Press

Nearly Half of Long Islanders Say They Are Likely To Leave In The Next Five Years

By , in Press

Contact: Brooke Botsford
Goodman Media International
bbotsford@goodmanmedia.com
212-576-2700 x241

NEW PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY SHOWS NEARLY 60% OF LONG ISLANDERS HAVE DIFFICULTY PAYING THEIR RENT OR MORTGAGE

Nearly Half Of Long Islanders Say They Are Likely To Leave In The Next Five Years

Garden City, NY – December 13, 2012 – The Long Island Index, a project of the Rauch Foundation, released today the results of a public opinion survey of Long Islanders’ attitudes about residential life. The survey, conducted by the Stony Brook University Center for Survey Research, reveals the anxieties and worries of a majority of Long Island residents about housing and housing-related issues:

  • Roughly 6 in 10 Long Island residents (58%) have at least some difficulty paying their rent or mortgage.
  • Roughly 8 in 10 local residents (81%) rate high property taxes as a very or extremely serious problem.
  • High housing costs mean that more than three-quarters of Long Island residents (77%) are concerned that some family members might have to leave the area.
  • More than three in four Long Islanders (76%) view young people leaving Long Island for more affordable areas as a very or extremely serious problem.
  • Nearly half of Long Islanders (49%) say they are somewhat or very likely to leave Long Island in the next five years.
  • Just over 60% of Long Island residents (62%) say that the lack of affordable housing is a very or extremely serious problem in their county.
  • A lack of affordable housing options makes it difficult for young people to move out of the home of their parents or relatives. According to the poll, 24% of Long Islanders between the ages of 18 and 34 live with a parent or another relative.
  • 60% of Long Islanders support changes to zoning laws that would make it easier to install legal rental apartments in a single family home.

The survey was conducted between September 18 and October 28, 2012. Telephone interviews were held with a randomly selected sample of 812 Long Island residents in Nassau and Suffolk counties.

“Housing and related costs are of significant concern to Long Islanders,” said Ann Golob, Director of the Long Island Index. “They contribute to the worrisome reality that nearly half of Long Islanders say that they are at least somewhat likely to leave.”

“The number of Long Islanders who are having difficulty meeting their monthly housing costs remains at an all-time high,” said Professor Leonie Huddy, Director of the Stony Brook University Center for Survey Research. “Unless there is a sudden and sustained increase in local household income, residents will look to leave as soon as the property market bounces back.”

“This survey highlights serious concerns for policymakers, and these concerns existed prior to Hurricane Sandy,” said Nancy Douzinas, President of the Rauch Foundation and Publisher of the Long Island Index. “The storm could not have lessened them or altered the fact that we need to be far more innovative in developing ways to address the high cost of living on Long Island.”

Since 2002, the Rauch Foundation, has commissioned a series of public opinion surveys to assess the attitudes of Long Island’s residents on the important issues facing them. As part of the Foundation’s Long Island Index project, these surveys are intended to provide an awareness of the concerns and opinions of Long Island residents.

The full text of the current survey – titled “Long Island In The Aftermath Of The Great Recession: Some Optimism, But Many Still Want To Leave” – is available at www.longislandindex.org. For further information on the survey or to arrange an interview, contact Brooke Botsford at Goodman Media International: bbotsford@goodmanmedia.com or 212-576-2700 x241.

About the Rauch Foundation
The Rauch Foundation (www.rauchfoundation.org), which funds the Long Island Index, is a Long Island-based family foundation that invests in ideas and organizations that spark and sustain early success in children and systemic change in our communities. The Foundation was established in 1961 by Louis Rauch and Philip Rauch, Jr. Funding for the Foundation was made possible by the success of the Ideal Corporation, an auto parts manufacturer founded in 1913 by their father, Philip Rauch, Sr.

In addition to funding the Long Island Index for nine years, the Rauch Foundation commissioned The Long Island Profile Report and a series of polls on Long Island to determine how the region is faring. The Long Island Index – conducted annually since 2004 – is available for download at www.longislandindex.org. The Long Island Index interactive maps, an online resource with detailed demographic, residential, transportation and educational information, as well as the Build a Better Burb website, are also accessible from the Index’s website.