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Announcement Date:Oct 27, 2026
Governor Kathy Hochul announced more than $32 million in awards through the Long Island Investment Fund on October 27, directing the money to six housing developments across Nassau and Suffolk counties that are expected to create 899 new housing units, including 482 affordable units. The projects carry more than $529 million in total investment and span affordable rentals, supportive housing, for-sale condominiums, and transit-oriented development.
The awards mark the largest single round of housing funding yet from the $350 million Long Island Investment Fund, a state program administered by Empire State Development in partnership with the Long Island Regional Economic Development Council. With this round, nearly $74 million in housing investments have been approved through the fund, supporting the creation of more than 2,000 homes, approximately half of them affordable.
The largest award, $8 million, goes to St. Joseph's Village in Brentwood, where Concern for Independent Living plans to invest approximately $162 million to rehabilitate and redevelop a portion of the Sisters of St. Joseph campus. The project will create 175 affordable and supportive housing units serving veterans, individuals with disabilities, and justice-impacted women.
Garvies Point Block F in Glen Cove receives $6.25 million. The approximately $42 million development by Georgica Green will create 56 affordable for-sale condominiums as part of the larger Garvies Point redevelopment of a former industrial site near transit, retail, parks, and the waterfront. It follows the completion of Block G, which created 55 workforce rental apartments.
Glen Street, also in Glen Cove, receives $6 million for an approximately $71 million mixed-use development adjacent to the Glen Street Long Island Rail Road station. The project will create 120 fully affordable housing units along with commercial retail space, a publicly accessible plaza, and more than $12 million in infrastructure improvements.
AR Westbury receives $5 million for an approximately $96.5 million development steps from the Westbury LIRR station. The project will create 187 rental units, including 23 affordable units, on an underutilized site, with roughly $12 million in infrastructure improvements including water service, stormwater systems, and below-grade parking.
Northville Commons in Riverhead receives $3.67 million. The approximately $56 million development by Georgica Green Ventures, built in partnership with First Baptist Church on a 10-acre site, will create 80 affordable units serving households earning between 50 and 80 percent of Area Median Income, with 20 units reserved for individuals with disabilities. The project includes more than $7 million in infrastructure work, including sewer, water, parking, and lighting.
Steel Campus in Central Islip receives $3.5 million for an approximately $102 million development that will create 281 rental units, including 28 affordable units, through the adaptive reuse of two existing buildings and construction of eight new buildings on a formerly vacant campus.
Hochul framed the awards as part of her administration's broader housing supply push. "Every New Yorker deserves access to a safe, affordable place to call home, and my administration is committed to building more housing in communities across Long Island," she said in the announcement.
Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight said the fund "is helping unlock the private investment needed to address one of the region's most pressing challenges," pointing to the conversion of underutilized properties into productive developments.
Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas said the six developments "will increase housing availability and expand homeownership opportunities while also supporting local economies." To date, HCR has created or preserved more than 4,000 affordable homes on Long Island.
Local officials echoed the support. Westbury Mayor Peter Cavallaro said the $5 million AR Westbury grant advances the village's transit-oriented development vision while "transforming and cleaning up underutilized and blighted properties." Town of Islip Supervisor Angie Carpenter cited the town's Pro-Housing Community designation and pointed to a pipeline of projects including One Carleton Green, The Belmont at Eastview, Heartland Town Square, St. Joseph's Village, and Steel Campus.
Long Island's affordability crunch has been building for years. Home prices in Nassau and Suffolk have climbed well beyond what median-earning households can carry, rental vacancy rates remain among the tightest in the state, and local zoning has historically limited multifamily construction. State officials have repeatedly described the region as a priority for precisely those reasons, and the Long Island Investment Fund was structured to give the region a dedicated capital source rather than forcing its projects to compete only through statewide programs.
Several of the awarded projects also carry cleanup and infrastructure dimensions that go beyond the housing units themselves. Northville Commons brings more than $7 million in sewer, water, parking, and lighting work. AR Westbury includes stormwater infrastructure and below-grade parking. Glen Street adds a publicly accessible plaza and open space. Those components are part of why total project investment reaches $529 million against $32 million in state awards, a leverage ratio state officials cite as evidence the fund is pulling private capital off the sidelines.
Legislators from the region backed the announcement. State Senator Siela Bynoe pointed to the Westbury project's affordable share near the LIRR station as "an important step toward addressing this affordability crisis." Assemblymember Charles Lavine tied the Glen Cove and Westbury investments to "affordable commuter-friendly living space with easy downtown access." Senator Monica R. Martinez framed the round as making it possible for more residents "to continue calling New York home."
