Much attention has been paid this summer to the proposed Lighthouse Project, which is designed to refurbish the Nassau Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum and develop the 150 acres surrounding the arena. Public comment has centered around the project’s economic benefits to Long Island, with admonitions to prevent negative impact on water supply, air quality, waste disposal and traffic.
It is also important to note that this project includes housing construction, 20 percent of which will be designated as affordable, sometimes called next generation or workforce housing. Many speakers at the recent public hearing referred to the statistics showing that young people are leaving Long Island at an alarming rate because they cannot afford a place to live, thus causing an eventual stagnation of the local economy. Affordable/next generation/workforce housing, with rental units as well as those for sale, should certainly be constructed in the first phase of the project and scattered throughout the area. Affordable housing as part of the Lighthouse Project will be a positive step towards reducing the “brain drain.” Let’s keep our young people on Long Island.
Barbara Epstein
Director, Affordable Housing Committee
League of Women Voters of Nassau County
