By JUDY RATTNER, JESSICA OTIS and JOSEPH KELLARD
Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi shared his views and facilitated discussion during a forum that spanned breakfast and lunch and included a walking tour of Rockville Centre. The conference, sponsored by the Nassau County Planning Federation, began with the premise that Long Island needs to expand its tax base and become an exciting place for young people to live.
The concern is that college graduates and young adults have their sights set on Manhattan, Brooklyn and other urban areas that offer easy commutes to work and ready access to shopping, dining and other leisure activities. Ideas, Culture and Education, or ICE, was the acronym used to describe the amenities that attract people to a community.
Describing this concept as "the key to our future," Suozzi spoke of Nassau's suburbs, the first in the nation and the most mature, as a wonderful place to live, with great schools, not much crime and open spaces. He said the challenges facing the county are the same as those facing other suburbs, with younger people not settling in the communities where they were raised.
In addition to tax base expansion and ICE, another major characteristic of a "cool" downtown, Suozzi said, is the presence of a number of multi-story, mixed-rental co-op and condo units near a train station that attract unmarried young professionals in their 20s and 30s as well as young families. This housing should be within walking distance of restaurants and a variety of retail establishments.
Creating attractive downtowns would not only counter the trend of young people leaving Long Island, he said, but would help reduce taxes and traffic and eliminate the county's pockets of poverty. Suozzi said the concept neither abandons the current understanding of suburbia nor encourages the urban sprawl dubbed "Queensification," but instead "takes the great things we love [about our suburbs] and enhances our quality of life."
Suozzi came prepared with visual aids. A slide show of attractive downtown scenes was accompanied by maps and written descriptions of many of the county's downtown areas. One handout suggested that Long Beach, Rockville Centre, Garden City and Great Neck were already cool downtowns. Mineola, Westbury and Glen Cove are "on the way," and Elmont, Hicksville and Hempstead "should be" cool downtowns.
Other categories included "potentially cool" downtowns - Lynbrook, Valley Stream and Baldwin; quaint or historic districts, including Bellmore and Island Park; and auto-oriented commercial centers, including East Meadow, each with their own defining qualities.
Remo, who took part in the panel discussion, talked about Long Beach's status as a model downtown, one that combines residences and businesses. He noted that in a five-block span of West Park Avenue, from Long Beach Boulevard, which is anchored by a movie theater, to Laurelton Boulevard, there are about 35 places to eat, including fine dining, pizzerias, a sushi restaurant, a pitaria, three diners and Mexican, Chinese and Japanese restaurants, as well as a supermarket, a Dunkin' Donuts, a bagel shop and a Starbucks. "There is a definite vibrancy and vitality in this area," he said.
Remo added that retail stores are starting to make a comeback, too: More clothing, shoe and children's stores, and similar small businesses, are opening. "And the majority of these businesses are owned by Long Beach residents," he said.
Remo also pointed out the nearby multi-residential units, many of which are occupied by young professionals. "They're moving into the units along the boardwalk, they're moving into the West End, and into the buildings on Park Avenue," he said. "And the need for a car, if you live in one of those buildings, is really very minimal."
At the center of it all, Remo noted, are City Hall, the public library and various modes of transportation, including the Long Island Rail Road, a county and intracity bus terminal and a taxi stand, as well as a parking garage.
Remo also highlighted the West End, which he believes has become a second downtown area. "It's more of a neighborhood downtown as opposed to the central business district in Long Beach," he said. "It doesn't have the major transportation, employment and multi-story dwelling components, but it's thriving on its own with boutiques and restaurants."
Emphasizing that no area should be left out, Suozzi called for community representatives to come up with both short- and long-term visions of what they see for their own localities. He said the county was not interested in overseeing planning or zoning "or telling local areas what to do," but he offered the county's services as a "coordinating influence" in assembling a "big picture." And he vowed to continue the conversation and to coordinate with creative efforts throughout the county.
Rockville Centre Mayor Mary Bossart offered welcoming remarks, and Town of Hempstead Councilwoman Dorothy Goosby, standing in for Supervisor Kate Murray; Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Jon Kaiman; and Jack Libert, planning commissioner for the Town of Oyster Bay, standing in for Supervisor John Venditto, discussed why the area needs cool downtowns. A second panel, which included Hempstead Town Councilman Edward Ambrosino, who works on the Elmont Redevelopment Coalition, Remo and officials from neighboring communities, focused on how to duplicate others' successes.
Long Island Rail Road president Helena Williams offered concluding remarks that emphasized the railroad's role in helping to create "sustainable," revitalized communities. Williams spoke of a balance between the LIRR's historic and "affirmative" role and of the need to develop policies that are community-sensitive.
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