The REVIVE Act is being sold as housing reform, but it could become the law that quietly changes suburban Long Island before many residents even realize what happened. Wrapped in language about revitalization, vacant property and affordability, this bill is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a measure that appears reasonable on the surface while giving Albany Democrats new power to override local decision making, weaken community review, and force suburban communities into a model many residents never asked for.
The act has not yet become law, but Long Islanders should understand what is in it. Albany Democrats present it as a housing solution, but the deeper reality is political: If they can force more housing into suburban communities, they believe they can slowly change the makeup, character and, ultimately, the voting patterns of places that have long resisted their agenda.
As ranking member of the Assembly’s Local Governments Committee, and after more than five decades in the construction industry, I see exactly what happens when decisions are made by people who never have to live with the consequences.
Business districts are built deliberately. Stores, offices, restaurants and surrounding neighborhoods function together because local boards spend years carefully managing them. A healthy downtown supports the tax base that funds local services, police protection, sanitation, roads and municipal government.
If business districts begin converting into residential projects whenever vacancies appear, communities lose taxable revenue, business activity and commercial identity. Once a district begins shifting away from retail, it rarely comes back.
Long Islanders should understand what this means in practice. Parking lots that support downtown merchants and customers can suddenly become targets for dense multifamily housing. A lot that serves local businesses today can become a large apartment project tomorrow, overwhelming infrastructure while weakening the very business district it once supported.
In some communities, tax-exempt institutions — religious, educational or otherwise — continue expanding into commercial corridors. When tax-exempt uses steadily replace taxable commercial property, local governments lose revenue while still carrying the same infrastructure burden, and homeowners are left carrying more of the cost.
Under the proposed law, if a commercial property is 50 percent vacant for a year, the state would open the door to residential conversion. One year is nothing in commercial real estate, yet one difficult year could permanently change a property and neighborhood that took decades to shape.
The law would go further. If a municipality doesn’t complete a review of a project of less than 150 units within 60 days, the project would automatically be approved. That would mean drainage, sewer capacity, traffic, parking and emergency access could all be pushed aside under an artificial deadline created by Albany Democrats who wouldn’t live with the consequences.
The bill would also limit parking to one space per dwelling unit. But families often have two or three cars. Streets weren’t designed to absorb endless overflow parking from dense development.
Design hearings could still take place, but they would nonbinding. On Long Island, boards of architectural review decide what signage, awnings, storefront designs and building appearances fit a community. Without that authority, downtown character quickly deteriorates. Anyone who has seen parts of Brooklyn knows what happens: outlandish signage and a complete free-for-all that overwhelms the character of a street and strips away local identity.
Many suburban Democrats sound independent when they’re home on Long Island. Their votes tell a different story. Their leadership is driven overwhelmingly by New York City priorities. Again and again, what helps the city comes first, even when Long Island communities pay the price.
The state budget proves it year after year: top-heavy spending tilted toward the city, urban priorities funded by suburban taxpayers, and less local control. The REVIVE Act follows that same pattern. It was written to sound practical and moderate, but its long-term effect is to take more control away from local communities.
Too many elected Long Island Democrats sound suburban when they’re home in their districts, but when votes are called, they follow Albany Democrats increasingly influenced by voices openly hostile to suburban priorities, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. We Long Islanders put politics aside when Long Island itself is at stake, and we won’t stand by while bills like this threaten to erode our suburban way of life by putting the equivalent of a skyscraper in our backyards.
Ari Brown represents the 20th Assembly District.
