Limba

BNL Event To Be Confirmed
2014-03-06 00:00 (America/New_York)

Peter M. Curtis
2014-03-06 00:00
Peter M. Curtis
President
Power Management Concepts, LLC
Applied Science Center for HLS
510 Grumman Road West, Suite 211
Bethpage, New York 11714
516.465.0188 x7838
516.870.7838 – Direct
pcurtis@powermanage.com
www.powermanage.com

Fishbat Social Media Workshop
2014-02-21 00:00
Friday’s meeting was a good overview of modern communication in business. The meeting was dubbed Business Bootcamp and it was the first of several that we will be hosting. Our visiting experts were the principals of Fishbat. Fishbat prides itself with being attuned to effective ways to communicate services and products of its clients to their target market through the use of digital media.
Jennifer Calise and Clay Darrohn were the presenters and one of their first things they mentioned was the precision of the message is beyond anything that could have been done in years gone by. We now have the ability to target market our commercial messages in a digital forward media to an audience that will probably be interested. The example they gave was a restaurant that wanted to reach a certain age segment in a limited radius. If you want to reach an audience that is between the ages of 25 and 55 because you have statistics that indicate that this age segment tends to eat out, you can do that. You can refine your criteria in numerous ways to make sure your efforts are received by the people who might want your services.
Clay and Jennifer went into some detail on the use of Facebook and other vehicles that you can enlist to make your campaign more successful. During the Q&A specific questions were posed that were answered by our presenters. The message in the room was that we are living in a truly different environment and that environment is constantly changing.
Using the various tools that we have at our disposal our campaigns to create an efficient stream of business has improved. Understanding those tools with all the possibilities as well as limitations are essential to launching and sustaining a business campaign.
Our meeting was sponsored by Matrix Corporate Park and they generously donated two 50 inch flat screen TV’s for door prizes. Our winners were Merrill Zorn from Zorn’s Catering and Chris Banks from Brookhaven Memorial Hospital. Congratulations!
This program was largely the efforts of Michelle Zere. Great job, Michelle! I also want to thank Annette Krauss and Ken Nevor for helping Bill Miller with the registration desk
Our next two meetings are;
March 7th – Richard Margulis, President of Brookhaven Memorial Hospital
March 21st – Steve Levy and NY Assemblyman Michael Fitzpatrick – Cost Effective Government
Ernie Fazio

Ross Ain, President Caithness Long Island
2014-02-07 00:00
The Caithness Company is no stranger to LIMBA. This morning Caithness President, Ross Ain, discussed the new 350 megawatt plant that has been proposed. The original plant that Caithness completed in 2009 was the most efficient power plant that was ever built on Long Island. The new plant will use techniques that will further improve efficiency and operating range.
Mr. Ross made a painstaking explanation of how current plants operate. First explaining the difference between single cycle operations and combined cycle plants such as the Caithness design including the plant they built 4 years ago. Then he explained the efficiencies that are realized with the new plants. Older plants produce more pollution when they are operating at the optimum levels, than the new plants, but at reduced power they actually become even more polluting. The modern Combined Cycle plants remain at maximum cleanliness even when they are powered down to 50%.
In addition they can power up or down very quickly. The old power plants can takes as much as 24 hours. The reason why that is important is because we need that kind of flexibility when we are introducing more and more solar and wind generation. With solar and wind the flow of electrons can be reduced by storm clouds, and falling levels of wind. We need a system that can take up the slack quickly in order to make wind and solar more viable.
Fuel is one of the big cost items in producing power, lower fuel consumption brings substantial savings, and the new plant as well as the existing Caithness plant, use much less fuel that any other power plant on Long Island. When the power is sold it gets preference over other power plants because they can deliver the generating capacity at lower cost. Other power plants still get some of the ordered power because the need is greater than Caithness can provide. That will change as this new power comes on line, but the demand for power is still growing, and the PSE&G will still be using other plants to make up the difference.
Ross explained that the plant uses very little water, the cooling process is similar to the closed loop that we see in our automobiles. Instead of requiring access to a large body of water such we have in Northport, Port Jefferson and other locations on Long Island, the coolant is recirculated and cooled in “cooling Towers.” The process not only saves water, it avoids thermal pollution of the surrounding waters that seriously effect marine life.
The Q&A that followed was quite lively. There were people in the room that were knowledgeable about power plants in general as well as this technology and there were people from the environmental community. Those questions allowed the speaker to elaborate and fill in the information.
Ernie Fazio

St Joseph's Veterans programs
2014-01-24 00:00
St Joseph’s College Veterans Programs Panel

