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“The LEED for Neighborhood Development Rating System is an excellent standard for ways to encourage more sustainable land use, to reduce carbon emissions from transportation, protect habitat and to create more livable communities” - Marc Wouters, Congress for the New Urbanism, New York Chapter |
CondecoCondeco Development, LLC, based in Deer Park, has a high success rate in downtown redevelopment. In 2008, Condeco won a Smart Growth Award for rehabilitating an aging, 4-story historic building in the downtown of Port Washington into a mixed-use building with retail and residential uses. We commend them for their work throughout the Island and thank them for their continued support! Become a supporter of Smart Growth
Vision Long Island prides itself on having a broad range of supporters. Become one today. A donation as small as $50 buys outreach materials to help a community build support for their vision. $500 sponsors an entire newsletter. $5,000 makes you a lead sponsor of our Smart Growth Summit, buying 10 tickets and a key branding opportunity for your organization. |
Register now for the 2010 Smart Growth Awards
The eight Smart Growth Awards will honor individuals and organizations taking leadership in advancing Smart Growth projects, policies, regulations and initiatives. The Awards will be handed out on Friday, June 18th from 11:30am-2pm at the Crest Hollow Country Club. 
Registration information is available here. |
Vision co-hosts first LEED®-ND conference
This past Tuesday, March 23rd, Vision Long Island co-sponsored not only Long Island's, but the possibly the country's first ever LEED®-ND Conference, along with the Sustainability Institute at Molloy College (where the conference took place), the US Green Building Council Long Island Chapter, and the Congress for the New Urbanism New York Chapter.. The conference drew nearly 100 attendees from various sectors in the region and beyond.
The full day conference reviewed, in detail, all credits for the new program, recently approved by the CNU, USGBC and Natural Resources Defense Council after a successful pilot program. LEED®-ND stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, Neighborhood Development. Accreditation is based on a point scale from different categories, prerequisites and credits.There are a total of 110 points, 10 of which are bonus points. The levels for certification are: Certified: 40-49 points; Silver: 50-59 points; Gold: 60-79 points; and Platinum: 80 points and above. There are three major categories, each of which was covered by a different panel.
The first category is Smart Location and Linkage. There are five prerequisites that do not give points, but are necessary to get any points in the category: Smart Location, Imperiled Species and Ecological Communities, Wetland and Water Body Conservation, Agricultural Land Conservation, and Floodplain Avoidance. From there, up to 27 points can be gained in 9 areas, including Preferred Locations, Brownfield Redevelopment, Locations with Reduced Automobile Dependence, Bicycle Network and Storage, Housing and Jobs Proximity, Steep Slope Protection, and Site Design, Restoration, and Long-Term Conservation Management for Habitat or Wetland and Water Body. Panelists who covered this category included Mike Lydon of Streets Plan Collaborative and co-author of the Smart Growth Manual, Marc Wouters of Cooper, Robertson, & Partners and a CNU-NY member, Michael Gianchetta of the USGBC-LI, Neal Lewis of the Sustainability Institute and Luis Miguel Salinas of PS&S. The panel was moderated by Vision's Eric Alexander.
The second category is Neighborhood Pattern and Design, which gets into the heart of many Smart Growth principles. There are three prerequisites: Walkable Streets, Compact Development, and Connected and Open Community. There are then 15 categories than can accrue up to 44 possible points. They include: Walkable Streets, Compact Development, Mixed-Use Neighborhood Centers, Mixed-Income Diverse Communities, Reduced Parking Footprint, Street Network, Transit Facilities, Transportation Demand Management, Access to Civic and Public Spaces, Access to Recreation Facilities, Visitability and Universal Design, Community Outreach and Involvement, Local Food Production, Tree-Lined and Shaded Streets, and Neighborhood Schools. Panelists included Alex Latham of ADL III Architecture, David Kim of Anderson Kim Architecture and Urban Design, Brandon Palanker of Renaissance Downtowns and Jay Valgora of Studio V. It was moderated by Vision's Elissa Ward.
