Kevin Law, who is leaving the Long Island Association effective April...

Kevin Law, who is leaving the Long Island Association effective April 1, will join East Setauket-based Tritec on April 19 as a partner and executive vice president. Credit: Howard Schnapp

Kevin Law, president and CEO of the Long Island Association business group, has been hired by developer Tritec Real Estate Co. to help with building projects in local downtowns, officials told Newsday.

Law, 60, will join East Setauket-based Tritec on April 19 as a partner and executive vice president. He also will be chairman of the company’s new Affordable Housing Team.

Law announced in February that he would be leaving the LIA, effective April 1, after leading the influential group for 10½ years. He is the second-longest serving chief in the LIA’s 95-year history.

Bob Coughlan, co-owner and co-founder of Tritec, said Law’s contacts in government and familiarity with the approval process for large building projects will help the company do more in downtowns. He also cited Law’s commitment to expanding the number of affordable apartments and homes by chairing the Long Island Housing Partnership board, which Coughlan serves on.

"The skill sets that Kevin has lend themselves to helping create those environments," Coughlan said on Tuesday, referring to downtown buildings with a mix of apartments, offices and shops. "Kevin knows Long Island better than anybody else. He can be very helpful in identifying locations that are appropriate for these types of projects and in helping to get them approved" by local officials.

Coughlan and his brother James founded Tritec 35 years ago. The company has developed about 90 projects in the metropolitan area and suburban Washington, D.C. A list of its notable local projects includes the Dealertrack headquarters in New Hyde Park, Jefferson’s Ferry in South Setauket, New Village at Patchogue and Stony Brook Technology Center.

Bob Coughlan said he began talking with Law about possibly joining Tritec a couple of years ago "and it started getting more serious in the last year."

Law said he was attracted to the Tritec job because of the Coughlan family and the opportunity to expand the number of affordable housing units on Long Island, an issue he’s been working on since the late 1980s.

The Coughlans’ "commitment to Long Island in terms of strengthening communities and revitalizing downtowns was a very big part of my decision to join Tritec," Law said.

He continued, "For the last 10½ years, I’ve been advocating for projects. Now, I have the opportunity to roll up my sleeves and actually be part of the development teams that get these projects done."

Prior to leading the LIA, Law was CEO and president of the Long Island Power Authority and worked as an attorney. He has been tapped by three governors and six county executives to lead initiatives in the past 30 years.

Law plans to continue to represent Suffolk County on the MTA board, chair the Stony Brook University Council and serve on the LIA board.

He announced on Tuesday that LIA vice president of government affairs and communications Matthew Cohen will run the group’s day-to-day operations with oversight from board chairman Lawrence J. Waldman until a new president and CEO is named.

LIA board member Katherine Heaviside said it received "a number of applications" for the president/CEO job as of the March 26 deadline. "It’s important that we make the right decision, not a quick decision," she said. "We’re going to do this in a careful and responsible way."

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