Desmond Ryan, veteran lobbyist, to retire from ABLI
Desmond Ryan, left, of the Association for a Better Long Island, and Bill Wahlig, of the Long Island Forum for Technology, attend the Regional Economic Development Council meeting in Stony Brook on June 20, 2012. Credit: Barry Sloan
A leading lobbyist for the local real estate industry, Desmond Ryan, will retire as executive director of the Association for a Better Long Island at year’s end after 25 years.
Ryan, 64, of St. James, who has battled on issues including Nassau tax certioraris in Nassau redevelopment of the Nassau Colesium, said he will have some clients, but “it’s time to lower the tempo just a bit.”
Ryan served as an aide to former Suffolk County Executive John V.N. Klein and Assembly Speaker Perry Duryea, and was a Washington, D.C., lobbyist for Grumman, which built the F-14 Tomcat jet fighter.
“Typically, he not only knows the heart and soul of some complex issue, but he also knows also the wedding anniversary date of the legislative assistant who briefs the elected official on that issue,” said Laureen Harris, ABLI’s president.
ABLI will launch a search for a Ryan’s successor.
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