The Town of Babylon is located in the southwestern part of Suffolk County which is part of the heavily populated New York Metropolitan Region. It is bounded on the north by the Town of Huntington, on the east by the Town of Islip and on the west by the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County. Square-shaped, the Town has approximately 43 square miles of unincorporated area, with an additional eight square miles containing the Incorporated Villages of Amityville, Lindenhurst, and Babylon. In addition to the suburbanized mainland, there are many small islands in the Great South Bay and a barrier beach devoted primarily to recreation and open-space uses. The primary form of residential development in the Town is single-family homes. The Town also has a large industrial base.
This document represents a collaborative effort of the Town of Babylon government and local citizens to plan for meeting the housing and community development needs in the Town over the next five years. The emphasis of this plan is use of federal resources to meet community needs; most particularly those available from the Community Development Block Grant Program and the HOME Investment Partnerships Program. These programs provide primary benefit to low and moderate income persons, but also serve to eliminate blighting conditions throughout the Town. There are three basic categories of need and associated strategies and plans identified within this Housing and Community Development Plan:
The Town of Babylon has sought strong participation by citizens in the
development of this HCD Plan. The Town's citizen participation plan was updated
during this time period in an attempt to broaden citizen participation in the
planning process and increase awareness of the programs covered by the HCD Plan.
Additions to the Citizen Participation Plan included scheduling special forums
in impacted communities and with service providers; the use of special postcard
mailings and distribution of flyers; and modifying public notices to include a
contact number for Spanish speaking residents and a notice regarding the
accommodation of those with special needs. The updated citizen participation
plan was discussed at the July 26th public hearing and attendees were invited to
comment. The Plan was approved by the Babylon Town Board on November 14, 1994
after a thirty day citizen comment period on the draft plan, which was
distributed broadly, at Public libraries and other locations throughout the Town
for citizens' review.
There were 202,889 persons residing in the Town of Babylon at the time of the 1990 census. The population is 82.1% White, 14.8% Black, 1.3% Asian and 1.4% Other. Native Americans make up less than 1% of the population. Of the total population, 5.6% consider themselves to be of Hispanic origin. During the 1980's the number of whites decreased by 3% while the number of minority persons increased by roughly the same percentage.
Household population increased by 5% in the 1980s to 64,437 households while
non- household population declined 3%. 41% of all households contained children
in 1990. Median Family Income (MFI) in the Town of Babylon is $51,026 which is
90% of the Nassau-Suffolk MFI of $56,725. Babylon's MFI is 44% higher than the
national MFI of $35,939. However, it is well known that the cost of living in
the Metropolitan Region is substantially higher than elsewhere in the Country.
The Town of Babylon experienced its greatest period of growth from 1940 to 1960, reflecting primarily the move of households out of New York City to the outlying suburban communities. During this same time, the Town's industrial base was also developing. Many defense-related industries settled in the Town offering many employment opportunities. With the decrease in defense-related federal spending, many jobs have been lost. The major problems encountered within the Town today include: an aging population, economic recession, lack of land available for new development, and the high cost of housing relative to incomes.
Three critical housing needs are identified in the Plan. There is a strong need for rental assistance for all households sizes. The greatest need is for one and two bedroom certificates and vouchers; one bedroom units for the elderly and handicapped individuals and two bedroom units for small families. There is a lesser demand for larger unit sizes. Potential first-time homebuyers are in need of financial assistance which will allow them to afford the purchase of a home. Lower income homeowners in the Town have a great need for rehabilitation assistance to correct code and safety violations in an aging housing stock and to provide handicapped accessibility modifications.
The four most significant market and inventory conditions in the Town of Babylon are: this is a highly developed suburban area with little room available for new development, both land and housing for purchase or rental are very costly, taxes are comparatively high, and utility costs are also comparatively high.
The 1990 census data showed a minor (6.4 percent) increase in year-round housing from 1980. The total year round housing in the Town of Babylon is 66,826 units, of which 64,513 are occupied. 22.7% are rental units and 77.3% are owner occupied. A majority of the owner occupied units (82%) have 3 or more bedrooms. The majority of rental units (43%) contain 0 or one bedroom.
The Town conducted a lottery for its first-time home buyer program during June 1993 and received 218 applications, 87 from within the Town. The affordable housing lottery numbers are considered to be only a reflection of the larger need for first-time home ownership opportunities. Many potential applicants are deterred from applying to the program due to the location of the properties.
The Town, along with many other communities, believed that the Census count did not reflect the true homeless population within its jurisdiction. The Town contracted with the Institute for Social Analysis (ISA) at SUNY Stony Brook to conduct a Needs Assessment and Enumeration Study of the Homeless in the Town of Babylon during July of 1992 in order to obtain a more accurate count of the homeless.