Finally, panelists covered the third category: Green Infrastructure and Building. These "non-sexy" items focus on going green in a traditional sense and can gain applicants up to 29 points. The four prerequisites are Certified Green Building (need at least one on the project site), Minimum Building Energy Efficiency, Minimum Building Water Efficiency, and Construction Activity Pollution Prevention. The 17 credits include: Certified Green Buildings, Building Energy Efficiency, Building Water Efficiency, Water-Efficient Landscaping, Existing Building Reuse, Historic Resource Preservation and Adaptive Reuse, Minimized Site Disturbance in Design and Construction, Stormwater Management, Heat Island Reduction, Solar Orientation, On-Site Renewable Energy Sources, District Heating and Cooling, Infrastructure Energy Efficiency, Wastewater Management, Recycled Content in Infrastructure, Solid Waste Management Infrastructure, and Light Pollution Reduction. Panelists for this category included Paul Cataldo of USGBC-LI, Councilman Steve Fiore-Rosenfeld of the Town of Brookhaven, Joseph Fleming of PS&S, Michael Gianchetta of USGBC-LI and Andrew Mannit of Neighborhood Network. It was moderated by Keith Samaroo of PS&S. There are a few ways to gain extra credits. You can send a request to the USGBC for 1-5 Innovation and Design Process points, which either do not fit into any categories or go above-and-beyond what is there. You can get one point for having a LEED® Accredited Professional on the project's staff. There are also Regional Priority Credits, which vary based on zip code.
Each panel included an engaging question and answer session, from which a few central themes arose. We need to establish the political will to build LEED-ND: this will include community education and involvement. Perhaps the biggest impediment to LEED-ND development is existing zoning that allows sprawl to perpetuate. Moving forward we will need strong partnerships between municipalities, the private sector, and not for profit sectors. Additional comments centered around pre-car age town planning, which allows a great framework to redevelop for LEED-ND. People wanted to see a focus on affordable housing and affordable transit. Finally, the panelists announced that some points are difficult to go after. However, moving forward, the panelists and attendees were hopeful that LEED-ND will become the new building trend throughout the country! We will need strong partnerships between municipalities, the private sector, and not for profit sectors.
Top row, from left: Paul Cataldo (USGBC-LI Chapter), Andrew Mannit (Neighborhood Network), Mike Gianchetta (USGBC-LI Chapter), Hon. Steve Fiore-Rosenfeld (Councilman, Town of Brookhaven), Neal Lewis (Sustainability Institute at Molloy College), Joe Fleming (PS&S) More details available on LI Youth Summit
A few weeks ago, Vision covered the first ever Long Island Youth Summit for high school students, hosted by Dowling College. The event was a huge success, covered on the front page of Newsday and inspiring a wealth of young Long Islanders ready to be community activists. More information is now available on the Youth Summit. Dowling has published their offical post-event press release, available here. It includes more details on the results of each of the seven workshops, including Open Space and Water; Renewable Energy; Housing; Transportation; LI Economic Growth and Employment; LI Governance and Civic Activism; and Race, Class, and Education. We should listen to the teens' intelligent solutions to Long Island's biggest challenges! Vision covered the event in last week's issue of SmartTalk. Transportation costs make Long Island even less affordable, study finds
A new report found that Long Island is unaffordable due not to taxes or housing, but sky-high transportation costs. The Chicago-based Center for Neighborhood Technology released its nationwide study this week, called The Housing and Transportation Affordability Index. While many affordability guidelines say that housing is affordable if it costs 30% or less of a person's income, this index measures the true cost of housing based on its location by measuring the transportation costs associated with place. An area is considered affordable if under 45% of the median income is spent on housing and transportation (30% for housing and 15% for transportation). Transportation is the second largest expense for many households and is also the fastest-growing, the report said. The Center's president, Scott Brenstein, said that low transportation costs can be the difference between paying the mortgage and entering foreclosure: "The majority of people who move father out, chasing what they think is cheap housing, end up being fooled," he said. On Long Island, the average household has 1.7 cars and people drive long distances to get to jobs, shopping and entertainment; not to mention the cost of insurance, gas and buying the car. When compared to city centers where people do not rely on cars for transportation, Long Island adds an exuberant transportation cost to most households. The study found that 58% of communities on Long Island were affordable by the index, compared to 62% using the housing-only guideline. In New York City and some of its northern suburbs, 51% of areas were affordable using the index guidelines, compared to 49% of traditional affordability measurements. Read more about the study here and read more from Newsday here. Rebooting the 'burbs: Architect's Newspaper highlights LI
