This is from yesterday's LIBN Report. Click here for the story or read below.
by Michael H. Samuels
Published: January 14th, 2009
Suffolk County has released a list of 19 shovel-ready wastewater and public works projects awaiting federal funding.
The projects listed require $743 million in future planning, construction and repairs, would yield more than 36,000 jobs and boost the local economy by as much as $4.6 billion, according to the county’s public works department.
“It all starts with sewers,” said Suffolk County Legis. Wayne Horsley, chairman of the Wastewater Treatment Task Force. “When you’re talking about growing the economy, smart growth, affordable housing, you can’t do any of that without the proper wastewater infrastructure.
He said more than 70 percent of Suffolk County is still without sewers.
“In a county of 1.5 million people, that’s not a good thing,” Horsley said.
The list includes eight “ready to go” projects and 10 in the pre-planning stage.
The last project is the Bergen Point Outfall Pipe Replacement Project, which needs $150 million in funding and could create up to 7,125 jobs.
The “ready to go” projects are:
The Brookhaven Sewer District
Huntington Sewer District
Northport Village
Patchogue Village/East Patchogue
Port Jefferson Village
Sag Harbor
Smithtown/Kings Park
Wyandanch
The pre-planning projects include:
Bellport
Center Moriches
Lake Ronkonkoma Hub
Mastic/Shirley
Centereach/NY 25 Corridor
Rocky Point
Sayville
Southampton
Yaphank
Horsley said the task force started looking at wastewater projects last year and was asked by Reps. Tim Bishop and Steve Israel to give them a list of those ready for go.
“We didn’t know how bad the economy was going to be, but we knew what the problem was,” Horsley said.
“Now, the issues have come together with real force. Congress is going to be putting together these lists and we’ve let them know that there is nothing more important to Suffolk County than the wastewater treatment issue.”
Showing posts with label Long Island Business News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Long Island Business News. Show all posts
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
'New Deal for Nassau' for business owners is on the table
This Long Island Business News article appears on its web site - LIBN.com.
Nassau focuses on being builder friendly
by Michael H. Samuels
Published: December 17th, 2008
For years, Long Island’s builders and contractors have complained about the blockade that is Nassau County government.
In good times, builders took the problems, such as delays in issuing permits, discrepancies in the application process and slow payments, in stride, knowing there would, eventually, be a big payday ahead. But now as the country sits in a recession, those same builders are begging for expediency. Perhaps they’ll get it.
The county Legislature has launched what it expects will be a series of meetings with contractors, builders, Chamber of Commerce officials and others to help make Nassau County more builder friendly. Those groups joined the Long Island Housing Partnership, the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency, the county economic development department, Hofstra University and the Long Island Association, as the county seeks to fast-track development. More meetings with workers and municipalities are scheduled.
Already, some business leaders have weighed in and told Nassau officials what they probably already knew: Delays are costly and zoning laws are cumbersome and often difficult to make sense of.
Mark Herbst, executive director of the Long Island Contractors Association, said companies he represents would be better off if county, town and village governments passed capital budgets when they are proposed in January. Often, capital budgets aren’t passed until March or later, leading to delays that affect contractors’ ability to bid on projects and increase planning costs.
Herbst added that government is slow to pay for work, which makes it less appetizing to work on public projects.
“Our suppliers demand to be paid in 30 to 60 days,” Herbst said. “They do not want an excuse that the town or county has not paid us.”
Michael Watt, executive vice president for the Long Island Builders’ Institute, said the new Nassau initiative shows political leaders are ready to put an end to the bureaucracy, which has led to delays in approving development and paying for work already done.
“We have to believe the Nassau leaders are sincere,” Watt said.
Watt said Nassau should speed up the permitting and application process for builders. He said agencies in Nassau, regardless of the municipality, should have a similar application process.
Watt added that Brookhaven and Islip have already streamlined the building application process.
