In the Town of Islip on Long Island New York the chairman of the Community Development Agency propos

In the Town of Islip on Long Island, New York, the chairman of the Community Development Agency proposed last year that modest houses on the order of Katrina Cottages be built to accommodate townspeople of modest means. In response, Planning and Development Commissioner Gene Murphy noted that small, affordable dwellings would be “good starter housing to get people out of basements” — and up from renting. The result: Habitat for Humanity of Suffolk County plans this month to start building its first house inspired by Katrina Cottages. By year’s end, Habitat expects to build three or four additional cottages. Each 918 sq. ft. Craftsman-style cottage — costing about $100,000, using volunteer labor — will be ornamented differently, but all will have sizable front porches for socializing, according to a report in The New York Times. Paul Fink, the authority’s executive director, said this size is not only less expensive to build. In a time of smaller families, it’s also better attuned to residents’ needs than the 1,100 to 1,200 sq. ft. houses that Islip’s nonprofits had built for the past 30 years.