Long Island Calling

While reading this week’s New York magazine, I came across this article in the “Artifact”  section that focused on some interesting slides that accompanied a recent speech made by Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi at a conference on….um… how to make “cool” downtowns in Nassau county.  Towns that are cool enough that young, single people will want to move to, instead of Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Now I know what you’re thinking-  “cool downtowns in Nassau county?  Isn’t that like an oxymoron or something?” But there is actually a very cool downtown out here on LI.  The wifey and I love going there for its great restaurants, shopping, and fun atmosphere.

That town, however, is Huntington; which, unfortunately for Executive Suozzi, is in Suffolk county.  ZING!

The interesting part of this article was the slides which were used to categorize the downtowns in Long Island that are cool, which ones are getting cool, and those with a ways to go.  Here is the list from the article:

Hold up!  My town, the Village of Great Neck Plaza, is cool?  In defense of it, yes it does have ample shopping, good restaurants, very good LIRR access to the city, gyms, and a movie theater.  It is a good downtown, but it is NOT a cool one, at least not in the minds of the single young people that Suozzi is trying to get to move to Nassau county.  The main reason why it’s not cool is that (wait for it) there is no NIGHTLIFE WHATSOEVER that young, single people would find interesting.  Actually, last I checked, there isn’t even a bar in the town.

Granted, that don’t phase me no mo’. I’m married, 32 years old, and way past my prime drinking age.  But for young, single folk, that is the common scene they gravitate towards.  If they move to VGNP looking for that, they will end up just as bored as the teenagers hanging out at Grace Ave park and loitering at Cold Stone.  At least the other cool towns listed here actually have nightlife for the youngs to hang out in.  For example, Garden City has places like Novita for people to go to at night, which has a very good cocktail lounge.

As for some of the others on the list:

On The Way to becoming cool:

• Glen Cove-  Too far!
• Westbury- Isn’t that the mall?
• Mineola- Choo Choo!

And for the ones that are not even close, this list was accurate:

• Freeport- there is only one thing that comes to mind when I think of that town
• Hempstead- J.E.T.S. Jets, jets, jets! Cool town…no, no, no.
• Hicksville- I think I went on a date there once…

When I was single, I lived in Manhattan.  And I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

A couple of weeks ago, I reported on this blog about wifey and I’s visit to the 3rd annual Coffee and Tea Festival NYC. Well, the other day I get an email from the festival producer, a post event an email highlighting what occurred at the festival.

Here is the beginning of the email:

…wait a minute… let me take a closer look at the photo in the SW corner above-

OH MY GOD! That’s the wifey and and I! How the hell did we get in this newsletter? I mean, my left bicep looks totally ripped and all, but it looks I’m sleeping or in deep, mediative thought. At least wifey looks engaged in coversation.

For the full email newsletter, click here

Okay, by now you are probably aware of the fact that Bloomberg’s traffic plan has been shot down, Albany didn’t see eye to eye with him, his approach was wrong, er, um, zzzz…

Look I can care less about the dramatics and egos behind the fight itself.  From my perspective, as a freshly born LI to NYC commuter on a fairly popular line at a high traffic station, the mayor’s idea has the right intentions, but I’m not sure the public transit out in the burbs would have been ready in a year to absorb additional riders on the LIRR, and Metro North that would no longer be commuting by car. Don’t get me wrong, its a shame that the city will now lose potentially $13 billion and of course, the $354 million in federal mass transit funds. But for anyone riding LIRR, these days, many times it feels like this:

and that would not have gotten any better with the plan.

But according to the NYTimes, if the plan did pass, this money still wouldn’t have covered everything:

“But under a new spending plan released Wednesday by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, so-called congestion pricing would cover a relatively small portion — 15 percent — of money needed for transit improvements. That would leave the authority still scrambling for money. The authority said that it would need $29.5 billion from 2008 through 2013 for system improvements (like thousands of new buses and modernized subway signals) and expansion (like work on the Second Avenue subway).”

So regardless of my own desire to get a seat in the morning, this issue must be revived.  The issue must be addressed, but in a way that meets the needs of the city and of the commuters.  Otherwise, the city will still be full of cars, smog and the MTA won’t be able find the money for all of its capital projects and the maintenance, new buses, subway/train cars that are needed.   Do I have the answer?  Well…no.  Would I be blogging if I did?  Umm, no, I would actually be busy.

Particularly there is a project that is already underway and VERY important to me that might be in jeapordy of losing out on funding.  Let all LIers pray that nothing happens to this one-