Suffolk County lawmakers, in a bipartisan initiative to boost ranks of volunteer fire and EMS departments, approved legislation this week that adds a new housing incentive.

The Suffolk County Legislature adopted a bill at its general meeting that requires any new affordable developments that receive county workforce housing money to set aside at least five units or 10% of the property's total number of apartments, whichever is less, for volunteer firefighters and EMS workers. Joe Werkmeister reports in NEWSDAY that the legislation sponsored by Legis. Dominic Thorne (R-Patchogue) grew out of a bill first proposed last November by Legis. Rebecca Sanin (D-Huntington Station).

Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine said he supports the bill.

The bill requires a volunteer firefighter or EMS personnel to be in “good standing” for three years. They must also already be a member of the fire or ambulance district where the housing project is located.

Once living in a unit, the housing recipients must submit annual testimony to confirm their "good standing" in the department.

Gerard Turza Jr., chairman of the Suffolk County Fire Rescue and Emergency Services Commission, said he hopes the legislation can be a “springboard” for towns within Suffolk to pass similar measures aimed at prioritizing affordable housing for first responders.

More than 11,000 volunteer firefighter and EMS personnel are currently serving across Suffolk County’s 109 fire departments and 27 ambulance corps, Turza previously said.

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At least 5,700 households on Long Island could be on the brink of homelessness if the federal government moves forward with a plan to slash federal rental assistance by $26 billion, a Newsday analysis of government data and interviews with experts shows.

President Donald Trump’s proposal would curb housing vouchers for working-age, able-bodied adults to no more than two years on the assistance.

Joshua Solomon reports in NEWSDAY that the policy change would hit Long Island hard, according to the data analysis. Nearly all of the region’s federally subsidized housing is through vouchers, a higher share relative to the rest of the state and accounting for more than 33,000 people.

Federal policy across different political administrations has shifted from funding traditional public housing complexes toward voucher-based housing.

"It’s a shortsighted change that would have tremendous negative consequences on those who are utilizing the program," said Gwen O’Shea, president and CEO of Community Development Long Island. The nonprofit distributes vouchers in Nassau and Suffolk counties, giving more than 9,000 to help house 18,000 people in its last report year.

The federal program, O’Shea said, "is probably one of the most effective homeless prevention, housing stability initiatives that we’ve ever seen" and "critical for a region like Long Island that has a limited number of rental properties."

However, in an e-mail to his 1st Congressional district constituents this week Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) wrote, "When it comes to Medicaid and the One Big Beautiful Bill, Medicaid spending will increase by 25% by 2034

The only people removed from the rolls are illegal immigrants and able-bodied adults who refuse to work, seek work, or volunteer at least 80 hours a month. Cracking down on waste, fraud, and abuse keeps Medicaid strong and...