As he outlines his vision for a "new suburbia," County Executive Tom Suozzi often speaks of the most important economic catalyst and key to the county's future - the Nassau Hub.

"The Hub is home to the most jobs, the most square feet of commercial property and the most tax revenues in the county," he noted during his recent State of the County Address, which took place at the Cradle of Aviation on Museum Row in Garden City.

The Hub begins in Mineola to Roosevelt Field and Eisenhower Park, down to the Nassau Coliseum, EAB Plaza, Nassau Community College and Museum Row, over to Hofstra University, Mitchel Field Industrial Park in Uniondale and downtown Hempstead, back up through Garden City, returning to Mineola. Suozzi believes it should be Long Island's downtown, with four connecting spokes - one connecting Suffolk, one to New York City, one to the North Shore and one to the South Shore.

"If we were to build it up with more EAB office buildings, more cultural, entertainment and sports activities and more affordable workforce housing, it would guarantee a bright economic future for the county," he said.

However, he admits the effect on traffic would be horrendous. To battle that problem, Suozzi proposes implementing a long-term plan for a new commuter system that would take workers and visitors not only to Manhattan but to Long Island's downtown as well.

Failing to implement such a system would prevent needed growth Suozzi believes the county needs. "The current traffic simply will not allow it," he said. "If there is no growth, the future guarantees higher taxes, as a result lower services and the bad traffic flow will only get worse."

Gridlock, missing transportation links between Long Island Rail Road stations and activity centers, lack of north-south transit connectivity and disjointed land use patterns are just some of the reasons the county executive began studying the idea of a Nassau Hub in the first place.

A preliminary screening of alternative transit modes and alignments, presented March 30 during the third of several public meetings, discussed numerous alternatives under consideration. Of the 27 separate alternatives, each is based on two factors - mode of transportation and route structure.

Alternative No. 1 could extend commuter rail service from the Long Island Rail Road Garden City station to the Hub via a Garden City secondary line. Further, it states that shuttle bus service would be required to reach destinations within the Hub. Preliminary screening evaluation results, however, discovered that this alternative, overall, rated poorly with regard to consistency with study goals, institutional restraints, accessibility and convenience, constructability, operational feasibility and environmental impacts and will not advance to a secondary screening.

Alternative No. 1 and No. 2, which proposes dedicated Long Island Rail Road shuttle service south from the Long Island Rail Road Mineola station to the Roosevelt Field/Mitchel Field area via reactivation of a former Long Island Rail Road right-of-way and the Garden City secondary line, could result in negative operational impacts to other Long Island Rail Road services, limited service due to the need to serve two terminals (Hempstead and a "new Hub station") and an inability to extend alignment to directly serve destinations in the Hub.

Modes of transportation that will be further evaluated include a Rapid Commute Vehicle (RCV), Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Automated Guideway Transit (AGT).

Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy recently announced that the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure included $7 million for the Nassau HUB in HR 3550, The Transportation Equity Act.

The congresswoman believes the 76-acre Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum site is the most important property within the Hub's boundaries because of its economic development potential. "As such, the redevelopment of this property will have a major impact on the county's economy as well as significant impact on the transportation systems and environment, both within the Hub and in the surrounding areas," she noted.

Although she's glad the committee recognized the need for such improvements, the congresswoman admits, "This isn't the end of the road by any means but it's truly wonderful news.

"The next step in the process is final approval by the House, but I'm confident that the importance of this project will guarantee its survival in the final version of the bill. Nassau County faces unique transportation demands, but this money will go a long way in addressing our problems," McCarthy added.

County officials, however, stress that this entire Hub study is preliminary at this time and could see several changes as it is further probed in the future.