EDITORIAL: Developing Coliseum Site Will Fuel Region’s Future Economic Growth
By Newsday, Melville, N.Y.
Feb. 7–For Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi, the Hub is the center of the universe, and yesterday he began a campaign to convince Long Islanders to see it the same way.
We must.
Starting with a satellite image of the Earth and zooming down to the aging Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Suozzi astutely sold the big picture to an annual breakfast of labor leaders. The development of the 77-acre site into a landmark project incorporating housing, office space and retail stores with sports, entertainment and tourist destinations is about more than 16,000 construction jobs. It is about the Island’s ticket to tomorrow, its best route to economic growth.
It’s a bold message but a necessary one to overcome the “my backyard” and “my cut of the pie” views that dominate civic discourse. That’s why it was critical that Suozzi take on the role of chief salesman, now that the county legislature has approved a development agreement for the Coliseum site with Scott Rechler and Charles Wang. Rechler yesterday compared the impact of the project to the building of Levittown six decades ago. Without it, he said, Long Island atrophies.
The legislature, which voted 16-2, made some valuable changes to the agreement, ensuring that lawmakers have some clout at the end of the process, when the developers return for approval of a final lease. The project’s bipartisan support is a compelling endorsement of how much promise it holds.
Even the two dissenting GOP votes can be viewed as a healthy sign. The vote was one of the few times that the Republican minority has been allowed by its leadership to split ranks.
Soon the action will move to a wary Town of Hempstead for the zoning changes and permits required. Hempstead leaders should be thorough and rigorous as they work with the developers and the community to shape the final design, but they shouldn’t lose sight of how vital the project is to the region’s economy. This is not the time for small politics but for a big vision.
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Copyright (c) 2007, Newsday, Melville, N.Y.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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