FEDERAL AGENCIES COME TO LONG ISLAND TO HELP COMMUNITIES CUT THOUGH RED TAPE TO REVITALIZE MAIN STREETS
SCHUMER HOLDS FIRST OF ITS KIND MEETING FOCUSING ON SUBURBAN DOWNTOWNS; AT SENATOR’S URGING, FEDERAL AGENCIES COME TO LONG ISLAND TO HELP COMMUNITIES CUT THOUGH RED TAPE TO
Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer opened a meeting with high-level officials of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Transportation (DOT), and Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), all members of the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, to discuss and better understand the needs, obstacles and red tape experienced by localities as they seek to revitalize downtown cores and promote sustainable development. The meeting comes on the heels of Schumer’s call this past May that federal agencies assist local communities in navigate the bureaucracy that often bogs down local development plans. In the meeting, the partnership mapped out areas of coordination in downtown housing, environmental, and transportation planning to promote sustainable development methods to revitalize local economies in the area.
“Long Island is the oldest suburb in the nation and it the perfect place for this first of its kind meeting to take place. Today’s meeting is putting Long Island’s downtown needs on the federal radar screen. We need to revitalize our downtown areas so that they thrive with new economic development, create jobs, and provide better transit options for commuters,” Schumer said. “These agencies should be commended for starting this Partnership, but there is much work to do in cutting through red tape and identifying a regional federal investment strategy. That is why this public meeting with the EPA, DOT, HUD and residents of Long Island is so essential.”
Last June, EPA, DOT, and HUD formed the Partnership for Sustainable Communities to promote the coordination of downtown housing, transportation and environmental investments at the local planning level. Over 20 Long Island town and village officials met directly with federal agency staff to present downtown visions and describe their implementation challenges and needs. This is the first official meeting of the new federal partnership in America’s suburbs.
Schumer believes that this initiative has the potential to transform metropolitan areas by bringing back economic competitiveness, increased access to employment opportunities, and the greater availability for transit options. Schumer joined with local sustainability advocates on Long Island including Sustainable Long Island and Vision Long Island as well as the Hofstra University Center for Suburban Studies in an effort to promote downtown revitalization and sustainable development throughout the area.
In May, Schumer and local partners asked for members of the Sustainable Partnership to hold a public meeting and work session with local government officials and planning advocates. Schumer called on Partnership to plan a visit to Long Island to learn about some of the initiatives in both Nassau and Suffolk counties that embrace ideals like transit-oriented development that will help revitalize and rebuild downtowns and walkable communities.
“Finally, suburban problems are getting noticed,” said Sarah Lansdale, Executive Director of Sustainable Long Island. “Long Island’s downtown revitalization and transit-oriented development plans need more than just local officials and community planners fighting for them; these plans need federal assistance. Long Island has the ingredients to become the epitome of what the suburbs should be, but it is much easier said than done. Senator Schumer and The Partnership for Sustainable Communities have taken a tremendous step forward in identifying which communities haven’t received a fair share of the limited resources available.”
“This event connects Long Island’s main streets to Washington. The smallest municipalities are connecting to Federal agencies, which has not happened in a coordinated fashion, not just on Long Island but any suburban area in the nation. The strength of Long Island resides in its many downtowns. This new Federal partnership could provide the resources necessary to assist the revitalization of our downtowns and support needed sewer and transit infrastructure,” said Eric Alexander, Executive Director of Vision Long Island.
“These are not your mother and father’s suburbs,” said Lawrence Levy, Executive Director of the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University. “Demographic change, economic dysfunction, environmental degradation and other challenges have transformed the suburbs in ways that demand a new federal approach that helps us solve our problems. Too many people in Washington and elsewhere still believe the myths of suburban wealth and wellness. I hope that what the federal officials learn during their visit will help change attitudes and inspire change in Washington and Long Island. Thank you Senator Schumer for bringing us together.”
The Partnership defines sustainability to include economic competitiveness, environmental health and equity, and access to jobs and transit, to help determine which projects are funded. Nassau and Suffolk Counties offer a variety of opportunities to use the Partnership’s principles to transform communities and blighted downtown areas with new housing, retail, and public transportation centers.
The latest Census notes that more than 50% of the US population now lives in the suburbs. As the oldest suburb, Long Island is a laboratory for what works and doesn’t work for these communities. In anticipation of a public meeting, Schumer will solicit the participation of local elected officials, planners, and community advocates regarding sustainability projects that have interest or business before the 3 federal agencies.