Some people don't want to deal with house upkeeps, snow removal, etc (same reason many prefer co-op/condo/rental over private house). Owning a car while living in a L.I. apartments is no big deal, unlike much of NYC. Much cheaper than buying a house too.

Houses in OK areas of Long Island aren't cheap. I was surprised when a friend paid $400K+ for a 3BR 1000sf (compact by LI standard, with NYC-esque smallish rooms but big enough for the extended family) house in faraway Babylon (Suffolk) because they couldn't afford Nassau let alone Queens. Fortunately, the work commute to Queen Village is surprisingly short (under 40 minutes) and no toll (they used to live in the Bronx) or stress (congestion).