What is the role of universities and colleges in preparing for the future of Long Island? How are our local schools preparing for the 21st century workforce? What new programs are available to students and the community to meet Long Island’s future needs?
A. Long Island’s Competition as a Region: What will keep Long Island competitive in the future?
Moderator: Robert D. Yaro, President, Regional Plan Association
In the new global economy businesses and people have greater choices in where they want to locate or live. Regions across the country are competing to attract the same people, business and investment to their communities. Long Island is known for its great schools, access to recreation, scenic beaches proximity to New York City, and a high quality of life, but other regions have their own great assets. With all the strong qualities Long Island has to offer, why are we failing to attract new businesses, educated workers and young people? Thus, the challenge becomes a question of how Long Island as one of the nation’s oldest suburbs stays a competitive region. Panelist will discuss how Long Island can promote its attributes and address its challenges. The workshop will discuss how to harness public and private funding to prepare for the 21st Century economy.
B. Development in Challenging Times
Moderator: Russ Albanese, President of the Albanese Organization and Sustainable Long Island Board Member
Long Island’s multi-leveled government, permitting process and vocal community members have made development, at times, expensive, arduous and unnecessarily time consuming.
With the recent economic downturn, development on Long Island is more trying than ever.
In this workshop panelists will discuss how to successfully develop in difficult times. This discussion will include financial incentives, streamlining permitting processes and working effectively with communities. There will also be a discussion of some of the short-term projects Sustainable Long Island is currently implementing to complement and promote community development.
C. Suburban Governance: Effective Strategies
Moderator:
Honorable Chris Coschignano, Councilman, Town of Oyster Bay (Session 1)
Honorable Craig Johnson, New York State Senate, 7th District (Session 2)
Suburban metropolitan areas across the United States are often governed by complex webs of local government units. Long Island is particularly noteworthy for its proliferation of small villages and special districts. This multi-layered structure often complicates the ability of local government to provide essential services, promotes parochial thinking and raises costs. Planning for successful sustainable communities requires partnerships and collaboration between governments to shape effective infrastructure, transportation, and land use policy. In this workshop panelists will discuss the unintended consequences of such a fragmented system and the need for reform. Panelists will examine strategies to achieve more efficient governance and facilitate coordinated planning and development highlighting best practices from around the country.
