When I started my career 30 years ago, the economic viability of Long Island was not a consideration. Known for its beaches, wineries and proximity to New York City, Long Island made it possible to have the best of both worlds – you could work with the best and brightest in the city and spend the weekends at your kids‘ sporting events in the “burbs.” Like the recent changes to the Food Pyramid, that calculus has now been turned upside down.

Over the last 20 years, Long Island has transformed itself into an international economic powerhouse. Home to the second-largest industrial park in the country (Silicon Valley being the largest), Nassau and Suffolk counties combined have a higher population and gross domestic product (GDP) than 16 states. Its high percentage of tradable sector jobs lifts the entire region to higher than the national average. Brookhaven National Lab was chosen—over fierce international competition—to build and operate the only Electro-Ion Collider in the world, making it a hub for the most brilliant minds worldwide. MacArthur Airport has recreated itself as a critical transportation hub for the region, and soon billions of dollars will be invested to connect it to the Long Island Railroad. Shopping malls decimated by COVID are being transformed by brilliant architects and builders, and cutting-edge technology companies are incorporating AI into critical verticals like health care. And the list goes on and on.

A region, however, cannot sustain itself with just leadership in the private sector; it must also have leadership in the public sector, and it is here where Long Island has completely transformed itself as well. For too many years, Long Island was governed by fear and NIMBYism, with local leaders refusing to invest in critical infrastructure for expansion. This fear-based policy resulted in crushing taxes and a housing and talent crisis. The current slate of elected officials—for the most part—have seen the iceberg Long Island was heading for and have had the political courage needed to correct the planning sins of the past. Whew!

All of this has given Long Island an incredible opportunity to not just grow but thrive for many years into the future. While words like shortage and crisis can be scary to investors, they are great opportunities when great minds in business and government are partnering together to find the solutions, which is what we have here on Long Island today.  We should all be proud of the work we have done over the years to build this Island into the powerhouse it is today, and I couldn’t think of a better place to invest time and dollars as we continue to move forward.