Finally...Compromise

Very early this morning, I awoke to the blaring of the radio (**Side Note: At this point if anyone were to call me a "glutton for punishment" I'd have to say nothing...other than agreeing with them.**). As I lay there in bed in a half-roused stupor, I caught the most important news I've heard in a month: Charles Wang has finally agreed to meet with Kate Murray and the Town of Hempstead Board to discuss scaling down the Lighthouse Project.

Ever since Charles' hard deadline of October 3rd, the outlook on the Project has been relatively gloomy. From the announcement on Opening Night that Charles was looking at all his options, including selling or moving the team, to the recent false report that the Lighthouse had gotten it's plug pulled, to Suffolk County Executive, Steve Levy, publicly announcing via Newsday (which is owned by Cablevision which owns MSG, who in turn also owns the Rangers) that Suffolk County would be more than happy to take the Islanders in if Nassau and specifically the Town of Hempstead failed to approve re-zoning, to even Sen. Dean Skelos (R-NY) trying to get the process going again. Now, at long last, there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel.

We've said all along that the Project most likely would not look the same at the end as it did in the many rendered drawings of the site when planning first began. That's how real estate and property negotiations work. The developer, in this case Lighthouse Development Group, is expected to shoot for the moon and throw every possibility into the mix to see what they can get approved. On the flip-side, the local governments who approve the environmental review, in this case the Town of Hempstead, have the job of paring back what they deem to be unnecessary to the core of the property development and a compromise is reached.

Compromise. There's a word we haven't heard much over the course of this long, overdrawn process. It's time to sit down at the bargaining table and hash out the details boys and girls.

Now, there is finally something to rally around. The people of Long Island have done their part to keep the momentum going. Now it's up to the people in charge of the situation to step up to the plate and give the people what they want. It's time to "Meet Me at The Lighthouse!"

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Another "Potential" Lease on Life

I know that most of my content lately has been Lighthouse-centric and for good reason. It's simply the most important facet of anything going on in Islanders Country right now (and quite simply the most newsworthy story out there). So without further ado, I present to you the latest in the long line of small victories the Lighthouse Project has achieved in these past few months: a new "Lease on Life" as it were, from Nassau County!

It has been common knowledge for quite some time that the Lighthouse Development Group has been working with Nassau County on a new Lease Agreement for the Nassau Coliseum site in parallel to the SEQRA Environmental Review being conducted and voted on, by the Town of Hempstead. This is certainly not the end, however. Understand that the tentative Lease Agreement can only be approved once re-zoning and building permits are issued by the Town of Hempstead. That means that there is still work to be done. Here are some of the details of what the new lease will provide:

1. The New York Islanders will be required to play all regular season home games at the newly re-developed Coliseum until July 31, 2030.


2. The land lease for the entire 150 acre span (77 of that is the Coliseum site) is for a total of 99 years.


3. The Lighthouse Development Group will be required to pay $1.5 million to Nassau County to lease the land per year (remember how much Nassau County reported losing on the land in maintenance costs per year...$1.4 million anyone?)


4. The Islanders will receive all profits for ticket sales, parking and concessions (as of right now with the current lease, SMG, the arena managing firm based in Philadelphia, is receiving roughly 80% of the ticket sales, all of the parking and concessions. The only pure profit the New York Islanders make is on their merchandise sales **UPDATE: My buddy NYIsles1/IslesTigers corrected my numbers: SMG at this time receives 11% of Isles gate receipts, all parking and concessions and 40% of all the team's advertising revenue. Thanks for the help. I could have sworn the gate receipts (tickets) were higher though...**). The LDG will also be responsible for all maintenance and repair costs on the site that the County has been shouldering throughout the current lease.


5. The Lighthouse Development Group is allowed to procure monies from many different sources to finance the Project, including Industrial Development Agency Bonds.

Here are the advantages and benefits of IDA funding (directly from the Town of Brookhaven IDA website):

ADVANTAGES & BENEFITS OF IDA FUNDING

• The Company may receive 100% financing for the total project cost - including construction, equipment and planning costs and financial expenses.


