Vision Long Island Smart Growth News
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.
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.
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.