An estimated 1,200 business, nonprofit and community leaders attended the Long Island Association (LIA) state event on Friday at Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury.
During the event, LIA President and CEO Matt Cohen moderated a conversation with Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, each Republicans, and Babylon Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer, a Democrat who can also be the leader of the Long Island Supervisors Association.
The topic of discussion was unity, in addition to ways to stimulate the economy.
“My job as county executive is to lobby for Suffolk County and Long Island because we’re part of Long Island. We are together,” Romaine said.
“We need to rebuild our infrastructure. “Any economist will tell you that if you invest in infrastructure, you will create a really good economy,” he said.
Romaine spoke about the need for expanded sewer infrastructure and expressed hope for Midway Crossing, a proposed $3 billion public-private transportation project in Ronkonkoma.
He said that by working with lawmakers, regulators and employees, “working together, we can achieve more.” He stressed the need to start out eager about policy and considering its impact on the economy and the creation of jobs and opportunities.
Cohen said it was “great to see bipartisan cooperation at the local level.”
Schaffer said the supervisors association works with “one voice” to enhance quality of life, searching for to handle “large transformational projects that will take us into the next generation.” This includes obtaining funding to relocate the North Terminal at Long Island MacArthur Airport to be closer to the Ronkonkoma train station.
Speaking about the proposed Las Vegas Sands casino and resort complex on Long Island, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said: “I imagine we may have the best use for it. Nassau County and the home of the Coliseum are the best place for a brand new casino in New York State. He pointed to the potential for $5 billion in construction jobs and 1000’s of everlasting jobs, in addition to revenues that will “spread into the various communities” surrounding the location.
“I think it would be a huge economic boost and I really hope we win. I don’t think there’s any other place in the state that can do what we do in terms of revenue,” Blakeman said. “When completed, I believe it will be the most profitable casino in the United States.”
The final location of the casino still requires approval from the New York State Gaming Facilities Siting Board.
Everyone agreed that Long Island needs state and federal support to rebuild the region’s infrastructure.
Hochul said “Long Island is very important to us” in Albany.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul and U.S. Senator Charles Schumer also provided remarks.
“I want more people to come here,” she said. “I want more jobs to be created. Since I became governor, we have added 53,000 jobs to Long Island, and in 2023 alone, 47,000 new businesses were created on Long Island – that is one year.”
“People are rediscovering Long Island and it’s personal to me. Whether it is a small business in our absolutely lovely downtowns – first-rate, each one of them – or our innovation corridor where we’re investing billions of dollars in technology and therapies to present people a brand new probability at life, whether it’s it’s Brookhaven, Stony Brook, Cold Spring Harbor – I’ve been to all of them they usually have phenomenal amounts of government money spent on them,” she said.
And while local leaders emphasized the need for federal support as well, Schumer told the crowd he still supports Long Island.
