Everything In Place To Build
The 21st Century Suburb

By Amy Hagedorn and Sarah Lansdale

With the recent announcement of the stimulus package and what’s in and what’s out, we are all thinking about our interests as a region. We have long been a region known for our strong-willed “Not in my backyard!” approach to development, but the tides are changing and we are beginning to welcome new opportunities to invest in the future of our communities.

Many communities across Long Island have already engaged in the community planning process and are ready to welcome reinvestment. These highly desired projects are the ones that should be granted priority. Wyandanch, for instance, is ready to welcome downtown development and just needs the sewer connections to accommodate growth.

As millions of dollars start to flow into Long Island, now more than ever we need to take action on projects that are already supported by the public and will benefit every Long Islander. They are the projects that should receive stimulus funding.

The potential for what this funding can do for our region and for our communities is limitless, but it is conditional. First and foremost, our elected officials at all levels of government and the other power brokers of this endowment need to have their priorities aligned. New infrastructure can transform our disconnected subdivisions, strip malls and deteriorating downtowns into real thriving town centers with a sense of community pride, but there needs to be an inclusive and integrated approach.

We know that investing in our infrastructure will be a determining factor in getting through this time of crisis, but it is also the determining factor in the success of our communities’ suburban renaissance. So where do we start? What are the key ingredients to building the 21st Century Suburb?

Sewer connections:
Today, every plan to improve Long Island’s environment, to advance economically and in line with social equity is challenged by this problem—a lack of sewers. Suffolk County in particular has become a living example of the impact that lack of sewer systems can have on economic growth, the environment and equity for Long Islanders.

For business owners who want to expand or relocate, antiquated codes and sewer capacity determine the maximum size of your business, or even whether you can operate in a given location. For the consumer, the result is limited choice of shops and services in many locations, and lifeless downtowns.

Amazingly, only 30% of Suffolk County is sewered. Nassau County is mostly sewered, so the figure for Long Island overall averages to 59%. This compares poorly with neighboring regions. Westchester and Rockland Counties, for example, are 88% sewered; New York City, including the boroughs, is 99% sewered. There was a time when the federal and state governments covered 87.5% of the costs of sewering as essential infrastructure and we’re looking forward to them getting back in the game. The investment is a wise one that will pay off in future years through sustainable growth and production of tax revenue. Our downtowns need this infrastructure, unglamorous as it may seem.

Transportation alternatives:
Thousands of Long Islanders sit in traffic every morning whether they are traveling to work, dropping children off at school, or running daily errands. Since the 1950s, we Long Islanders have relied solely on our cars and that transportation choice has had profound effects on our lives – where we live, work and shop and the kind of air and water quality we enjoy.
According to the Regional Plan Association, there are about 7 million trips made daily on Long Island and only 7% are made using public transportation. Instead of building more roads and better connections for our cars, we need to change the way our communities are built to create links with other modes of transportation.

Our new administration has cited sustainable development as a high priority on its agenda, with the understanding that economic development, environmental health and social equity are interconnected. In fact, at a recent conference at NYU, our new HUD Secretary noted the interconnectivity of the projects to come, specifically linking transportation opportunities to housing opportunities.

The suburban ideal of a single-family home with a yard no longer suits the wants and needs of every Long Islander. The preference for downtown living is linked to the convenience of transportation options – residents can walk, or catch a bus or train to the places they need to be.

Long Island does have an extensive bus system and one of the world’s largest commuter rail systems. Unfortunately the LIRR is geared exclusively towards getting people in and out of the city. With some upgrades and by retrofitting the rail system, our public transportation can meet our intra-Island commuting needs as well.

Sidewalks:
Sidewalks are our connection to community life. Even if the health and financial incentives in walking more and driving less didn’t exist, being able to walk gives residents a sense of their community and provides a pride of place and community values.

The U.S. Department of Transportation estimates that about one-third of Americans do not have sidewalks where they live. We suspect the figure on Long Island is even higher
because Long Island was designed for moving cars, not pedestrians.

Other needs:
The best place for us to invest our dollars and our time is, without a doubt, in our aging and lacking infrastructure that has been holding us back as a region for far too long. It’s not just about expanding roads and building bridges; it’s about changing the way we do business to a more comprehensive, collaborative effort that will ensure the utmost effectiveness.

Also we must not overlook distressed communities, those that need reinvestment the most. Through these hard times we have all felt extra weight on our shoulders but distressed communities hurt the most. We need to take advantage of opportunities in this time of crisis. The projects that move forward cannot be looked at as individual projects that only benefit one community or one group of individuals.

This is an exciting time. Those in power have the ability to fund the much-needed work; the workers have the need for the jobs; communities will welcome the development and we all need these infrastructure improvements if we are going to transform Long Island into a sustainable region.

We have an enormous opportunity and we need to make sure not to waste it. We can have an efficient and reliable public transportation system and thriving downtowns from Elmont to Montauk, with extensive sewer connections and sidewalks from end to end; but none of this will happen if we don’t approach these improvements comprehensively by reinvesting in communities that really need and welcome it.