• The Company pays a rate of interest generally lower than the rate on conventional financing.


• The Company may receive real estate Tax Abatement of Up to 100% on all new capital investment for Up to 10 Years


• The Company may save the sales tax on material and equipment purchased during the construction period from proceeds of the bond issue. This benefit may save a company Up to 5% of the total project cost. For accounting and federal income tax purposes, the Company is treated as the constructive owner of the project. Accordingly, it carries the project as an asset on its books and the total obligation under the lease or sale agreement as long term debt.


• The Company is entitled to the investment tax credit under Section 38 of the Internal Revenue Code, and is entitled to the depreciation allowance under Section 167 of the Code (Rev. Rul. 68-590).


• The Company may: (a) increase the size of borrowing to include an amount equal to the interest payable during the construction period, and (b) defer the first payment of principal during this period of time. As a result, the Company need not divert cash flow from other sources to make payments on the debt until the construction has been completed.


• Tax exempt bonds are generally exempt from the registration requirements of the securities laws and State "blue sky" laws and are consequently considerably less complex and time consuming than the public or private placement of corporate bonds. Bonds subject to federal tax will also be exempt from registration under most circumstances if the bonds are sold pursuant to the private placement exempt transaction rules.


• Cost applicable to an industrial development revenue bond issue include fee of bond counsel, Agency fee, fees to trustee or paying agent, other legal fees, and placement fees if outside bond placement is required. However, the fees and expenses incurred in connection with IDA financing, make questionable the feasibility of any project funding under $750,000.

So what does this mean for the Lighthouse approval process? It basically puts the puck back in the Town of Hempstead's end. With a tentative Lease Agreement and re-zoning hearing that occurred on September 22nd, it's the Town's turn to send a counter-offer to the Lighthouse Project possibly scaling back some aspects of the construction. That's how negotiations work until both sides get the concessions they want and reach a compromise.

It's my belief that the LDG and Nassau County tried to accommodate some of the demands of the Town of Hempstead (granted we won't know the details of the Lease Agreement until noon today). It is known that the Lease Agreement will still provide the LDG access to tax-exempt money but another one of the important issues being addressed was that the Islanders stay for more than the original agreement of 2025.

**Side Note: In the Newsday article in today's edition regarding the Lighthouse Project, the reporters only state that the Islanders will be required to remain in the Coliseum for 15 years. This number is not accurate. What the authors did not take into account was that the Lease Agreement for the Lighthouse Project would terminate the current lease on the property. If the Lighthouse is approved for zoning and permits this year or next, then the new Lease Agreement will take effect in 2010 and will provide for 20 years.**

**Side Note 2: Nassau County legislative Minority Leader Peter Schmitt (R-Massapequa) was quoted in the same article saying that the numbers provided in the Lease Agreement will be inaccurate without knowing what the LDG will build on the site. The only question I have to ask in regards to this line of questioning is, "Why then, would the Town of Hempstead send an open letter of suggestions/demands to the County, the LDG and the citizens of Long Island for the Lease Agreement if there has been no decision on what will be constructed on the site?"**

Any way you slice it, this is a big step forward in the process of getting the Lighthouse Project approved. Now is the time for diplomacy and compromise. Let's look forward to October 3rd, not as date for "certainty" on the Project but as the start of the future on Long Island and the Islanders hockey season.

Be on the lookout for my Season Preview post tomorrow!

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Is That A Light at the End of the Tunnel or a Freight Train?

I'm sure that you've been bombarded by analysis from Tuesday's Re-Zoning Hearing for the Lighthouse Project, but I figured that one more couldn't hurt. I apologize that it's now Friday and I'm finally getting around to this post (two jobs and going full-time to school can hinder some thought processes).

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I got to the meeting as it started at about 9:30AM and sat through until about 12PM (then subsequently returned for the last 30 minutes of the evening session). Here's what I gathered from my time sitting on Twitter in the back of the room with the rest of the media types:

The Town Board was "cordial" and "polite"...for all of about 5 minutes. I have no idea how the writers from Newsday, which is owned by Cablevision, who owns MSG, which in turn owns the Rangers, got such a different perspective on the proceedings. It was clear from the get-go that those who supported the Lighthouse Project would be limited in their ability to speak their minds. However, on the flip side, those who were ardently opposed to the Project either due to concerns about the water, the traffic, the height of the buildings or what have you, were getting more than their fair share of time in front of the Board.