We started the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance and the then Bill Miller introduced the speaker
This Friday’s meeting was an in depth discussion on educational opportunities that are available to veterans. Dir. Vitters brought several fellow staff people from St Josephs’ College. Dr. Vitters is a retired Colonel and his efforts have been directed to using all of the economic support tools that are available. The GI Bill that we associate with the returning vets after WWII is again available today. St Josephs was named as the best college for veterans by US News & World report
Dr. Vitters pointed out that these vets are dealing with stresses that are more severe than those we welcomed home in the past. The formula for service during an action is 1/3 of the army is at war 1/3 is preparing for war an 1/3 is on leave at home and in general repairing themselves. That is not the case now. It is ½ in a war zone and ½ in preparation for war. That formula is unsustainable.
St Joseph’s College has about 5,000 students between the Brooklyn and Patchogue campus and is among the four highest rated private colleges in the country. They have integrated the enrolled veterans into the campus life and the experience and maturity has had a positive effect on the other students. They come to the school with real job skills and now they have the drive and aptitude to develop themselves further.
The funding is called “The Yellow Ribbon Program” It provides $19,000 to cover the educational program and the college will provide an additional $5000 if that amount is insufficient. The VA will provide another $5,000 if still needed. So far the students have not exceeded the base amount, but the extra funding is there of it is needed. But there is more. Student vets get an additional $2700 per month for living expenses, and $1,000 for books.
The investment in these veterans is particularly important because Long Island has one of the highest concentrations of veterans in the country. The fields of study they are interested in run the gamut from learning rehab for fellow soldiers to child care.
We also learned that Tauro College has a program and Ken Rosenblum was in the audience to tell us of that effort too. Dr. Hubert Keen president of Farmingdale State College sent a representative, Eric Farina, to the meeting as well, and he gave us a take on services his unit was offering.
We learned a lot today about programs that are getting serious attention.
There were a number of veterans in the audience and they posed interesting questions and made a few suggestions.
Ernie Fazio

In the Photo: Shannon O’Neil, Dr. Gail Lamberta, Bill Miller, Dr. Al Vitters, and Dr. Steve Fuchs.

LIMBA/BOCES Event
2014-01-17 00:00
Today’s program took us to the Edward Miliken Training Center in Oakdale. The facility houses the technical training program that Eastern Suffolk BOCES uses to impart numerous practical skills ranging from solar electric installations, nursing, diesel mechanics, and auto repair to audio-visual training, and various other important skills needed in industry. The unit is now called "The Academy of Applied Technology."

It would be a mistake to think that the academy is just producing skilled craftspeople. They are in fact giving the students an education that demands that the science of their work is understood. Students are no longer faced with the stark choice of going to college or working as a laborer. The objective is to give the students salable skills and a background that encourages pursuit of higher education, if they choose that course later.

The academy is staffed with teachers that are from industry and know the skills that they are teaching by actually having to have had made a living doing it. They are practitioners first before ever teaching. That real world knowledge is essential to making a program like this work.

While at the meeting this morning I mentioned that when I come into the building the students and staff are open and friendly. They greet you in the hall and smile. I asked if that friendliness is promoted by the school. The answer they gave is no, and Julie Lutz, the administrator there, noted that learning disabled students that are referred from other schools in the system have a high rate of success. The reason for the success with those students and the good attitude in general could be that achieving something worth doing has a calming effect. There were a few people in the room that have benefited by the programs and they supported the notion that education received there was worthwhile.

Presenting was District Superintendent Dean Lucera and Leah Arnold Director of Technical Education, Picture shown, and Superintendent of Educational Service Julie Davis Lutz.

Ernie Fazio

Kevin Law
2014-01-09 00:00

LIMBA Holiday Gathering
2013-12-13 00:00
James Graseck will be playing for us again. We call Jim the "Victor Borge" of the violin. We will also have comedian Harry Freedman. Harry has worked our room before in 2002 and was a big hit. He also brought us the ventriloquist Vince Dantona, and comedian John LaRocchia. This is always a well attended event. At present we are 25% sold out.
We are looking for several sponsors for this event.

Thanksgiving weekend - no meeting
2013-11-29 00:00

LIMBA program - Helena Williams LIRR president
2013-11-15 00:00
Our speaker this morning was Long Island Railroad President Helena Williams. Helena has been our guest speaker at LIMBA each year for the last few years. Her mission today was to inform us of the various projects the railroad is working on.

The principal effort of today’s discussion was the second track on the Ronkonkoma line. The electrification of the Ronkonkoma line was accomplished in the mid 1990’s but only one track was active.(That was a project a LIMBA requested) But Ms. Williams pointed out that although the rail system could not find the money for the second track, however the electrical substations were built robust enough to support the additional track. That made the building the second track less of a burden, and now it is coming to fruition, she credited the past leadership’s foresight.

Double track will advance the efforts of the LI MacArthur airport to regain passengers and be profitable. It will have an impact on economic development by allowing reverse commutes. Williams expects to be able to have half hourly service in both directions during off-peak times, resulting in a substantial increase in service.

Beyond the service improvements are the economic benefits of engaging workers building the infrastructure.

The resiliency of the system by making this second track improvement will also serve us better when we suffer large scale disasters such we saw in hurricane Sandy and what we are now seeing in the Philippines.

