JULY 28-AUGUST 3, 2017 I VOL. 64 I NO. 30 I $2.00 I LIBN.COM

CHANGING TIMES: Experts in real estate discuss development with Long Island Business News Managing Editor Joe Dowd.

After years of defeating development, could LI be the ‘Land of No’ no longer?

By CLAUDE SOLNIK never going to happen. It’s impossible.’” Cuomo described the third track Long Island has long been a tapestry as an example of a project that would of small towns from Manhasset to Mon- finally move forward on Long Island, de- tauk, with local regulations that seem designed to help keep each town’s local spite opposition. feel. Long Island itself may be taking a But for developers, this patchwork of little bit of the “NY” out of NIMBY. But municipalities with local regulations and the region remains a complex place for zoning can create a labyrinthine process, developers, due to many factors still in making Long Island one of the more dif- place. ficult regions to develop. Long Island’s development future Thinking local was the topic of a recent Long Island While many on Long Island like the Business News Thought-Leadership status quo, others say change is essen- Roundtable. During the two-hour-long HEARTLAND TOWN SQUARE: After 15 years, the Town of Islip is moving this new tial to any region. Long Island’s myriad session local experts discussed a wide development forward. towns and villages’ planning depart- range of issues and opportunities con- ments, building departments and boards “Some people will build other Guardino said, projects that appear as fronting regional projects. The roundta- places,”Guardino added. “People who of right often require a long approval ble was moderated by LIBN Editor Joe of zoning, however, make the area a come from other parts of the country put process. Dowd. gauntlet for projects. their toe in and say, “I’m out of here.” “Commercial development almost The consensus in the conversation “There are a lot of developers. They He said even though the same state never is as of right,” he said, noting resi- was that construction is difficult every- don’t make their business in one town. laws apply, communities apply them dif- dential in Brookhaven can be far easier. where, but Long Island has developed They go from town to town. Every one’s “Commercial typically requires site a reputation as a kind of “Land of No” different. Everyone’s a different per- ferently, leading to different rules of the plans across the board.” where projects can take decades – or sonality,” said Nicholas Strachovsky, game in every community. simply die on paper. It’s a fragmented executive vice president at KOW build- RXR, Strachovsky said, has cash on Making more projects truly “as of process where the “nays” often have ing consultants, in Smithtown. “There’s hand after selling some properties, but right” could speed them, but also would it, dominating meetings and defeating no efficiency on Long Island. There’s no can’t find enough projects to redeploy all mean municipalities cede some control. projects, the experts said. communication between municipalities.” of it. “The only way to change some of That, though, may be changing as big At LIBN’s roundtable, Strachovksy “There’s a lot of development funds this is to change the zoning so you have projects move forward after long delays. said county-wide or more consistent sitting on the sidelines,” Strachovksy more as of right,” Strachovsky said. “A The Heartland Town Square project is rules across municipalities could make said. “They can’t get going fast enough.’” lot of people get involved in this and moving ahead in Brentwood, Country things easier and more transparent, let- they end up failing.” Pointe at Plainview is being built and ting firms say, “This is how I can plan Doing the “as of right” thing To succeed in developing, Stracho- a $1.9 billion third track on the Long my business.” vksy said “you’ve got to put the right Island Rail Road’s Main Line is slated to “Our land use process needs signifi- While the words “as of right” often team together” to understand and navi- begin construction. cant improvement across Long Island,” make developers expect a cakewalk, gate rules. Even Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently said Anthony Guardino, a partner that can be misleading on Long Island. Without that, firms can spend many proclaimed that Long Island was head- at Farrell Fritz, based in Uniondale. If an area is zoned for a use as of right, thousands of dollars planning a project, ing into development mode: “Many said “That’s frustrating a lot of developers projects still must pass muster at a wide before a town shoots it down. we couldn’t do it. They were talking and we’re losing a lot of opportunities.” range of boards and commissions. Strachovksy said he’d like to see about it for 70 years. ‘We tried. This is Guardino said developers from out- “In some places, as of right is as of “some continuity across municipalities” Long Island,” Cuomo said last week of side the region often are daunted by an right,” Guardino said. “If the use is per- in terms of density, height, “how much the recently approved LIRR third track. expensive, uncertain process full of lay- mitted, go straight to permitting.” you can build in a certain area” and how “Long Island is the home of NIMBY. It’s ers of approval. In Brookhaven, for instance, as of right is treated. BUILDERS WORKING FOR APPROVALS BY ADDING AMENITIES After developers propose projects, they increasingly are agreeing to help improve the community beyond their con- struction in return for the right to build bigger. Municipalities often ask devel- opers to provide community ben- efits, such as soccer fields, band shells, baseball fields and simply cash the community can use in return for the right to build taller or denser projects than otherwise allowed. “It could be any community benefit or cash,” said Anthony Guardino, a partner at Farrell Fritz, based in Uniondale. “The benefit could be parks, afford- able housing, any type of infra- structure improvement.” Guardino said these can include “streetscape” improve- ments for downtowns or even sewers in return for density or height regulation exemptions, such as increased floor area ratio. “They’re paying for the incre- mental difference in the zoning,” Guardino said. “They’re buying some additional density. It could NEW DEVELOPMENTS: Nicholas Strachovsky and Anthony Guardino discuss land use on Long Island with LIBN’s Joe Dowd. be money. A lot of times it’s a great community benefit.” The right place Some see amenities as