Approximately 100 local residents gathered in the auditorium of Plainview-Old Bethpage Middle School last week to hear Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi's plan for economic development and to discuss the overall vision for Plainview and Old Bethpage in the future.

According to Suozzi, Nassau County has drafted an Economic Development Plan that outlines broad goals for the future development of the county in order to combat the problems individual communities face as well as to further add to the benefits of living in each community.

The plan divides the county into 35 economic development areas, allowing Nassau County to work with each community to create an overall vision based on community input. Meetings, like the one held in Plainview, will be held in each of the 35 economic development areas, in the near future. Plainview's meeting was the third meeting, with Suozzi previously speaking to residents of Elmont and Bethpage.

With the support of Nassau County's three town supervisors and the local mayors and with this input from local residents, the county will develop a detailed plan for the future of the community that will be incorporated into the Nassau County Master Plan. "This meeting is not about the county overall but about your community and the long-term future growth of this area," Suozzi said. "This is a long-term plan and will not be done when I run for re-election in 2005."

The process started in Plainview and Old Bethpage with a bus tour of the area. Suozzi boarded a bus with approximately 20 local residents and toured both Plainview and Old Bethpage last week. This tour afforded Suozzi the opportunity to acquaint himself with the area and allow residents to show Suozzi certain areas that they felt need attention.

The primary goal of the Department of Economic Development is to promote sustainable economic development that will create high-wage jobs, expand the tax base and improve the quality of life for residents in ways that are in harmony with the natural environment, according to Suozzi.

Suozzi decided that this department must focus on the following initiatives in order to confirm the reputation of Nassau County as the best place to live, work and play in the nation: promote high-tech, high-skilled industry; revitalize local downtowns; remediate, recycle and reuse Brownfield properties and restore them to productive use; facilitate workforce and senior housing development; preserve open spaces and promote sports, entertainment and tourism in Nassau County.

Suozzi discussed problems he found specific to Plainview and Old Bethpage, the first being no discernible downtown area. Suozzi stated that Plainview and Old Bethpage are comprised mostly of individual strip malls and a distinct downtown area would create a community identity. Many discussions have taken place around where "downtown" Plainview would be and Suozzi mentioned Old Country Road as one possibility.

According to Suozzi, revitalizing local downtowns helps the local economy, produces more jobs and also produces more disposable spending in the community. "Revitalization results in a greater sense of identity and community pride and also gives people within the community a place to shop and gather," he said.

There are many steps to creating a more distinct downtown, according to Suozzi. Residents need to create a vision for downtown, create a walkable community, establish a business improvement district and encourage specific kinds of development, including anchor tenants and workforce and senior housing.

Another problem specific to Plainview and Old Bethpage according to Suozzi is high traffic volumes. He pointed out many high traffic areas focusing on the corner of Woodbury Road and South Oyster Bay Road.

Some of the other problems that Suozzi mentioned include lack of adequate parking, lack of affordable housing, environmental issues, the future use of Plainview Properties, and the use of industrial parks.

According to Suozzi, partnerships will have to be established with the Town of Oyster Bay, the Plainview-Old Bethpage Chamber of Commerce, the Plainview Old Bethpage Central School District, the Plainview Old Bethpage PTA and the Concerned Citizens of Plainview and Old Bethpage as well as any other groups that Suozzi may have been unaware of at the time of the meeting. "This is very hard to do and it is a lot of work," said Suozzi. "If it was easy, someone else would do it."

Another focus of the discussion by Suozzi dealt with Old Bethpage Village Restoration and Suozzi believes it should be more of a tourism site. "We lose money on that facility," said Suozzi. "We should be utilizing it more."

This meeting was the first step in the process but it allowed Suozzi the opportunity to meet with the community and hear their concerns as people voiced their opinions during a question and answer period after the presentation. Please contact Suozzi's office at 571-3131 or write to Suozzi at 1 West Street, Mineola, NY 11501 with any further comments or suggestions. The entire plan can be downloaded from the Nassau County Economic Development website at www.nassaucountynydevelopment.org.