Imagining a new Island Park

Island Park Mayor Jim Ruzicka has a vision for his village. He has been thinking about the downtown area and what it could become, and pictures it as a vibrant suburban area in the future.

People live and shop in the downtown Ruzicka imagines, and the area is more welcoming for visitors. Even Austin Boulevard is safe to cross on foot in the mayor's vision, making access to the waterfront restaurants in Barnum Island much easier.

"I look at our downtown area, and I think it would be nice to do something with it," said Ruzicka. His vision is one that many other mayors are starting to envision for their downtowns. The concept is called Smart Growth, and it could be the future of Long Island.

Smart Growth is a development philosophy that is gaining popularity for several reasons. It focuses on making downtown areas more attractive and creating a more efficient use of space. Smart Growth buildings generally are multi-storied — but not too tall — and have shops or restaurants on the ground floors and apartments above them.

The idea is that people living above shops downtown will be more likely to stay downtown and spend their money there — which is why Smart Growth areas are also designed to be pedestrian-friendly.

"Mike Posillico came on board with his project in Harbor Isle, and we started talking," Ruzicka said, referring to the Harbor Isle Estates project that Posillico, a developer, is building just outside the village. "And I said, 'Wow. This could be something to really spark an interest in the village.' And it just kept going."

Posillico came to a meeting of the Island Park Civic Association on Aug. 11 to present some ideas from the firm that he hired to explore redeveloping Island Park, Studio V Architects. Jay Valgora, principal and founder of Studio V, attended the meeting

as well.

"I don't pretend to know everything about [Island Park], and I have a lot more to learn," said Valgora. "But I would say, right off the bat, that it's one of the most unique communities I've seen on Long Island. I feel I'm kind of a student of towns and villages of all different scales, and I think it's an amazing place."

Valgora's firm was brought in by Posillico to evaluate Island Park and present some ideas to Ruzicka and residents to gauge their reactions. Posillico hopes that by using Smart Growth principles, Island Park will become more welcoming for people who may want to live in his development.

"[Valgora] was fascinated with this really interesting village, but a village that seemed to be stuck because a lot of the infrastructure improvements — railroads, roadways and other things that had been built — are kind of assets but also acting as impediments to people getting around in a comfortable way," said Posillico. "And that's really part of what I see that he experienced and what the residents seem to be saying about Island Park: We love it, but there are some things there that we'd like to change."

The plan presented by Valgora is to enhance what makes the village unique while also making it a more friendly and inviting place. "I think we want to reinforce the characteristics that make [Island Park] already so unique, and to me that would be connecting the downtown to the waterfront and reinforcing those connections from Long Beach Road," he said. "Making a more safe pedestrian environment, especially along Austin Boulevard. Improving and enhancing the connections to existing parks. I think all of the characteristics that make Island Park already special — the fact that it's an island, the fact that it has the waterfront parks — and knitting that together into a more cohesive network, as a woman said at the meeting, so you can feel comfortable riding your bike with your kids to the park in the evening. I think that's totally what it's about."

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