Long Island was once a magnet for young people interested in staying here to take advantage of our fine schools, parks and other attractions. It was the place to raise children.
Unfortunately, this is no longer true. We have lost our economic way.
Far from Long Island being a magnet, our children are now deciding after college graduation to move to more “exciting” areas which have more things to do. They are leaving for Brooklyn or out of state in droves.
That is the challenge confronting our suburban governments and Nassau residents alike. Our number one priority is to keep young people on Long Island because they are our future.
We must use innovative ideas in zoning and planning to create what former (and hopefully future) County Executive Thomas Suozzi calls “cool downtowns.” These are places where young people (and those young at heart) will want to live, work and dine or shop. A cool downtown attracts people, not bores them to tears. In a cool downtown, affordable housing permits young people to stay and to take advantage of activities within their community. The cool downtown has room for higher density mixed use buildings blending commercial and residential uses. As they grow older, young families may wish to trade in their apartments for houses yet wish to retain the ability to go to downtown for trendy restaurants and other retail outlets.
Another feature of the cool downtown is that it is a transportation center. Not just parking for cars, but reliable bus and train service as well. From the cool downtown, it is easy to go to Brooklyn or Manhattan for work or to see a show and then return home. For that matter, it is easy for visitors from New York City to head east and sample the new suburbia.
Is a cool downtown a fantasy? No, major elements of what can keep our young people here can be found in places like Great Neck or Rockville Centre. But we need to motivate local government to push for cool downtowns through favorable zoning/tax policy and by the encouragement of commercial/residential real estate development by transportation hubs. In return, more revenue for governments will flow in from property/sales taxes, reducing our overall tax burden.
Not every community needs to become a cool downtown but we do need to have more of them in order to stay competitive with other beacons of excitement outside of our county.
This is why I am running for Nassau County Legislature, because our elected officials should not be afraid of pursuing and realizing dreams, especially on behalf of our children.
Dolores Sedacca
East Williston
Candidate for 9th District, Nassau County Legislature
