The following was published in Newsday on 1/5/14:

Affordable housing on Long Island is, and always will be, a hot-button issue [“Rental housing sorely needed,” Editorial, Dec. 30]. The Town of Huntington’s views on the subject are reflective of those in most areas across the Island. This is why the patchwork municipality-by-municipality approach to land use has to end.

We need to quantify our existing affordable-housing stock and look toward realistic solutions that do not rely solely on substantial increases in density, but balance our economic, environmental and social well-being.

We need a plan to tackle this monumental problem based on sound urban planning and up-to-date data. Our housing needs are one important piece of a larger puzzle.

The issue is regional in scope, and the solution must follow suit.

Rich Murdocco, Syosset

Editor’s note: The writer operates a website, TheFoggiestIdea.org, about land use.

LTE+1.5.14