Suffolk Notebook: Affordable Housing Plan in Mastic Beach Underway

Ten housing parcels in Mastic Beach are cleared for development into affordable housing for first-time home buyers, Suffolk County officials announced this week.

The plots, taken over by Suffolk after a long period of being in tax default, will transfer to the Village of Mastic Beach, which will work with Habitat for Humanity to create new homes on the land.

The properties will then be offered to homebuyers whose income falls below 80 percent of the average median income for the area. That's about $86,000 a year for a family of four and $68,000 for a family of two.

Officials, while touting the program as getting more affordable housing on the market, also said rebuilding these ramshackle plots will do a lot to revitalize the village.

"This initiative will give a new lease on life to blighted properties and contribute to the revitalization of the community while offering working families a chance to own their first home in this waterfront community on Suffolk’s south shore,” County Executive Steve Bellone said in a statement.

Hauppauge Biz Scores IDA cash

The Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency this week announced an incentive to keep a major manufacturer of over-the-counter pharmaceuticals on Long Island.

The IDA will give tax breaks to A&Z Pharmaceutical, so it may renovate a new manufacturing center in the Hauppauge Industrial Park to better handle bulk exporting to Europe and China, major markets for the firm.

“At a time when many American companies are still outsourcing and offshoring, A&Z Pharmaceutical is tapping the international market to create jobs here in Suffolk County. Providing incentives so A&Z can continue to grow and create jobs here is the smart thing to do," Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said in a statement.

Specifically, A&Z will receive $83,566 in property tax incentives and an extra $159,476 in sales tax exemptions. The company already employs 1,500 and said it plans to add 25 more.