Williams pointed out that some of the planning that was done over 100 years ago served us well. The tunnels leading into Penn Station were built at a much lower level than the station itself. These tunnels did take on water but Penn Station was spared, and that would have been a much worse situation. Helena stated before she closed that the mainline improvements are essential when you consider the growing frequency and ferocity of weather patterns.

There are so many good reasons for making the proposed improvements and outreach to the community is essential to making the public aware and winning support for the railroad. That’s what she accomplished today.

This meeting was sponsored by Greenman Pedersen Inc., an engineering firm that has expertise in railroad planning and design as well as other disciplines. Team leader Denise Carter introduced the speaker- Thank you Greenman Pedersen.

Ernie Fazio

Gary Richard - PC Richard & Son LI Success Story
2013-11-01 00:00
At LIMBA we like to vary our programs. This week I reached out to Gary Richard of PC Richard & Son fame. Although I met Gary almost 30 years ago it never occurred to me to ask him to speak at LIMBA. The story of a family owned business remaining in the family for 104 years is unusual to say the least.
The meeting began by him giving us a brief timeline of how his grandfather went from a penniless immigrant from Holland to a hardware store owner, appliance repair shop, and appliance sales.
Gary is very comfortable having an enlarged conversation with the group rather than a formal presentation and very quickly we shifted to that mode. He answers questions with directness and humor and is able to take a little ribbing as well.
He had a picture of the hardware store that his parents operated with an apartment upstairs where he was born, and he told us of that experience. The company blossomed under his father’s management with a philosophy that hasn’t changed over the years. “We don’t make sales, we make customers.”
When asked how do you perpetuate a family business and keep the well-educated and capable children interested in the business, “the business must become your life,” according to Gary. And because a substantial business needs people of varying skills, the members of the family are likely to find a spot that they can excel in. When you have logistics, store management, warehousing, human resources, repair shops and other needs, there is room for a wide variety of skills and interests.
Mr. Richard spoke about the growth spurts that occurred when the company absorbed the locations of the failed enterprises of Newmark & Lewis and later Circuit City. When Newmark and Lewis was operating they were doing about $200 million in sales and so was PC Richard, a year later PC Richard was doing more than $380 million in sales. Most of those additional sales were a result of retaining most of the Newmark & Lewis customer base.
The company considered going public against the advice of Gary’s father. After the investment house went through their dog and pony show and the deal was set Gary told the bankers that the deal was off. They insisted that they all go to dinner and have a few drinks and resolve the differences. “Why not, let’s have a good meal and enjoy some wine since we are never going to see these guys again.”
He didn’t have the heart to pull the trigger because all of what he and the two generations that came before him had built would be lost.
The employees of PC Richard & Son have had health insurance for the last 60 years. They will not keep a location going if the activity is low because it erodes the morale of the workforce. It is this kind of thinking that tells you that a satisfied workforce is as important as a satisfied customer base, and the two thoughts are closely related.
This program was sponsored by JVC Broadcasting and John Caracciolo. JVC had their sound technicians in the room and they taped the meeting. After the meeting JVC Broadcasting conducted a one-on-one interview with Mr. Richard

Mfg Back to Suffolk -Anne Shybunko-Moore, President, GSE
2013-10-25 00:00
Anne Shybunko Moore was our speaker Friday morning. Shybunko is president of GSE Industries. GSE has a long history on Long Island but had purchased land in Georgia a few years ago and built a manufacturing facility. It all seemed so attractive but a trained workforce was less available. And retention of those who were hired was difficult. The decision to bring that operation to Long Island was motivated by the confidence the company had in our local labor force. Some of the Georgia personnel did come to Long Island but most of the hires were recruited here on Long Island.
GSE had an option to locate in South Carolina near the new Boeing manufacturing facility. It may have been a good fit because the carbon fiber materials that GSE makes are used in aircraft. Anne opted to make the relocation to Long Island because of the confidence in the region. She said she also like living here.
Suffolk County IDA president, Anthony Manetta was also on the program and gave the audience information on the workings of the agency. According to Manetta poaching of Long Island business is an event that happens every day. Retaining business is more than tax abatement strategies, there are services rendered to business to help them prosper and remain in place. These services are quite straight forward and available to any company that can demonstrate a plan for a successful business. That point was made when someone asked if Anne Shybunko’s company received preferential treat ment because she had a woman owned business. Help received from the IDA was based on the merits of the company’s application stated Shybunko