ISA reported that the Suffolk County Department of Social Services provided shelter for 262 unduplicated homeless individuals during the week ending September 20, 1992. In addition 113 homeless individuals originating from the Town of Babylon were housed outside of the Town. The overwhelming predominance of the sheltered homeless are mothers with children. There is a lack of residential programs serving homeless individuals. Approximately 75% of the sheltered homeless are black. The ISA enumeration team was able to identify 122 street dwellers during the third week in September, 1992 who met the stringent criteria described above. They emphasize that this is an undercount.
The Town does not have any public housing units (which for HUD purposes does not include Section 8 Rental Assistance) nor does it receive funding under any other HUD, Federal or State program for that purpose.
Impediments created by the aforementioned market conditions regarding the creation of both new rental units and owner occupied units stem from the highly developed nature of the Town. There are few areas of the Town in which affordable land is available for development. One community, Wyandanch, in which much of the remaining vacant land is located is opposed to further development of rentals in their area. However, this community would benefit from further development under the Town's affordable housing programs for first time home buyers. The Town will also continue to develop scattered site affordable housing throughout the Township by developing both County and Town owned lots for its Affordable Housing Program and will encourage its Section 8 Programs to attempt to place clients in non- impacted areas of the Town.
The Town supports fair housing activities through CDBG Public Service funding to two neighborhood-based housing groups, North Amityville Taxpayers Association and Wyandanch Community Development Corp. The Town is in the process of preparing an assessment of barriers to fair housing choice.
The Town consulted with the Suffolk County Department of Health Services, the area agency responsible for monitoring and addressing lead-based paint hazards in the County, especially with respect to children at risk. Information was provided through the Divisions of Environmental Quality and Public Nursing.
Renter households, and particularly extremely low income households, are at the greatest potential risk for lead-based paint hazards. From January 1991 to the fall of 1994 there were 28 cases in the Town of Babylon where children or adults were identified as lead poisoned. The majority of cases fall into communities previously identified as having concentrations of low income households and racial/ethnic groups and of having a high percentage of rental housing.
The communities of Wyandanch and North Amityville in the Town are experiencing problems that make affordable housing and economic development difficult to accomplish. In addition to the urgent need for assistance in these more depressed communities, strong need exists for a broad range of community development and economic development assistance throughout the Town of Babylon. Some specific problem areas are: drug trafficking, prostitution and other criminal behavior, poverty and unemployment, insufficient youth programs, illiteracy, and needs of Disabled persons and Senior Citizens.
Community Development Corporation of Long Island (CDC), the non-profit administrator of the Town's CD and Housing Programs has been designated the Lead Agency for coordinating the Consolidated Planning and Submission Process. CDC took responsibility for holding all pre- submission citizen participation meetings and hearings, reviewing testimony and other information submitted by participants in this process, meeting with organizations and agencies interested in applying for funding and writing the draft and final forms of this document.
The Town's Executive Assistant to the Supervisor is in daily contact with
CDC staff to assure ongoing coordination of Community Development and housing
activities with other Town activities. Both the Executive Assistant and CDC
have established strong links with all providers of community development,
housing and supportive services in the Town, and with county, state and federal
funding sources. This strong network of links assures a cohesive coordination.
The five-year mission for the Town of Babylon is to develop a varied stock of safe, decent, affordable housing for all its citizens with particular emphasis placed on meeting the needs of extremely and very low/low income persons who are the least able to secure decent housing on their own. In addition numerous community infrastructure and service needs will be addressed, as well as economic development needs.
The Town of Babylon has identified four major areas of housing assistance needs that will be addressed in the next five-year period. These four priorities are:
The Town of Babylon has set increasing home ownership options as its first priority. The Town is primarily a single family community with a large proportion of those units being owner occupied (1990 Census: 77.3%). The focus on activities in this priority will be on development of new units with a secondary emphasis on acquisition and rehabilitation of existing units, through the use of state, private, CDBG, HOME and additional funding sources.
Rehabilitation of the existing housing stock is the second priority in the Town's housing strategy. In reality, it is equal in weight to the need for affordable home ownership in that the Town is already highly developed and the housing stock is aging and in need of rehabilitation. The Town receives funds from a number of sources to carry out rehabilitation work on homes of low and moderate income persons, including the CDBG Home Improvement Program, the HOME Rental Rehabilitation Program and additional smaller programs.
The third priority in the five-year strategy concerns increasing affordable rental opportunities for low and moderate income families. The Town hopes to increase rental assistance for renters of all family sizes by requesting increased Section 8 rental subsidies from HUD. Secondary emphasis will be placed on assisting local housing organizations in the acquisition and rehabilitation of affordable rental housing units through the HOME Program.
