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Special Lobby Day Coverage


Vision Long Island Smart Growth News

LI Lobby logo3opening picture

 

 

Long Island Lobby Coalition Returns to Albany with Platform for

Infrastructure, Jobs, Transportation, Energy & Sandy Relief

Another great day for Long Island as the LI Lobby Coalition completed their 7th visit to the state’s capital in 6 years. The coalition consisting of over 75 organizations with nearly 40 groups attending the Lobby Day, headed to Albany with an agenda tackling infrastructure projects for sewers, parking, transportation, small business, energy, human services and Sandy reconstruction.

This diverse group representing a range of Main Street businesses, youth, seniors, Sandy rebuilding groups, environmentalists, labor and other regular Long Islanders rallied around a unified message. The message was clear that Long Island as 14-15% of the population should receive more than slated in numerous categories in this year’s NYS budget. The numerous projects presented are ready to go and will improve the quality of life of our region, bring jobs, protect our environment and strengthen our communities.

Throughout the day, the LI Lobby Coalition held a press conference as well as participated in 3 scheduled meetings which were with the LI Assembly delegation hosted by Assemblyman Phil Ramos, the LI Senate Delegation hosted by Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and an assortment of Governor Cuomo’s staff.

war room

Past and present supporters of the Long Island Lobby Coalition include:

AARP  American Communities Institute at Dowling College   American Planning Association—LI Chapter  Baldwin Civic Association  Child Care Council of Nassau  Child Care Council of Suffolk   Citizens Campaign for the Environment   Concern for Independent Living  Concerned Citizens of the Plainview‐Old Bethpage Community  Congress for the New Urbanism—New York Chapter  Coram Civic Association   Cornerstone Church of God in Christ   Corridor Magazine DestinationLI  Elmont Chamber of Commerce   Empire State Future   EmPower Solar  Friends of Freeport  Freeport Chamber of Commerce  Friends of the Bay  Glen Cove Downtown Business Improvement District  Good Harvest Financial Group   Greater Smithtown Chamber of Commerce   Greenman‐Pedersen, Inc.  HIA‐LI  Hicksville Chamber of Commerce   Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce   Island Park Chamber of Commerce Island Harvest Jubilee Recovery Center, Mastic Beach  Jobs with Justice Laible and Fitzsimmons Inc.  Lake Ronkonkoma Civic Organization  Lindy Manpower  Long Island Bus Riders Union Long Island Business Council  Long Island Hispanic Chamber of Commerce   Long Island Federation of Labor, AFL—CIO   Long Island Housing Partnership  Long Island Minority AIDS Coalition   Long Island Software & Technology Network   Longwood Alliance  Mastic Beach Property Owners Association  Mastics‐Moriches‐Shirley Community Library  Middle Island Civic Association   Nassau Council of Chambers of Commerce  Nassau County VOA Nassau Legislature Nassau/Suffolk Law Services   Neighborhood Network  Neighbors Supporting Neighbors Nesconset Chamber of Commerce Northport Village Merchants Association  NY Committee for Occupational Safety and Health   New York League of Conservation Voters   Operation Splash Pharmacists Society of the State of New York Plainview/Old Bethpage Chamber of Commerce   Renaissance Downtowns  Roel Resources   Save the Forge River   Selden Civic Association   Signature Organization  Source the Station South Yaphank Civic Association  Suburban Millenial Institute Sustainability Institute at Molloy College   them TV  Tri‐State Transportation Campaign  Uniondale Community Council  US Green Building Council—Long Island Chapter  Verizon  Village of Mastic Beach Vision Long Island   Wading River Civic Association   Workforce Development Group  Youth of Ethical Societies, Long Island Chapter.

Part of the LILC growth can be attributed to several millenial groups who signed on and/or took the journey to Albany as well.  These groups focus on both local and regional issues facing their generation and advocate for solutions to stop long Island’s “brain drain”.

Throughout the day, the LI Lobby Coalition held a press conference as well as participated in 3 scheduled meetings which were with the LI Assembly delegation hosted by Assemblyman Phil Ramos, the LI Senate Delegation hosted by Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and an assortment of Governor Cuomo’s staff.

