LIA Announces Support for Transportation Bond Issue; Urges all Long Islanders to Vote Yes on Nov. 7

Commack, Long Island, NY —The Board of Directors of the Long Island Association, the region’s largest business and civic organization, has voted unanimously to support the passage of the New York State Transportation Bond Issue, which is on the ballot on Nov. 7. The decision reflects the belief of the Board of Directors and the LIA Transportation Committee that the funds earmarked in the bond issue are essential for continued infrastructure improvements that are so important to Long Island’s continued economic growth.

“Transportation on Long Island is a multi-dimensional problem and it requires a variety of solutions,” said Mitchell H. Pally, LIA vice president of government affairs. “We cannot and should not attempt to build ourselves out of the problem by just adding highway lanes, nor can we depend entirely on a mass transit system to overcome the limited density of our lifestyle here on Long Island. What we need is a comprehensive approach to our variety of transportation issues. The 2000 Transportation Bond Issue will provide the necessary funding to ensure that a number of projects—encompassing all of our transportation modes—are completed over the next five years,” Pally said.

Funds from the Bond Act will be added to funds already made available from federal, state and local sources to allow the New York State Department of Transportation and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to complete their current five-year plans. $1.8 billion will be made available under the bond act for highway projects throughout the state and $2 billion will be made available for mass transit, aviation and rail and port projects.

Long Islanders will benefit directly from the bond as some of the local projects to be funded include the East Side Access project, which will allow the Long Island Rail Road to run trains directly into Grand Central Terminal; new buses for MTA Long Island Bus in Nassau County and Suffolk County Transit; bridge replacements and safety projects on the Robert Moses Causeway and the Roslyn Viaduct; and, new lanes along Route 347 in Suffolk County. For the first time, funds also are being earmarked for the development of a rail freight inter-modal terminal at Pilgrim State Hospital to allow for the ability to reduce truck traffic on our roadways.

“There is no question that the Transportation Bond Act on the ballot on Nov. 7 will improve our traffic flow, reduce air pollution, provide new mass transit options and ensure the safety of our bridges,” Pally said. “In all, the bond issue will have a major positive impact on all Long Island residents and that is why the Long Island Association urges a vote in favor of the bond issue.”