Jeff Schwartzberg, CIBS-LI
One of the myths of development is that either you preserve or you pave.
Unfortunately, this one-or-the-other thinking has distorted how we view economic development on Long Island. One side believes we have only so much undeveloped land so we must protect it no matter what. The other side believes we have only so much economic opportunity, so we must act now and get all we can.
The result is the eternal stand-off that unfortunately defines the Long Island landscape. On one hand we enjoy great parks, lovely neighborhoods, retail centers, fine schools, scenic parkways. On the other, traffic, congestion, segregated housing, high taxes, and spotty public transportation continue to vex us. These problems are getting worse, not better. If you read the polls, listen to water cooler chatter or eavesdrop online at your local supermarket, there is a growing consensus that this approach simply doesn't work any longer.
People in all walks of life seem to be feeling that our quality of life is slipping and the clock is ticking away missed opportunities.
"The Clock is Ticking" is in fact the title of a Rausch Foundation video we screened this spring at the start of the Real Estate Economic Summit. The video deploys a series of eye-opening statistics and gripping graphics that challenge complacency, making clear that in terms of important economic criteria Long Island is in fact losing ground.
For example, did you know that today some 48 foreclosures will begin in our region? That in the next hour 6.4 private sector jobs here will disappear? That salaries on Long Island are dipping even as the national figure rises?
As opportunities shrink, and life gets harder, people leave. Young people especially. Approximately 22% of those aged 25 through 34 left Long Island between 2000 and 2008. It isn't just young people. Islanders in mid-career are departing for better jobs or to start businesses, while their parents are looking to sell houses they can no longer afford.
The Rausch video made the problems clear.
But where are the solutions?
To find viable answers I believe we need to look to the principles called smart growth or sustainable development. We need to encourage the kind of planning that combines higher-density residential construction with vibrant downtowns and access to mass transit. People need to be able to walk-to school, to work, to go shopping. We need to align new construction with transportation options when we build, rather than build first then add roads.
Community leaders and government officials need to open their minds too. Communities inhospitable to business risk driving away employers. Cities like Detroit show what happens when markets shrink, industries globalize and downtowns deteriorate. Detroit is not Long Island, but this region also has been losing high paying jobs in manufacturing, replacing them with low-paying jobs in retail and health care.
Not every sign is negative. We are seeing the first generation of sustainable projects come to fruition in places like Westbury, Mineola and Patchogue. At our economic summit, Brookhaven Town was singled out for pro-business policies. And Canon USA decided to stay on Long Island, again.
The Commercial and Industrial Brokers Society of Long Island supports policies that encourage planned growth in order to balance the needs of people, the environment and the economy. In the past, too much planning has taken place behind closed doors. Let's make the planning process truly open, let's get smarter about zoning and mass transit, and let's all get to work building the Long Island we love and want to stay in.
Jeff Schwartzberg is the president of CIBS-LI, Syosset, N.Y.