The Architect's Newspaper featured Long Island development in its March 17th edition. In "Rebooting the Burbs," lots of great Smart Growth projects are highlighted, including the Lighthouse, Glen Isle, Patchogue's New Village and Artspace and many more. Vision Long Island contributed to the article, saying, "Of the 95 smart-growth projects currently built, under construction, or in planning phases on Long Island, the poster child for suburban opportunities is by all accounts the Lighthouse...'What makes this project unique for Long Island is that it has the opportunity to become a true place, destination, and essentially a new town center redeveloped out of a sea of asphalt and unworkable sprawl,' the smart-growth advocacy group Vision Long Island wrote in a strong endorsement." Check out the article for a great overview of Smart Growth on Long Island! |
Town Board approves Gordon Heights Community Center with bi-partisan support
On Tuesday evening, a heated Brookhaven Town Board meeting finally led to the approval of a new community center for Gordon Heights. The controversy came over funding for the project, as the cash-strapped Town also voted to cut the capital budget by over $10 million. Councilwoman Connie Kepert, who represents Gordon Heights, said in a press release, "While we are making these cuts it’s our responsibility to take advantage of Recovery Zone Bonds to stimulate our local economies and revitalize our communities.” The Town received stimulus funds last year from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The ARRA bonds require the Town to pay only 55% of the debt service, while the federal government will cover the other 45%. While some in the Town wanted to allocate these funds for local road repairs and highway projects, others fought to use the funds as intended: to help distressed communities such as Gordon Heights. Over 70 Gordon Heights residents showed up to the Town Board meeting to support their future community center. The project will be built on the east side of Granny Road Park and will include state-of-the-art indoor athletic facilities. Vision's Eric Alexander came out in support of the project: “The Gordon Heights community planned a community/athletic center as the number one priority from their multi-year visioning process. These low interest public bonds allow a very important community need and capital project to be met in a financially responsible manner.” Greater Gordon Heights Civic Association President and Vision Long Island Director of Special Projects Tawaun Weber added, “With over 50 sex offenders in the community, our kids need somewhere safe to play year-round and not be forced to participate in activities outside of the community. We hope the process moves ahead expeditiously and continues to get the support it needs." A need for public open space in Flushing A key component in Smart Growth development is the need for public open space in our communities- places where people can enjoy the outdoors and being around other people. The need for more of these spaces helped to inspire a master plan called Flushing Commons, a 1.8 million square foot mixed-use development in Flushing, Queens. The project's design will strive to be open and airy in the midst of one of the most congested neighborhoods in the region. The project will include over 600 housing units (mostly condominiums), 275,000 square feet of retail space, 234,000 square feet of office and/or hotel space, community facilities, a YMCA and a multi-level underground parking garage for 1,600 vehicles. Flushing Commons was designed by Perkins Eastman and is a joint venture between the Rockefeller Group and TDC Development and Construction Corporation. The developers are striving for LEED Silver certification. In addition, the project will help with unemployment, creating more than 2,600 construction jobs and 1,900 permanent jobs.Flushing already has the third busiest intersection in New York City, after Herald Square and Times Square. This project may cause even more traffic on the roads and add more people to the overly crowded public transit. As a comparison, the Lighthouse at Long Island project has been proposed at 5.5 million square feet of development and has boasted similar traffic concerns (keep in mind the additional transit opportunities in Flushing). Even in this super-dense Queens neighborhood, large scale projects are moving forward rapidly that aim to incorporate open space and a pleasant atmosphere. We should keep up with the successes and failures of neighboring projects in order to learn from them as we move forward with Long Island projects. For more on this project, see their website here. |
