A vibrant discussion about the past, present, and future of our region.
America’s first railroad was the Baltimore & Ohio, chartered in 1827 to compete with New York’s Erie Canal in the lucrative business of shipping goods westward. Baltimore was America’s third-largest city then – with designs on getting bigger – and the new railway was celebrated with parades and fireworks and a ceremonial groundbreaking at which
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Photo by Bob Giglione Originally Published in the Long Island Business News Mixed-use developments sprang up around train stations on Long Island more than 100 years ago. That’s where Long Island needs to go again. And two even older vehicles are perfectly suited to get us there: participatory government and the Long Island Rail Road.
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Long Island has a pressing need for housing, and the key question is: How can we address it quickly on a regional basis? There must be more varied housing options for all Long Islanders, but the challenge is to provide those choices Island-wide when zoning decisions are made locally. Hopefully, we can build a strong
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Vacancy rates for stores in Farmingdale are down to just 3 percent. There’s a new buzz of activity with family events and after-work concerts all signaling that this downtown is on the rise. It creates an infectious energy that underpins the growing appeal of Long Island’s latest downtown developments. For over a decade I’ve
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The key to Long Island’s economic future depends on denser development around train stations. It will enable us to attract businesses and young workers, ease traffic congestion, and reduce pressure to develop the region’s remaining open spaces. Ironically, this kind of development is essential to preserving the suburban single-family lifestyle for which Long Island is renowned.
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Long Island makes planning decisions locally but competes for business regionally, and it’s currently losing out because it lacks sufficient housing options, especially for young Long Islanders who are leaving the area in dramatic numbers. A key step in tackling the problem is to understand where multifamily housing exists (or is absent), an understanding local
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Changing housing preferences are chipping away at the old block
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70 percent of young Long Islanders – the 18 to 34 crowd – said they will likely leave within the next five years to find more affordable digs.
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Here is how to cure Long Island’s current economic stagnation: expand the biomedical industry and multi-family housing simultaneously.
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The ParkingPLUS Design Challenge revealed new concepts of parking design that incorporate needed local amenities and make parking facilities an architectural attraction for downtown areas.
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Have you tried getting from New York City to Long Island during rush hour on the LIRR?
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Responsible for such dynamic mixed-use projects as the Brewery Blocks in Portland, Oregon, Gerding Edlen’s philosophy was inspired by, among other things, the town squares of Europe, Denmark’s bicycle culture, the juxtaposition of modern and historic spaces in London, and the sheer beauty of the natural environment that surrounds them daily.
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Leaders of Suffolk County, its two largest towns – Brookhaven and Islip – and the Long Island Rail Road have joined together to create the Ronkonkoma Hub Regional Alliance, the first of its kind in the region, to advance the massive Ronkonkoma Hub project to completion.
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Bankrupt and with miles of empty track, the LIRR was forced to settle for the only other business around: Moving people to New York City and back again.
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“Transit-oriented developments offer enormous potential for Long Island by reducing congestion, preserving existing single-family neighborhoods and offering Long Islanders both young and old the opportunity to live in downtowns with a broader mix of housing and greater access to New York City.”
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