.

And among 32 counties in New York City and its suburbs, Suffolk ranked 32nd and Nassau ranked 31st in the number of housing permits issued from 2010 to 2020, according to a Regional Plan Association report last year.

A good part of this lack of new housing can be explained by the local control of zoning touted by local officials, many of whom are still in charge.

Local officials have often responded to residents who actually benefit financially from the shortage of housing, which in Nassau drives up the values of residents’ homes. That’s what they call supply and demand.

Either intentionally or not, local zoning laws have also often worked against racial diversity. This may explain why Nassau remains one of the most racially segregated counties in the country. And why affordable housing has become a code word for some.

Vision Long Island Executive Director Eric Alexander, who has been a leading voice for development on Long Island over the past 20 years, says the picture may not be as bad as the numbers indicate.

He questions both the Census Bureau numbers and state numbers used by Hochul to track growth in Nassau. He cites state numbers only showing 300 of the 1,300 housing units that Mineola had recently added as an example.

Many people have criticized the Trump administration’s handling of the 2020 census. But were the census numbers in 2010, 2000, 1990 and 1980 also wrong when they told a similar story?

That would be a real scandal considering the many ways census numbers are used to determine how the federal government allocates money and representation in Washington. New York just lost another congressional seat when it fell  89 residents short of the needed population to keep 28 house seats.

It is also possible that there were errors in counting housing units by the Hochul administration.

But we wouldn’t base public policy changes on a miscount in Mineola and a gut reaction to the census.

Alexander is on firmer ground when presenting development success stories across Long Island.

In his role of promoting smart growth, Alexander and Vision Long Island presented an impressive array of developments in Nassau and Suffolk counties as well as plans for sewers and transportation.

We hope the many elected officials in attendance took note of the many different types of developments that can be used to increase housing, reinvigorate downtown business districts and increase the quality of life in their communities.

The officials also received a clear message on the challenges faced in gaining public support for projects and how to overcome them.

Vision Long Island rightfully gave the Village of Mineola high marks for its extensive engagement with the public. And doing what is needed to attract developers.

“We congratulate Village Mayor Paul Pereira and Village Trustees on these new districts and their understanding of the need to give developers options and clarity to enable them to develop downtowns and the business district in such a way that benefits the community,” Vision Long Island said in an event journal.

Also receiving high marks was another North Shore municipality, the City of Glen Cove,  where RXR’s Garvies Point project is transforming the waterfront area from eyesore to destination.

So, at least some officials are walking the walk when it comes to encouraging the construction of housing.

Vision Long Island gets much credit as well for promoting the positive steps taken around Long Island and providing a map for others to follow.

But questions remain. How many municipalities are willing to take the steps necessary to promote the construction of new housing units? And how long will it take for them to make it happen?

New York is in the midst of a serious housing crisis. And every tool needs to be considered to combat it. That includes a hard look at rent control in New York City – an idea that is long past its expiration date.

We would like to think that enough governments are getting Vision Long Island’s message to address Nassau County’s housing needs.

But if not, there should be a plan B from the state.

Hochul’s original plan called for state intervention only if local governments failed to meet the goal of increasing housing units by 3%

For North Hempstead that would mean the construction of 2,364 housing units over three years – 788 a year. 

Based on what local officials said in opposing Hochul’s plans, that shouldn’t be a problem. If they actually meant what they said about providing the best answers to the housing problem.