At one point during the morning session, it seemed that Garden City's representatives (the most outspoken opponent to the Lighthouse Project or any development for that matter) which included the Mayor, Trustee's, Eastern Property Association members and the like, were given ample time (and were grouped TOGETHER, one after the other for the better part of the morning session) to voice their opinions. However, when Nick from Let There Be Light(house) stepped to the podium (as was pointed out in Islanders Point Blank) he was held to a very strict 2 minutes of speaking time. What were the motives for that I wonder?

**Side Note**: It is only a small minority of citizens and civic leaders that are opposed to the Lighthouse Project in Garden City. Please don't take anything said in relation to Garden City's opposition to infer that the majority of citizens living there are against the Project. It is very much the opposite. Many in Garden City believe the Lighthouse Project to be a positive for all Long Island even in it's current iteration.

What struck me the most while I sat in silence in the back of the room was the absolute disdain that the Town Board exhibited toward Charles Wang, Scott Rechler and their consultants. Councilman Santino, in particular was downright belligerent at times with the Traffic Consultant for the Lighthouse Project, Bob Eschbacher. Meanwhile, the others on the Board simply sat indifferent to the proceedings although sometimes asking half-assed questions about hypothetical situations like people backing out of their driveway on a busy street (that's already choked with traffic during rush hour), what would happen if someone ran a red light that doesn't even exist yet or the that height and density of the buildings is a concern because it will seem too much like "The City". If they actually took the time, the Lighthouse Project provided those observations and data in with the voluminous 6,500+ pages of the DGEIS on February 24th!

Unfortunately, I was in class for the dramatic conclusion of the "Traffic Analysis" by the Town Board, so I didn't get to see Charles Wang lose his cool after several hours of interrogation of Bob Eschbacher. What I took away from the whole argument was that the traffic mitigation measures (which were approved by State DOT and DWP) were more geared to roadways leading to the site than actual roads in and around the proposed construction area. Improvements to the Meadowbrook Parkway and Hempstead Tpke. and the roads 1/2 mile from the site and beyond are the State and Town's responsibility and the Lighthouse is merely providing the data, analysis and suggestions to ease the traffic burden(public transportation) to better serve the area in which they're building. Only one Town Board member (I apologize, I didn't catch who it was) pointed out that it was more important to the process to discuss roadways that directly affected the Lighthouse site as opposed to mitigation measures on roadways that would lead to the site (think about the entrance ramp onto the Meadowbrook Pkwy. from the Southern State, which Councilman Santino espoused about for nearly half an hour).

Furthermore, I'd like to address the water and sewage concerns, which are not to be taken lightly at all. If I have my facts straight, the Lighthouse Development Group has entered into negotiations with Nassau Community College (where I'm presently enrolled) to build a well near the Hempstead Plains on the eastern edge of campus. Why exactly, would the lease need to be hammered out for that portion of construction BEFORE the Town Board has even approved the final scope of the Project as a whole? Councilman Santino seemed to think that the well needed to be approved ahead of the rest of the Project (somehow subverting the entire State mandated process). Nice of you to make that clear for us there Santino!

With that said, the consulting company for water distribution and sewage removal, H2M, which is contracted both by the Lighthouse Group AND the Town of Hempstead, went into some detail as to the most recent data concluded. Currently, the area is running at 1 million gallons surplus and the Lighthouse, once fully constructed in 10 years or so, would only draw 0.8% of the total water supply! Pretty damning stuff that the Board was more than a little irked about as they asked the same question of the consultant in about 20 different ways.