Housing solutions for Haiti
Soon after the disastrous earthquake hit Haiti, planners and architects went to work to create homes for the one million-plus homeless people of Haiti. Andres Duany, New Urbanist legend, has proposed four different types of temporary structures to quickly relieve the urgent housing needs of Haitians. The four designs will serve people's various living styles. A composite panel manufacturer called Innovida is partnering with Duany to donate 1000 of these homes to Haiti. The company would like to a factory located near Port-au-Prince to build the houses, which could provide up to 1000 jobs for Haitians. Innovida will invest $15 million into the factory, which could produce 10,000 houses per year. It is important to note the different between Haiti, a 7.0 magnitude quake, and Chile, which was hit much harder with an 8.8 magnitude quake. Despite the numbers, the damage and death toll was much worse in Haiti. According to an article in Arch Daily, "If we learned anything from the most recent disaster in Chile, we should take away the fact that the strict building codes of the country truly saved people's lives." That sad truth should serve as a guideline for redevelopment in Haiti. Though housing is needed immediately, designers should try to incorporate more permanent structures into the immediate rebuilding phase. One of Duany's concepts, called Le Cabanon homes, is a simple, open floor plan structure that could be constructed in a few days, but would be earthquake proof and be able to withstand winds up to 155 miles per hour. Arch Daily says, "The units do not have a bathroom, as it is expected that water will not be available in many areas to use for a toilet." All of Duany's designs have an insulating panel system, high-strength E-Glass fiber fabrics that are fire-resistant, and a core constructed with a foam material that resists moisture, mold, and insects. Though these structures are designed to be temporary, they could easily be made into permanent solutions for Haiti. The Haitian government has yet to make a decision about Duany's or any other designs, but thankfully they have some good options to choose from! Cities free of cars
After the first car was made, people fell in love with the invention and soon began to rely on it for transportation. Over time, however, a side effect of cars as the number one means of transportation has been an unsafe environment of pollution, traffic and death. To kick the driving habit, for the past decade, Europe has put different kinds of limits on the use of cars in their city centers. This has had several major impacts, including a reduction in pollution and fossil fuel use, an increase in walking, and creating a safer environment in which to ride your bike. Not all vehicles (such as electric cars and trucks (for deliveries, emergency services, etc.), would be banned. With these limitations, transit easily becomes the primary mode of transportation to meet people's needs. It also becomes easier to build new transit systems and expand existing service, which would bring us closer to a sustainable way of life. In addition, bikes become a more practical transportation option, as traveling by bike becomes more peaceful and stress free in a safer environment. This concept has been under consideration with legislation across the US and Canada. In 2008, New York City nearly passed a "congestion pricing" plan that would tax drivers in Midtown Manhattan, therefore making driving in the city center far less appealing. Though an environmentally and economically sound plan, it became politically unpopular and failed. It's not too late to repackage congestion pricing as a way to reduce congestion, improve the environment and create revenue for both the city and the struggling MTA. Read more here. Stop the driving, not the texting
Texting while driving is very dangerous. Every time you take your eyes off the road to text, you increase your risk of a collision by up to 23 times. Most of the offenders are young people, as texting has become their number one means of communication- from 2003 to 2008, the number of texts sent monthly by Americans jumped from 2 billion to 110 billion. Kevin W. Bakewell, senior vice president of AAA Auto Club South, puts it in perspective, claiming that, “Someone driving 70 miles per hour, he travels 100 feet per second. While writing just a three-second text message, a driver can go the length of a football field without looking at the road.” Police in Washington claim not a day goes by that they do not see a case of driving while texting, and they do not think statistics reflect the extent of the problem. Most accident data relies on driver honesty, but the reward for honesty is a ticket for negligent operation of a vehicle, which draws a $538 fine.