Dr Sam Stanley - Pres.of SUNY Stony Brook TBC Nat Grid Spons
2013-10-18 00:00
Our speaker this morning at LIMBA was Dr. Samuel Stanley, president of SUNY Stony Brook. We asked him to speak about the economic impact of the university. Dr Stanley brought with him two of the contact people that could assist the business community in doing business with the institution.
Stanley began by discussing the funding which has come under pressure lately but he had an optimistic report that allowed savings in personnel and learned efficiencies to enable the school to grow with only modest tuition increases.
Once funding problems are solved planning becomes easier. In the plans are a net 250 new faculty members, but these faculty people will be doing mostly research and that means that money to fund those individuals will be forthcoming, and those pursuits tend to generate more funding This adds the economic strength of the region.
SUNY 2020
Work is being done on Smart Grid Technology, Energy Efficiency, and Coastal Management. These efforts are essential to residents, business, tourism, and commuting.
There are two new medical building being built one of them will be a $220 million dollar investment. This is a very large construction job, but the finished product will generate many permanent jobs.
Stony Brook’s education mission is aligned with science and technology and that in and by itself very important, but the university maintains a theater, The Staller Center. It has a stadium and an active sports program. All of these assets help funnel assets into the local economy.
The Q&A that came after Sam’s formal remarks was interesting too. It was a fast moving back and forth that allowed a lot of the people in the audience to take part. Dr Stanley adeptly handled each question with a level of confidence that we expect of someone with his background. We were not disappointed.
Ernie Fazio
Thank you Ken Nevor Anna Krause, and Anna Marie Woodroof for helping with the meeting registration and greeting the guests.
This meeting was sponsored Ray Homberger and National Grid

LIMBA Steve Levy- Center for Cost Effective Government
2013-10-04 00:00
Our speaker this morning at LIMBA was former County Executive Steve Levy. Steve established the "Center for Cost Effective Government" for the purpose of "preventing municipal government from going over the cliff."

Levy described the current problems as two parts. Revenues are reduced and expenses continue to rise. Revenues will again rise in the future, but the revenues will be constantly lagging increasing costs, according to Steve.

Levy sees the biggest hole in the bucket being personnel costs. He states the problem is not just that municipal salaries are high, pensions and work rules are really killing the goose.

Pension funding is based on market fluctuations. The "guaranteed benefit" plans that are in place:

1) Dictate that the taxpayer needs to reach deeper into his pockets when the stock investments under-perform. Ironically the taxpayers are also hurting from their own losses.

2) Overtime in the final years of employment increases the pay-out, instead of basing the payout on the regular salary. "That is why we see enormous pension payouts"

3) 20 year retirements mean we can conceivably be paying a police officer that came on the force at age 22 and retiring at 42 another 40 or more years.

4) Mandatory arbitration. Arbitrators are hired by the unions and always find for the highest increase in order to get re-hired again.

5) Work rules. -Vacations, holidays, paid sick leave, and personal days amount to 100 days. If you add in weekends they are working less than half as many days as there are in the year.

6) Step increases- (Tri borough Agreement) Step increases are not part of the union negotiations. If the contract expires, the step increases continue. This takes the pressure off the union to negotiate.

7) Disability retirements increased 648% since 1959 Levy finds this rate of disability very suspect since we have safety programs that were unknown in 1959, including OSHA legislation. Fraud in LIRR retirements is the most visible example, but we must examine the rest of the municipal workforce.

Beyond that Levy asserts that we are an enormous regional population that gets short-funded from Albany and Washington. New York City has 9 million people and garnered $30 billion in federal funds. We on Long Island celebrate if we get a few hundred thousand and we have 3 million people. "If it were proportional we would be getting $10 billion."

Mr. Levy came to us armed with many facts and examples for the audience to question, and they did.

Ernie Fazio

This Meeting was sponsored by M&T Bank and Bill Miller. Thank you!

Special Program on energy- Commercial Scale Solar PV
2013-09-20 00:00
Our speakers today were the president and CEO of Nautilus Solar, James Rice and Long Island attorney Morton Weber.

Solar power has been around for many years. Photovoltaic cells were used in spacecraft at the inception of the space program. The then new technology was far too expensive to be used by the public, and the day that it could ever be economical was a far-off dream. PV power was later manufactured in larger runs than the specialty production used for powering spacecraft electrical systems. It was still relatively expensive but it found a market in homes that were far from the established grid. If it cost $100,000 to bring a power line to a home, than solar with battery back-up was a better choice.

We progressed over the years and what was formerly a novelty, became more and more mainstream. What was introduced today tells us that Solar PV is not only well established for its non-polluting benefits, it is now economically viable.

Mr. Rice pointed out that the number of workers that are employed in the solar industry is higher than the number of workers in the coal industry. That trend will, no doubt continue. Nautilus gets its best results from large installations. The bigger the better. The concept is that they rent your roof to have a platform to generate power and feed it back to the utility. The benefit to the building owner is that he gets a rent check. Over time the equipment will become the property of the building owner. The cost of the technology has dropped dramatically in recent years and that trend appears to be continuing. With cost of solar now at 22cents per kilowatt hour, the industry needs no further state initiatives according to M. Rice. The lease is 20 years and then the equipment ownership is transferred to the building owner for $1.

Attorney Morton Weber has been specializing in IDA (Industrial Development Agency) funding of the financing of these systems and the benefits and tax incentives were explained.

