Friday, January 17, 2025
Long Island is known for many things, from our beautiful beaches and lighthouses to historic sites, great seafood and wineries. Yet, beneath the charm and attractions, Long Island grapples with a major obstacle: an aging and insufficient transportation network that can’t keep pace with our growing population.
As Long Island continues to grow, our region faces a challenge that threatens both its economy and quality of life, with a transportation and infrastructure network that is underfunded, poorly maintained, and inadequate to meet the needs of our residents.
Currently, transportation funding is overseen by the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council, which includes New York City and several surrounding counties. This arrangement leaves Long Island competing for resources with the largest metropolitan center in the county, a challenge that often means
Long Island’s needs are underrepresented and underfunded.
The Long Island region’s share of transportation funding has dropped from 23 percent to just 6 percent. We’re in dire need of a fairer allocation that meets the region’s unique needs. This is why we need a dedicated Nassau Suffolk Metropolitan Planning Organization.
The creation of a Long Island-specific planning organization would ensure that our region has a clear, coordinated approach to transportation planning, empower Long Island to secure its fair share of federal transportation funding, streamline project execution, and drive long-term economic growth.
Long Island would have direct access to apply for federal dollars, bypassing state-level bottlenecks and allowing for tailored projects that address our specific challenges, including solutions to the Oakdale merge, the deadly Southern State Parkway and the electrification of the Port Jefferson line of the Long Island Rail Road.
Smaller regions of the state — including Ithaca with a population of about 107,000 — have their own transportation planning organization that allows them to apply for federal funding directly. And yet, Long Island’s 3 million residents — more people than most major American cities — are grouped in with New York City and other regions.
This is more than a call for funding; it’s a call to recognize Long Island’s unique position as a vital economic and cultural hub. Our region has the population and economic output of many U.S. states — we need infrastructure that reflects that.
Long Islanders share a vision for better roads, bridges, and tunnels, expanded transit options, reduced congestion, and an improved quality of life. We deserve a Metropolitan Planning Organization to secure our region’s future. Thanks to Assemblyman Steve Stern and Senator Monica Martinez for introducing legislation—now we need the legislature to act and pass A.10705/S.9918 and make this vision a reality.
Mark Herbst is executive director of the Long Island Contractors’ Association.
