“What Every Long Islander Should Know”
This series of articles examines aspects of life on Long Island, written by Nancy Rauch Douzinas president of the Rauch Foundation are published monthly in the Anton Community Newspapers, the Times Beacon Record, Long Island Business News and the Long Islander.
Imagining a Better Long Island (July 2010)
Late last year, Nancy ceded this column to me – a 30 something trying to make it work on the Island – to talk about what it would take to retain and attract young adults to Long Island. My general point was that it’s more than just rental units and affordable housing options. It’s the creation of a sense of place, a vibrancy, a diverse culture where we could mix with others, walk to attractions, ride a bike to work…Read this article
Starting to Make Connections (June 2010)
A child’s first steps are less about the steps than the growth. The very words “first steps” imply that more are to come. It’s all about promise.
I see Long Island today starting to take steps that could usher in a new stage in our growth. What’s most exciting is that this growth is coming right where Long Island’s development has lagged: making connections and working as a team. Read this article
Better Education for Less (May 2010)
It’s school budget time, and wrath is in the air. Politicians are raging, taxpayers fuming, students protesting.
The frustration is easy to understand. School budget votes in our region are a lose-lose proposition. Vote against the budget, and the ones we hurt are the children. Vote in favor, and we perpetuate the ruinous tax spiral that is devastating families and crippling our economy. Read this article
Build a Better Burb (April 2010)
Long Island needs a makeover . . . and we’re giving you the job.
It’s a design competition--“Build a Better Burb”--sponsored by the Long Island Index. The task: take a downtown, any downtown, and think of something smart and wonderful to put there. Read this article
Working Together CAN Happen Here (March 2010)
“Working together is not in Long Islanders’ DNA.” I sometimes hear that when I share with people examples of regions acting in cooperative ways to address their problems. I’ve always thought that DNA idea was hooey; now I am sure of it. Because this time my example of outstanding regional cooperation comes from right here on Long Island. Read this article
Study Finds Long Island Downtowns Are Good to Grow (February 2010)
A team of researchers went looking for land in all the right places—and found oodles of it. Enough to start building a new, more vibrant and prosperous Long Island. That’s the news contained in a study just released by the Long Island Index.The researchers, from the Regional Plan Association, explored for usable land located within ½-mile of downtowns or railroad stations. Read this article
Getting Back Our Mojo (January 2010)
Back in the day, Long Island was a land of movers and shakers. People came here with vision and purpose. They saw opportunity, and seized it. Robert Moses saw a deserted sandbar, and built one of the world’s greatest parks. William Levitt saw low-cost land and a nascent need for affordable homes—and defined postwar suburbia. Read this article
Adelphi Gives a Lesson in Development (December 2009)
If you want to see a place that has made big and positive changes for residents, commuters, workers, and even the planet-check out the dazzling new campus of Adelphi University. Read this article
Hard Truth about Our Schools (November 2009)
Two studies were released this past month that should give Long Islanders a reality check on how we are educating our children. One provides data on student achievement, the other a close-up of five Long Island school districts. Read this article
Bricks and Mortar Won't Stop the Brain Drain (September 2009)
John McNally had a most interesting reaction to the recent Nassau County “youth summit,” aimed at finding out what it would take to keep 18-35 year olds from leaving Long Island. John, a thirtysomething himself, is the Rauch Foundation’s Program Officer for the Environment. I’ve asked him to write this month’s column. Read this article
We Cant Afford Any More Business As Usual (August 2009)
So OSI Pharmaceuticals, anchor tenant of the Broad Hollow Biosciences Park at Farmingdale State University, is leaving Long Island. The loss of jobs hurts, and losing what was supposed to be a pillar of a new high-tech industry makes it worse. Read this article
Doing Pre-K Right (July 2009)
In the 2007-08 school year, Long Island schools took more than $11 million in state aid for pre-k and . . . sent it back unused. Over 4,000 allocated seats were left empty. What a catastrophe! Read this article
Building Consensus (June 2009)
Imagine a table with a large map of Long Island spread out on top, showing not only roads and highways, but rail lines, housing, commercial development, farms, and open space. Also a stack of chips of different colors. Read this article
Want Better Schools for Long Island? --Pass it On (May 2009)
As Long Islanders head to the polls this month to vote on school budgets, it is worth taking a few minutes to consider what you can’t vote on. Read this article
Fighting for Change (April 2009)
Dr. John Jackson is President and CEO of the Schott Foundation for Public Education. He delivered a speech at Hofstra University this year, at the meeting where we presented the 2009 Long Island Index. Discussing some of the Index findings, he asked a simple, direct question:
What are you going to do about it? Read this article
Attitude Adjustment (March 2009)
I never thought I would say that Long Islanders don’t have enough of an attitude. But I do think that we may be lacking something that is holding our region back. Let me explain. Read this article
Pop Quiz on Long Island's Schools (February 2009)
How much do you know about education on Long Island?
You probably know that you spend a ton of money on it. Did you know that the Island’s average school tax levy climbed 72%, in constant dollars, from 1998 to 2006? Read this article
Treasure Map (January 2009)
Not to toot the Long Island Index's own horn, but something every Long Islander should know about is our new interactive map. It's an amazing resource. Read this article
How to Improve Education and Make Money Doing It (December 2008)
If the roof was leaking, and rain was damaging the house and furnishings, what would you do? Read this article
Do Americans Hate Kids? (November 2008)
You know those comparisons you always see: how Americans students do on tests, versus kids in other countries? Shocking right? Read this article
If We Don’t Start Getting It Right, We Won’t Get It at All (October 2008)
The Town of North Hempstead has just given us a lesson on how NOT to bring affordable housing to Long Island. Read this article
Business Plan for Long Island (September 2008)
I have seen the future of economic growth. And it doesn’t look much like Long Island. I just got back from a trip to San Diego. I wanted to see up-close how they managed to morph from a Navy town staggering from post-cold war defense cuts to one of the world’s hottest high-tech economies. Read this article
Eight Things Long Island Should Do (August 2008)
I often hear people say that Long Island can’t get anything done, that we can’t get out of our own way. There may be some truth to that. Other regions have successfully addressed problems that all we do is talk about. We need to break that habit and start doing. Here are some concrete steps that would get us going in the right direction. Read this article.
