CONFERENCE SUMMARIES

Case Study: Long Island, New York
Matthew Crosson, President, Long Island Association

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Matt Crosson leads the principle business and civic association on Long Island, N.Y. As a leader in “America’s First Suburb,” he has tackled some of the challenges of urbanization and navigated the crossroads at which Fairfax County sits too. Long Island is approximately 30 years ahead of Fairfax County in its “life cycle.” Once a model for the Levittown post-World War II suburban ideal, since 1978 Long Island has evolved into a complex, free-standing, economy with 2.8 million people and $137 billion in pre-recession economic output.

With that perspective, Crosson was able to offer a insight into how Long Island has addressed and even solved some of the most common regional problems faced by communities experiencing rapid growth toward urbanization:

1. Affordable housing
2. Workforce – retaining your young, mobile talent
3. Cost and structure of local government
4. Energy
5. Transportation
6. Planning and zoning

Affordable Housing – The Levittown ideal of suburban living has endured on Long Island, Crosson explained. Long Island residents want a free-standing, single-family home in a neighborhood with good schools, low crime and happy families. The problem is, that ideal is no longer affordable for many. The lack of affordable housing is the number one issue on Long Island, Crosson said. Compounding the problem is a lack of understanding about the benefits of affordable housing for everyone. Long Island residents don’t want “affordable housing” in their neighborhoods and tend to see it as inviting crime and other problems.

In order to address the need for affordable housing, while also overcoming some of the psychological barriers among residents, Long Island embarked on a three-part plan. First, the Long Island Association proposed legislation for “inclusionary zoning” that required affordable housing to be part of the construction mix. Changing the law, noted Crosson, was integral to reducing the barriers to affordable housing. Next was a public education campaign that rebranding “affordable housing” as “next generation housing.” The last piece was the development “micro-cosmopolitan environments” along the Long Island Railroad system that allow for access to New York City and the Island, with apartments and recreation nearby.

Workforce: Keeping Younger People – To explain the challenges of retaining a young, migratory workforce, Crosson reminded the audience of Richard Florida’s remarks at the 2007 National Conference on the Creative Economy presented by the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority. In his book “The Rise of the Creative Class,” Florida notes that place (rather than job opportunity) is the determining factor in where the creative class will settle. In order to retain this young, creative workforce, that is highly mobile and willing to move away from where they grew up Long Island must work harder to engage them and demonstrate the opportunities available to them in their community.

Crosson explained that Long Island does this through a multi-pronged series of initiatives that includes internship programs, career academies (where students apply academics and real world, emerging career opportunities in areas such as environmentalism and health care), education programs aimed at parents and retention programs aimed at students.

Crosson emphasized for the audience that without all of these efforts, they would lose many more students due simply to a lack of understanding about the unique opportunities available on Long Island.

Cost and Structure of Government – Long Island’s government structure, Crosson explained, is dominated by districts that govern everything from the local fire department, water and sewage, waste management, schools, and even…escalators? Yes, Crosson assured us, there are event districts for management of escalators on Long Island. It is emblematic, Crosson explained, of a desire among Long Island residents for local control of their neighborhoods. The problem this localized governance creates is increasingly higher taxes to maintain the administration of these various districts.

The solution? Once again, the LIA has taken the lead is facilitating a regional approach. Legislation expected to be signed by Gov. David Paterson will allow residents on Long Island to vote on whether they would prefer to keep the current district system or consolidate it, give up some local control, but in the process reduce their tax burden. The LIA is helping to assemble the facts and figures (such as how much might be saved in taxes) that will help Long Island make this important decision for its future.

Energy – Energy is a huge problem on Long Island, Crosson said. While the problem is somewhat compounded by being an island, it is greatly exacerbated by the every-increasing consumption of electricity – currently increasing by 4 percent annually. Long Island has attempted to offset its consumption through a variety of projects from nuclear plants to liquefied natural gas, wind and solar power. The region will be helped greatly when a new major power plant comes online. In the meantime, Crosson explained, Long Island will benefit from any breakthroughs achieved by two major research institutions in its midst – State University at Stony Brook’s advanced research center and the Brookhaven National Laboratory’s ion collider.

Crosson concluded with an overview of the two other major issues his region is tackling – transportation and planning. Long Island is home to the world’s busiest commuter rail road, but its capacity is limited for reverse commuters (those commuting onto the island). There are a number of solutions in the works to increase access to public transit and improve transportation onto and off of the island. One of the most interesting is a proposal before the state for a privately-developed tunnel system that would connect Long Island and Westchester.

From a planning and zoning perspective, Crosson offered the following advice: “attitude about growth is more important than anything else.” Crosson noted that residents will embrace development if they understand what growth means to them (i.e. lower taxes). He encouraged the audience to learn from Long Island in this point and on others.

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