LI destination center wanted

Long Island Association president Kevin Law has an ambitious agenda for this year. He shared one of his most novel ideas just before New Year's.

Law said he thinks it's high time Long Island had a "destination center." This, according to Law, would be a place that Long Islanders and tourists could use as a meeting place, a place to shop and dine, and also a place where the New York Islanders could play hockey. Such a place, Law suggested, might even be a refurbished Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale.

Such details are a long way from being worked out, Law said. But, he said, "Why couldn't Long Island have something like this? There are all these small cities across the country" that have such facilities. The Island, with a population around 3 million, is larger than most of them.

E. Christopher Murray, president of the Nassau Council Chambers of Commerce, said that while the idea was nice, a better place for such activities would be the Island's struggling downtowns. None of them might be able to house a professional hockey rink, Murray admitted. But they could have entertainment.

Jazzing up the downtowns, Murray said, "is more doable" than a mega-project.