Build Where it Makes Sense

Long Island doesn't need reckless overdevelopment. It needs smarter re-development. That means focusing housing near existing jobs, transit, shopping, and infrastructure instead of forcing growth into established residential neighborhoods. It means redeveloping vacant shopping centers, obsolete office parks, empty parking lots, and aging commercial corridors instead of allowing them to become more warehouses that generate truck traffic day and night.

The Route 110 corridor in East Farmingdale is a good example of how planning should work. An earlier proposal for roughly 2,700 housing units generated significant community concern. The Town listened, reduced the project to approximately 1,4, lowered building heights, respected airport safety limitations, and strengthened community protections. That's what responsible planning looks like: listening to residents, making changes, and finding a better solution. The goal was never to stop growth—it was to make sure growth worked for the community. That's the difference between planning and politics.

Housing Starts with Good Planning

Building more housing is only part of the solution. If we want housing to be more affordable, we also have to lower the cost of building it responsibly. That starts with infrastructure. Communities need the roads, sewers, utilities, and public investments that allow housing to be built where it belongs. Here on the South Shore, investments like the Southwest Sewer District didn't just help clean up the Great South Bay—they created the infrastructure that made responsible housing possible in places that could support it.

The federal government has an important role to play—not by telling Long Island where to build, but by giving local communities the tools to succeed. I'll fight for federal investments that help communities modernize sewer systems, improve transportation, upgrade water infrastructure, and prepare sites for responsible housing development. That's how Washington can be a partner instead of getting in the way.

I've also seen how predictable tax policy can make housing more affordable. As Chairman of the Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency, I worked with projects that used phased-in property tax agreements to encourage investment while keeping long-term costs manageable for homeowners and renters alike. When communities provide certainty, responsible developers are more willing to invest, financing becomes more affordable, and projects are more likely to succeed.

The Policies I'll Fight For

• Expanding housing opportunities for young adults, working families, and seniors.

• Encouraging mixed-use development near transit, downtowns, jobs, and existing infrastructure.

• Providing federal support for sewer, transportation, and water infrastructure that makes responsible housing possible.

• Helping communities redevelop vacant shopping centers, obsolete office parks, and underused commercial property instead of allowing more Amazon warehouse sprawl.

• Supporting workforce housing for teachers, nurses, police officers, firefighters, healthcare workers, and other essential workers who should be able to live in the communities they serve.

• Helping first-time homebuyers overcome today's affordability challenges through responsible federal homeownership programs.

• Preserving local decision-making through meaningful public input, environmental review, and smart planning—not one-size-fits-all mandates from Washington.

• Protecting housing affordability by preventing Wall Street investment firms from buying up homes and pricing working families out of the single-family housing market.

And What I'll Fight Against

• I oppose one-size-fits-all housing mandates from Washington or Albany that ignore local communities.

• I oppose reckless overdevelopment that overwhelms neighborhoods, schools, roads, and infrastructure.

• I oppose warehouse sprawl, including the new Amazon facility in Holbrook that increases truck traffic, harms our environment, and reduces quality of life.

• And I oppose politicians who talk about the housing crisis but never do the hard work of bringing communities together to solve it.

The Contrast: Andrew Garbarino's Limp Approach

Andrew Garbarino has supported legislation intended to encourage accessory dwelling units, and every good idea deserves consideration — But Long Island's housing challenges won't be solved by a single bill in Washington. They require thoughtful planning, infrastructure investments, local partnerships, and leaders who have actually done this work. That's the experience I'll bring to Congress.

Housing gets built when government works with local communities, invests in infrastructure, protects the environment, and earns the trust of residents. That's the work I've done throughout my career, and it's the approach I'll bring to Congress.

Long Island doesn't need more political slogans or press releases. It needs hard work and thoughtful planning that keeps our young people here, allows seniors to stay close to their families, and preserves the communities that make this such a special place to call home.