On sunday, october 3, WLIW21 New York Public Television broadcast SMART GROWTH: LONG ISLAND'S FUTURE, a 90-minute program exploring the challenges facing the Long Island region as it plans for future growth. Co-hosted by Long Island Association President Matthew Crosson and WLIW21's Lisa Jandovitz, this "Town Hall Meeting"-style production brings together the people that make it happen on Long Island and gets them talking. Panelists and a studio audience take on tough subjects such as affordable housing, transportation, land use issues, and the migration of the 18-35-year-olds off of Long Island. The Town Hall meeting features the coming together of a diverse group of Long Islanders determined to really tackle the issues and make strides in helping the Long Island community develop workable goals and achievable solutions.

Panelists include:

  1. Steve Levy, Suffolk County Executive
  2. Thomas R. Suozzi, Nassau County Executive
  3. Bruce Stillman, President and CEO, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
  4. Robert Gaffney, former Suffolk County Executive
  5. Mayor David Kapell, Village of Greenport
  6. John Kennedy, President, Building and Construction Trades Council
  7. Robert Yaro, President, Regional Plan Association
  8. Robert MacKay, Director, Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities
  9. Richard Amper, Executive Director, Long Island Pine Barrens Society
  10. Carrie Gallagher, Director, Long Island Index Project, Rauch Foundation
  11. Charles Mancini, President and CEO, Park Ridge Organization
  12. Lorraine Deller, Executive Dir., Nassau Suffolk School Boards Association
  13. Reverend Reginald Tuggle, Dir., of College and Community Relations for Nassau Community College
The program opens with a segment that serves as a "snapshot" of Long Island and how communities are broaching subjects such as 'What is the face of Long Island?' and 'Who are its inhabitants?' The segment includes interviews with Long Islanders, as well as statistics and graphs from the Long Island Index, a study published by the Rauch Foundation that served as a wake up call for many residents, business owners, government officials and community leaders to the challenges Long Island faces as a region. This introduction sets the stage for the program's interactive discussion format. The moderator will organize the conversation with panelists and exchange with studio audience by defining the problem, discussing economic/social implications, exploring how Long Island got where we are, and how we have to work together in new ways to solve the Long Island region's problems. At the end of the program, online and phone resources will be listed for viewers that want to get involved.

The program includes a taped piece with Sen. Hillary Clinton making the following statement:

"We all have a stake in ensuring Long Island's future, by making improvements that will promote growth, that will not undermine the quality of life, and will end up strengthening, not weakening, the region. Long Island has so much to offer. Beautiful landscapes, world renowned research institutions, great schools, and so much else. But without vision and guidance all of these qualities could become very difficult to sustain. I'm proud to have worked with so many communities around Long Island, but now is the time for all of us to work together to ensure a strong and viable future for LI and its residents."

"Long Island has a number of important regional assets including an increasingly diversified economy with growing health, information and business services, quality education, and natural beauty," says Matthew Crosson, president of the Long Island Association and moderator of the program. "However, the region faces many challenges as a result of its historical fragmentation of governance, independent communities and a growing disparity by income, race and ethnicity that is clear in current housing, education and healthcare initiatives."

According to Carrie Gallagher, Director, Long Island Index Project, Rauch Foundation, "Long Island faces many problems, which have developed over a long period. We can only solve these problems if we start to see them in new ways and work together on them as we have not before."

"The 'Smart Growth' broadcast and other town hall meetings WLIW21 produces throughout the year demonstrate the value of public television as a community resource," explained WLIW21 President and General Manager Terrel Cass. "We hope that this program will inspire off-air conversations that will bring us closer to our common goals for the region."

About the Rauch Foundation:
The Rauch Foundation, a family foundation headquartered in Garden City, New York. In February 2004, the Foundation launched the first of three annual Long Island Index Reports. In preparation for the Long Island Index 2004, the Foundation commissioned a series of three polls on Long Island to determine how the region is faring compared to other suburbs in the NY Metro area and a report entitled Long Island Profile. The three polls ((Who Are We?", "Caring for Long Island's Children" and "Room for Growth: Long Island's Changing Economy"), and the report can be downloaded at www.longislandindex.org under publications. To obtain hard copies or provide feedback, please call 516-873-9808 or email questions and comments to info@longislandindex.org.