Press conference

This year, the platform agenda was as follows:

INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS

Nassau:

Suffolk:

 

LEGISLATIVE & BUDGET AGENDA

“The Bay Park STP needs to be prioritized by our Legislature for funding. It’s a onetime cost for a long term benefit.  We cannot simply sit and watch our bays die.  This year, the state can allocate $500 million from the settle funds for this critical infrastructure.   The LI Lobby Coalition is standing behind this request and we need all three branches of government to help us make this essential change,” said Adrienne Esposito, Executive Director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment.

“I look forward to discussing with our state representatives important initiatives to make our neighborhoods more safe and attractive,” said Nassau County Legislator Laura Curran (Baldwin). “These include implementing new traffic and pedestrian safety measures along Sunrise Highway, obtaining state grants for a Complete Streets project in Baldwin, and funding an ocean outfall pipe for the Bay Park sewage treatment plant. The more various levels of government are able to work together, the better off all our communities will be.”

“Lobby day allows diverse groups to come together with one voice to speak on behalf of Long Island.  For us, we have the opportunity to engage with future partners that will help us achieve the vision we have for downtown Hicksville” said Lionel Chitty, Hicksville Chamber of Commerce.

“Long Islanders need to present a united front when asking for our fair share of infrastructure resources,” said Suburban Millennial Institute Founder Jeff Guillot. “Elected officials and business leaders from across the state need to work together on a comprehensive strategy to retain a Millennial workforce on Long Island.  We are proud to be part of this diverse coalition of stakeholders as we pursue initiatives that will allow the region to remain a fantastic place to live, work & play.”

Annual fare hikes, low service levels, and late or no-show buses are the symptoms of an underfunded bus system, and Long Island bus riders are paying dearly due to a lack of state assistance. It is time for New York to step up and pay their fair share to suburban transit systems.” said Aaron Watkins-Lopez of the LI Bus Riders Coalition

“Today’s visit to Albany shows the partnership around issues important to Long Island residents, visitors and businesses. Two such issues, adequate funding for Long Island’s transit systems and Complete Streets, have been priorities for many of our groups for years. It’s important to show the breadth of support around transit and safe streets for all road users to guide Long Island’s elected representatives during the budget and legislative season,” says Veronica Vanterpool, executive director, Tri-State Transportation Campaign.

“Our lobby day represents a coming together of groups representing various interests from across Long Island’s diverse communities.   These groups share a single purpose;  to better the lives of all long Islanders and to preserve, protect and enhance the quality of life of its citizens.  This includes ensuring that Long Island continues to offer good jobs with good schools, and affordable places to live; while also continuing to preserve our natural resources.   Most importantly, we must ensure that Long Island remains a place that our children and grandchildren can afford to and want to call home.”  John R. Durso, President Long Island Federation of Labor

Since Sandy devastated Long Island in October 2012, Friends of Long Island grassroot community groups and partners have worked tirelessly to help those recover and rebuild homes, businesses, communities and lives sooner rather than later. We appreciate the Assembly, Senate of Governor’s office for continuing to work with and support those on the local level to rebuild the area towards a more resilient future. Jon Siebert, Friends of Long Island

Eric Alexander, Director of Vision Long Island concluded “The Long Island Lobby Coalition has been a true “Main Street” lobbying effort.  This shared agenda of local civics, small business and other varied public interests lifts up critical issues that sometimes get lost in the malaise of day to day dealings in Albany.  The accomplishments of bills enacted including Complete Streets, Priority Infrastructure, energy programs and other public safety legislation proves that collaboration works.  The opportunity this year to create a financing mechanism for Main Street businesses to provide jobs will benefit Long Island’s economic climate without burdening the taxpayer.  Lastly we are proud to see Long Islanders united in working to get our fair share of resources from our State government.”

Vision Long Island is proud to be a part of the annual Long Island Lobby Day and looks forward to continuing to work with local groups and communities to create opportunity for projects of signicance on Long Island. We applaud everyone who joined with us this year!

For more information, review a copy of this year’s press release and platform.
For more coverage of  the day, visit News 12, Newsday, or LI Business News.