A Holiday Message from Vision Long Island

Vision Long Island wants to thank you for being a support to the Smart Growth movement over the last year.

Please consider donating to Vision in your end of year giving!

Reflecting on this year’s LI Smart Growth Summit, the one thing folks keep telling us over and over was the positive and optimistic nature and can-do attitude of all the varying attendees. We had nearly 1,200 folks coming and going all day - 600 in the morning, a sold out lunch of 900 along with 20 workshops featuring 135 speakers covering 70 projects, a well-attended youth summit along with nearly 70 elected officials joining us. All attended are actively working on the goal to strengthen Long Island’s downtowns and our infrastructure.

The spirit of the Smart Growth movement – people helping people, businesses helping other businesses and municipal governments working collaboratively advancing new ideas to redesign and strengthen our downtown communities and infrastructure remains strong. 

The ongoing investment in our downtowns reminds me  every day how meaningful the work and the people shaping this movement really are in improving our communities.

As you know our Board, staff and community partners have acted as a catalyst and provided support for Smart Growth projects and policies for many years.

This year had many highlights, some of which include:

1) Progress on Transit-Oriented Developments: 
Approval of more transit-oriented development units to bring a total of more than 12,500 units over the last eleven years. Notable successes include projects in Farmingdale, Valley Stream, Hempstead, Glen Cove, Port Jefferson and Riverhead.

2) Investments in transportation and sewer infrastructure: 
Vision has been a leader in expanding public and private support for wastewater, transportation and energy infrastructure for our region.  Vision has been active lobbying our Washington representatives for the first Five year Transportation bill and pushing for wastewater treatment and other infrastructure dollars as well.

3) Changing regulations and road designs to make our streets safer for all users:   
Progress on this issue included the passage of a NYS Pedestrian Safety Action Plan combined with funding for local bike/ped improvement projects.   Vision is pushing for New York State to change high-accident roadways like Sunrise Highway in Nassau County towards safer roadway designs. 

4) New constituencies and expanded public support for Smart Growth:
Vision has been successful in expanding the movement to include our regions youth, seniors and small business in support for Smart Growth solutions. Local polls show an increase in support for Smart Growth projects thanks to all of our efforts.

5) Continued presence in Albany: 
Vision is a founder and joint leader of the LI Lobby Coalition which brings over 90 organizations to Albany each year to ensure a Long Island voice for a joint small business, civic, environmental and transportation, human service and smart growth agenda. The seven major bills passed, regulations that have changed and funding that has been secured in the last seven years are examples of this important collaboration. Due one of those laws, the NYS Smart Growth Public Infrastructure Act, public funding has been directed towards Smart Growth and infrastructure projects in many of our downtowns.  The NYS Downtown Revitalization Initiative is another example of funding secured to a Long Island community that would not be in place without our collective efforts.

6) Enhanced Local leadership and Events: 
The LI Smart Growth Summit and the LI Smart Growth Awards continue to be premier planning events that bring our community and business leaders together. This year was another one of record turnouts, excellent honorees, speakers and the development of new ideas and projects for our region. 

For 2017 we have much more work to do –

1) Priority Infrastructure investments: 
Federal and State resources that will come to LI for infrastructure and rebuilding need to reach the communities they are intended with an emphasis on redesigning our neighborhoods for resiliency, economic growth and true downtown revitalization.

2) Some of the downtown projects that can grow our economy are still awaiting approval:  
Despite many victories in recent years, over 20,000 units of housing are being considered in over 40 pending Smart Growth projects across Long Island. Work will be needed to achieve local consensus toward approval and implementation. 

3) Coordinated bottom up planning: 
Local officials, small business leaders and community organizations need to continue to shape the decisions of our neighborhoods while planning collaboratively with the numerous regional authorities and plans forming.  Vision has to continue to work in this area and bridge the gap between our communities and these varying regional plans.  We also need to push back at off Long Island interests seeking to change local zoning.   

And as most folks know we have to end this message with a standard pitch for your continued support:
Vision operates very lean with hardly any overhead – no highly paid consultants, nice offices, or layers and layers of bureaucracy. Support for Vision has and will always go directly to our mission which advances the Smart Growth movement each day to better our downtowns and grow our regions infrastructure.    

The folks who have supported us throughout the years know our work and collective accomplishments. For friends that are new to us – and have questions on our goals and activities please call us directly at 631-804-9128 and we would be glad to bring you up to date.

So in short, in order to grow the Smart Growth movement, we need both your guidance and financial support as we wrap up this year and plan our next steps into 2017. 

We are privileged and humbled to serve the Smart Growth movement during these challenging times for Long Island. Thanks to all of our friends and colleagues and we hope you have a wonderful holiday season at home and in your community.

Best,

Eric Alexander, Director
Vision Long Island

Please donate today online, by email or by mailing in the donation form below.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact Vision Long Island at 631-261-0242 or info@visionlongisland.org.

Sincerely,

The Board and staff of Vision Long Island

Thank you for supporting Smart Growth this holiday season!

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