A Message from Vision……

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 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 about 1,050 folks coming and going all day - 500 in the morning, a sold out lunch of 800 along with 20 workshops featuring 120 speakers, a well-attended youth summit and a new elected officials orientation along with nearly 60 elected officials joining us. All attended with 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 incredible response post-Sandy from local folks over the last year combined with renewed economic 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 bright spots highlights, some of which include:

1) Progress on Transit-Oriented Developments: 
Approval of 650 more transit-oriented development units to bring a total of more than 7,600 units over the last seven years. Notable successes include projects in Farmingdale, Hicksville and Valley Stream.

2) Changing regulations and road designs to make our streets safer for all users:   
Progress on this issue included the passage of Complete Streets legislation in Nassau County and the City of Long Beach.  Vision is pushing for New York State to change high-accident roadways like Sunrise Highway in Nassau County towards safer roadway designs. 

3) Investments in infrastructure pre- and post-Sandy: 
Vision has been a leader in expanding public and private support for wastewater, transportation and energy infrastructure for our region. Most notable is the unprecedented Federal investment of $455 million in the Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant that services 540,000 Nassau residents which is the largest funding for a wastewater infrastructure project in Long Island’s history. In Suffolk County, unprecedented County funding has gone to upgrade downtown sewer systems in Northport, Babylon and Riverhead.

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 50 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. Once again we impacted the state budget and were also able to the Sandy Relief Act and solar legislation passed – our fifth and sixth major bills passed in less than four years. 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 like the most recent round of Economic Development Council awards. 

6) Premier leadership and events: 
The LI Smart Growth Summit and Smart Growth Awards continue to be LI’s premier planning events that bring our 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 more on this important event please read the full write up here!

For 2014 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 to be more resilient.

2) Many of the downtown projects that can grow our economy are still awaiting approval:  
Despite many victories in recent years, over 15,000 units of housing are being considered in over 20 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. 

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 2014. 

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
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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