A TIP-off on Long Island transportation projects

Daily Point

LI advocates seek $7B in funding for road improvements, Oakdale Merge, more

About 15 people gathered in a Hauppauge basement Tuesday. Their task: To discuss where billions of dollars in transportation funds should go.

And although it was a public meeting in a state office building, there were only two public speakers — Assemb. Tommy John Schiavoni, who represents Long Island’s East End and part of Brookhaven, and Long Island Contractors’ Association executive director Marc Herbst.

The meeting was organized by the Nassau/Suffolk Transportation Coordinating Committee, an arm of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council, or NYMTC.

The council is ultimately responsible for determining which projects should be included in an all-important list known as the Transportation Improvement Program, or TIP. If a transportation project isn’t on the TIP, it likely won’t receive critical streams of state and federal funding.

Herbst, who told The Point he was the only nongovernmental employee at the meeting, came armed with specific, detailed proposals for projects he hoped would be included on the TIP, amounting to about $7 billion worth of work. They included major endeavors, like Long Island Rail Road electrification and improvements to the Oakdale Merge, and less expensive measures, like Route 110 bus rapid transit, along with a variety of road improvement and flood mitigation efforts.

"Long Island hasn’t had a project of regional significance in over 20 years [on the list]," Herbst said. "And if a project is not on the TIP, it’s as if it doesn’t exist."

What Herbst didn’t realize until he arrived at Monday’s meeting, however, is that the Nassau-Suffolk committee had already prepared its tentative TIP list before the meeting. While its list included some of Herbst’s more minor suggestions, those of "regional significance," like the Oakdale Merge, were not on it. By the end of the meeting, the group, which included representatives from the state and both county executives, voted to accept their initial list.

That proposal is expected to move on to the full council, which includes Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine, for its approval.

But, Herbst added, there’s still time to amend the list and add projects onto the final TIP — and he’s hoping Blakeman and Romaine will advocate for some of the more significant projects to be included — and more broadly for additional funding for Long Island. Ultimately, all projects require a unanimous vote for the council’s approval, giving each of the two county executives power to hold up the final TIP if it doesn’t meet Long Island’s needs.

Herbst’s plea comes in the wake of his failed efforts earlier this year to get Long Island its own metropolitan planning organization to give the region more leverage when it comes to federal funding. Despite his push, bills proposed in the State Legislature that would have separated the Island from New York City and the lower Hudson Valley didn’t move forward.

As a result, Herbst told The Point he would continue to push to get Long Island a larger piece of the NYMTC pie.

He doesn’t have much time. The full council is expected to meet in September to adopt the final TIP.

— Randi F. Marshall randi.marshall@newsday.com

Pencil Point

Predictable

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Final Point

Former Greenport mayor comes out in favor of development 

Dave Kapell, the hat-wearing former mayor of the Village of Greenport and longtime fixture on the Long Island public policy scene, hasn’t served in public office in nearly two decades.

But now, Kapell is returning to the political fray, as a business owner and Greenport resident. Kapell, who served as mayor of the North Fork village from 1994 to 2007, told The Point he made a conscious choice over the past 18 years not to speak publicly at village board meetings. That ended last week.

"The village is in an alarming state of decline resulting directly from the board’s actions," Kapell said during his nearly five minutes at the podium.

Kapell argued that the village has its highest commercial vacancy rate in 25 years, and that key proposals for redevelopment, including housing, new restaurants and a hotel expansion, "are either dead or mired in delay," blaming the problem on "onerous new parking requirements" and inaction by the board.

"What’s more important for the people and the future of Greenport — a place to live and raise a family, or a place to park a car?" Kapell asked.

Kapell, who has owned a real estate business in Greenport since 1981, told The Point that he "avoided getting involved until this point," but when the Greenporter Hotel recently pulled its application for an extensive expansion and renovation, he reached a tipping point. Kapell was involved in the sale of the hotel to the current owners, but said he has no current stake in the property.

Current Greenport Mayor Kevin Stuessi told The Point that the village board has made changes to the downtown district’s code that, he said, "have protected the historic character of the village" while also helping small businesses. New parking requirements, he said, are only in place for hotels and "larger restaurants."

"Our whole board has to represent all of the village folks who live here, and many don’t want to see significant change," Stuessi said. "They’re prepared for evolution, but not in a significant manner that’s going to greatly affect quality of life. It’s about a balance."

"I am for smart development, not unbridled development," he added.

The dispute comes as Greenport has had its share of political drama over the last several months. The Suffolk Times has reported that Stuessi has had a series of financial difficulties, including a foreclosure action, and legal complications, including over unpaid bills and a driver’s license suspension. Former Deputy Mayor Mary Bess Philips, who recently won reelection as a village trustee, had owed the village more than $100,000 in back property taxes and electric bills.

But Kapell said his reentry into Greenport politics is not a sign that he plans to run for office again. Instead, he said, he is encouraging some of the younger residents who voiced similar sentiments at last week’s meeting to consider it.

"I’m encouraging them to exercise leadership," he said. "Hopefully, one or two of them will run for office."

The next election for village mayor is in 2027.

— Randi F. Marshall randi.marshall@newsday.com

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