When the formal remarks were completed we opened the floor to questions. A question was asked; Why not place the solar field on the ground where there is no building?
A) Of course we could put systems near the ground, but real estate is expensive and roofs offer an excellent opportunity to use an existing asset.
Q) What about roof integrity, is it in any way compromised?
A) The panels are not attached to the roof deck, and there are no holes in the roof. They use a ballast system which preserves the integrity of the roof and in fact protects the roof. In addition the panels can be moved when necessary. The weight of the ballast is far less than the snow load requirement of 36 inches

There were other questions about fire personnel safety when fighting a fire and other questions about safety. It was explained that these systems disconnect and stop producing power when the grid power is turned off, which is standard operating procedure in any fire emergency.

This was a very informative meeting and every indication is that this technology will be more heavily used as we move forward. The company has set a goal of 2.5 million square feet for Long Island.

We thank our speakers James Rice and Morton Weber for imparting important information.

This event took the time and effort of many people, Michele Zere was unrelenting in getting the message out and helping LIMBA plan this meeting Thanks to Bill Miller and his staff at the door we were able to accommodate our guests.
Thank you Ken Nevor, Anna Woodroof, and Cindy Mardenfeld.

The staff at the Clarion Hotel were attentive to the needs of the breakfast as usual.

Ernie Fazio

Congressman Tim Bishop
2013-09-13 00:00
Our congressman from the 1st Congressional District, Tim Bishop was our speaker this morning and he outlined some of the topics that he thought may of concern to us.
Tim began with the situation in Syria. He pointed out that there was a real reluctance to using military strikes to punish the Syrian government. His constituents and the constituents of his colleagues across the country were expressing serious doubts that the use of weapons would accomplish the goal of stopping the use of chemical weapons.
His take was that diplomacy was a much better route, but ironically that approach was unlikely without the credible threat of military action. We now find ourselves in a place where we may get what we want without the risks that are usually unfathomable when the missal fly. The Russians have been the patron of this brutal regime and without them Assad is adrift. If the Russians increase the pressure Assad will likely relent.
Debt Limit- The looming threat of shutting down the government unless the Senate and the President give up on the Affordable Healthcare Act. Not likely, but it is a looming threat. Bishop pointed out that the competitive market that was created with the legislation is beginning to impact the cost of insurance and the trend is to cut it by 50%. That is the projection at the moment. He went on to remind us that Medicare was as least as much hated by the same political forces that are upset about “Obamacare”. In that case there were refinements and few people today want to go back to the days when Medicare did not exist. During the Q&A the congressman pointed out that the deficit has been constantly dropping and at a rate that is much faster than anticipated
Immigration Reform- The opponents according to Bishop want the borders secured before any legislation is passed. To that he told us the $30 billion in additional border security has been added to the effort. Then he went on to outline the depth of the dilemma. Children who know no other country than the United States are not and should not be expected to go to a foreign land. If you deport the parents, what do you do with the children? And some of those children are legal Americans because, while their parents may be undocumented, they were born here.
Bishop put it this way; we have three choices
1) Round them up and send them back to where they came from. (We don’t have enough planes)
2) Attrition- As he put it make life so miserable for them that they want to leave.
3) Create an Immigration Act and pass it, with the recognition that there will be some inequities, and difficult choices.
During the Q & A that followed. The topic of the ethics investigation that we saw in Newsday was brought up. Tim told us that any and all information that was sought has been provided. I am cooperating 100%. The question was about him interceding on behalf of a campaign contributor who wanted a permit for a fireworks display. Mr. Bishop noted that interceded for several organizations as well, including the local fire department for the same issue.

David M. Daly Vice President-LIPA Transition. spons BRT
2013-08-16 00:00
Today’s speaker was Dave Daly, Vice President of PSE&G – LIPA transition.

Mr. Daly comes from a service area that has many similarities to Long Island. That experience lends itself to operating on Long Island with confidence. Mr. Daly outlined a number of initiatives. As he put it "PSE&G will be putting plans together so that they can hit the ground running" on January 1, 2014.

Daly suggested that a mundane operation such as tree trimming is like changing the oil on your car. If you don’t do it not much happens at first, but you set yourself up for failure over time. Examining the system when everything is normal sometimes gets left out when budgets are running out near the end of the year. That can be avoided by using realistic and disciplined procedures. The same is true with pole inspections. Poles deteriorate, and if you do not check them for decay and equipment deterioration they will fail, eventually.

He spent some time on communications as well. There is a need to keep the public informed and these procedures. Investments in technology that will facilitate these goals will be made. Mr. Daly stressed the need to be an active part of the community and being at LIMBA was just part of that process.

Mr Daly addressed the unions, and the inference was that unions are partners more than adversaries. Good relations with the unions are expected and the union people in the room appeared to be happy with the new situation.

Daly referred to Key Process Improvements. 80 recommendations are anticipated including Storm Process and Asset Management

Questions came up about alternative energy. As solar and wind become more available and installed there has to be constant accommodation for the new technology. I pointed out that as privately produced power using solar increases that will almost certainly decrease the rate base making the remainder of the people carry more of the debt burden. Daly seemed to think that the new sources would be embraced. I don’t know how that will play out, but I do know that we are not going back to a time when these sources of power are not part of the mix.

