Long Island Association needs to lead, and advocate, again
Billy Haugland, left, shares a toast to the Long Island Association at its centennial celebration with Adam Silvers, second from left, Linda Armyn and LIA acting president Stacey Sikes. Credit: Newsday / Randi F. Marshall
Hundreds of Long Islanders last week gathered to celebrate the centennial of the region’s largest business group, the Long Island Association, in an evening full of awards, speeches and video tributes, ending with a Champagne toast.
LIA chairman Larry Waldman, one of the honorees, regaled the crowd with memories of celebrity appearances and recognized the contributions of the group’s current acting president Stacey Sikes and its large board to the LIA’s success.
At one point, he noted that the LIA is “at its core” an “advocacy organization.”
So, what was missing from that fancy gathering?
Advocacy.
It is a time of transition for the LIA. A search is ongoing for a new permanent chief executive and it’s likely Waldman, too, may depart soon. The association’s next moves will have enormous implications, not only for the organization, but for Long Island.
In their speeches, former LIA chief executive Kevin Law and current board member Robert Catell, the evening’s other honorees, recalled past efforts to stand up for Long Island and get big things done, most notably the Long Island Rail Road’s Third Track.
But those recollections seem like whimsical moments of a time gone by for an organization that is a shell of its former muscular self.
The LIA continues to hold breakfasts with the governor and county executives, lunches with celebrity speakers and roundtables with congressional representatives.
But think about it. When was the last time the association served as Long Island’s voice on any significant proposal, platform or specific issue? When did it stand for anything remarkable, or loudly critique policies that weren’t in the Island’s interest? When did it last lead?
The LIA has lost much of the effectiveness and clout it carried under past chief executives, like Law, the late Matt Crosson, and James LaRocca.
In his remarks, Law recalled a Newsday editorial from September 2010, asking him to “make [the LIA] relevant again.” Law took that seriously, helping to establish a new coalition to get Third Track over the finish line, working to develop a research corridor, and addressing challenges like Superstorm Sandy and the pandemic.
Shortly after Crosson took the LIA’s chief job in 1993, he brought together local leaders and presented a Long Island Action Plan, with 254 recommendations, many of which eventually came to fruition. During his tenure, he pushed for affordable housing and encouraged the creation and growth of tech companies here. And he never minced words when it came to the Island’s shortcomings.
When Crosson stepped down from the LIA 17 years ago, longtime government official Pat Foye noted in a Newsday news story that Crosson “was often in my face, pushing for Long Island’s fair share and never taking ‘maybe’ for an answer.”
No one is doing that now.
There was a small signal of hope for the future of the Island’s advocacy — and the LIA — at the close of last week’s bash, when three of Long Island’s forward-thinking business executives — Linda Armyn with FourLeaf Federal Credit Union, Adam Silvers of Ruskin Moscou Faltischek, and Billy Haugland with Haugland Group — came to the stage to make a toast.
“To the next 100 years,” Haugland said. “Buckle up.”
We haven’t had to “buckle up” for years. That’ll only change if the LIA offers the wheel to leaders who can drive the organization — and the region — forward.
Columnist Randi F. Marshall’s opinions are her own.
Randi Marshall is a member of the Newsday editorial board.
