Is Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi's bold new vision for a New Suburbia in Nassau just a pie in the sky idea? No, not if you ask him. His ambitious plan, which includes new office buildings, new sports entertainment and tourism venues, even a zoo at Eisenhower Park, won't happen overnight, not even in a year or two, but he's sure, with good planning, it will certainly be a reality in the future.

"We need a new vision," he said during a special meeting Jan. 25 at Hofstra University. "A vision that protects our suburban dream, preserves our quality of life and expands our tax base." His goal: turn the Nassau HUB, which he says has been disjointed for 25 years, into the "Nassau Centre," which could be home to new jobs and new commercial tax revenues.

The county executive discussed different modes of transportation, pedestrian and bicycle greenway connections that could link culture, education and recreation as well as commercial and retail nodes and a new central business district he dubbed the Hempstead Turnpike Oval.

Suozzi's most important focus is on the new Nassau Centre - from Mineola to Roosevelt Field Mall and Eisenhower Park, down to the Nassau Coliseum, EAB Plaza, Nassau Community College over to Museum Row and Hofstra University, Mitchel Field Industrial Park in Uniondale and downtown Hempstead, back up through Garden City and returning to Mineola.

For the past several years, Suozzi has been traveling throughout the county speaking and listening to residents about everyday issues. He agrees with those who state Nassau is already overdeveloped, over-trafficked, under-planned and overtaxed. So how is he going to win over the skeptics? Alleviating traffic congestion could sway some. Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Automated Guideway Transit (AGT) are three transportation alternatives being scrutinized under an Environmental Impact Study already underway thanks to $2.7 million in federal grants Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy, Congressman Peter King and Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Charles Schumer approved.

"It has been almost 58 years since William Levitt and his sons announced their plan to build 2,000 homes for returning veterans on their Island Trees land and nearly 50 years since ground was broken on a deserted airfield on Hempstead Plains for the new and mammoth Roosevelt Field Shopping Center," Suozzi noted.

The county executive's vision for New Suburbia and a new Nassau Centre is just the beginning. "No shovel will be put in the ground because of today's development," he admitted. "Today we begin to try and build a consensus on where we want to go as a community. Once we agree on that vision, we invest our efforts in trying to get there together."

According to a county spokesperson, a public meeting is slated in the near future. All residents are invited to attend. Stay tuned to Anton Newspapers for details.