The competency of the company is accepted as believable. The service area in New Jersey is about double the size of the LIPA system yet they were able to restore power to more customers in at less cost than LIPA.

LIPA is a high cost system to operate and much of that cost is attributable to the debt that was not incurred by the ratepayers, but was imposed upon us by Albany. Despite the fact that I am hopeful that PSE&G will bring about much needed improvements, they will not be able to overcome that basic problem.

Ernie Fazio

No meeting scheduled
2013-08-09 00:00, 2013-07-05 00:00, 2013-06-14 00:00, 2013-05-17 00:00

LIPA alternate ideas
2013-07-19 00:00
Today’s program was very different from our usual format. Victor Yannacone was our first speaker, and he laid out the history of how we got her and the plan to extricate us from the present untenable situation. Then we had attorney, Irving Like, former utility executive Matt Cordaro, former LIPA trustee Sheldon Sackstein and then Sierra Club environmental expert Peter Gollom. Each had a valuable opinion to share.

Yannacone was one of the original people that joined hands and stopped Shoreham, but his greater recognition comes from his successful suit that was known as "Agent Orange" whereby the chemical companies had to make medical and other compensation available to Viet Nam era combat soldiers.

Now Yannacone has created an idea that will no doubt disturb the established powers. Victor began by describing the role of electric power companies as boosters for the local communities which, I for one interpreted as a positive. In contrast here is how Victor continued, "LIPA is failing the ratepayer and is strangling the economy of Long Island." According to Yannacone that LIPA was never designed to serve the public, it was designed to compensate the bond holders.

Victor cited the economic boon of the war years that, but in the end LILCO drove businesses off the island. "Without any regard for rational economics the decision by LILCO in 1973 to build a nuclear electric power plant set the stage for economic catastrophe’…

Under the rules that regulated utilities operate under it was in the perceived interest to build as expensive a plant as possible because the higher the cost, the greater the return to investors. This thinking ignores the fact that the inflated rates make the region uncompetitive. That’s exactly what happened.

LIPA was created in 1986 with express purpose of assuming the liabilities of LILCO in particular Shoreham Nuclear Plant. In 1989 LILCO sold Shoreham to LIPA for $1. LIPA assumed the debt of $6billion. Later LIPA acquired LILCO’s antiquated electric transmission system. In the same year all of the generating capacity was transferred to Brooklyn Union Gas which when joined with LILCO became Keyspan.

The ratepayers got all of the liabilities and none of the valuable assets. In January of the year 2013 Governor Cuomo proposed the privatization of LIPA. In other words here we go again. We were given the responsibility to pay off the LILCO debt. "Did anyone ask us?"

The Alternative
The alternative according to Yannacone is to create a mutual company. A mutual company would operate in a manner that is similar to a mutual life insurance company. The policy holders "own" the company and vote for the directors. No elected official would have any say in who is on the board.

The Board of Trustees must select management that is cognizant of the power company’s critical place of electric power in the economy of Long Island. This would be vastly different from the structure of an investor owned utility. Rather than an investor owned utility we will have a ratepayer owned entity with the sole purpose of supplying reliable, reasonably priced power. This will facilitate the support of economic growth. There is nothing wrong with a corporate structure as long as the ratepayers are also the stockholders. If you have an electric bill, you have a vote. "LIPA must belong to its ratepayers and its management must be accountable to the ratepayers" This differ from a municipal company because a municipal company is owned by the taxpayers and is subject to the whims of politics.

Attorney Irving Like spoke next and he pointed out that the relationship that LIPA will have with PSE&G will jeopardize the tax exempt status of LIPA bonds and make the situation worse. He also pointed out that the whole notion of the operation of LIPA may be illegal from the inception.

Mathew Cordaro PhD was vice president of LILCO and later the president of Nashville Electric he also was the chief executive of the Midwest

Independent Systems Operator a company that coordinates distribution of power for several states and provinces in Canada. His experience in investor and municipal power has given him a perspective that is unique among the participants and felt that Yannacone’s idea was more suitable to rural areas where the idea is presently being used. He did not feel the economics would work on Long Island.
Peter Gollom representsSierra Club and his concern was with the solar program that has put Long Island in the forefront of solar installation. Long Island presently has more solar power installed than the rest of New York State.

Sheldon Sackstein was once a LIPA trustee and his sentiments was with making sure we had an elected boardDuring what was a very, very lively discussion that followed the speakers.

The big question was about the debt. What do we do with it?
Renegotiate it, was Victor’s answer. The debt is held by institutional investors, hedge funds and sovereign funds. They would have to take a hit.
Q: When the solar installations syphon enough customers off the grid how will that effect the system?.

