REGIONAL LEADERS
Robert
Cattell
Keyspan
2003
KeySpan is demonstrating itself to be a true leader of Smart Growth on Long Island. With its Cinderella Grants Program revitalizing blighted downtowns, its efforts to preserve 533-acres of waterfront property while advancing the preservation and commemoration of Long Island heritage, and its strong support of Smart Growth organizations such as Vision Long Island, KeySpan exemplifies a spectrum of opportunities Long Island business leaders have to secure their investments in the future of Long Island.
In 2002, KeySpan sold a 533-acre waterfront parcel to the State of New York as part of the State’s Open Space Conservation Plan. They provided the property for $16 million, lower than its appraised value, of which $1.5 million will go to local governments to soften the impact on tax rolls. KeySpan inherited the property in 1998 from the Long Island Lighting Company, which bought it in 1973 to build two nuclear power plants. The property, located on the North Fork in Jamesport, is the largest remaining undeveloped parcel on the United States East Coast.
Under the sale agreement, 300 of the 533 acres will be preserved as prime farmland that can never be developed. Most of the remaining land – including bluffs, sand dunes, woodlands and a freshwater pond – will be turned into a state park. There will also be a 20-acre restoration farm on the property and two-acre museum, commemorating the land’s farming history.
KeySpan’s Cinderella Grant program has provided grants to a number of downtown and community projects throughout Long Island. In addition, KeySpan’s community and government relations departments have provided technical and financial support for many conferences and workshops on land use, affordable housing, and Brownfields. They were also significant contributors to Long Island’s first Smart Growth Summit.
Nancy Douzinas, President of the Rauch Foundation, is being honored for her organization’s significant strides toward a regional approach to problem solving on Long Island.
The leadership that Nancy brings to the table is combination of careful monitoring of national models and challenging Long Island leadership to think as a region. The Rauch Foundation has a long history of supporting programs that facilitate systemic change for children and families, protect the environment and improve quality of life. A major priority is partnering with corporations, institutions of higher education, the media, nonprofits, and other funders to find and advance solutions to recognized problems.
In recent years, the Rauch Foundation has focused on the question of how Long Island is faring as a region — How do its suburbs compare with the northern suburbs of New York City and other areas competing for workers and capital? Are quality of life factors improving or getting worse? Is Long Island the kind of place that attracts and retains young talent?
Over the past 18 months, the Foundation has underwritten three major public opinion surveys on the quality of life on Long Island, convened seven meetings and produced the Long Island Index, a progress report on Long Island that is available online at www.longislandindex.org.
The Long Island Index is an example of such a project where regional issues are addressed. This extraordinarily comprehensive report examines social, economic, environmental, and other issues. It provides a broad range of statistics, trends, public opinion and awareness reports, as well as analyses and opportunities. It represents a major commitment by the Foundation to facilitate the coming together of Long Island’s leaders and to carry out their agreed upon recommendation to develop an indicators program for the Long Island region.
The Foundation’s Board has made a three-year financial commitment to this initiative. During this time, they will be closely evaluating its use and impact. Clearly, it is a resource Long Island is fortunate to have.
Richard Bivone’s leadership and problem-solving qualities have made him a critical partner in planning the future of Nassau County. Rich effectively fosters understanding among diverse interests, and successfully brings them together. He asks the tough questions and moves the region to think collectively, while acknowledging enlightened and legitimate self interests.
As president of the Nassau Council of Chambers of Commerce, Rich has taken a keen interest in land use planning. Quite frankly, without his leadership many local business leaders would be caught in the spin cycle of NIMBY reaction. He not only moves his constituency to consider how land use decisions will affect local businesses, he brings these stakeholders to think along regional lines and to consider impacts on Long Island’s economy as a whole.
Rich was a key element in forming the Nassau Business and Community and Planning Coalition (NBCPC), a unique partnership between the Nassau Council of Chambers of Commerce, the Nassau Village Officials Association, Vision Long Island, and environmental and civic groups.
The NBCPC meets regularly to learn about and to provide input on County efforts in the Nassau Hub and other key initiatives. Notably, in 2005, the coalition hosted interactive presentations by County officials and the potential developers of Nassau Coliseum. Much of the Coalition’s work remains as final plans for Coliseum redevelopment are pending and other key issues move to the fore, We look forward to working with Rich in the future, and salute his role as a valuable partner in the advancement of Smart Growth Island-wide.