Eric Alexander is the director of Vision Long Island, the area’s downtown planning organization.
Eric has over 25 years of experience in housing, transportation, community development and coordinating community projects. Specifically, Eric has advanced downtown planning, infrastructure investment and mixed-use development through lobbying the federal, state, county levels while working with municipalities to develop and implement smart growth policies, regulations, and projects.
His work at Vision Long Island has resulted in over 150 downtown and infrastructure projects supporting over 15,000 units of Transit Oriented Development across L.I.
Since joining Vision Long Island Eric has been working to support proactive land-use planning decisions through the use of community visionings, and other progressive planning techniques. Eric has led visioning processes and technical support in the following 25 communities: Farmingdale, Huntington, Valley Stream, Bay Shore, Hicksville, Manorhaven, W.Babylon, Mastic/Shirley, Coram/Middle Island, Rocky Point, Shoreham, Mt. Sinai, Gordon Heights, Westbury, Central Islip, Baldwin, Oyster Bay, Kings Park, Mastic Beach, Deer Park, Southampton and Lake Ronkonkoma.
Each of these projects resulted in a community plan and are all in varying stages of planning and construction. In addition, Eric has working on regional planning projects surrounding NYSERDA’s Cleaner Greener Grants program, NYS CRP planning and grants program, Nassau HUB, Long Island 2035, Brookhaven 2030 and the Federal Partnership for Sustainable Communities.
In 2002 Eric organized Long Island’s first Smart Growth Awards event and led its first Smart Growth Summit. The Summit, now held annually, had over 1,300 attendees before Coronavirus and develops a policy agenda for downtown redevelopment and infrastructure. Over the last 24 years Eric has made over 3,500 individual and group presentations in nearly 75 Long Island communities but most importantly listened to communities at over 10,000 meetings.
Past and present affiliations include 100 member LI Lobby Coalition, the LI Smart Growth Working Group, LI Complete Streets Coalition, Friends of Long Island, the Suffolk Alliance of Chambers of Commerce, Salvation Army of Nassau County, LI Coalition for the Homeless and the Pink Tie Foundation.
On the federal and state level he has served on Governor Spitzer’s Transition Team for Smart Growth and served on Congresswoman McCarthy’s Economic Advisory Committee, the NY Congress for the New Urbanism Executive Committee, the Steering Committee of Empire State Future and the Board of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign.
Locally Eric has served on the 2017 Town of Hempstead Transition Team, 2009 Nassau County Transition Team, Town of Huntington Smart Growth Steering Committee, Suffolk County Smart Growth Committee, the Suffolk County Commission for Workforce Housing and the Nassau County Next Generation Housing Committee.
Eric has been listed as one of Long Island’s 100 most influential leaders by the Long Island Business News for three years running and was featured on the cover of Corridor magazine.
In 2019 he was listed on the Power List for the LI Press. He has received a number of awards including Corporate Citizenship Award by the LI Business News in 2021; .LI Business News Hall of Fame designation in 2017; Hollywood Baptist Church Martin Luther King Jr. “Leadership” Award 2016, EHS of LI for a “Social Justice Leaders” Award in 2016, “Gotham Green” Award in 2016; LISTnet small business award in 2015; 100 Black Men of Long Island in 2015; “Founders Day” Award by the Ethical Humanist Society of Long Island 2014; LI Real Estate “Leadership” Award by the LI Business News, 2013, “Long Island Achievement Award” by Public Relations Professionals of Long Island in 2013; Voted “Person of the Year”, Northport Patch in 2012; “Leader who makes a Difference” by the Hauppauge Industrial Association in 2011, “Business of the Year” by the Hicksville Chamber of Commerce in 2010, a “Graduate of Distinction” by Leadership Huntington in 2010, sustainable development by the LIPC in 2008, community planning by the American Planning Association NY Chapter in 2008, Businessperson of the Year by the Nassau Council of Chambers of Commerce in 2005, the LI Business News 40 under 40 in 2003 and the LI Alliance Kairos Award in 1990.
