Sustainable Long Island Board President Ruth Negron-Gaines had a column in Networking Magazine this month on revitalizing vacant auto dealerships across Long Island; below is an excerpt of the piece. Visit Sustainable Long Island's blog to the view the oped in its entirety and find out more information on this initiative.

Surprisingly, a growing number of brownfield sites island-wide are now being identified as vacant auto-dealerships. The economic downturn has impacted the auto industry's already long-standing problem of closing down dealerships and leaving fragments of blighted land and economic sinkholes in already struggling downtowns. It's no longer just the car that provides challenges for Long Island communities, but the lot you drive off from as well.

However, there is hope. When properly dealt with, redevelopment of these areas can present prospects for successful community revitalization projects. Redeveloping closed dealerships that are in the heart of downtowns or bunch together along high visibility corridors can offer municipalities a chance to meet multiple goals, such as job creation, tax base expansion, and increased environmental protection. Engaging community members in an area-wide process to retrofit these closed dealerships can produce pedestrian oriented streets that enhance mobility as well as support a dense, vibrant mix of shops, offices, and residences.

Fresh fruits and vegetables arrived at a New Cassel church parking for the first time on Saturday, September 3. So did high school students wanting to work and families longing for affordable fresh food.

Tomatoes, asparagus, apples, onions, lettuce, escarole, eggplant and other produce came from eight East End farms to be sold at a new farmer's market run by teenagers.

The students came mostly from the Westbury school district. They raced to set up as customers crowded around the entrance gate at First Baptist Cathedral of Westbury.

Within an hour, the market almost sold out. It'll be open again Saturday and every Saturday through Nov. 19 from 11am-4pm or when produce sells out.

"The New Cassel Farmers market will provide New Cassel and surrounding communities with the best locally grown produce Long Island has to offer," said Bishop Lionel Harvey, President and Chairman of the Board of UNCCRC. "We are blessed to have such a wonderful market within walking distance of the entire community. I am extremely excited to be a part of a plan that provides job training for our youth, supports our local farmers, and continues to revitalize the New Cassel community."

"On behalf of UNCCRC, we are pleased to partner with Governor Cuomo, Bank of America and Vigliotti's Great Gardens, who have given us the opportunity to make the New Cassel Youth-staffed Farmers Market a reality," said Kennetha Pettus, Executive Director of UNCCRC. "It is my hope that next year we can partner with more community businesses and local government to make this an even bigger market that will employ more youth and supply healthy, fresh affordable produce to New Cassel and the surrounding communities. Being healthy and making it a priority to eat healthy is a great lifestyle choice, and I believe, it is a choice we all must decide."

"This initiative creates valuable learning opportunities for area youth, provides an important business platform for eight local farms, and improves access to nutritious fruits and vegetables," said Bob Isaksen, Bank of America Long Island president. "When local businesses, nonprofits, elected officials, and others put their heads and resources together, the entire community benefits."   

President and CEO of Vigliotti's Great Gardens Charles Vigliotti added, "We believe in doing what we can to support the surrounding community. When we learned of plans for the New Cassel Farmer's Market, we volunteered to truck in fresh produce each week from farms out on the East End. It's an honor to do our part to help make the Farmer's Market a vital, important addition to New Cassel. I know it will be a great success."

New York State Agriculture Commissioner Darrel J. Aubertine said, "Governor Cuomo is committed to improving access to fresh, healthy, locally produced food, and we are very pleased to support the new New Cassel Farmer's Market through the New York Fresh Connect Farmers' Market program. Farmers' markets not only provide fresh produce, but offer nutrition education and empower people to make healthier food choices. Thank you to the Unified New Cassel Community Revitalization Corp. for bringing this wonderful opportunity to the residents of Westbury."

Joseph M. Gergela, III, Executive Director of the Long Island Farm Bureau stresses, "The best farmland preservation program we know is for farming to be profitable. Our farmers welcome marketing opportunities that allow the public to access fresh produce and at the same time support our economic viability. These market projects are a win-win for New Cassel and all of Long Island."