Both houses of Congress are currently considering bills that would restrict texting. Nineteen states have already banned texting while driving and many more will join the pack next year. Last year, President Obama banned federal employees from texting while driving government vehicles and in their own cars if using government-issued phones. Talk show host Oprah is also cracking down on texting while driving, having a whole show dedicated to the issue. Oprah wants everyone to take her “no phone zone pledge,” which you can do here. Interestingly, the current New York State law that bans texting while driving makes the issue only a secondary offense, which means that a driver cannot be pulled over and ticketed simply for texting - they would have to be a primary offense (speeding, etc.) in order to be stopped by police. Some Nassau legislators are calling on Governor Paterson to make it a primary offense and double the fine, which currently sits at $150. Clive Thomas isn't convinced that these bans will work, much like prohibition in the 1930s. He writes in Wired Magazine, "So what can we do? We should change our focus to the other side of the equation and curtail not the texting but the driving. This may sound a bit facetious, but I’m serious. When we worry about driving and texting, we assume that the most important thing the person is doing is piloting the car. But what if the most important thing they’re doing is texting? How do we free them up so they can text without needing to worry about driving? The answer, of course, is public transit." In many other countries, texting while driving is not as serious a problem, thanks to impressive and comprehensive transit systems. Thomas argues that mobility and communications are at odds with each other in an auto-centric system. "Two activities that are both central to our lives are colliding," he says. He concludes, "Texting while driving is, in essence, a wake-up call to America. It illustrates our real, and bigger, predicament: The country is currently better suited to cars than to communication. This is completely bonkers. By all means, we should ban texting while driving, or at least try. But we need to work urgently on making driving less necessary in the first place. Let’s get our hands off the wheel and onto the keypad — where they belong." |
 LIPC celebrates 31 years on March 27th
Tickets are $75 each, 2 for $125 or $700 for a table of 12. Additional sponsorship opportunities are available. To purchase your ticket or for more information, contact Debbie-Ann Chang at 516-541-1006, ext 14. Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits: the free workshop on April 6 (Rescheduled)
For more information or to RSVP, contact Alexandra Wolfe at SPLIA by phone 631-692-4664 or email awolfe@splia.org. Northport ArtWalk kicks off April 11th
You can pick up a map at a "Welcome Booth," located at Caffe Portofino (249 Main Street) and Copenhagen Bakery (79 Woodbine Avenue). The map is also available online here. Many of the participating venues will be hosting special events for the day and everyone is welcome to attend this FREE event! For more information, see their website. Innovation and the American Metropolis: Regional Plan Association's 20th annual Regional Assembly on April 16th
This year’s Assembly will focus on how cities can use new design and management techniques and harness emerging trends in technology and data to improve quality of life and economic competitiveness. Among the eight panels at this full-day conference are Building a Green Infrastructure, Radical Housing, America’s Energy Future, and Smart Transportation: Changing Urban Mobility. Featured speakers include Richard Ravitch, Lieutenant Governor of New York State; Richard Burdett, Centennial Professor in Architecture and Urbanism, London School of Economics and Founder and Director, LSE Cities Program; and William A. McDonough, Founder William McDonough and Partners. Registration is $250 for non-members, $225 for members. For sponsorship opportunities, please contact rivanova@rpa.org. Visit RPA's website to register and for more information. Long Island Business News honors top real estate and development professionals on April 27th
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The Long Island Progressive Coalition and REP-LI invites you to celebrate 31 years of LIPC Fighting for Social and Human Dignity. The annual luncheon will be on Saturday, March 27 from 11am-2pm at the Timber Point Country Club, Great River Road in Great River and will honor: Kirk Kordeleski, Bethpage Federal Credit Union with the Paul Gutierrez Award for Contributions to Human Dignity; Michele Lynch, SEIU Local 1199 with the Bill Pickering Labor Leader Award; Supervisor Steven Bellone, Town of Babylon with the Award for Environmental Vision in Sustainable Development; Serge Martinez & the Hofstra Law Clinic as a Long Islander Who Has Made A Difference; Gerry Mooney, Group for the East End as a Long Islander Who Has Made A Difference; Amparo Sadler as a Long Islander Who Has Made A Difference; and Pastor Mack Smith, Trinity Evangelical Lutheran as a Long Islander Who Has Made A Difference. 
Rehabilitation tax credits provide real financial incentives for the reuse of historic buildings. Under-utilized on Long Island, these credits are not limited to distressed census tracts, have great potential in downtown revitalization, and can apply to both commercial and residential properties. Learn more about the full scope of the federal and state programs from industry experts and the New York State Historic Preservation Office for a workshop discussion on program eligibility, application procedures and how credits can be monetized. This free workshop will include program overviews with information on National Register eligibility and listing, financing information (including syndication opportunities for non-profits), case studies and time for question and answers. Developers, preservationists, local governments, property owners and architects will have special interest.
