Port Authority chief: Casino on to-do list

At the Long Island Association's annual State of the Counties Report breakfast at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury on Friday, one of the biggest rounds of applause was reserved for someone who doesn't even work on Long Island anymore.Pat Foye, who in November was named by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo as executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, appeared as the governor's representative. The Cuomo administration, Foye said, had many major accomplishments in its first year -- an on-time budget, a property tax cap and the closing of a multibillion-dollar budget deficit.

But Foye added, "There's more to do." One of those things has to do with casino gambling. Cuomo has called for amending the state constitution to allow casino gambling and construction of the "world's largest convention center" at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens to boost tourism and revenues.

For those skittish about gambling, Foye noted, there are already 29 gaming facilities in the state: "We are surrounded by gambling."

He spends most of his time now, he said, "north and west" of the Crest Hollow (in Manhattan and Albany) but wanted to re-establish his "Long Island creds." He has been an economic adviser to Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano, an attorney with the Uniondale law firm Rivkin Radler and chief executive of United Way of Long Island.

Being back in front of a Long Island audience felt good, he said, adding, "I never left Long Island. I've lived on Long Island for 22 years, and I'm still there, and I have no plans to leave."