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....
Press Release Celebrating the New Foggiest Idea
Long Island Planner Launches TheFoggiestIdea.Org New site offers Long Island residents accessible, approachable information on land use and development processes SYOSSET, NY – If you live, work, develop, protect or represent Long Island, www.TheFoggiestIdea.org is...
An Expensive Mistake
Elected officials, bureaucrats and self-proclaimed “advocates” line up- their prop shovels ready. The event is covered by the press. During the stump speeches, which can be given by even a remote connection to the project, words like “hope”, “revitalization” and...
