Voters Support Transit-Oriented Development in New York State
By Kevin Hanley
In her 2023 State of the State, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced a New York Housing Compact meant to create over 800,000 new homes in the state over the next decade. Critical to achieving this goal is transit-oriented development (TOD), a type of development that maximizes the amount of residential, business, and leisure space within walking distance of public transport.
Zoning laws in many municipalities currently disallow for housing development near commuter rail lines, but the New York Housing Compact will “require that localities with rail stations run by the MTA undertake a local rezoning or higher density multifamily development within half a mile of the station unless they already meet the density level” within three years.
A new poll from Data for Progress finds that 67 percent of likely New York voters support legislation that promotes transit-oriented development, including 70 percent of voters in the Mid-Hudson region and 66 percent on Long Island.
This data shows that predictions of a “suburban uprising” if TOD legislation were to pass are contrary to public opinion, especially in the regions where it stands to impact commuters the most. In light of this, it is crucial that the New York Housing Compact and its TOD proposals are implemented.
Kevin Hanley (@kebhanley) is a polling analyst at Data for Progress.
Survey Methodology
From February 14 to 20, 2023, Data for Progress conducted a survey of 1,105 likely voters in New York using SMS and web panel respondents. The sample was weighted to be representative of likely voters by age, gender, education, race, geography, and voting history. The survey was conducted in English. The margin of error is ±3 percentage points.