Long Island can lead the way as America strives to
compete. The past few weeks have seen
significant movement that can benefit our intellectual institutions and has the
potential to spur massive economic growth.
Last week Senator Schumer joined with leaders from Stony Brook
University, Cold Spring Harbor Labs and BNL to push for a regional innovation
cluster. This week Brookhaven Supervisor
Mark Lesko continued the call when he announced Accelerate LI at his State of
the Town. And President Obama stressed
the need to invest in technology and education in the State of the Union.
Schumer and Lesko are smart to push a regional innovation
cluster for Long Island because that's exactly the direction of federal policy.
Originally an idea that was born out of Harvard Business School, the
Administration and Congress has funded various new programs promoting clusters
through the Departments of Commerce and Energy. And more recently, Congress
passed the COMPETES Act, which created a new federal cluster program aimed at
efforts like those being spearhead on Long Island. These new programs put a
premium on linking research institutions, business organizations, and private
investors. That's exactly what we need on Long Island.
Programs like these have the potential to transform local
economies if they are executed properly.
It will fall on local government to assure that new industries born
through these partnerships have the opportunity to grow. If local government doesn’t provide quick
approvals and incentives for innovators and investors to build their businesses
when they leave the institutions, jobs created by our innovation cluster will
leave the island, just as they have in the past.
I am confident that the institutions above along with North
Shore/LIJ’s Feinstein Institute, Hofstra, Adelphi and LIU will produce great minds with
great ideas. They in turn will develop
companies capable of creating good jobs.
They have in the past, but can we keep them here? It’s time for Long Island governments to wake
up! In the face of one of the worst
economic climates in history, some LI towns are putting ultra-parochial concerns
before regional needs by saying no to good projects that can produce jobs, stimulate
the local economy and provide homes for young professionals. We can build these companies, but where will
their employees live.
I have often used this space to talk about how our region changed
from a farming and fishing community to a region with a population the size of
Chicago. We have all of the problems of
major cities but we pretend we live in Mayburry when we zone. That’s got to change or we might as well take
the money we are investing in clusters and light it on fire.
