Islanders fans score big at town board meeting
Photo credit: James A. Escher / June 26, 2009/Photo by James A. Escher | Uniondale, NY - June 26, 2009: New York Islanders fans packed inside the floor of Nassau Coliseum anxiously await the team's selection in the 2009 NHL Draft. Moments later, fans erupted in celebration as the Islanders announced its selection of highly regarded prospect John Tavares with the first pick the draft. (photo by James A. Escher)
Lighthouse Public Hearing at Hofstra University
Politicians, Fans Rally in Support of Lighthouse Project
Lighthouse plans
Lighthouse Project hearings & rallies
To paraphrase the old sports observation, I went to a Hempstead Town Board meeting yesterday and a hockey game broke out. What's more, the Islanders won, big.
On the official calendar, it technically was a hearing convened by Supervisor Kate Murray on the Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement for the Lighthouse Project at Nassau Coliseum. But don't you believe it. In reality it was a public referendum on the future of the Islanders. The people spoke, loudly. They want the team to stay and they want it badly.
Take it from this former town beat reporter. Public hearings are held every week, but they never are like this one. The meetings generally are not held in a two-tiered theater. The audience normally doesn't give the developer a standing ovation. Usually, these meetings are known for perfunctory "yea” votes like the one early on yesterday's agenda, for public parking field maps in Baldwin.
This meeting was different because Islanders fans made it so. In fact, if the Lighthouse development -- anchored by a refurbished Coliseum -- does get done, it will be because Islanders fans drove the train. Credit Islanders owner and Lighthouse co-developer Charles Wang with having the genius to make his $4-billion proposal tied inextricably to the Islanders' future. But he gets only an assist here. He's the John Tonelli to the fans' Bob Nystrom. If this goes
through (and it looks as if it will), fans will have scored the goal.
Fans have put heat on politicians, fans have not let this wither on the vine. With due respect to all the potential jobs, tax benefits, housing opportunities and civic vitality that the Lighthouse is promising, what packed the house and brought it down at Hofstra yesterday was every mention of the Islanders. These are people up for a good scrap -- knowing, as hockey fans do, that their favorite sport can get so rough
that comedians used to say, "I went to a fight last night and a hockey game broke out.”
"I think it's something that's just inherent here, whether it's supporting charities or helping causes,” said Nystrom, who spoke at the hearing after his 1980 Cup-winning goal was shown during Wang's video presentation. "If you're a fan on Long Island, you're a diehard fan. They rock the building. When they get into something, they do it wholeheartedly.”
Although NHL commissioner Gary Bettman rightly praised Wang's patience in sustaining tens of millions of dollars in losses, the truth is that fans have been patient longer. The once-great team hasn't won a playoff series in 16 years. Good memories run deep. If the Lighthouse comes to pass, it will be one last big hit for Denis Potvin, one more win for Al Arbour.
Hall of Famer Mike Bossy, who works on the business side for the Islanders and drew big cheers when he spoke yesterday, said afterward, "There are obviously fans who have given up. You have them everywhere. But there are fans who are just dying for us to get into the playoffs, win a playoff series and have some sort of buzz.”
Fans are willing to overlook the pitfalls: The Islanders have made layoffs right and left. If Wang can't afford the salary of the assistant public relations guy or the radio announcers, where is he going to get $4 billion? And how much will he have left to spend on the roster?
All that mattered to the faithful yesterday was that the Islanders keep playing on Long Island rather than, say, Kansas City. Wang sparked the passion in fans last year with a not-so-veiled threat to move the team. That turned out to be a master stroke by a man who was summarily turned down two years ago to build a 166-acre development in Old Plainview.
On the Lighthouse, Wang has shown more good moves than Pierre Turgeon. He attracted an all-star list of supportive speakers yesterday: Bettman, Bishop William Murphy, Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi and the heads of North Hempstead Town, Hofstra, the Long Island Association and the Uniondale school board.
But his real all-stars were in the seats. They deserve to keep their team on the Island, with all-stars on the new ice.