In my conclusion, as well as others, this hearing was nothing more than political grandstanding. The Town Board was clearly ticked about the very well-publicized and blatant "shot across the bow" that was the Kansas City pre-season game and they made sure to exact some public revenge. More than once, Board members seemed to be patting themselves on the back, smiling to themselves with an air of, "I just asked an intelligent question that will probably stump this analyst and make the LDG look like a bunch of fools". Not only only were some of the questions wreaking of ignorance, at times they bordered on immature banter to satisfy personal ego.

With all the public politics out of the way, it's time to get down to the real business. It has been a proper assumption since this process started that the Lighthouse would look nothing like the original plans once all was said and done. Now is the time for compromise. It's not unusual for a developer to shoot for the moon and then work out a deal with the municipality to scale back parts of a project. That's how real estate works.

Will the towers be 450ft. once they're completed? Probably not. Personally, I think they'll be just a bit taller or shorter than Nassau County Medical Center (2 miles to the East). Will the roadways be able to handle the increased daily traffic to and from the site? It's very likely that there will be initial growing pains. However, once completed, I believe that the measures being hashed out now will be a great help to mitigating traffic in the surrounding area and beyond. Will the Lighthouse be a destination for all those living on and visiting Long Island? Absolutely.

For all the politics, I still believe that the Town of Hempstead knows the kind of spot they're in. The public overwhelmingly supports the Project and they're jobs are on the line if they don't come through. On top of that, the Lighthouse Group submitted nearly 5,000 pages of FGEIS which was supposed to have been completed BY THE TOWN and their consultant FP Clark. However, due to the events earlier this month, the SEQRA mandated deadline of September 18th came and went. Now is the time to sit down and work out the details in a civil manner. Let's get down to the nitty-gritty and finally BUILD THE LIGHTHOUSE!

**Side Note #2**: It has come to my attention that the Lighthouse Group approached the Town of Hempstead following the Re-Zoning Hearing in an attempt to come to a compromise. As of yesterday, the Town of Hempstead had refused to sit down and discuss the options.

Today, however, reports filtered out of the Town of Hempstead that they were preparing to offer the Lighthouse Group a scaled-down version of the Project. I'm not totally convinced that this is the case but it seems logical from the standpoint that the Town of Hempstead certainly understands what kind of support the Project has and still is receiving. We shall see.

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The Race for Long Island's Future is On

Last night I received a simple text message from my buddy Nick Giglia around 7:20: "It's Kristen McElroy."

Frankly, at first I had no idea who the sender even was because my Blackberry decided it wanted to start a new life as a paperweight and I had to take different components from about 3 BB Curves to make the current phone I'm using. So in short, I didn't have Nick's number stored in the phone. After a short back and forth I realized what he meant: Kristin McElroy, an attorney in Garden City, was chosen as the opponent to the heavily-favored incumbent, Town of Hempstead Supervisor, Kate Murray.

I'm gonna go back to my post at the beginning of the month where I compared the struggle of the Lighthouse to Star Wars and define the characters a little better.

As it stands we have:

Kate "Darth" Murray

Charlie "Yoda Momma" Wang

Scott "I'm Goin' Solo" Rechler

Joe "Emperor" Mondello

Tom "Obi-Wan" Suozzi

(Yes, I got a little Photoshop happy this morning but it was too funny after I did Charles to not keep going)

That's some cast of characters. However, now there is a new one that threatens to balance "The Force" on Long Island and bring peace to Galaxy/Town. I give you:

Kristin "Skywalker" McElroy

From what little I remember and what I heard last night, McElroy could be the kind of opponent that has a good chance at an upset. After nearly rocking Kemp Hannon's world last year, it stands to reason that the Nassau Democrats saw potential in Ms. McElroy. As an attorney from Garden City, who is unequivocally pro-Lighthouse, McElroy may be able to bridge the gap between the voters in the Town of Hempstead. It's a promising start.

Please don't ever forget to read some of the most ardent and informed Lighthouse advocates Nick Giglia and Dee Karl as they had their posts up well before mine (The Photoshop took forever).

Also, the Long Island Business News was at the Cradle of Aviation last night and as always wrote a nice piece on the proceedings. Newsday, however, left much to be desired.

