In 1978, New York advocates sought affordable homes; nearly 50 years later, 145-home community is complete

Representative Image (AI-generated) A proposal that began as a fight for affordable housing in a Long Island community in 1978 has finally resulted in 145 affordable homes. Matinecock Court, a nearly $98 million affordable housing development in the Town of Huntington in Suffolk County, was completed in 2026 after decades of legal and political obstacles. The development's origins are closely tied to Housing Help Inc. and the Huntington Branch of the NAACP, which challenged Huntington's restrictions on multifamily housing. The dispute eventually became a landmark Fair Housing Act case that reached the U.S. Supreme Court. New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced the project's completion on September 2, 2026, describing it as the culmination of a decades-long effort. According to the New York Governor’s Office announcement, the project now provides 145 limited-equity cooperative homes, including units for veterans and people with disabilities. The original federal court proceedings provide the legal history behind the unusually long journey.A housing proposal beginsThe story of Matinecock Court began around 1978, when Housing Help Inc. decided to pursue a subsidised, lower-income hou...