Robert Moses: The Last Master Builder (From the Long Island Press, December 2013)
The following was written by Spencer Rumsey for the Long Island Press. The online version can be seen here. The one person who did more than any other human being to shape the future of Long Island was born in Connecticut on Dec. 18, 1888, and died at Good Samaritan...
Zeitgeist
A business that is responsive to the changing climate is one that survives, and Long Island’s developers are no exception to this basic building tenant. When the recession hit and real estate activity ground to a halt, the builders faced a multifaceted dilemma. Do we...
The Cost of Housing
The following was written for LIBN's Young Island: Just when you think you’re out, they pull you back in. This week’s piece was going to be on an issue other than affordable housing and the brain drain on Long Island (such as the apparent demolition of Inisfada and...
“Brain Drain” Should Not Dictate Our Land Use Policy
Last week, my piece on affordable housing options for Long Island’s millennials went viral, being shared across Twitter, LinkedIn and in urban planning circles. Thank you for supporting my message of informed policymaking. I explored the region’s tendency to accept...
Our Flawed Housing Policy is the Real Brain Drain
The following was written for LIBN's Young Island: I’ve written about the topic of affordable housing multiple times on Young Island. It’s both our greatest regional failure, and the key to our success in the 21st century. Yet, for such an important topic, there is...
Grossman: When It Comes to the Shore, You Can’t Beat Nature
The following was written by Karl Grossman, a friend of the Foggiest Idea. Karl Grossman is professor of journalism at the State University of New York/College at Old Westbury and chief investigative reporter at Long Island’s WVVH-TV. And he’s the host of the...
Reflecting on Sandy, and Planning for the Next Big One
Sandy was created by some extraordinary meteorological circumstances. we must plan ahead for the “Next Big One”. However, the silver lining to all the misery the superstorm brought upon Long Island and beyond is that it made pause, and take stock of where we are as a...
One Year After Hurricane Sandy, We Are Still Vulnerable
One year after Hurricane Sandy rumbled up to our shores, Long Island is still woefully vulnerable. Our coastal systems are ill-prepared for storms, our development patterns show minimal respect to our flood plain and erosion areas, and our electrical infrastructure is...
Long Island is All Clammed Up
It is important to remember that many of the land use issues discussed each week have real impacts to the lives of Long Islanders, and failure to heed economic and environmental warning signs can lead to real consequences. If we fail to protect our water system, the...
Cause…and Effect
In a recent LIBN Op-ed, Michael Watt describes “urban nodes”, a planning concept traditionally attributed to Kevin Lynch’s Image of the City, which broke down the most important elements of a city. According to Lynch, a node is a main focal point within the area....