ne- gotiating tools, while excessive If location is key in real estate, that’s also true in construc- demands can amount to a kind tion. Guardino said developers “have to pick the right commu- of blackmail, forcing developers nity,” since “political will” is the most important ingredient to to pay in order to play. development. Arriving at a community ben- Communities such as Patchogue, Farmingdale and Mineola efit that pleases the community have developed a reputation as being more friendly to develop- – and the developer – can com- ment. plicate the negotiation, taking “You can go here, touch and feel it,” Guardino said of devel- time. opment. “All the things people thought might happen haven’t “They provide the developer happened. It makes a big difference.” with additional development po- He added that “everybody wants to be” Mayor Paul Pontieri Photo by Bob Giglione tential. Density is usually a big in Patchogue. “Everybody sees what he has done,” Guardino NEW VILLAGE AT PATCHOGUE: This mixed use development has one,” Guardino said of deals that said. “His downtown 20 years ago was a disaster. Today, it’s ter- helped revive downtown Patchogue. can allow 30 instead of 20 units rific. We get stuff done in Farmingdale. In other areas, there’s per acre in return for a commu- pushback.” The right rent nity benefit the municipality Elissa Kyle, sustainability director for Northport-based Vi- would otherwise fund. Rentals are getting financing, providing a growing develop- sion Long Island, said Pontieri frequently says, “We’ll figure it “It’s a long process. There’s ment option for Long Island. But there is a double edged sword out,” an approach designed to move things forward rather than a negotiation, a give and take,” there. defeat development. Guardino said. “Developers know “Rentals apparently are what can be financed today. Lenders Mineola also is getting a reputation as supporting some de- that the way to get support is to are interested in rentals,” Guardino added. “The supply is so velopment rather than automatically blocking projects. “Mineola buy support. The way they buy low, the demand is so high. It’s very easy to finance rentals.” is allowing density around the train station,” Guardino said. support is by giving back to the Younger people often look for rentals, viewing a house not as “In the right village, it can go more smoothly,” Kyle said. community, doing something an asset, but a liability. So there is a wave of interest in these “The village board will sit down and work with you. ‘We’re will- they probably don’t have to do by projects. ing to give here, change this and get a little more upfront.’” law.” AvalonBay in Huntington Station is mostly rental, Garvies Strachovsky said other communities could adopt a similar Instead of building new Little Point in Glen Cove will be half rental and The Jefferson in approach. “Maybe it will open up more opportunity,” he said. League fields, an Islip devel- Farmingdale is all rental. oper invested in improving an “Long Island is a gold mine with more opportunity.” But rental projects often meet rigorous resistance: Blue Is- existing one, which pleased the The Village Square Project, with nearly 150 additional apart- land Development and Harbor Isle in Island Park in the Town of league itself. ment units, is moving ahead in Glen Cove, where Garvies Point, Hempstead wanted to develop condominiums with Avalon Bay. “The Little League would another project, also is moving ahead. The project was blocked when it sought to do rentals, Guardino prefer to lose a field and have “We have a mayor who’s on board, a city council supportive of said. “The town board said no and denied our application,” he them invest a lot of money to the development,” Guardino said. continued. make the ones they have better,” The courts ruled that zoning, which focuses on land use, can’t Guardino said. “That’s how they The right size distinguish between condominiums and rentals. negotiate.” Strachovksy sees development as essential to any region, “Right now the developer is gearing up again to consider In addition to funding and loans, municipalities today fund keeping it up to pace and providing options and opportunities. going forward with the rental units,” Guardino said. infrastructure through incentive “Young people don’t want to come back here, because they’re Although rentals often run into opposition, Guardino said zoning, he added. not finding affordable housing with stores right around them,” firms that own properties typically do a good job overseeing In Mineola, for instance, a Strachovsky said. them. developer agreed to rebuild a But if projects can end up mired in process, Kyle said part “A company like Avalon goes in. They keep the properties,” bandshell in a park as part of of the problem may be the right scale. Developers often want to Guardino said. “The properties will be maintained better than if a project, while in Brookhaven, think big, hoping to bring in big profits, while mid-sized projects they were individually owned.” amenities often go along with Development may be on the horizon for some specific regions. can be easier to win approvals. multi-family housing. Hicksville could provide opportunity for developers, as the “There’s a whole host of potential items in between that are “Not only did it give us an downtown is looked at through a new lens. forgotten about,” Kyle said. “The underlying zoning is usually opportunity to upgrade our tired very low density. It’s pushing a big thing up a big hill.” “They understand development by the train station makes infrastructure. It’s also giving us She thinks developers might do better with smaller projects, sense,” Kyle said. “We’re looking at ways to get development an opportunity,” Guardino said easier to build and easier to approve with less impact, if less there and allow the code to facilitate the right development.” of one project. “We’re not just re- income. Strachovksy, however, said a project can take six to eight placing the infrastructure with “Maybe if we could allow lots of little projects to happen,” years “from conception to completion,” which itself can cause what’s there. We’re upgrading Kyle said. “There might be less opposition for six units in some- other problems. the infrastructure. All kinds of place than 60 units. It provides opportunities for different devel- “By the time you’re done with it,” Strachovksy said, “the area benefits flow from it.” opers. It could be the small guy who lives down the street.” may change.” – CLAUDE SOLNIK n [email protected]