Study finds LI has strong economic assets

Long Island is better positioned to compete in the global economy than most other regions of New York State, preliminary results of a new study show.

The research, to be released in September, lauds the skilled workforce in Nassau and Suffolk counties, proximity to New York City and international airports, abundance of research laboratories and growing immigrant population as advantages for businesses here. It calls for increased cooperation between governments to strengthen such assets.

However, the study also identifies high taxes and housing costs, an exodus of young people and income disparity as undercutting Long Island's ability to attract and retain companies.

"Globalization really benefits downstate because New York City is one of the few places with so many competitive industries, including finance, media, legal services and architecture," said Jonathan Bowles, director of the Manhattan-based Center for An Urban Future, which conducted the research.

He continued, "Long Island benefits from that because 20 percent of the workforce commutes to New York City, mostly to high-paying jobs on Wall Street, in law and accounting."

Bowles spoke about the statewide study Monday at Farmingdale State College. He said it had been commissioned by SUNY's Levin Institute, which studies New York State's place in the world.

Institute president Garrick Utley, a former television reporter, said Long Island, unlike parts of upstate, hasn't been devastated by the loss of manufacturing jobs to foreign countries because the local economy is more diverse. He also said small businesses account for a lot of commercial activity.

Still, Utley illustrated one of the region's biggest challenges by asking how many of the 20 Farmingdale State students at the event planned to remain here after graduation. Only five raised their hands.

The percentage of people age 25 to 44 in the overall population fell about 8 percent in both Nassau and Suffolk between 1990 and 2009, the study found.

Bowles cited one executive from a large high-technology company who blamed housing costs. The executive said he was having great difficulty in filling more than 50 engineering jobs. "You can't expect them to live in their parents' basements," he told the center's researchers.

Charles Ryan, a senior vice president at the Manhattan-based pharmaceutical giant Forest Laboratories Inc., nodded his head in agreement.

He said the company, which is consolidating its nine local operations in Commack and Hauppauge, has trouble recruiting workers because of housing costs, taxes and traffic congestion. Once they move here, however, they tend to stay because of the quality public schools, beaches and other attractions.

"We have all the ingredients for a great soufflé, we just need to get it to rise," Ryan added.

The audience, which included business people and government officials, reacted positively to the study. One man noted a reference to immigrants' accounting for 16 percent of Long Island's population and 18 percent of its economic output, including a sizable portion from immigrant-owned businesses.

"It's a positive that immigrants want to come here . . . Parts of upstate New York are trying to get immigrants to move there to increase the population," Utley said.

The Farmingdale event was the second in a series of statewide forums by the institute to engage business and political leaders about how to improve economic competitiveness.