That makes the bonds even more untenable. As more customers leave the system the burden increases for the remaining customers. That is one of the reasons that the debt cannot be allowed to continue.
Would the size of the ratepayer’s bill be relevant?
No! If you have a bill, you’ll have a vote. If you own a home and a business with a separate bill you will have 2 votes.
Is it too late to act?
No, we were never asked and we did not agree to anything.
How do we stop this?
We start with an ad-hoc committee, just the way we began to close Shoreham. This entire meeting was taped and the tape will be available in about 5 days.

John Kanas, President Bank United
2013-07-11 00:00
John Kanas, president, Bank United
Mr. Kanas is an important figure in banking. Having started his banking career as a teller earned respect as knowledgeable person and gained status in the North Fork Bank. North Fork was a small regional bank at that time. When the president was not able to work due to illness, John was elevated to president on a temporary basis. Later that appointment was made permanent. North Fork under Kanas’ direction eventually grew to a very large regional bank with branches in all parts of Long Island and New York City. The bank was acquired by Capital One Credit card company and the North Fork named was dropped.
Mr. Kanas sold his interest in the new combined entity and subsequently bought Bank United a small Florida bank which has now expanded to New York. He is at LIMBA to talk about the new entity. Please join us.

LIMBA No meeting Have a great 4th of July
2013-06-28 00:00

LIMBA Robert Crieghton Candidate for Supervisor, Smithtown
2013-06-21 00:00
Smithtown Councilman
Robert Creighton
June 21, 2013

Sponsored by Green World Marketing, (Innovations in Wind Turbine Technology) and Gerry Fitzpatrick

Mr. Creighton has the backing of the Conservative Party and is a candidate for town supervisor, a position that is now held by Pat Vechio.

Bob began by mentioning that there are a number of storefronts in the Smithtown commercial area that are empty. That was not the situation years ago and Creighton attributes this lack-luster business performance in the town to the policies of the present administration.
Creighton made a point to note that there are other towns that have taken aggressive steps to improve the functioning of their towns and villages, most notably, Patchogue. According to the councilman the attitude in his town is all wrong. Instead of embracing ideas, the town creates road blocks. Patchogue’s Mayor Pontieri, he pointed out tells developers to present their ideas and tries to accommodate good projects. That does not mean that every idea is a good idea that will see completion, but it does mean that if there are things that can be done, they will be done. Again referring to Patchogue he mentioned the rescue of the Patchogue Theater and the very desirable housing that has been built.

He spoke about the attitude of the present supervisor. Bob discussed the up-scale Home Depot company "Expo." The store had been closed and board members wanted to accommodate a new use of the building and land. The attitude was "leave it be, they’re still paying taxes." That was not acceptable to Creighton, they were able to over-ride the supervisor and create a new use, which by the way pays even more taxes.

He gave another example of an instance where a closed restaurant was purchased by a successful restaurateur who wanted to make a change in the front of the restaurant. The town told him that all the requirements of a brand new structure would be required. That would include 12 new cesspools, a considerable expense. These requirements are only applicable when it is new construction.

The town has neglected to maintain the physical plant of the buildings it owns and in 2010 was told to close down the libraries because they were so neglected. The libraries were the responsibility of the town and when money got short, libraries were ignored. Now the libraries have separated from the town and have been infused with $15 million dollars and a separate library system with a separate tax was created. This arrangement is common in many areas of Long Island and the arrangement allows the library to raise funds in addition to the library tax.
Mr. Creighton has plans for improving infrastructure. Importatnt road, sewer and building maintenance will draw business to the town and over time save the town money, while increasing the tax base.
Another important initiative is appropriate zoning. Hauppauge Industrial Park, for example, will be rezoned to allow six story buildings. Removing the hurdles to sensible growth seems to be Creighton’ modus-operandi
This morning’s meeting with Town of Smithtown Councilman Robert Creighton was sponsored by Green World Marketing, (Innovations in Wind Turbine Technology) and Gerry Fitzpatrick – Thank You

Ernie Fazio
In the photo: Robert McMillan, former commissioner of the Panama Canal, Robert Creighton, Smithtown Councilman and candidate for Smithtown Supervisor, Gerry Fitzpatrick, President of Green World Marketing and sponsor of LIMBA meeting, and Ernie Fazio, President of LIMBA

Steve Bellone, County Executive-Greenman Pedersen sponsor
2013-06-07 00:00
Today’s meeting was sponsored by Greenman Pedersen Inc. Engineers

Mr. Steve Bellone was our speaker this morning and the message was that the problems we, and he are dealing with are legacy problems. The Foley nursing home was first discussed during the Halpin administration. Each administration that tried to shed the responsibilities of that facility was stymied by resistance from the public and the legislators. Resistance included suing the county to keep the nursing home open.

Deficits have been getting worse in recent administrations, but the fact is they have challenged every occupant of that office. Recently they have been reduced, but not eliminated.

According to Bellone you need to make progress on all fronts. Taxes, transportation needs, housing, industrial and commercial development are all interdependent. Housing that does not at the same time have places for business to develop is a speculative effort.

