Nassau submits Hub project plan for funds

Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano submitted an economic development plan to the state Friday for the Hub area, although it's unclear what the proposal envisions for the aging Nassau Coliseum.

The application, which Deputy County Executive Rob Walker refused to release because of "nondisclosure agreements with certain interested parties," was submitted to the Empire State Development Corp. as a "transformative project."

"It's going to be good," said Walker, who declined to elaborate on the proposal.

Nassau's submission will compete with other projects from across Long Island. The Long Island Regional Economic Development Council will select its top projects to compete with nine other regions for a total of $220 million in capital funds.

An additional $530 million, pooled from 12 state agencies, will be distributed by the state.

Kevin Law, co-vice chairman of the council, said he was anxious to review Nassau's proposal. The panel will make its decision in September.

"I'm hopeful that it's a plan that's doable both financially and from the land use perspective," said Law, who heads the Long Island Association, the region's largest business group. "I hope it's more modest in terms of a request."

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Last October, Nassau requested $253 million from the state through the first round of council funding awards. The county's pitch for the 77-acre Hub failed to receive any of the $101.6 million given to Long Island's 66 winning projects

This year, Long Island is hoping to receive a maximum of $25 million in total aid, which would be split among the winning projects. Those funds would provide only a fraction of what's needed to build a new arena, parking garage and infrastructure improvements.

"I don't think any one funding stream is going to be the magic bullet here," said Eric Alexander, who heads Vision Long Island, a smart growth group. "You're going to need multiple layers of funding."

The Islanders' lease on the Coliseum expires in 2015, and team owner Charles Wang has said he will not keep the team in the existing arena beyond that.

Stuart Rabinowitz, president of Hofstra University and co-vice chairman of the Long Island Regional Economic Development Council, said Thursday he hopes any future plan for the Hub will include business incubators and laboratories for technology businesses.

Last August, voters rejected a referendum authorizing Nassau to borrow up to $400 million to build a new Coliseum and a minor-league ballpark on the site.

In an interview last month, Mangano said he was looking at low-interest financing options, which could help to bring down the project's cost. With James T. Madore