Today our speaker, LIA President Matt Crosson, was asked to speak about
the need to marshal the resources of all of the organizations that would
like to bring about positive change. Matt buys into that notion and he
has led the way that helps others find their voice. Personally I have
worked with LIA over the years and gave my input.

 

Mr. Crosson chose to attack a specific area of concern to all of us,
workforce housing.  There are several facets that are part of this
intractable problem, and that makes it complex and difficult to solve.
Not  getting it done will have consequences. According to Crosson our
economy will suffer as we move into the future. He contrasted what is
happening today to what has happened in the past

 

From about 1960 to 1989 there was an increase of 289,000 people in the
age range of 20-24. From 1990 to 2005 there was a net loss of the same
demographic. What is involved is housing, transportation, and sewers.
The problem becomes more difficult when you consider the negative
attitudes that established residents have toward workforce housing. It
doesn’t seem to matter that some of these people will be our own
children.

 

There is an estimated shortage of 120,000 living units. According to
Crosson, and I have heard this from builders as well, there is no way we
can achieve this without having a certain density. We cannot have this
kind of density without good transportation and SEWERS. Sewers are
everywhere in Nassau County but not in Suffolk.  Crosson also spoke
about the livability of this denser housing. It can be quite attractive.

 

This is an area where LIA and LIMBA have had the same message. This
is problem that must be addressed because negative long term effects of
poor planning are too expensive in the long run to correct. Matt Crosson
is well versed on the topic and a very good presenter. We thank him for
his appearance at LIMBA 

 

Of course there are other infrastructure items that align the purposes
of LIMBA and LIA. Robust rail freight and increased  ferry
transportation are two important issues we thoroughly agree on.