Long Island downtown redevelopment must move forward

When the Village of Amityville and Town of Riverhead recently won $10 million each in the state's Downtown Revitalization Initiative contest, they beat out 17 other Long Island municipalities seeking the same pot.

But the victory was the easy part.

The state's 5-year-old DRI contest encourages local communities to redevelop their downtowns, particularly around their train stations. This year, the region's two winners deserve congratulations; both have tremendous potential to reshape their future.

To get there, there are lessons to learn and challenges to overcome. It's not an easy process, as it requires jumping through bureaucratic hoops, holding community meetings, engaging in plenty of back-and-forth with the state, and having committed leaders willing to stand up to opposition.

Long Island's first winner, Westbury, has had particular success, rezoning its train station area and moving forward with new projects, along with streetscaping and additional improvements. The region's other winners — Hicksville, Central Islip, and Baldwin — are further behind. In some cases, the pandemic led to slowdowns. In others, a lack of strong leadership, community pushback or insufficient infrastructure has caused roadblocks.

Now, it'll be up to Riverhead Supervisor Yvette Aguiar and Amityville Mayor Dennis M. Siry to capitalize on their wins and successfully guide their communities through the DRI process.

In an interview with the editorial board, Aguiar noted that this was the fourth time Riverhead had applied for the DRI, and each time the town received advice that helped improve its plans. Riverhead is "shovel ready," she said. That bodes well. Siry, meanwhile, noted that as a past member of the village zoning board, he used to be more apt to say "no," but has since come to understand that Amityville needs the kind of redevelopment the DRI will provide. Siry said he looks up to Patchogue Mayor Paul Pontieri, a model in terms of leading village redevelopment.

Both Aguiar and Siry would be wise to study past successes and failures so they can better navigate the process. In Central Islip, the need for funding for completing sewer hookups has been a holdup. In Hicksville, an unfortunate lack of big thinking by the Town of Oyster Bay has hurt progress, along with disagreements between town and Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials and a lack of clear communication. After significant delays and changes, it seems some scaled-back projects may move forward.

Those situations also make clear that state officials need to monitor progress, guide municipalities, and play a larger role in making sure the money is used well. Also key for Amityville and Riverhead, and for the region: balancing easier improvements, like traffic calming, streetscaping and other cosmetic improvements, with more significant construction, including housing, retail, office space and more.

With steadfast leadership, thoughtful vision, and a willingness to do what's hard, Long Island's newest DRI victors have the opportunity to win a far larger prize.