Assisting the homeless and those in danger of becoming homeless is also a priority of the Town of Babylon in its five-year housing strategy. The Town has fully incorporated the "Continuum of Care" philosophy with respect to our planned activities which provide assistance to homeless persons and those in danger of becoming homeless. This ranges from assistance to emergency shelter providers, to transitional housing with associated services and finally, to development of permanent rental housing for formerly homeless individuals and families.
The Town of Babylon seeks to fulfill these goals using CDBG funds and other sources of funding. Goals include: Infrastructure improvements for up to 50 affordable housing units; Continuing revitalization of older commercial areas in the Villages of Amityville, Babylon, Lindenhurst and the hamlets of North and West Babylon; Supporting economic development activities in North Amityville and Wyandanch; Supporting recreational opportunities and youth programs in Deer Park, North Amityville and Wyandanch; supporting various programs designed to provide counseling and support services for families, primarily single female heads of households, struggling to remain intact due to drug-related problems, homelessness, handicap or disability and/or poverty, and also senior citizens; and finding or providing job training and placement for 150 people.
This document has emphasized the need to create more affordable housing for low and moderate income households and to address services for those in need of support and economic development assistance. Economic development must go hand in hand with increased affordable housing opportunities so that the extremely and very low income residents of the Town presently on public assistance may eventually become self sufficient. Self-sufficiency comes from receiving quality job training, support services such as day care during training and the availability of decent paying jobs. In addition, the Town feels that in order for people to take control of their lives they must also feel empowered in their own communities. Many programs funded through the CDBG Program in Wyandanch and North Amityville enable this empowerment.
Primary federal resources include CDBG, HOME and Section 8 Rental Assistance Programs. Primary state resources include NYS (U.S. DOE) Weatherization Assistance, NYS Affordable Housing Corporation, and NYS Department of Social Services programs.
Coordination of the various resources delineated within is carried out by
the Town's Executive Assistant to the Supervisor who reports directly to the
Town Supervisor, together with Community Development Corporation, which
administers the Town's Community Development Block Grant and Housing Programs.
The Town of Babylon has been notified that it will receive $1,664,000 as its FY 1995 CDBG entitlement grant. The Use of Funds Statement includes projects totaling $1,381,200, excluding planning and administrative costs. Projects benefitting low and moderate income persons consist of $1,148,480, or 83.2 percent of the total. The projects meeting the goals set out in the Housing and Community Development Strategic Plan include the following: Home Improvement Program, for 30 low income households, $450,000; Village Central Business District Revitalization Programs, $113,310; Village Coastal Zone Improvements, $103,480; Section 108 repayments (for redevelopment projects in North Amityville and Wyandanch, $200,000; and Public Service Activities, $222,900.
Program activities will be carried out throughout the Town of Babylon. Most public service activities and economic development activities target the low-income communities of Wyandanch and North Amityville. Commercial Revitalization projects are primarily carried out within the Town's three incorporated villages.
Community Development Corporation of Long Island is the contract administrator for Town of Babylon housing and community development programs. Numerous other public and private entities are involved in carrying out housing and community development programs in the Town of Babylon. These include twenty-five departments and agencies of the Town of Babylon, especially the Department of Human Resources, the Department of Planning and Development, the Division of Engineering, the Town Attorney's Office, and the Department of General Services, Division of Purchasing.
Non-profit organization involved in carrying out the plan include, The North Amityville Community Economic Council, Inc. (NACEC), the North Amityville Taxpayers Association (NATA) the Opportunities Industrialization Centers of Suffolk, Inc. (OIC of Suffolk), Wyandanch Community Development Corporation (WCDC), the Wyandanch Coalition and Wyandanch Entrepreneurial Development, Inc. (WED).
Agencies Benefitting the Homeless include Suffolk County Department of Social Services Housing Division, Resurrection House, Inc., Wyandanch Homes and Property Development Corp. and New Life Mission.
The Town of Babylon will receive an allocation of $508,000 for its HOME Program in Fiscal Year 1995 . The Town proposed projects totaling $457,200, exclusive of administrative costs. 83.9 percent of these project costs will be allocated to projects addressing the priority need of affordable homeownership for Low Income households, providing homeownership opportunity for 22 income-eligible purchasers. The remaining 16.1 percent will address the priority need of providing affordable rental housing for two Extremely Low and/or Very Low Income households by WCDC and NATA (both are CHDOs).
MAP 2 depicts points of interest and low-moderate income areas.
MAP 3 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, and minority concentration levels.
MAP 4 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, and unemployment levels.
MAP 5 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects; in addition, a table provides information about the project(s).