“Builders need to plan their costs,” Watt said. “For instance, they estimate that they will need to borrow a certain amount of money and pay it back in six months. But when six months turns in to 18 months, you’re screwed.”
Many of these complaints are not new. But a booming real estate business made the mess more tolerable.
Lewis Yevoli, the former Oyster Bay supervisor who is now a consultant with the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency, said the county needs to spearhead an effort to get towns and villages to change their zoning laws to make it easier for builders to increase density and build affordable, work-force housing.
He said many of the density figures are arbitrary and can be easily raised.
But not everyone has grievances.
Jim Castellane, president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Nassau and Suffolk counties, said he has a good working relationship with both counties.
He suggested Nassau look into implementing a policy similar to Huntington’s, which fast tracks permits for companies that use a state-approved apprenticeship program. He also said Nassau could hire a labor adviser similar to Suffolk’s. A Suffolk adviser acts as a liaison between the unions and the county.
Otherwise, Castellane said, builders and contractors are going to have to ride through a rough economy. There’s only so much government can do.
“Everybody is going to run into problems now,” Castellane said. “That’s expected with the way the economy is.”
Nassau focuses on being builder friendly
by Michael H. Samuels
Published: December 17th, 2008
For years, Long Island’s builders and contractors have complained about the blockade that is Nassau County government.
In good times, builders took the problems, such as delays in issuing permits, discrepancies in the application process and slow payments, in stride, knowing there would, eventually, be a big payday ahead. But now as the country sits in a recession, those same builders are begging for expediency. Perhaps they’ll get it.
The county Legislature has launched what it expects will be a series of meetings with contractors, builders, Chamber of Commerce officials and others to help make Nassau County more builder friendly. Those groups joined the Long Island Housing Partnership, the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency, the county economic development department, Hofstra University and the Long Island Association, as the county seeks to fast-track development. More meetings with workers and municipalities are scheduled.
Already, some business leaders have weighed in and told Nassau officials what they probably already knew: Delays are costly and zoning laws are cumbersome and often difficult to make sense of.
Mark Herbst, executive director of the Long Island Contractors Association, said companies he represents would be better off if county, town and village governments passed capital budgets when they are proposed in January. Often, capital budgets aren’t passed until March or later, leading to delays that affect contractors’ ability to bid on projects and increase planning costs.
Herbst added that government is slow to pay for work, which makes it less appetizing to work on public projects.
“Our suppliers demand to be paid in 30 to 60 days,” Herbst said. “They do not want an excuse that the town or county has not paid us.”
Michael Watt, executive vice president for the Long Island Builders’ Institute, said the new Nassau initiative shows political leaders are ready to put an end to the bureaucracy, which has led to delays in approving development and paying for work already done.
“We have to believe the Nassau leaders are sincere,” Watt said.
Watt said Nassau should speed up the permitting and application process for builders. He said agencies in Nassau, regardless of the municipality, should have a similar application process.
Watt added that Brookhaven and Islip have already streamlined the building application process.
“Builders need to plan their costs,” Watt said. “For instance, they estimate that they will need to borrow a certain amount of money and pay it back in six months. But when six months turns in to 18 months, you’re screwed.”
Many of these complaints are not new. But a booming real estate business made the mess more tolerable.
Lewis Yevoli, the former Oyster Bay supervisor who is now a consultant with the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency, said the county needs to spearhead an effort to get towns and villages to change their zoning laws to make it easier for builders to increase density and build affordable, work-force housing.
He said many of the density figures are arbitrary and can be easily raised.
But not everyone has grievances.
Jim Castellane, president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Nassau and Suffolk counties, said he has a good working relationship with both counties.
He suggested Nassau look into implementing a policy similar to Huntington’s, which fast tracks permits for companies that use a state-approved apprenticeship program. He also said Nassau could hire a labor adviser similar to Suffolk’s. A Suffolk adviser acts as a liaison between the unions and the county.
