Testing the waters on LI's 'blue economy'

Daily Point

Newsday's nextLI report presented at LIA event

It’s not often that a Long Island Association meeting evolves into the introduction of a new area of the economy on which the region could capitalize.

But at a lunch meeting Thursday, dozens of business leaders, elected officials and others discussed the potential of the “blue economy” — the combination of water-related sectors ranging from offshore wind and marine construction to aquaculture and tourism — that could result in billions of dollars in new economic activity and tax revenue and up to 60,000 new jobs.

The conversation stemmed from a report on the “blue economy” commissioned by Newsday Opinion’s nextLI initiative, a resource and digital community that offers nonpartisan research on issues impacting the region and continues the legacy of the Long Island Index, a project by the Rauch Foundation.

The research, which was conducted by HR & A Advisors Inc. and is available at next.newsday.com, details the industries that the “blue economy” could encompass and the potential policy initiatives that could help it grow.

“There are opportunities for Long Island right now to grow this blue economy,” HR & A director Jamison Dague said, pointing to the Island’s geography, its research institutions and its skilled labor force.

But building it even further will require policy changes at the state and local levels and other efforts, from adding housing and infrastructure to investing in incubators and research, to streamlining permitting.

And the question of what’s possible for the “blue economy” is where the LIA and others at the luncheon come in, said HR & A partner Shuprotim Bhaumik, in terms of the “policy initiatives, some of the things that you all as the business community, as local elected officials, policymakers, should think about to support this growing industry.”

The importance of the jobs and activity a “blue economy” industry could produce was underscored during a panel discussion that followed the presentation, where East End advocates and business representatives emphasized the significant challenges they’re having, particularly in terms of staffing, housing, traffic and business development.

LIA chief executive Matt Cohen noted Thursday that the association’s new East End Business Support Program and East End committee would seek to help meet some of those needs.

— Randi F. Marshall @RandiMarshall 

Pencil Point

GOP food fight

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Reference Point

Still wanted: Housing in Hicksville

If the to-do list sounds familiar, that’s because it hasn’t changed much in 40 years.

In 1983, Hicksville resident William M. Payoski wrote a letter to the editor, in which he described the changes he’d like to see come to his hamlet.

Retail stores, such as supermarkets and bakeries. A park. And “affordable, attractive housing for our young and our senior citizens,” preferably located near stores.

But while he wanted those improvements, Payoski, like many Hicksville residents today, argued against the “direct urbanization of a once thriving and typically suburban community.” He lamented the widening of Route 107 and the addition of “unbecoming” commercial and office space. And he noted that it’s virtually impossible to define the borders of Hicksville’s business district — which remains true today.

Then there are the “empty weed- and litter-strewn lots,” which, Payoski noted, had been vacant for 16 years at that point. It likely wouldn’t surprise any Hicksville resident if some of those same lots are still vacant even now!

Of course, like many of today’s Hicksville residents, he didn’t want significant height in new buildings, and worried about the number of commuters and, especially, the constant need for more parking.

And indeed, parking continues to be a factor in development decisions in Hicksville. Most recently, the Town of Oyster Bay and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority fought over the construction of a parking garage in Hicksville that might have allowed more development. In February, the Newsday editorial board talked about the long delays, caused in part by that parking dispute, in moving Hicksville forward, adding that Hicksville still isn’t getting the kind or amount of housing it needs to “create a vibrant, walkable downtown community.”

Payoski might agree.

— Randi F. Marshall @RandiMarshall and Amanda Fiscina-Wells @adfiscina