Regional Plan Association presents its 20th Annual Regional Assembly, "Innovation and the American Metropolis" on Friday, April 16th from 8am to 4pm in the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria, 333 Park Avenue at 49th Street in New York City. The Regional Assembly is New York City's premiere civic event, bringing together top business, civic and academic leaders and professional planners, with municipal, state and federal officials and architectural, design and engineering firms from across the metropolitan region and the nation. 
Long Island Business News presents the 2010 Real Estate and Development Awards, taking place on April 27th from 6-8pm at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury. Many projects and companies are being honored this year that Vision has supported in the past. 
The Third Annual Teen Arts Festival will be held on Saturday, May 15th at The Ethical Humanist Society of Long Island in Garden City, beginning at 1:00 pm and running throughout the afternoon. The free festival is for local middle school and high school students to share their talents with each other and the community. The organizers are currently recruiting talent: musicians, artists, dancers, poets and more. Teens and their parents are invited to go 
June 7th is the first ever Walk/Bike New York conference for Long Island: Encouraging Sustainable Movement. Creating walkable and bikeable environments requires an active collaboration of people with interests in safety, land use, economic development, transportation, education, law enforcement and health promotion. This one-day symposium is expected to draw approximately 200 attendees from various disciplines and provide participants with the tools to work together to create walkable and bikeable communities in New York State. A keynote address will be delivered by Dr. Arthur Wendel, Medical Officer for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Environmental Health, Public Health and Built Environment Initiative. Topics will include Complete Streets, Safe Routes for Seniors and Youth, Education & Encouragement, Law Enforcement, Local Highlights, Funding Sources and Legislative Updates. Help make Long Island's roads safer! 
You are cordially invited to the “Decade of S.T.R.O.N.G., Community Unity Gala,” which will be held on Thursday June 10th 2010. This momentous event is being held in part to celebrate the tenth anniversary of S.T.R.O.N.G. Youth, Inc. In addition, they will be humbly honoring a handful of outstanding individuals and organizations that have played a pivotal role in their successful journey. The gala is an excellent venue to network with like-minded individuals focused on consciously making a difference in our communities.  Request for Letters of Interest: Smart Growth implementation assistance
Eligible entities are tribal, local, regional and state governments and nonprofit organizations that have a demonstrated partnership with a governmental entity. Letters of interest are due at 3:00 pm EST, April 9, 2010. For more information and application materials, click here. National Endowment for the Arts seeks applications for Challenge America Fast-Track program
The deadline for submission is Thursday, May 27th. For more information, contact the National Endowment for the Arts, 1100 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20506; 202-682-5700; fasttrack@arts.gov. |
The Development, Community and Environment Division in EPA’s Office of Policy, Economics and Innovation is seeking applications for technical assistance from communities that want to incorporate smart growth in their future development to meet environmental and other community goals. This request is being coordinated under the interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities. Staff from HUD and DOT will assist in the provision of this technical assistance. Selected communities or states will receive assistance in the form of a multi-day visit from a team of experts organized by EPA, HUD and DOT and other national partners to work with local leaders. EPA plans to assist three to four communities over a period of twelve months. The Agency anticipates announcing the selected communities this fall. 
The National Endowment for the Arts is accepting applications through the Challenge America Fast-Track project. Challenge America Fast-Track offers support primarily to small and mid-sized organizations for projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved communities—those whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, ethnicity, economics or disability. Eligibility includes non-profit organizations; state or local governments; private, public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; or federally recognized Native American tribal governments. Individual awards are not to exceed $10,000.  Volunteer with North Shore Land Alliance
By volunteering with the NSLA, you can learn new things while helping to educate others, meet new friends while affecting positive change and spend time outside in some of Long Island's most beautiful and peaceful places as you get a little exercise. To start volunteering with the North Shore Land Alliance please contact their Volunteer Coordinator at 516-626-0908 or email to volunteers@northshorelandalliance.org. To learn more about the North Shore Land Alliance, visit their website. Vision Long Island Seeking Interns
Our staff likes to say we "wear many hats," and interns will have to do the same. Interns will assist with planning, design, outreach, event planning, writing, research, attending meetings, reporting, photography, and more. Bring your unique skill set to the table! We are looking for energetic and conscientious individuals with an interest in suburban/urban planning from a bottom-up perspective. This is a valuable opportunity to work with great people in a small office environment and learn about the issues impacting Long Island. Strong writing skills a plus. |
Help protect the lands that protect your drinking water and natural areas! Volunteer your time, knowledge and experience to the North Shore Land Alliance (NSLA) and its work to protect and improve the natural areas of our communities which provides clean drinking water, locally grown food and recreational opportunities for today’s residents and for the generations that follow. NSLA needs your help to provide educational outreach, assist with data entry and online research and perform stewardship activities such as maintaining trails, pulling invasive vegetation, and conducting and documenting site visits. They also need volunteers to take photographs of and document occurrences of plants and wildlife and lead nature walks. 
