Representative Image (AI-generated)
There are also 15 units designed to accommodate people with mobility disabilities and six for residents with sensory disabilities. What started in 1978 as an effort to create affordable homes became a prolonged legal fight over zoning and fair housing, eventually reaching the nation’s highest court. Now, that history has a physical result: 145 affordable homes in Huntington, turning a decades-old housing proposal and landmark Fair Housing Act case into a completed community.
Because the proposed development required a density of roughly 10 to 12 units per acre, matinecock Court needed multifamily zoning. But building the proposed development required something the town’s existing zoning rules did not allow. Housing Help continued pushing for the necessary zoning change, eventually bringing the dispute into federal court alongside the Huntington Branch NAACP and individual plaintiffs. The case became known as Huntington Branch NAACP v. Town of Huntington. The project also includes housing designed for residents with specific needs. Eight supportive apartments are reserved for people with developmental disabilities, while four homes are reserved for veterans. The community includes a clubhouse, on-site parking and private outdoor patio areas. Its location also places residents near the Long Island Rail Road’s Northport Station, Suffolk County bus service, schools, shopping, restaurants and a library. Matinecock Court was also designed as an all-electric development. Its energy features include heat-pump water heaters, electric heating and cooling, enhanced insulation, LED lighting, Energy Star appliances and low-flow plumbing. The completion marks an unusual endpoint for a housing proposal that began nearly half a century ago.
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. New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced the project’s completion on September 2, 2026, describing it as the culmination of a decades-long effort. The project now provides 145 limited-equity cooperative homes, including units for veterans and people with disabilities, according to the New York Governor’s Office announcement. The story of Matinecock Court began around 1978, when Housing Help Inc. decided to pursue a subsidised, lower-income housing project in Huntington. The organisation hoped to secure federal Section 8 funding and worked with the Suffolk Community Development Corporation to identify possible locations.
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. The original federal court proceedings provide the legal history behind the unusually long journey. Eighteen potential sites were identified in Huntington.