Otherwise, Castellane said, builders and contractors are going to have to ride through a rough economy. There’s only so much government can do.
“Everybody is going to run into problems now,” Castellane said. “That’s expected with the way the economy is.”
Thursday, November 20, 2008
We'll let this op-ed piece which appears on the Long Island Business News Web site speak for itself.
Durso: A fresh start for America and LI
by John R. Durso
Published: November 20th, 2008
In an unlikely quest that began 20 months ago in Iowa, Sen. Barack Obama’s transforming election as our 44th president offers America a fresh start.
Despite a deteriorating economy and two wars, on Long Island and across our nation the mood is ebullient. Yes, labor unions are ecstatic.
Labor’s outreach effort for Obama touched 13 million households in 24 battleground states, helping unleash a record-breaking turnout of Hispanics, Asians, blacks and young people – an electorate as diverse as the labor movement itself.
Fresh leadership in Washington, D.C., has sparked a sense of hope, of moving forward. On Election Day, Suffolk County passed a budget that funded needed services and doesn’t raise property taxes. Long Island Realtors are cautiously upbeat, telling us we’re doing OK so far compared to other parts of the country.
Polls show that Americans are demanding long-term, structural solutions to the deep economic problems we face. A Time magazine survey found that 82 percent favor government-funded, public work projects to jump-start the economy. That’s just what Obama has in mind.
The nation’s unemployment rate soared to a 14-year high of 6.5 percent in October as another 240,000 jobs were lost. Obama will make grants to state and local governments that have been hard hit by revenue losses from the economic downturn – Mayor Bloomberg’s new budget cuts 3,000 jobs in New York City. On Long Island, a federal stimulus package will energize projects already underway and open the door for new opportunities.
Creating jobs and rebuilding America’s middle class is what Obama’s presidential campaign was all about and voters gave him the most lopsided election victory for a Democrat since Lyndon Johnson whomped Barry Goldwater in 1964.
With that mandate, he can pursue the aggressive agenda America needs. And that includes the Employee Free Choice Act. Workers know that a union is their ticket to the middle class. The EFCA will give them the freedom to make their own decision about whether and how to form a union. There is no better economic stimulus – unions allow more people to bargain for better wages, which helps rebuild our middle class and create a prosperous economy.
Democrats didn’t have enough votes in the Senate last year to pass the EFCA, but the election changed all that. No need to tiptoe around the issue this time. Six newly elected senators strongly support the bill that President-elect Obama co-sponsored.
The legislation is overdue to raise the standard of living for workers, an essential ingredient of America’s fresh start.
John R. Durso is president of RWDSU Local 338 and international vice president of the United Food & Commercial Workers. He is also president of the Long Island Federation of Labor.
Durso: A fresh start for America and LI
by John R. Durso
Published: November 20th, 2008
In an unlikely quest that began 20 months ago in Iowa, Sen. Barack Obama’s transforming election as our 44th president offers America a fresh start.
Despite a deteriorating economy and two wars, on Long Island and across our nation the mood is ebullient. Yes, labor unions are ecstatic.
Labor’s outreach effort for Obama touched 13 million households in 24 battleground states, helping unleash a record-breaking turnout of Hispanics, Asians, blacks and young people – an electorate as diverse as the labor movement itself.
Fresh leadership in Washington, D.C., has sparked a sense of hope, of moving forward. On Election Day, Suffolk County passed a budget that funded needed services and doesn’t raise property taxes. Long Island Realtors are cautiously upbeat, telling us we’re doing OK so far compared to other parts of the country.
Polls show that Americans are demanding long-term, structural solutions to the deep economic problems we face. A Time magazine survey found that 82 percent favor government-funded, public work projects to jump-start the economy. That’s just what Obama has in mind.
The nation’s unemployment rate soared to a 14-year high of 6.5 percent in October as another 240,000 jobs were lost. Obama will make grants to state and local governments that have been hard hit by revenue losses from the economic downturn – Mayor Bloomberg’s new budget cuts 3,000 jobs in New York City. On Long Island, a federal stimulus package will energize projects already underway and open the door for new opportunities.
