State OKs plans for Long Island heritage area BY SOPHIA CHANG Newsday Staff Writer

December 26, 2006

The effort to collectively showcase the North Shore's treasures cleared an important hurdle when state Parks Commissioner Bernadette Castro approved the management plans for Long Island's first heritage area.

"If we had this plan 25 years ago, I think we would have done an even better job of being the stewards of the North Shore," said Castro, who signed off on the plans Dec. 8.

Now the members of the Long Island North Shore Heritage Area Planning Commission are establishing a nonprofit, the first step to the goal of promoting tourism and sustainable development while highlighting the environmental and historical legacies of the area.

"[Long Island's] geographic setting is very much entwined with how it has developed," said Lance Mallamo, the commission's acting co-chair.

"It's given us a wonderful story to tell about the unique mix of people and places, but we also see that as Long Island continues to develop, we're going to have an erosion of the special features of what Long Islanders enjoy here," he said.

Gov. George Pataki designated the heritage area in 1998 and since then the commission has examined ways the area, stretching from Great Neck to Stony Brook above Route 25A, could lure visitors with biking and hiking trails, better access to the water, designating Route 25A as a historic and scenic byway, and explorations of the area's history.

There are economic benefits to a tourism boost. If each of the current visitors to Long Island would stay an extra day, nearly $300 million would be generated annually, Mallamo said. In addition, the municipalities that participate in the program are eligible for state funds earmarked for heritage area improvements, such as main street revitalization.

Participants said equally important to the tourism was the commission's proposed sustainable development policies, which they hope local municipalities will adopt, and the sense of collaboration.

"We think it opens up opportunity for us to some of the benefits such as grants and information, and also tying into the experience of others who are trying to preserve their history and heritage, without sacrificing quality of life," said North Hempstead Town Supervisor Jon Kaiman. There, the board passed the plan in July.

But not all the municipalities covered in the region have signed on to the plan, which does not impact zoning and has no regulatory effect.

"[The plan] kind of runs contrary to why municipalities were created in the first place. They like to chart their own course, and they like to be involved on a very, very local level," said Peter Mineo, the attorney for the village of Lake Success, which has not adopted the plan.

But, he added, the village will keep an eye on the plan's development.

"We're still going to take a closer look at it because there may be elements that we can embrace, and maybe we can do something on our own," Mineo said.

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