What
does Sustainable Long Island do?
Sustainable Long Island
promotes economic development, environmental health and equity
for all Long Islanders by acting as a catalyst and facilitator
for sustainable development. We cultivate the conditions, identify
resources and provide tools to make sustainable development happen
on Long Island.
- Through our Community Revitalization Program, we help people
identify projects that will make their downtowns safer and more
vibrant. We link them with the experts and the resources that
will make their vision a reality.
- Through our Brownfields Redevelopment Program, we help convert
abandoned and blighted properties into productive commercial
or residential parcels, boosting local economies and preserving
open space.
- Through our advocacy efforts, we advance practical alternatives
to car transportation, leverage funds for brownfields redevelopment,
and encourage local and state governments to pursue Smart Growth
policies.
What is sustainable
development?
Sustainable development
is economic development that protects the environment
and promotes social equity. It
is a comprehensive approach to creating wealth that does not compromise
the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
Why is sustainable development necessary
on Long Island?
Between 1945 and 1995, Long Island’s growth and development
was not guided by a plan. While this period of growth led to great
wealth and prosperity in much of the region, it also resulted in
the near depletion of Long Island’s open space, the contamination
of many properties, racial segregation of communities, concentrated
poverty, little diversity in the types and affordability of housing,
few transportation alternatives, high taxes, and a gradual erosion
of the quality of life for all Long Islanders.
Sustainable development (sometimes called
“Smart Growth”) reverses these unfavorable trends
and follows principles and practices that help us keep what is
best about Long Island so that future generations can enjoy a
comparable or better quality of life.
Where
does Sustainable Long Island work?
Sustainable Long Island
works in both Nassau and Suffolk Counties. We have facilitated
community revitalization efforts in Huntington, Huntington Station,
New Cassel, Roosevelt, Oyster Bay, Wyandanch and Riverhead. Our
Brownfields Redevelopment Program operates island-wide.
What is a brownfield?
A brownfield is any
former commercial or industrial site where actual or perceived
contamination impedes development. Brownfields are often former
dry cleaners, warehouses, gas stations, and other industrial or
commercial parcels and, while the businesses have long since departed,
the contamination may remain in the ground.
According to recent
estimates by the NYS Department of Environmental Protection and
the US Environmental Protection Agency, there are as many as 6,800
brownfields on Long Island, all of which could be redeveloped.
Using Glen Cove’s successful brownfields redevelopment program
as a model, it is estimated that redeveloping Long Island’s
brownfields could generate 60,000 full-time jobs, $6.8 billion
in business revenue, and $340 million in tax revenue – all
without infringing on a single acre of Long Island’s dwindling
open spaces.
How is Sustainable
Long Island funded?
Sustainable Long Island
receives its funding through both public and private channels,
including support from foundations, government agencies, corporations,
nonprofit organizations, and individuals.
What is 1,000 Friends
of Long Island?
1,000 Friends of Long
Island is a broad-based coalition of people and organizations
that support Sustainable Long Island’s mission of advancing
economic growth, environmental health, and social equity for all
Long Islanders. Friends come from every walk of life and make
contributions at all levels. Every contribution helps us address
creeping sprawl, poverty, racial and cultural segregation, and
environmental damage in communities across Long Island.
To learn more and to
become a Friend of Long Island today, click
here.
What
are the Long Island Redevelopment Institute (LI REDI) and the
Long Island Fund for Sustainable Development?
LI REDI and the Long Island
Fund for Sustainable Development were created to meet the growing
regional demand for organizations that support sustainable development
in Long Island communities. LI REDI facilitates the redevelopment
of brownfields, properties that have been abandoned after commercial
or industrial use and may contain serious ground contamination.
The Long Island Fund for Sustainable Development is a Community
Development Financial Institution (CDFI), a private-sector financial
intermediary with community development as its primary mission.
The Fund lends to build businesses, mixed-use projects and community
facilities. It is one of only three CDFIs on Long Island.