Creating jobs and rebuilding America’s middle class is what Obama’s presidential campaign was all about and voters gave him the most lopsided election victory for a Democrat since Lyndon Johnson whomped Barry Goldwater in 1964.
With that mandate, he can pursue the aggressive agenda America needs. And that includes the Employee Free Choice Act. Workers know that a union is their ticket to the middle class. The EFCA will give them the freedom to make their own decision about whether and how to form a union. There is no better economic stimulus – unions allow more people to bargain for better wages, which helps rebuild our middle class and create a prosperous economy.
Democrats didn’t have enough votes in the Senate last year to pass the EFCA, but the election changed all that. No need to tiptoe around the issue this time. Six newly elected senators strongly support the bill that President-elect Obama co-sponsored.
The legislation is overdue to raise the standard of living for workers, an essential ingredient of America’s fresh start.
John R. Durso is president of RWDSU Local 338 and international vice president of the United Food & Commercial Workers. He is also president of the Long Island Federation of Labor.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Builders to the rescue, face flak anyway
Amidst the reports this past week about the economic turmoil and financial chaos that looms on the horizon were two news stories about builders looking to develop significant housing projects on Long Island.
Given the Island's well-documented housing shortage - not to mention the utter lack of building activity of late that has idled every aspect of the industry as well as dried up several revenue streams for local municipalities - you would think that such announcements would be greeted with huzzahs, if not a parade down Main Street.
But no - this is Long Island. Both stories featured headlines highlighting the fact that local civic groups plan to fight the development.
The first, "Groups to fight planned development in Middle Island", appeared in Newsday on Wednesday. The following day saw this article, "Hicksville developer struggles to win over Islandia neighbors", appear in the Long Island Business News Flash Report.
There is hope, however. To her credit, Brookhaven Councilwoman Connie Kepert supports the project. She gets it, if you will, and is quoted in the article as saying, "the 39-acre project would be a boon for Brookhaven's tax base and fit into the town's development plan for Middle Island. She said the project includes about 18 acres of open space and would be a walkable, urban alternative to typical Long Island sprawl."
The article also mentions that the developer, Frank Weber of Sandy Hollow Estates, has the right to build 34 single-family homes on the property under the current zoning. Kepert smartly points out the sewage treatment plant planned for the development would release less nitrogen than 34 homes built without the plant.
The developer plans to leave 18 acres for open, walkable space at no cost to the local taxpayer. That fact is buried six paragraphs into the story, however, and is conveniently ignored by Dick Amper, the leader of the groups vowing to fight the effort.
The second article reports on Pinewood Development Corp.'s plans to build a condo community where a horse farm now stands. The neighbors say the "traffic will be a nightmare," even though the horse farm itself at one time accommodated hundreds of customers and tractor-trailers coming and going all week long. The owner of the horse farm, according to the article, can no longer keep his farm operating at a profit and is perfectly within his right to sell his property to Pinewood.
The Long Island Builders Institute will keep a close eye on both projects. We salute Councilwoman Kepert for her willingness to consider the big picture, although we fear in doing so we will make her a target of Amper's Army. Of course, her day job involves teaching teenagers in high school so we have no doubts about her ability to deal with the angst Amper plans to send her way.
Given the Island's well-documented housing shortage - not to mention the utter lack of building activity of late that has idled every aspect of the industry as well as dried up several revenue streams for local municipalities - you would think that such announcements would be greeted with huzzahs, if not a parade down Main Street.
But no - this is Long Island. Both stories featured headlines highlighting the fact that local civic groups plan to fight the development.
The first, "Groups to fight planned development in Middle Island", appeared in Newsday on Wednesday. The following day saw this article, "Hicksville developer struggles to win over Islandia neighbors", appear in the Long Island Business News Flash Report.