Earlier this month, Sustainable Long Island Board President Ruth Negron-Gaines also had a column in Long Island Business News (LIBN) on the often overlooked aspect of youth in planning. View the entire LIBN article on Sustainable Long Island's blog and read a short preview below.

The difference in (planning) today is we are finally beginning to properly and appropriately include young adults in the decision-making process.

Youth participation in community planning is vital if for no other reason than they're the ones who realistically will live with the results. Youth have their own visualization of what they want their community to look like. Their ideas don't always have to be groundbreaking - pedestrian friendly, aesthetically pleasing, vibrant downtowns - but their vision brings a fresh perspective of what Long Island could be and what Long Island should be.

Unfortunately their voice is not always heard as planning officials sometimes do not include youth; viewing them as unqualified, inexperienced and not being able to fully understand short and long-term projects, results and consequences. But young people should have more than enough opportunities to speak about the concerns of their community; they need to understand they hold major influence when dealing with issues critical to improving their town and surrounding areas.

(Via LIBN) -Gov. Andrew Cuomo's consolidated funding application proposal has already resulted in 16 projects being submitted for funding from the Long Island region, Empire State Development officials said Monday.

At the New York State Regional Economic Development Council's second public forum, held at Hofstra University, Empire State Development Representative Barry Greenspan informed the crowd that 16 applications had been submitted for funding. The state has earmarked $800 million from multiple state agencies to be divvied up between projects from the 10 regional councils across the state based on regional significance and potential economic impact.

Reached afterward, ESD's Long Island Regional Director Andrea Lohneiss said the 16 applications were not necessarily completed, but had been started.

"The consolidated funding application allows applicants to submit a project, get up to a certain point and save the application, coming back to it at a later time," Lohneiss said.

Those 16 projects were in the pipeline as of this weekend when Lohneiss said she checked the website, and included public improvement projects, such as repairs and improvements to bulkheads.

While Lohneiss said she did not know whether other regions had submitted applications for funding, she thought it was likely as applicants only have until Oct. 31 to submit their project proposals in order to be eligible for funding. Lohneiss anticipated "a couple hundred" projects being submitted from the Long Island region by that deadline.

The consolidated funding application serves as a single entry point for access to economic development funding. Applicants are able to submit one application to access multiple state funding sources, making the process quicker, easier, and more productive.  

Sustainable Long Island has been appointed to the Natural Assets Work Group, which will develop detailed strategies to capitalize on the identified (by the council) principal drivers and other opportunities and to address critical issues that have impeded appropriate economic growth.     

"Suburban America: Problems & Promise" had its national American Public Television broadcast debut on Sunday, September 4th with its first airings in Pennsylvania (including Philadelphia), Detroit, a number of Ohio markets (including Cleveland and Columbus), as well as Florida and Flint-Saginaw, Michigan.  

This past summer, Sustainable Long Island held a special premiere screening event of the film at the Cinema Arts Centre in Huntington. The documentary was screened in its entirety for the very first time at this event, which also included a delicious luncheon and a Q+A panel of Long Island experts, which brought to light key issues and opportunities concerning the changing needs of America's suburbs with the aim of helping to create more sustainable, economically viable metropolitan regions.

"Suburban America: Problems & Promise" will have its primary Long Island, New York broadcast on Saturday, October 22, 2011 at 8:00 PM on WLIW Channel 21. Below you can find the full Long Island Broadcast Schedule to date: 

These rough economic times have magnified the problems we Long Islanders face each and every day. With our leaders warning us of tougher times to come, thinking regionally and acting locally is urgent. It is in all of our best interest to stay engaged and do what we can together to build a more sustainable Long Island.

Please consider making a tax-deductible gift to Sustainable Long Island that will help support our ongoing, and future work within your Long Island communities; while helping advance economic development, environmental health, and social equity!