Bellone talked about a plan the he calls "Connect Long Island." The Long Island Railroad when it was built was a very forward thing plan. Those various lines can and should be better connected by light rail, bus rapid transit (BRT) and bicycle paths where practical.

He showed a map demonstrating the viability of connecting the population of Wyandanch to the 110 corridor on one end and Riverhead on the other. He outlined several cross connections including a rapid bus route on Sagtikos Parkway connecting Heartland to the north shore and Bay Shore and Babylon on the south shore. Each connection lent itself to further connections as well as easy access to entertainment and shopping centers.

When asked where the money will come from Bellone stated that planning is relatively cheap, but when the planning and zoning is in place the money is more likely to come. When it does come it is already dedicated to the plan. Therefore it makes perfect sense to plan and create a vision that business and government entities can embrace.

In an answer to a related question Bellone said if you do not have plans for housing you miss the opportunity for jobs.

Ernie Fazio

Thank you Greenman Pedersen Inc. and Mike Salatti for hosting at the meeting.

Tom Spota, Suffolk County DA, Sponsor - Gershow Recycloing
2013-05-31 00:00
Our speaker this morning was Suffolk District Attorney Thomas J. Spota. Mr. Spota began by telling us that his office and the group of 188 prosecuting attorneys that he has in his unit needed to respond t0 55,000 arrests that were made last year. That number has even been higher in the past.
Spota was pleased with amount of enforcement cooperation he gets from the Suffolk Police as well as the sheriffs department and state police units. His command does not operate in a vacuum.
Gangs, drugs, and guns are causes for much of his prosecutions. Gun possession is pervasive according to Tom. He supports the police efforts to get guns off the streets. He supports the right to bear arms, but he believes that regulation is a must.
Intoxicated drivers, whether the abuse is alcohol, or drugs pose great threats to the driving public. He gave few examples of irresponsible driving, one of which was a drunk driver who was clocked at 86 miles pre hour going through Sayville. That incident ended in a head on crash while driving in the opposing lane killing one person and leaving another in critical condition. These driving offenses are now extended to drunk boating. The police marine units and the US Coast Guard are expanding the reach of law enforcement on the water.
Regarding drunk driving he has now embraced the concept of using homicide as a charge in some cases. His counterpart in Nassau County was first to use the charge of homicide in drunk driving cases and Spota agrees with the reasoning.
Mr. Spota has also perused mortgage fraud, which is a problem of no small proportions. Lastly he talked about bookkeeper fraud. There are numerous businesses and not-for-profit groups that have been victimized by someone in the company that has held a financial position. According to the District Attorney this kind of theft happens a lot.
Ernie Fazio
The guest co-host and sponsor was Gershow Recycling and Kevin Gershowitz. Bill Miller and myself devised the guest host idea with the purpose of having a group of people to perpetuate the organization as we go forward. Kevin did a great job and was obviously comfortable in the role.

Memorial Day Weekend- No meeting
2013-05-24 00:00
Our next meeting will be on June 7th
County Executive Steve Bellone will becoming to LIMBA on June 7th to give us an overview of Super Storm Sandy. What worked well and where do we need improvement. He may also speak about other topics of his choosing. We welcome him back to LIMBA. Please register early
This meeting will be sponsored and hosted by Greenman Pedersen. Thank you Mike Salatti and team GPI

Mitch Pally Executive Dir LI Builders Institute
2013-05-10 00:00
This morning we had as our speaker Mitch Pally. Mitch was the vice president of LIA for many years and presently is the Executive Director of Long Island Builders Institute. He still is also a board member of the MTA and was prepared to answer questions about the responsibilities that he has in that capacity. The audience, however, was very interested in the primary topic of housing.

Mitch asked the audience “Who lives in a single family home?” Almost everyone including Pally raised his hand. His premise is that while most of us will continue that lifestyle we must adjust to a world where we have an adequate number of rental units located in places that are friendly to the use of public transportation. He compared Long Island to Westchester which has at least double the number of rental units and that mix of housing has not diminished the quality of life. In fact if multi-family housing is located near public transportation than those families can often be satisfied with only one car.

On Long Island where our drinking water comes from the ground, sewers will preserve the ground water purity at the same time making denser population centers possible and sustainable. He pointed out to us that MacArthur Airport has a septic system. He suggested that building a more comprehensive sewer system would make the ground water in that vicinity better and at the same time accommodate residential housing growth.

Mr. Pally addressed the problem of people who oppose multi-family housing. Always hanging over that conversation is the reference to “those people” when a development is being proposed. The implication that these units will be occupied by less responsible people. But that image just does not hold up under scrutiny.

In Rockville Center apartment housing that was built on a cleaned up “brownfield” is now considered a valuable addition to the community although the local residents fought tooth and nail to prevent it from ever being built. As it turns out these are valuable dwellings commanding market level rents.

The people in the room ask many questions, but they were in sync with the objectives of creating quality multi family living space

According to Mitch the process in convincing a community to accept a new plan is a slow and tedious process, but with good planning and communication it can be done. That’s what he sees as an important part of his role
