The American Dream used to be a house in the suburbs with a white picket fence and a little bit of land to take care of. The dream represented stability and security. People are more inclined to take good care of something they have worked hard to own. Unfortunately that dream is under attack.
On Thursday, The American Thinker posted an article about New York State Governor Kathy Hochul’s move to advance a so-called Housing Compact that would eliminate local control and single family zoning.
The article reports:
Hochul’s plan would require that high-rise “affordable” (read: low-income, taxpayer-subsidized) housing be constructed close to each sleepy village train station — mostly a few miles apart — on Metro North and the Long Island Railroad. If the affected communities fail to do so “voluntarily,” the state will have the power to override local zoning. Those who fail to applaud this combined coup by warriors for social justice and real estate interests are, you guessed it, racist.
Suburban homeowners, Democrats as well as Republicans, are beginning to awaken to the deadly threat these proposals pose to their way of life. What is largely overlooked is that this is a repeat of a similar effort in 1972 about which I wrote at the time (“Housing Controversy in Westchester,” Congress Biweekly, November 10, 1972 and December 22, 1972). Believe it or not, the effort to overthrow zoning was then spearheaded by Republicans — with New York’s Westchester County selected to pioneer the program.
On June 20, 1972, the New York State Urban Development Corporation announced that it was overriding local zoning to create a variety of low- and moderate-income housing developments in nine, for the most part rural, Westchester communities. Reminiscent of the emotional reaction to the death of George Floyd, the UDC had been given zoning override power by a hitherto balky state Legislature the day after the murder of Martin Luther King. Republican governor Nelson Rockefeller, in a burst of virtue-signaling, argued that this was the best tribute the Legislature could give the slain civil rights leader. When rationality returned, efforts by the state Legislature to take away the override power were vetoed by Rockefeller.
The article concludes:
Whether Republicans or Democrats, suburban householders are unwilling to see community zoning decisions and local master planning become meaningless exercises and to see the value of their greatest investment potentially plummet at far-off bureaucratic whims. That means their representatives in the state Legislature, however “progressive” their personal views, will fear defeat at the next election if they don’t oppose Governor Hochul’s “death to the suburbs” legislative agenda.
The American Dream provided incentive to work hard. By changing the rules on home ownership, Governor Hochel will eliminate that incentive. The idea that the federal government can control local zoning is a violation of the Tenth Amendment. Our Founding Fathers have long since stopped turning over in their graves–they are now spinning.