Brookhaven Notebook: Lesko Attends Economic Development Council Meeting

Last week, Brookhaven Supervisor Mark Lesko attended the first New York State Regional Economic Development Council meeting, which took place in the Town of Brookhaven at Stony Brook University.

The Long Island Regional Economic Development Council is one of 10 in the state  organized by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.

“I commend Gov. Cuomo for organizing this impressive group of Long Islanders and setting an aggressive timeframe for the development of a common Island-wide economic development strategy,” said Lesko in a statement.

The Town of Brookhaven has focused on projects like the Ronkonkoma hub transit-oriented development.

“We also worked with the Brookhaven Industrial Development Agency to stimulate the growth of start-up companies through Accelerate Long Island, which is being implemented by the Long Island Association,” Lesko said. “If we create more jobs, our tax base will expand and property taxes will decrease.”

According to the town, their priorities include the redevelopment of blighted properties through the “Blight to Light” incentive program, the creation of a transit-oriented downtown around the Ronkonkoma Train Station, the busiest train station on the Long Island Rail Road, and connecting research conducted at Long Island’s premiere institutions with entrepreneurs to create high tech jobs.