UNIONDALE, NY – June 29, 2009 – (RealEstateRama) – Joined by Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray, and Islanders owner Charles Wang, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced his support for the Lighthouse redevelopment project and said that he will push to secure federal transportation funding to upgrade and expand the transportation infrastructure essential for the project’s success. The purpose of the Lighthouse project is to transform the Nassau Coliseum, the surrounding parking lot and ancillary properties into a state-of-the-art sports-residential-commercial-and-entertainment complex that will host the New York Islanders and NY Dragons and a mixed-use “smart growth” community that supplies housing, retail, office, hotel and restaurant buildings while encouraging eco-friendly and energy efficient transportation and living accommodations.
“The Lighthouse is is good for Long Island and good for New York. It will create jobs in the short term and — in the long term– it will transform an underutilized resource into a thriving sports-entertainment-business and residential hub that will be an engine of economic growth for future generations. The bottom line is the Lighthouse project is essential to the economic future of Nassau County and now is the time for all of us, at all levels of government, to work together to get it done. At the federal level, I am going to work with the members of the Congressional delegation to breakdown any barrier and secure funding to see this project gets up and running and is completed as soon as possible.
The purpose of the Lighthouse project is to transform the Nassau Coliseum, the surrounding parking lot and ancillary properties into a state-of-the-art sports complex for the NY Islanders and NY Dragons and a mixed-use “smart growth” community that supplies housing, retail, office, hotel and restaurant buildings while encouraging eco-friendly and energy efficient transportation and living accommodations.
“The Lighthouse project can’t come soon enough for all of us, and it is too important not to move it along. The Islanders are a source of pride for Long Island residents and they deserve a first-class, state-of-the-art arena,” said County Executive Suozzi. “we need this project to breathe life into new suburbia and jump start our economy. I thank Senator Schumer for his support.”
The current home of the Nassau Coliseum would be transformed into a multi-use cultural event and living center offering new transit opportunities connecting the 150 acre site to the existing public transportation system (Long Island Bus and LIRR) along with a new express shuttle to the Mineola LIRR station and a trolley system that connects the Lighthouse to the adjacent Hofstra University, Nassau Community College and Museum Row.
The Lighthouse project is anticipated to generate approximately 75,000 construction and secondary jobs during the ten-year build-out period, approximately 19,000 new permanent and secondary jobs, $71 million of annual property, sales and entertainment tax revenue, ensure that a sports and entertainment venue would remain for the benefit of the Town of Hempstead residents (and Long Island), and $55 million would be contributed by Wang to transportation infrastructure and other community service initiatives.
Schumer today said that he will push to secure federal transportation funding for the project that could help fund a variety of transportation improvements in the area around the Coliseum and any future development.
In April, Schumer and Suozzi pressed the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to approve Nassau County’s proposal to enhance service on the Long Island Bus’ N24 line. New buses and signal pre-emptors are needed for an improved Central Nassau route that would create a more efficient path from the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum to the Long Island Rail Road’s Mineola train station. Schumer and Suozzi are working with the FTA and MTA to use federal transportation funding and Recovery Act funding to make travel time from the Hub to the LIRR quicker and easier for commuters.