There is hope, however. To her credit, Brookhaven Councilwoman Connie Kepert supports the project. She gets it, if you will, and is quoted in the article as saying, "the 39-acre project would be a boon for Brookhaven's tax base and fit into the town's development plan for Middle Island. She said the project includes about 18 acres of open space and would be a walkable, urban alternative to typical Long Island sprawl."
The article also mentions that the developer, Frank Weber of Sandy Hollow Estates, has the right to build 34 single-family homes on the property under the current zoning. Kepert smartly points out the sewage treatment plant planned for the development would release less nitrogen than 34 homes built without the plant.
The developer plans to leave 18 acres for open, walkable space at no cost to the local taxpayer. That fact is buried six paragraphs into the story, however, and is conveniently ignored by Dick Amper, the leader of the groups vowing to fight the effort.
The second article reports on Pinewood Development Corp.'s plans to build a condo community where a horse farm now stands. The neighbors say the "traffic will be a nightmare," even though the horse farm itself at one time accommodated hundreds of customers and tractor-trailers coming and going all week long. The owner of the horse farm, according to the article, can no longer keep his farm operating at a profit and is perfectly within his right to sell his property to Pinewood.
The Long Island Builders Institute will keep a close eye on both projects. We salute Councilwoman Kepert for her willingness to consider the big picture, although we fear in doing so we will make her a target of Amper's Army. Of course, her day job involves teaching teenagers in high school so we have no doubts about her ability to deal with the angst Amper plans to send her way.
Monday, September 22, 2008
The Truth Shall Set Us Free - or At Least Shed Some Light on the Situation
Good morning!
There was some interesting reading over the weekend pertaining to the home building and home remodeling industries.
First was this week's Long Island Business Newscover story: "sex, lies and property taxes". David Winzelberg's well-researched piece debunks the notion that housing development equals over-whelmed school districts. It's must reading for anyone planning to seek approval(s) for a housing project in the near future.
The second article "Debating How Green to Go" was written by Marcelle Fischler and appeared in the real estate section of the Sunday New York Times. It draws attention to Southampton's well-intentioned-but-flawed attempts to became the first town in the nation to tie HERS ratings to the size of the house (in other words, the bigger house the more energy efficient it has to be).
The third article was by Mark Harrington in Newsday. It reported on a study issued by the Network for New Energy Choices. The study examines how the trend toward local municipalities demanding more energy accountability is further encumbering the permit approval process.
Hopefully these articles will help shed some light on the realities of home building and remodeling on Long Island. LIBI members strive to do the right thing - especially when it comes to energy efficiencies. Sometimes the "right thing" gets muddled in the process, however, especially when other factions' idea of what the "right thing" is impossible to achieve.
I would to hear your comments on these pieces.
There was some interesting reading over the weekend pertaining to the home building and home remodeling industries.
First was this week's Long Island Business Newscover story: "sex, lies and property taxes". David Winzelberg's well-researched piece debunks the notion that housing development equals over-whelmed school districts. It's must reading for anyone planning to seek approval(s) for a housing project in the near future.
The second article "Debating How Green to Go" was written by Marcelle Fischler and appeared in the real estate section of the Sunday New York Times. It draws attention to Southampton's well-intentioned-but-flawed attempts to became the first town in the nation to tie HERS ratings to the size of the house (in other words, the bigger house the more energy efficient it has to be).
The third article was by Mark Harrington in Newsday. It reported on a study issued by the Network for New Energy Choices. The study examines how the trend toward local municipalities demanding more energy accountability is further encumbering the permit approval process.
Hopefully these articles will help shed some light on the realities of home building and remodeling on Long Island. LIBI members strive to do the right thing - especially when it comes to energy efficiencies. Sometimes the "right thing" gets muddled in the process, however, especially when other factions' idea of what the "right thing" is impossible to achieve.
I would to hear your comments on these pieces.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