Let's just hope that this race is going to be as exciting as it was foretold to be, "A long time ago, in a Town far, far away....."

For Questions, Comments or New Force Abilities you can contact me at DougD84@optonline.net, in the Comments Section or on Twitter @NYIsles10.

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I Couldn't Have Said It Any Better Myself.....On April Fool's No Less!

With the shenanigans that Kate Murray has been pulling lately (I swear that the next person who says "Shenanigans" is getting pistol-whipped. Hey Farva....!), I had the thought of actually going over her press release and tearing her to shreds. Fortunately for me, Kevin Schultz over at Barry Melrose Rocks and BD Gallof at Islanders Independent already took care of the necessary toiling and I would like to present both of their opinions. One for the mullet and two for the show.

Please give that a read and don't forget to laugh out loud at the sheer stupidity of the Supervisor's attempt to "Score" federal funds (Sorry Kev, I couldn't help myself).

Also, if you've got the time, head over to my buddy Nick's Let There Be Light(house) and peruse through his take on the same subject here and here. I swear you put a few intelligent people on a subject and the idiot that generated the news just looks all the more moronic once they're through with her.

Lastly, I'd like to inject my own little opinion here. If Kate Murray is under the delusion that sending a PETITION to 240,000 Town of Hempstead residents is going to get her re-elected in November, she may want to stop digging that political grave of hers with that sparkling golden shovel. I have a feeling that whoever runs against her will win by a landslide. I can't believe that this is what we've come to in the process to re-develop the Coliseum property. Sheesh.

(Photo courtesy of BD over at IslandersIndependent.com)

Don't forget that any questions, suggestions or comments must be directed to your on-site Supervisor at DougD84@optonline.net. If your sink is leaking and the toilet doesn't flush...I don't want an e-mail. Thank you. LOL!

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Our Time is NOW!

I just received word that the final scope of the Lighthouse Project has been approved by the Town of Hempstead unanimously. This is fantastic news on a major hurdle that had been plaguing the project since early in the application process.

Thank you to everyone who gave their support and their heart and soul to see this project through to hopefully groundbreaking ASAP.

I'll be back with updates later on this evening.

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Meet Me at What is the Next 25 Years on Long Island

I am a Long Islander.

I was born here.

I was raised here.

I learned to have a passion for hockey here.

I am, for all intents and purposes, a part of the fabric of 1401 square miles of some of the most densely populated land on the planet.

That is why I need the Lighthouse.

All of you who read this blog and have a passion for Long Island as a whole, should ask yourself this question: "What does the Lighthouse mean to me?"

I am a young man in search of a path to call my own. It has become a reality in the years after college that I was going to have to move off this Island that I've called home for the first 24 years of my life. The unfortunate truth is the fact that young people simply cannot get a foothold here with the cost of living and the lack of alternatives that would allow me to strike out on my own.

With that being said, it is my firm belief, that if two Long Islanders in Charles Wang and Scott Rechler want to give the place I live an identity, a place to call our own and something we can be proud of, we should give them the support that is necessary.

The Lighthouse transcends anything that happens with the New York Islanders. This is about Long Island. This is about you, me and everyone that has been contacted and shown their support (nearly 180 outreach attempts have brought back a 100% acceptance of the project).

This is about 60,000 construction and 20,000 permanent jobs.

This is about a Sports Complex that will attract State Championship after State Championship for all youth sports on Long Island.

This is about an improvement to the quality of life for all of us on Long Island. With roughly $60-$70 million dollars generated in revenue each year.

This is the "Imperfect Storm" as one Lighthouse Development spokesman stated.

Without your support this whole project could fall through the political cracks like so many before it.

It's time to take a stand and make our voices heard.

Tonight 2/21/09, at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, a "white-out" will be held to show how seriously we Long Islanders are about improving our lives. This is our time. This our home.

This...is our Lighthouse.

Please show your support by coming out in full force tonight and on Tuesday 2/24/09 at 10:30AM for the Approval of the Final Scope of the Project by the Town of Hempstead. The Lighthouse Project is ready. The Environmental Impact Study is ready.

Are you ready?

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