Press Release

4th Annual Smart Growth Awards

“Ideas to Implementation”

June 17th, 11:30AM – 2:00PM

Crest Hollow Country Club

8325 Jericho Tpke, Woodbury NY

On Friday, June 17th , the Crest Hollow Country Club hosted the fourth annual Smart Growth Awards. Established by Vision Long Island, a non-profit organization committed to advancing quality growth and preservation, the awards honored individuals, organizations and projects embracing Smart Growth Principles. This year, five projects, two towns, and three villages were honored. The luncheon was emceed by Vision Long Island Board Member former Suffolk County Executive Patrick Halpin.

Smart Growth offers solutions to the problems caused and complicated by  Long Island's suburban sprawl and accompanying traffic congestion.  Principles focus on preserving community character, protecting open space and the environment, and strengthening local economies. Smart Growth embraces communities in which citizens can walk, work, shop, and enjoy their downtown areas. 

“Smart Growth is important for all the right reasons. And frankly, it's the only way we're going to be able to sustain ourselves going forward," says Ron Stein, Board President of Vision Long Island , "If we don't contain and reverse the course of development, we will be strangled by it. This is about the long term survival of this region, and the fight is on. " 

Despite significant challenges, this year's honorees are a testament that  Long Island is starting to put up a good fight. This year, the awards attracted over 300 participants representing a broad spectrum of Long Island leaders and advocates.

Honorees Included: 

Regional Leadership

  Nancy Douzinas, President, The Rauch Foundation

Creating a Mix of Uses

   New Gerard, Huntington, Heatherwood Communities

Taking Advantage of Compact Building Design

   Avalon at Glen Cove , Avalon Bay

Providing Opportunities & Choices for a Range of Household Types, Family Sizes, & Incomes

   Vivian Viloria Fisher, Legislator, Suffolk County

Creating Walkable Neighborhoods

   Traffic Calming Program, Village of Great Neck Plaza

Fostering Distinctive, Attractive Communities with a Sense of Place

   David Kapell, Mayor, Village of Greenport

Preserving Open Space, Farmland, Natural Beauty, Historic & Critical Environmental Areas

   Waterfront Revitalization Program, NYS Department of State

Reinvesting in and Strengthening Existing Communities

   New Cassel Revitalization – Town of North Hempstead

    Sustainable Long Island , Unified New Cassel Corporation

Providing a Variety of Transportation Choices

   Smart Growth Revitalization Initiative, Village of Westbury

   Bristal at Westbury, Engel Burman

Making Development Decisions Predictable, Fair and Cost Effective

   Riverhead Master Plan, Town of Riverhead

Encouraging Citizen and Stakeholder Participation in Development Decisions

   Lake Ronkonkoma Civic Organization

Fostering Clean Energy and Green Building Development

   Peter Caradonna, Architect

Honoree Images Available Here

Thalia Bouklas of the Lake Ronkonkoma Civic Organization received the first honor of the day for the organizations 's extraordinary efforts to organize and advance a community planning process for Portion Rd. in  Lake Ronkonkoma .  The leadership of the civic showed that a group of individuals organized against a road widening can evolve into a group of individuals promoting good planning.

Suffolk County Legislator Vivian Viloria-Fisher , was recognized for providing housing opportunities and choices for a range of household types through her advancement of Suffolk County 's open space bond act. This revolutionary legislation includes a carefully crafted transfer of development rights (TDR) component that manages to address two key issues - the environment and housing - effectively.

Mayor Jean Celender came to accept the award given to the Village of Great Neck Plaza, which was honored for extensive efforts to improve the walkability of the critical transportation hub. Completed improvements include a new roundabout, clearly defined pedestrian crossings, speed awareness devices, illuminated pedestrian crossing signs, and handicap-accessible sidewalk ramps.

Mayor Dave Kapell of the Village of Greenport received an award for fostering distinctive, attractive communities with a sense of place. The Village of Greenport has gone from an economically depressed area to a thriving community of businesses and families with the beautiful old Grumman Carousel at its centerpiece.

The Riverhead Master Plan earned itself an award for making development decisions fair, predictable, and cost effective. Supervisor Phil Cardinale accepted the award. The Town employed a variety of techniques to obtain a broad range of perspectives for the completion of its Comprehensive Plan, from stakeholders including residents, downtown business leaders, farmers, social service organizations, environmental advocacy groups, and others.

For the first time this year, VISION offered an award for clean energy and green building development. Architect Peter Caradonna received this award for his work on the East Setauket Firehouse.  The building, specifically designed to reflect the beauty and historic character of East Setauket , has had its plans approved by the US Green Building Council's LEED Green Building Rating System.

The last award was given to Nancy Douzinas, Rauch Foundation President, who was being honored for extensive work to advance a regional perspective in planning.  The Rauch Foundation, which was initially an organization founded to come to the aid of children who have not had the easiest walk in life, realized that a good start in planning enhances the opportunities of all in the community. Among their most notable accomplishments is the Long Island Index, an extraordinarily comprehensive examination of a broad variety of indicators impacting the region.

A new addition to the yearly awards program was the addition of Vision Long Island's first “Dumb Growth” award. President Ron Stein and Executive Director Eric Alexander presented the award to Wal-Mart, for it's negative impacts on downtown districts and its internal business tactics.

We appear to be at a turning point in Long Island 's Smart Growth Movement. For the first time, policies and projects are moving beyond individual principles toward real Smart Growth -- truly striving to reflect the whole context of the communities they impact.

Looking beyond the 2005 honorees, there is much to celebrate. As far as we can tell:

•  Developers have proposed 25 Smart Growth projects. Sixteen are in planning, three are in construction. Six have actually been completed.

•  Municipalities , including ten incorporated villages, have generated 30 Smart Growth projects. These are in various stages of completion.

•  Six towns have put forth initiatives to address affordable housing . Ten have active open space programs. Five have active downtown revitalization programs. Five towns are moving ahead with code changes to facilitate mixed use development.

•  Civic organizations island-wide are advancing beyond mere NIMBY resistance to demand active, positive roles in the shaping of their communities.

The 2005 Awards Event Journal (pdf) provides details on all of these awards.  It is now available on Vision Long Island's Website, www.visionlongisland.com.

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Click here for Honoree Images and More

North Hempstead Supervisor John Kaiman posing with Great Neck Plaza Mayor Jean Celender and Village Trustee Jay Ferkin