Going Backwards (July 2008)
In the annals of Long Island folly, here’s a trend that stands out. We’re actually recycling less than we used to. Recycling rates peaked in 1997 and have declined ever since. From 2002 to 2004 they plummeted 27%. Read this article
Long Islanders are Serious about Energy and the Environment (June 2008)
If you hate your LIPA bill now, just wait. With oil prices soaring into the stratosphere, and natural gas prices in their wake, our electric costs are going nowhere but up. Read this article.
Fighting for Our Young (May 2008)
We know we are running low on oil. And now we are hearing that food is also running short. But the United States faces another key shortage as well: young people. Read this article
Building Success (April 2008)
Time was when the Long Island economy, led by a high-flying aerospace industry, was the envy of the nation. Read this article
Long Island Renaissance (March 2008)
Shabby. Seedy. A blight on the landscape. Pick your pejorative, and it fits the Patchogue Theater as it stood in 1997. Read this article
Seismic Shift (February 2008)
A quiet neighborhood, a nice backyard, a home of your own. For the past half-century, this has been the face of the American dream. But today, for hundreds of thousands of Long Islanders the dream has changed...Read this article
What We've Got and What We've Not (January 2008)
The turn of the new year is a time for taking stock: for counting our blessings, and addressing our need for improvement. Here, based on data from the Long Island Index, is a partial inventory of our regional strengths and weaknesses...Read this article
Help Wanted (December 2007)
America need leaders. A recent poll revealed that 79% of Americans believe that without better leaders...Read this article
Going Nowhere (November 2007)
A truck-rail freight facility in Brentwood, proposed by the State Depaartment of Transportation (DOT), would take more than 5,000 trucks off Long Island's roads each day, cutting travel delays, lowering emissions, improving air quality, and reducing shipping costs. Read this article
Tackling Taxes (October 2007)
It is said that most fights in a family are about money. Long Island has long needed not a fight but a serious discussion about money. Its time may have finally arrived. Read this article
About Education (September 2007)
As Long Island's children start back to school, it's a good time to consider what kind of educational experience they are in for. How are Long Island's school doing? Read this article
About Boston (August 2007)
A few years ago in Boston things got really ugly. It was all about a referendum to allow local governments to impose a property tax surcharge with the revenue earmarked for affordable housing. The debate moved from passionate to nasty and beyond...Read this article
About the Once and Future Village (July 2007)
I write this month in praise of a great rite of summer. No, not a day at one of Long Island's glorious beaches, or a community pool. I'm thinking of that...Read this article
About Firefighting Costs (June 2007)
Long Islanders owe an enormous debt to our volunteer firefighters. Not only are they brave, professional, and selfless. They also save us a great deal of money. Read this article
About School Cost (May 2007)
Everybody wants good schools. Nobody wants high taxes. That, in brief, is the dilemma Long Island is facing. Good schools are one of the Island's top attractions-and essential for building the kind of workforce a region needs to prosper. On the other hand, high taxes are helping drive talented young people away. Read this article
About Northern Virginia (April 2007)
One of the great unnatural wonders of the world...more complicated than any other that mankind has yet contrived or allowed to happen." That is how urban expert Robert Wood described the New York area's complex, multi-layered web of local governments. Read this article
About Health Care (March 2007)
Four-year old Corey was feverish, congested and having trouble breathing. He barely slept last night. In the morning, his worried mother took him to the emergency room. Read this article
About the Long Island Index (February 2007)
How is Long Island doing? Well, our economy continues to grow but show signs of weakness. Read this article
About Our High-Tech Future (January 2007)
This past month I saw an outstanding presentation concerning Long Island's future. It took place at a roundtable dinner attended by leaders of Long Island research institutions and high-tech industry. I wish every Long Islander had been there. Read this article
About Conservation (December 2006)
To get straight to the point, what Long Islanders should know about conservation is what a poor job of it we’re doing. I think most people would be shocked. Read this article
About Home Rule (October 2006)
Governmentally speaking, Long Island is a mess. We have 236 municipal corporations, which includes: two counties, 13 towns, two cities, 95 villages and 124 school districts. Read this article
About the Third Track (September 2006)
People have been fighting about trains ever since they were invented. So it is not surprising that Long Islanders are battling over an MTA plan to build an additional Long Island Rail Road track between Jamaica and Hicksville. Read this article
About “Open Spaces” (August 2006)
Long Island’s last remaining open space is vanishing almost daily. Meanwhile, tens of millions of dollars, set aside for preservation, are sitting in Town and County bank accounts. Read this article
About “Industry Clusters" (July 2006)
When you think of Silicon Valley, you think “high tech.” Think of Hartford, and you think “insurance.” These are examples of industry clusters, geographic concentrations of firms in related fields. Such clusters are the pillars of a region’s economy. Read this article
About Energy (June 2006)
As energy prices soar, the finger of blame has been pointed everywhere, from Katrina to oil companies to the booming economies of China and India. Long Islanders should be aware, however, that we ourselves are doing our part to keep demand, and prices, high. Read this article
About Our Schools (May 2006)
May arrives on Long Island. It’s the season for Moms…azaleas…and school budget votes. Last year, as you probably know, Long Islanders voted down more than one-third of first-round budgets. Read this article