The Long Island Investment Fund was created to drive economic growth and address critical needs across Nassau and Suffolk counties, with a particular emphasis on housing development in response to the region's shortage. It is administered by Empire State Development alongside the Long Island Regional Economic Development Council, whose co-chairs, Linda Armyn and Dr. Kimberly R. Cline, said the projects pair housing with infrastructure, retail, and public space to create more connected communities.
The awards arrive within a wider state housing agenda. Hochul's $25 billion five-year comprehensive Housing Plan, launched in fiscal year 2023, aims to create or preserve 100,000 affordable homes statewide, including 10,000 with support services, plus electrification of an additional 50,000 homes. The administration says more than 87,000 affordable homes have been created or preserved to date.
The fiscal year 2027 enacted budget adds $250 million in capital funding to accelerate construction and completes the current five-year plan. It also includes the governor's "Let Them Build" agenda, which pairs executive actions with reforms to the State Environmental Quality Review Act intended to speed housing and infrastructure approvals for categories of projects that have consistently been found to have no significant environmental impact.
The state's Pro-Housing Community Program, which gives certified localities exclusive access to up to nearly $1 billion in discretionary state funding, now counts more than 460 certified communities. Several of the municipalities hosting the newly funded projects, including the Town of Islip, hold that certification.
Long Island's housing shortage is among the most severe in New York State, and the region has historically added little multifamily inventory relative to demand. A funding round that delivers nearly 900 units in a single announcement, more than half of them affordable or supportive, is significant by local standards even if it does not close the gap on its own.
For developers and housing agencies, the round also illustrates where state capital is flowing: adaptive reuse of vacant campuses, transit-oriented sites near Long Island Rail Road stations, and projects that pair housing with public infrastructure. Four of the six awards involve either a station-adjacent site, a former industrial or institutional property, or both, a pattern consistent with the state's stated preference for projects that reuse underutilized land.
The supportive housing component is notable as well. St. Joseph's Village targets veterans, individuals with disabilities, and justice-impacted women, populations for whom dedicated affordable units with services are scarce on Long Island. Northville Commons reserves 20 of its 80 units for individuals with disabilities.
The mix of tenure types matters too. The round includes fully affordable rentals, workforce rentals, affordable for-sale condominiums at Garvies Point, and market-rate rentals with affordable set-asides. That spread mirrors the state's argument that the shortage spans income levels and household types, from first-time buyers to renters on fixed incomes.
The six projects now move into their development timelines, with the state money intended to leverage the larger private and local investment totals attached to each. Empire State Development oversees disbursement of the awards, and the Long Island Regional Economic Development Council continues to solicit and score applications for future LIIF rounds.
With nearly $74 million of the $350 million fund now committed to housing, roughly $276 million remains available across the fund's eligible categories. Future rounds will determine whether housing continues to capture the largest share or whether infrastructure, downtown revitalization, and other eligible uses absorb more of the balance.
Developers with projects in Nassau and Suffolk counties should watch for the next LIIF application window through the regional council's consolidated funding process, and municipalities pursuing Pro-Housing Community certification gain continued access to the discretionary funding streams tied to that designation.
Governor Kathy Hochul announced more than $32 million in Long Island Investment Fund awards on October 27, funding six housing developments across Nassau and Suffolk counties that will create 899 new housing units, including 482 affordable units, with more than $529 million in total investment.
The largest award, $8 million, goes to St. Joseph's Village in Brentwood, a $162 million redevelopment of part of the Sisters of St. Joseph campus creating 175 affordable and supportive units for veterans, individuals with disabilities, and justice-impacted women. Other awards support transit-oriented projects in Glen Cove and Westbury, affordable condos at Garvies Point, 80 affordable units in Riverhead, and adaptive reuse in Central Islip.
The round is the largest housing allocation yet from the $350 million Long Island Investment Fund, administered by Empire State Development with the Long Island Regional Economic Development Council. Nearly $74 million in LIIF housing investments have now been approved, supporting more than 2,000 homes, about half of them affordable.
The awards fit within Hochul's broader housing agenda: a $25 billion five-year plan targeting 100,000 affordable homes statewide, $250 million in new capital funding in the FY27 budget, SEQRA reforms under the "Let Them Build" agenda, and the Pro-Housing Community Program covering more than 460 certified localities.
For the housing industry, the round signals where state capital is heading on Long Island: adaptive reuse, transit-adjacent sites, and mixed-tenure projects pairing affordable, supportive, and market-rate units. Roughly $276 million remains in the fund, with future application rounds run through the regional council's consolidated funding process.
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