Long Island Magic Arts Convention on Saturday
The second annual Long Island Magic Arts Convention will be at Holy Trinity Diocesan High School in Hicksville (98 Cherry Lane) this Saturday. Last year's sold-out show returns, bigger and better than ever! Festivities kick off at 10am, with the junior competition kicking off the day's events at 10:30. Eight magicians between the ages of 8 and 17 will perform. Winners will receive $100 cash prizes and donations from the show's magic vendors. At noon, check out Magician John Ferrantino of Florida, who will demonstrate ways to make tricks funnier and more entertaining. At 1:30, Scott Francis of North Carolina presents "MacGyver Magic" to teach magicians how to build their own magic tricks from things used around the house. At 3pm, three performers will do close-up magic routines, projecting their hands on a screen so audience members can see all the details. Performers include Mark Mason of England, Danny Garcia of Houston, and Asi Wind of New York. At 4pm, Danny Garcia will teach interactive, close-up magic including card and coin tricks and sleights of hand. From 10-3 and 5:30-7, the vendor room will be open for ten purveyors of magic to sell everything from decks of cards to books, DVDs, and old posters. The day concludes with "An Evening of Magic," which begins in the school auditorium at 7pm. Magic-Al will warm up the crowd and Francis will emcee. The day's performers return for "The Show-Off Show," a combination of juggling, comedy, and contortion. Some of the event's proceeds will go to the Robbie Levine Foundation, with teaches the importance of automated external defibrillators in saving young athlete's lives and provides defibrillators at ballfields. Admission is $60 for all events of $20 per individual event (evening show only, $10 ages 5-8). For more information, call 516-520-4004 or visit the website. Raspberry Brothers mock Twilight at Cinema Arts Centre
With great excitement, The Cinema Arts Centre of Huntington (423 Park Avenue) brings you the Raspberry Brothers this Saturday night at 10pm! They are a hilarious team of NYC comedians whose assignment: to mock the crap out of Hollywood films, live! This time, they're attacking the tween phenomenon, Twilight. When Bella Swan chooses to live with her father in the rainy little town of Forks, Washington, she didn't expect much of anything to change. But things do change when she meets the mysterious and dazzlingly beautiful Edward Cullen. For Edward is nothing like any boy she's ever met. In no time at all, they are swept up in a passionate and decidedly unorthodox romance - unorthodox because Edward’s a vampire. A Twilight Lesson for girls: If a boy tells you he is homicidal and addicted to the scent of your blood, he must be the love of your life. Learn this and many other helpful romance tips. Come experience the hype...learn for yourself how surprisingly dull, whiny, self-absorbed, but totally hot, vampire teens can be. |
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"Experience shows that, when presented with the facts, a truly representative community group wil usually advocate for smart growth, whose popularity has been demonstrated nationwide through visual preference surveys and polls" - Smart Growth Manual |
SMART GROWTH NEWS Newsletter Editor: Michelle Dutchen, Director of Communications We strive to provide continued quality publications such as this each week. If you have any news or events that you would like to add to our newsletter, submit them to info@visionlongisland.org for consideration. If you are interested in becoming a newsletter or news blast sponsor, please call the office at 631-261-0242 for rates and opportunities.
For more information about Vision Long Island, visit visionlongisland.org or contact us at: |
