POB Chamber of Commerce, Concerned Citizens of POB and Other Local Organizations Participate
Tuesday, Feb. 8 marked the third annual Long Island Lobby Day. Over 50 participants, representing nearly 45 Long Island business leaders, environmentalists, civic associations, human services, senior advocates, Smart Growth planners, labor groups and transportation advocates converged in Albany to meet with elected officials in hopes of advancing a substantive platform to help Long Island. The platform included transportation, sewer infrastructure, energy and environment, small business, jobs and economic development and human services.
The day opened with a press conference where the group introduced the agenda and themes for the day: economic development and job creation, benefits of transportation, sewer infrastructure, renewable energy and more. The coalition’s proposals would create an estimated 85,000 jobs, as well as incentivize the creation of 15,000 new units of housing near transit and in our downtowns. These items will help address changing demographics on Long Island.
Carol Meschkow, president of the Concerned Citizens of the Plainview-Old Bethpage Community, commented on the relevance of the event to her community. “The group reached out to our esteemed leaders in Albany at a time of great economic struggles with solid suggestions on how to address our complex issues with regulatory fixes and new ways to prioritize and conduct business. Plainview-Old Bethpage as many of our neighboring communities is aging, and although there has been a great deal of acknowledgement about the future of our next generation and the sustainability of our island, we need to really focus globally on both ends of the spectrum. Many of our senior citizens want to remain in their homes, but need access both in their homes with retrofitting to make their living space safe and accessible, and for access and transportation to essential services in a car-dependent suburb.
In Plainview-Old Bethpage we are very fortunate to have POB-CARES, a NORC (Naturally Occurring Retirement Community) that provides important services including transportation to doctor’s appointments and rides to the supermarket for our seniors,” said Meschkow.
The diverse coalition has grown once again and now includes: AARP, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Empire State Future, Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce, Long Island Business Council, Long Island Federation of Labor, Long Island Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Long Island Software and Technology Network, Nassau Council of Chambers of Commerce, Tri-State Transportation Campaign and Vision Long Island. Additional participating organizations include: Concern for Independent Living, Concerned Citizens of the Plainview-Old Bethpage Community, Coram Civic Association, Dowling College, Elmont Chamber of Commerce, Friends of Huntington Station, Glen Cove Business Improvement District, Gordon Heights Civic Association, Gordon Heights Chamber of Commerce, Hicksville Chamber of Commerce, Lake Ronkonkoma Civic Organization, Long Island Housing Partnership, Long Island Minority AIDS Coalition, Mastic Beach Property Owners Association, Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library, Middle Island Civic Association, Neighborhood Network, New York League of Conservation Voters, Plainview/Old Bethpage Chamber of Commerce, Renaissance Downtowns, Roel Resources, Save the Forge River, Selden Civic Association, South Yaphank Civic Association, them TV, US Green Building Council – Long Island Chapter, Verizon, Wading River Civic Association and Youth of Ethical Societies, Long Island Chapter.
After the press conference meetings were held with all nine Long Island Senators- Kenneth LaValle, John Flanagan, Lee Zeldin, Owen Johnson, Carl Marcellino, Kemp Hannon, Jack Martins, Charles Fuschillo, and Majority Leader Dean Skelos, as well as assembly members Philip Boyle, Steve Englebright, Al Graf, Andrew Raia and Harvey Weisenberg. The coalition also met with Senate Minority Leader John Sampson, Senator Daniel Squadron and Tony Giardina, assistant secretary for Economic Development for the Governor. Members of the coalition also met separately with Assembly members Chuck Lavine, Dan Losquadro and Dean Murray.
“Keeping our community healthy and vital is critical to having a thriving intergenerational populace, and its great to know that so many passionate groups have come together to bring synergy to the complex issues we all are facing on our lovely island,” concluded Meschkow.
